I never thought about this topic before I was reading some posts on Dgcoursereview the other day and some disc golfers were talking about mulligans. It seems to be fairly common that players use mulligans. Some of the players said they can use 1 mulligan every 9 holes and others 1 mulligan every round. Using a mulligan can completely change the outcome of a game and also give you results that are not real.
The fact that they do this doesn’t bother me in the sense that I care as far as their game, as long as they all agree, that’s up to them. I feel that it hurts their game and it doesn’t help them become better at getting out of trouble spots and making them better disc golfers.
Most of the bad holes that you have in a round of disc golf are going to start with a drive that goes into a hazard or into the woods, bad shots that will take extra strokes to get to the basket. Learning how to get out of trouble spots and out of difficult situations will make you a better disc golfer in the long run and will help your overall game. Making shots from tough places is a part of the learning process for playing disc golf, and it’s also cheating yourself and the other people you play disc golf with. This is why you can’t take a mulligan in a tournament.
The guys that I disc golf with have never even talked about mulligans. We all make bad shots that we wish we could do over, but we try to deal with the situation the best that we can. The course we play the most is a 27-hole course, if we were to be allowed 3 mulligans over the course of a round, it would definitely be a game changer in the outcome and scoring. We play just for fun but we are all competitive and it just seems that it would not be fair to have that option. What if 1 or 2 guys don’t need to use a mulligan? They get penalized for playing better, and there is no way to make it up at the end, is the mulligan worth 1, 2, 3 or more strokes per time, there is no way to know.
I’m interested in what other disc golfers feel about this issue. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think. Also check out Disc golf news for everything disc golf every day.
Getting out of trouble
Comments
I personally have no problem with mulligans as long as everyone agrees on a limit. I think they can actually help. If you are in a tough spot and make a bad throw it may give you the ability to try another shot from that position and possibly correct the mistake you made on the first throw, and in essence learn from your mistake.
Very good, very well written
No mulligans. Not in golf, not in disc golf, not in life :-) It completely changes your thought process about the game. There is no high risk, high reward debate to have with yourself if you know you have a mulligan in your pocket.
Having a mulligan adds a new element to the game. you still have to get out of trouble over the 18 holes, but it makes you decide weather to use it on a drive you *might be able to do better.
I like mulligans in casual rounds. I use one per round. And I like the buy your mulligan option in minis.
I do think your game is your game in a big tourny, every throw counts. no muligans.
Great article.
I like mulligans once in a while. It is only in friendly social rounds.
But if you can't understand why to play with them I would bet you haven't played any worst shot doubles or safari or any other variations of the game. You don't have to play by PDGA rules every round.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!