How many putters is too many for a tourney practice basket?

I have no idea what the Pro Tour is like.

That’s a scene I simply can’t speak to – and never will.

But I know what it’s like to compete as an amateur disc golfer. Before each round, most everybody swings by the practice basket for a bit. This is common for many in the field.

Because if you’re going to shoot well when it counts, your putter needs to be on. You don’t want to have to dial it down during your round, if at all possible – before is better. The practice basket is great for this. Personally, every time I’ve taken to the practice basket before the start of a tournament round, I bring with me the three KC Pro Aviars I carry out on the course:

• One is my go-to, slightly seasoned putter.
• One is my beat-to-smithereens putter.
• One is my fresh-off-the-shelf putter.

The first is for 95% of my putts – she’s my ride-or-die. The second is for long putts that require a bit more glide on ‘em to get there. And the third is for short drives and backhand approaches.

It doesn’t matter, though …

At the practice basket, I putt with all three.

Most people do something similar. It’s an unspoken rule. With one, two or three putters in-hand, it’s a ring of fire-type situation – see below. Make your way through your short-stack. Wait for everyone to finish. Then, so as not to get hit, everyone retrieves their putters at the same time.

Rinse and repeat.

However, problems arise when some rando shows up with literally six, seven or eight-plus putters wedged under his armpit and insists on working slowly and methodically through his putting routine for each and every one – it’s awkward. By the time everyone else is ready to retrieve their putters, he’s practice-putting with a gallery of annoyed and impatient people.

Not cool, man.

If this is you, chop your practice-putter lineup down to three frisbees – maybe four, assuming you can work through ‘em quickly. And if that’s out of the question, I recommend picking up a DISCatcher Traveler basket. Toss it in your car before heading to the course and set it up somewhere somewhat empty. From there, rocket-fire as many putters as you like …

Nobody will care.

No harm. No foul.

But if it’s the public, tournament-installed practice basket your pre-event OCD can’t live without, please, for the sake of every competitor’s sanity, keep the bullets in your chamber to a minimum.

Pace of putting: It’s a thing.

Don’t disrupt it.

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Editor’s Suggestions:

• More public disc golf courses need practice baskets
• Disc golf: Ignore most anything under a 10 mph wind
• Disc golf: Why you should start flicking understable discs

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