I started playing disc golf in 2006, played a lot of tournaments off & on for most of the decade following. Was good enough to be a successful amateur but not quite good enough to regularly cash playing pro (950ish golf).
The last couple years I have not played much as it wears on my hip too much & causes a lot of functional asymmetry for me. But I still have a lot of good friends who play competitively & have gotten really good.
One of these friends asked me to caddy for him on his birthday the other weekend & it was a lot of fun. I carried his bag for his afternoon round & he crushed the course & competition. Think he ended up -14 for the round (best of the tournament 1037rated), threw a birthday tournament ace & ended up winning the whole thing the next day by 7.
Here is the birthday ace 👇!
As his caddy for the round I did not like to see the running to the basket & big hype after the ace. Golf is all about maintaining a smooth flow mentally & physiologically. He raised his heart rate & Adrenalin & got a little out of rhythm after the ace, taking pars instead of birdies. Can’t really blame him, was on video with a gallery & everybody got real excited, except the grumpy caddy thinking about the shot on the next hole 😂
Few holes later he found the rhythm again & finished birdie, birdie, birdie. Was a fun round & he said I helped him stay relaxed. The real bonus of having a caddy is saving the legs. Lugging around a 50lb bag for 3 rounds in two days takes a lot of energy so I was happy to help for one of the rounds.
If you get the opportunity to caddy for a good player or even watch some local pros play disc golf, I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful game!