Portneuf Valley Disc Golf Club

[discgolf101]

I know I'm kind of the outsider here, so take my words how you want. I look at sandbaggers from two angles:

1) The guys who are completely content with never getting better, and are fine with just getting a bunch of plastic at every tourney. That's fine, but you also have to accept that people are going to rag on you.

2) The guys who are recognizing improvement, but want to continue learning and prefer to stay in a comfortable zone until they feel ready to bump up.

At the time I began playing tournaments a few years ago, I was competing with and beating many of the IdaPros, so I decided to play in the Open division. I didn't want to beat people I was supposed to beat, I wanted to get my arse handed to me so I could learn. However, in the last few years, the competition and skill level has gotten so much better, that if I were to start now, I would probably be playing advanced. I have only won one tournament, and have yet to bag a PDGA event; I am just an average Pro player. I think if I would have played down a while, I would have learned a whole lot more about the mental game, and how to approach tournament play.

I think there is a huge unrecognized factor in learning how to win, and I am fine with the people who want to get that type of experience before bumping. I don't look at them as baggers, I look at them as competitors. I say get as much exposure to winning as possible, then make the bump later down the road.