This is a disc golf putting drill that will help you find the range and distance you should be practicing from. It is a variation of a drill that already exists. This version is simply narrowed down and easily measurable. You can do this putting drill in a short amount of time and keep track of your progress in the weeks and months that follow. Give it a try and see what you think!
Full disclosure, I did NOT invent this entire drill. I merely modified an already existing drill. Whether I improved it or not it is up for you to decide… But I like the end result. Mine is a variation of a drill I see often in putting videos and one that I like very much. The only thing I am doing is defining the parameters so that I can check my progress. This also helps us compare how we are doing to one another…
The math on this works out beautifully. I also really like how, if I’m short on time, I can get out there and get something accomplished very quickly. In addition, there are many data points you can track to keep it engaging throughout the entire process.
This drill puts emphasis on each putt, so you don’t lapse into mindlessly flinging putters. Doing that, of course, can lead to bad habits.
Let’s look at this “Flip 60 Putting Drill” and see how it can help improve your putting.
The Flip 60 Disc Golf Putting Drill
I’m not married to the name here. If you want to take a crack at it, then by all means feel free. I think I was in a more “scientific” state of mind when I came up with it. The name pretty accurately describes the drill and that’s why I am going with it…
The original drill is simply called the flip drill. This video has many drills but the flip drill is first (Also, in general, I value a lot of videos that he does (He’s got that teacher “it-factor!”))All of the same rules apply in my drill as well. The only difference comes with the 60 (explained below).
Rules of The Flip 60 Drill
- Start 15 feet (5 paces) from the basket (if you don’t have a basket I have a page dedicated to options for baskets here) and place a random disc on the ground.
- Putt 2 discs at a time (You can easily get by with 2 putters and use a 3rd non-putter disc on the ground).
- If you hit both, you flip (on it’s edge. aka turn it over) the disc away from the basket. Should you miss both, you flip the disc towards the basket. If you hit one of two, you leave the disc where it lies.
- After 60 putts (hence “Flip 60“), you have completed the drill. You can then use the information to help you determine your range (more on this later).
Obviously, as you hit more putts, you gradually get farther and farther away from the basket. Eventually, you get to a point where you are challenging your range. This information is invaluable for your putting practice routine.
What I like About The Flip 60 Disc golf Putting drill
There is much to like about the original drill and my variation.
First, I like that it puts emphasis on each putt. The more you try it, the more you’ll see what I mean. Personally, I don’t like having to flip my disc towards the basket. I want to be hitting putts and flipping it away.
Next, I really like that it’s quick and gives you a sense of accomplishment in a short amount of time. I can usually do this drill in 10 minutes or less. This will obviously vary slightly based on personal putting style and the number of discs you have.
I also appreciate that this information is trackable and you can go for personal bests on a lot of the data you gather.
Finally, I appreciate how valuable the information is that I get from it. In the end, knowing your range, and where to focus your practice, is invaluable.
As an added bonus, I happen to find the drill to be quite entertaining. There are lots of games within the game and it can get fun/intense throughout!
And let’s not forget the beautiful math of it…
The Beautiful Math
If you are just stumbling onto this post then you don’t know I’m an elementary teacher. Part (1 of a million things) of the elementary teacher’s job is to be enthusiastic about a subject so that the enthusiasm pours over into the students.
It just so happens that I like math and there were 3 elements that I liked about choosing 60 for the “Flip 60 Putting Drill.”
60 has many factors – This just means that you can have many numbers of putters and still make this drill work. If you have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 20, 30 or 60 (that’s too many. Just saying) putters you can make this drill work.
Realistically you will have between 1 and 12 putters (I have 10 but I went overboard when buying (I’ll explain another day)). Really, the more you have, the less trips you have to take to the basket and the less time it takes. 60 makes it easy for you to adjust to the number of putters each person has.
The Distances – A disc is about 8 inches across. This means every time you flip it 3 times in one direction you have traveled 2 feet (3 x 8″ = 24″ = 2 feet).
Starting at 15 feet, and hypothetically hitting every shot (shooting the moon) would land you at 35 feet by the end of the drill. 35 feet is a very common outer distance that people practice from. Some people think it’s the distance to the edge of circle 1, but it’s really 10 meters (about 33 feet. Here’s a post where I explain the putting circles aptly named “Putting Circles Explained“.)
If you want to be more precise, or you are reading this from a country that does use the metric system (welcome!) then try a slight variation and use the “Flip 54” Drill (54 has many factors too!). I grappled with using this one, but in the end 60 felt cleaner to me. Nevertheless, Flipping the disc 27 times (half of 54) gets you to 33 feet, which is pretty darn close to 10 meters (32.8 feet).
There’s more fun in this too, because now we get to the numbers you can track to show improvement.
What you Can Track in the Flip 60 Disc Putting Drill
When I do the Flip 60 Putting Drill, I like to track 3 things. These 3 numbers keep me engaged from start to finish and that ten minutes goes by too fast!
Track how many you hit in a row to start:
Once you are a more confident putter, the early distances can seem too easy. So, to start, I like to see how many I hit in a row right off the bat. Then, I keep trying to break my personal best. You’d be surprised how difficult this is. I often times find myself missing way earlier than I would have thought.
Track how far you get from the basket:
This is the obvious one, but I like to track how far I get from the basket each time I do the drill. In this way I can chart my improvement over time. This will also give you a feel of your range on a day to day basis.
