Overcoming Analysis Paralysis in Disc Golf

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Analysis Paralysis

Per Wikipedia: "Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become "paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of action is decided upon within a natural time frame. A situation may be deemed too complicated and a decision is never made, or made much too late, due to anxiety that a potentially larger problem may arise. A person may desire a perfect solution, but may fear making a decision that could result in error, while on the way to a better solution. Equally, a person may hold that a superior solution is a short step away, and stall in its endless pursuit, with no concept of diminishing returns."

Golf is a mental game, and for disc golfers, it is no different. Analysis paralysis / overthinking is the bane of our existence. I am a strong believer that if you can make disc golf as "simple" as possible, your game WILL improve. But how exactly do we go about making things more simple? Well, let's begin by...

Leveling Up (For Beginners - Building a Basic 6 Disc Bag)



Brian's explanation of 6 "slots" is spot on for creating a beginner bag that teaches you how to manipulate the flight of your discs. A quick summary of his recommendation is that you should bag:
  • A neutral putter
  • An overstable approach disc
  • A workable mid-range
    • Something slightly understable
  • A workhorse mid-range
    • Something neutral flying
  • A straight fairway driver
  • An overstable fairway or distance driver
    • Wind fighter and forehand disc
It's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to have a certain "stability" for each slot in a bag, but there's something to be said about having a relatively "neutral" disc in each of those slots that you learn how to manipulate the flight of rather than relying on the disc to "do the work". This is a good starting point, and then as you continue to advance, you may want to...

Try Taking the Advice of the #1 Rated Disc Golf Player in the World (For Advanced Players)

Gannon Buhr (#1 Rated as of the 2025 Season)

  • https://www.pdga.com/player/75412
  • https://www.instagram.com/gannon_buhr/?hl=en

Gannon Buhr's claim in this video is that you are bagging too many discs and goes on to explain why. After watching, I tend to agree with him. To summarize his recommendation, it goes as follows:

  1. General Advice
    1. Have no overlap with your discs
    2. Every disc needs to have a different job
    3. Give each disc a "distance"
    4. It's okay to have a total of 2-3 utility discs at different speeds
      1. Very US
      2. Very OS
    5. As you go higher in disc speed, there will be more variance in flight pattern so more discs will be required
  2. Bag 2 putting putters
    1. During a round, only putt with 1 of the 2
  3. Bag 3 throwing putters
    1. Neutral forehand approach
    2. Slightly Understable
    3. Slightly Overstable
  4. Bag 1 (2-max) Overstable Approach discs
    1. Something that is consistently overstable
  5. Bag 2 Mid Ranges with the same stabilities as the putters
    1. Slightly Understable
    2. Slightly Overstable
  6. Bag 5 Fairway drivers
    1. Understable (roller)
    2. Slightly Understable
    3. Neutral
    4. Slightly Overstable
    5. Overstable (utility)
  7. Bag 5 Distance Drivers
    1. Understable (roller)
    2. Slightly Understable
    3. Neutral
    4. Slightly Overstable
    5. Overstable (utility)
With his advice in mind, you should be able to cover every "conceivable" shot in disc golf by manipulating the speed and release for each disc in each category. Considering just how good Gannon is at the game, I'm inclined to believe him. His method helps reduce the opportunity for analysis paralysis to occur but it requires you to have a good understanding of your disc golf abilities and of the discs in your bag.

Hopefully you find these two resources as helpful as I did!

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