No matter the sport, the greatest athletes are always held to the highest of expectations. In disc golf, when a guy goes an entire calendar year without a SINGLE finish outside the top three and takes down a total of 19 events, though lofty, some of those expectations may be valid …
That was Paul McBeth’s 2015 season.
It’s no secret that, following some early-season success, by his out-of-this-world standards, McBeast has been underwhelming – and there’s no reason for it. Eagle McMahon’s injured. Ricky Wysocki’s knee puss is the stuff of Rob Zombie movies. Chris Dickerson even took a few weeks off. One would be remiss if McBeth’s performances weren’t scrutinized – and heavily.
Here’s where things get WEIRD, though …
The aspect of Paul’s game holding him back the most?
Putting.
The downward trend’s been gradual – we’re just now starting to notice. During the 2021 season, Mcbeth ranked 27th in C1X putts, hitting at an 83% clip. That’s quite the dropoff for a guy who ranked first in the same category in 2016 and 2017 with 87% and 88% respective accuracy.
And I know disc golfers change up their putts as their careers evolve …
For example, this is an ACTUAL thing – not a joke:
Nikko Locastro transitions between spin and push putting within the same round. Paul Ulibarri and Kona Panis used to hardcore anhyzer putt. Kevin Jones even flirts with a staggered stance when the wind picks up. Looking back at coverage from the 2021 season, Paul got in on the action, too. He toyed around with some drastic changes to his world-class putting form …
To date, it’s not worked.
The 2021 Idlewild Open
The first real change we saw in Mcbeth’s putt took place last year between the Ledgestone Open and Idlewild Open. The follow-through Paul’s putting swing uses didn’t change much. Like most touring pros, his putting arm swings quickly up towards the cage and releases the disc. If you’ve heard of “shaking hands with the basket,” that’s essentially what McBeth does – it’s clinical.
Paul’s standard, tried-and-true putt starts with the disc nearly covering his eyes. In stark contrast, at the 2021 Idlewild Open, the vast majority of his putts suddenly began near his midsection.
McBeth started with this:
And transitioned to this:
* Note #1: The above links direct to time-stamped footage – see the changes for yourself.
In addition to the lower starting point, McBeth also added a slight stutter to his pre-putt routine à la Gregg Barsby. The hesitation looks good on Gregg. On Paul, it comes off as more uncertainty.
The 2021 Music City Open
A month following the 2021 Idlewild Open, we saw yet ANOTHER change in Pauley’s form. At Idlewild, he began the final round with a lead, but went on to finish in 7th place – that might’ve played a role. Regardless, McBeth reverted back to a high starting point. This time, however, whether the line called for it or not, pre-putt, he went with an anhyzer angle on his Luna:
* Note #2: The above link directs to time-stamped footage of McBeth’s putt in Tennessee.
Strangely, though, he STILL released the disc on the same flat-to-hyzer angle …
The pre-putt “anhyzer fakeout” was purely for show or comfort or something else. McBeth went on to finish 8th in Nashville, but tallied only the 48th-best C1X (81%) putting percentage.
The 2022 DGPT Campaign
At the first Pro Tour stop of the 2022 season in Waco, Paul returned to what we’re used to seeing from him: He started high, eliminated the “putter stutter” and took down the entire MPO field. I can’t be for certain, but I imagine an entire off-season of work helped him get back on track.
So far this year, Paul ranks seventh (89%) in C1X putting – up from last year, thankfully. Still, it’s painfully obvious to anybody with eyes his confidence is lacking on the putting green. From event to event – even round to round – McBeth continues to tinker with his putting style …
That’s not a good sign.
Watching Paul McBeth putt in Portland was weird …
— Green Splatter (@GreenSplatter) June 8, 2022
It was incredible, but then it wasn’t – and it stayed there.
In a season where there’s CLEARLY more disparity within the MPO field than ever before, McBeth needs to figure things out – and fast. Calvin Heimburg, Simon Lizotte, Gannon Buhr and Kyle Klein: These guys don’t care how many World Titles McBeast has to his name …
They’re coming for him.
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A few years ago his 87% c1x lead the tour…. his present 89% is 7th? That’s NOT a Putting Confidence or a Performance Crisis… it tells you that this is all about the field, not Paul McBeth.
Now that’s a VERY good point, Eric …
My gut tells me we’ve got a bit of both worlds:
1) Paul struggling to elevate his game.
2) The field getting WAY better than it was a few years back.
Both things can be true, you know?
Still, great insight – thanks for reading, man!