| QCDG.com: As you were learning the game and improving your skills did you have a mentor to help you or someone to model your game after and how did this person help you improve your skills? |
| Mike: I never really had anyone teach me how to play the game. Chad Hein and I picked up the game at the same time and we just learned by trial and error. In my quest to refine my skills Tanner Duncan, Adam Olsen and Chris Sprague have all helped in my later development. |
| QCDG.com: One of the things that most people think of when your name is mentioned is your great distance. What did you do to help develop that aspect of your game and what simple tips could you give players in improving as well? |
| Mike: I think learning how to throw an ultimate disc well before I ever picked up a golf disc helped a lot. Another thing that helped was the amount of field time I put in while I was learning. When I started playing, I didn't have a car or live near a course. So Chad and I would go to the closest field and just throw a stack of discs until we couldn't throw any more. The simplest thing I could suggest to improve distance is first, learn the proper way to throw a disc flat and straight. Next go out to a field and throw discs as hard as you can and don't worry about where they land. This will help build up disc golf strength. |
| QCDG.com: In 2008 you had the opportunity to play at both the Pro and Amateur levels. For a player considering taking that step up to Pro what, besides the talent level, do you see as the biggest difference between the two levels? |
| Mike: Consistency in the upshots would be the biggest thing I saw. Playing Am I would see so many players mess up a wide open 150' upshot, myself included. It doesn't happen nearly as often in the open division. |
| QCDG.com: If you were to compare yourself and your style of play to any of the top touring pro’s today, who would you say you are most comparable to and why? |
| Mike: It would probably be Avery Jenkins. We both have similar power off the tee, forehand and backhand. We are both pretty aggressive off the tee. Where he excels head and shoulders above me is his short game. |
| QCDG.com: You have been playing in PDGA sanctioned tournaments since 2004 so you have many choices, but what would you consider your greatest disc golf experience and why? |
| Mike: I would have to say 2004 Am Worlds in Des Moines would be my greatest disc golf experience. It was my first major tournament I've been to and played in. I got to play some great courses and play with guys from all over the country. Getting to see some of the guys I only saw on DVD's in person, was a real treat also. |
| QCDG.com: What do you consider the area of your game that you’d like to improve the most and what steps do you feel would help you accomplish that? |
| Mike: If you ask anyone who has played with me, they'll say my putting. They would be right. There's another part of my game I feel is pretty weak also, it would be my approach shots from about 120' and in. The ones that are just far enough out of range that I can't putt it. To improve on those areas I need to do two things. First, I have to figure out if I'm doing something mechanically wrong. Then I would just need to put in the quality practice time of approaching and putting. |
| QCDG.com: You’ve had success in the sport of disc golf with some big wins and many top finishes. Looking at where you stand now in your progress, what are your short and long term goals in the sport? If one of your goals is to compete toe to toe with the top pro’s on a regular basis, do you feel you’re at that point now or what do you see as your greatest challenge to accomplish that? |
| Mike: Well my goals for 2009 would be try to cash in every tournament, play well at Worlds and qualify for USDGC. Long term would be to win those major tournaments. I feel I'm real close to competing on a weekly basis. I just have to get my short game in order and I think I'll be at that level. |
| QCDG.com: To be successful on the course a player needs to have not only physical talent but be able to stand up under pressure as well. After a bad shot or round what do you do to help refocus yourself on the task at hand and is there a specific time where that really paid off for you? |
| Mike: I usually just forget about my previous shot/hole...for the most part. I might still be negative or hard on myself afterwards, but I'm not a subscriber of "positive thinking makes you play better". An example of having a bad hole and finishing out strong happened for the first time a couple months ago at the Revenge of The Monkey in Emporia, KS. During the second round, I was playing OK and took a stupid double bogey on a hole. I got a little ticked because I thought I just played myself out of cash and I was pretty down on myself. I then proceeded to birdie 5 of my last 6 holes. I still missed cash by one, but I was happy with how I finished the tournament. |
| QCDG.com: When playing a round of golf, would you consider yourself an aggressive player or a more conservative player and how has that style of play benefited you? |
| Mike: I would consider myself a very aggressive player, off the tee and around the green. I think it helps me out a lot more than it hurts. I'm more accurate when I can throw a disc hard than when I'm trying to let off. I also would rather have my mistakes happen farther down the fairway than messing up the lay up. I've accumulated enough escape shots that being too aggressive doesn't hurt my score more than it helps. Around the green, if I think I can make it I'm gonna go for it. I would rather miss and have a roll away or go OB than to lay up and catch a bad roll and never give the disc a chance in the first place. It's hurt me a couple of times, but I've also made quite a few big ones like that to jump start a bad round. |
| QCDG.com: The sport of disc golf has been around for over twenty years but has really seen an explosion of interest in just the last few. In your opinion what do you feel that change has come from? |
Mike:I think the explosion has come from the amount of courses that are in the ground and that keep going into the ground. More and more people are seeing it in parks and are getting interested in it. |
| QCDG.com: If you were to meet a new player on the course today looking for advice on how to get started in the game of disc golf, what advice would you give that person? |
| Mike: Learn to throw slow under stable plastic. For the golfer looking to compete, learn how to putt. It'll make the game that much easier. |
Thanks so much to Mike for sharing his time with us at QuadCityDiscGolf.com! |