Track any consecutive streaks within the game:
This one is less essential, but I enjoy keeping track of consecutive putts made (especially if I’ve missed early on). It’s just an added goal to keep you interested within each round. But really, with so much riding on each putt, many people might be fine without this one.
Also, keep in mind, that it is easy to lose track of your count! I like to use counters and put a counter on the table each time I do ten putts. Then, I’m only keeping track of ten instead of 60 (“Wait, was I at 38 or 48?” type of thing…).
Once you have your intel, here’s how you can digest it and find your range…
Analyzing The Data (Finding Your Range)
I see a lot of varying data out there on what percentage of putts you should be making from a given distance before it becomes counterproductive.
In other words, if I (someone who hits 8/20 from 25 feet at the time of writing this) go back to 50 feet and try putting from there, I’m probably only ruining any positive form habits that I have. Given the data, I shouldn’t even be practicing from 25 feet.
It seems to me, that when you finish the flip 60 drill, then that is the distance when you hit about 50% of your putts. My experience is that I achieve most of my distance in the first 30 or 40 putts. Then, I pretty much stay where I am after that.
50% of putts is a consensus too low for practice range. Most people recommend that you practice from a distance where you can hit about 80% of your putts.
Personally, I’m more inclined to try from the 60-70% distance. But I’m a glutton for punishment and seem to like to swear a lot.
In general, I would say getting 3 feet (1 stride) closer to the basket after you complete the drill is a good rough estimate of where you should be practicing from. You can then adjust accordingly from there given your personal preferences.
Shooting the Moon!
There’s one more incredibly fun and enticing aspect that looms over each round of the flip 60 putting drill. That, of course, is the idea of shooting the moon!
This is obviously a term used from the card game hearts. In this case, however, it would mean hitting every one of your putts in the flip 60 drill.
To me, this is some hypothetical impossibility. It has an unattainable, fantasy quality to it like winning the lottery or firing torpedoes into exhaust ports and blowing up the Death Star. Nevertheless, each time I step up for the first shot, I can’t help but feel a little hope. Hope that I go on an epic, out-of-body putting rampage that culminates in me raising my hands victorious!
This hope quickly dies, of course, when you miss your first shot. And if, as has been the case with me, your first miss is also your first shot, then it’s even more deflating.
Nevertheless, I actually recognize that there are plenty of humans that are perfectly capable of accomplishing this. And that to me, is enough to keep me supercharged with hope for each round of this drill.
If you have the same hopes, or if you’ve ever flirted/accomplished this feat, then please let me know about it in the comments. We all value humility, but you deserve to be recognized.
And as I write, I’m going off-script and stating right here that I’m starting a table for anyone that does shoot the moon. That way your excellence can be memorialized for all eternity (or at least until my wife threatens to leave me because she can’t be married to a 40+ year old disc golf blogger).
| Name | Date of “Shoot the Moon” (Date Moon was shot?) |
|---|---|
| (insert your name here?) | |
| Name 2 | |
| Name 3 | |
| Name 4 |
My personal Results (So Far)
While I still dream of shooting the moon, for now, I have to be content with what I have so far.
At the time of writing this (5/5/22)the most shots I’ve hit in a row is 19 and I did it a long time ago. I really haven’t come all that close since which surprises me.
The farthest distance I’ve attained is about 25 feet from the basket. My average is usually in the 22-23 foot range. That means a good putting practice distance is around 20 feet for me right now.
Update: At 3/15/23 I am now at 26 consecutive and 28 feet from the basket!
I’ll continue to update this (hopefully) as the time ticks on and let you know how my putting is progressing. I also encourage you to do the same and let us know where you stand in the comments below.
In Summary
Putting is an absolutely crucial aspect of disc golf. It can cancel out so many other missteps you make leading up to the hole and save scores. On the flip side, it can also exacerbate those missteps and make a hole or round go from bad to worse. For this reason, we need to all make sure we are practicing our putting.
If you are interested in trying other putting drills, here’s a post someone made giving you 11 more to look at.
For our purposes, The Flip 60 disc golf putting drill, is an easy, quick, engaging way to get your practice in and gauge your range.
It puts emphasis on each putt, so you are getting “game-like conditions”
This drill also gives you instant results that are easily interpretable and can help you hone in on, and eventually expand, your ideal putting range. It also has challenges within (like consecutive streaks and end distance) that keep you invested.
Finally, if you keep raising your game, it has the tantalizingly difficult (yet absolutely feasible) potential for a player to shoot the moon and hit all of the 60 putts to achieve putting practice immortality (which can and will be documented right here!!).
Discs in the middle everyone! Let’s storm the practice greens and flip 60! Let’s shoot the damn moon! Or, let’s at least get progressively better at putting and inch our way out week by week! Ahem (clearing throat)… Let’s shoot the damn moon!
Thanks for reading everybody! Please let us all know, in the comments below, what you think of the Flip 60 Drill. Also, don’t hesitate to chime in on your results and keep us posted on your progress along the way. Finally, if any of you flirt with or actually achieve Flip 60 ‘Shoot the Moon’ immortality, then I want to hear about it! This is no place for humility! As soon as you get it, hustle right inside and let us know. Until that day, keep disc golf’n around on the putting greens.
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