Team Discraft: Sarah DeMar Disc Golf Bio

	NAME:	Sarah 'Peach' DeMar
	TEAM:	Womens
	HOMETOWN:	Novi, MI
	PDGA #:	25166
	2007 PDGA RATING:	911
	BORN:	1974
	STARTED IN DISC GOLF:	2002
	day gig:	Massage Therapist
	All THAT GLITTERS:	2007: played 43 sanctioned events, 9th in money-earned, 11th in Tour Points, 20 first-place finishes, 7th at Womens Nationals, 5th Marshall Street. 1st, 2006 Sneeky Pete 1st, 2006 Virginia Beach Bash 1st, 2006 Newport News 1st, 2006 Virginia Beach Bash 1st, 2006 Lumberjack Open 1st women ever to compete at US Am Nationals, 2004 2006 Tour Stats: finished 9th in Money Leaders, 12th in Tour Points and 4th in Number of Events played

MEMORABLE DISC GOLF MOMENT

I love the 2-minute warning. When I think of disc golf, I think of how it feels to wait out the 2-minute warning, when my nerves give a slight tremble to my hands and I have to remember to breathe. I check my shoe laces, take a sip of water, shake my shoulders out and pace around the tee pad visualizing the beautiful S-trajectory my SS Avenger will have through the trees. All the girls slap hands and wish each other good luck and good putting. Then the horn blows again and cool, calm clarity washes over me as I towel off my disc.

Sarah's Disc Golf Tips

Get Away From Your Home Course
It's a good idea to play and practice away from your home course(s). New courses improve a player's versatility by increasing their ability to see lines, develop spontaneous throwing strategies and gauge distances more accurately. When you stick to the same courses round after round, your golf tends to get lazy and predictable. You might even take the sport for granted or grow tired of it. Traveling to new courses allows you to experience different designs and meet new people. Check out the favorite courses of other Discraft team members and make it a point to visit at least one of them during the year.

Maximize the Power of Your Body
For overall improvement of your game, try getting massage therapy and chiropractic care. Coordination and power comes from how quickly and easily messages from your brain reach the appropriate muscles. If you have dysfunctional, tight or weak muscle tissue, massage therapy can make muscles more responsive, flexible and thereby more powerful. Similarly, if your bones are not aligned correctly, the signals from your brain weaken as they travel into your body and malfunctioning joints limit mobility. Chiropractic care can restore healthy nerve passageways and joint structures. Stretch every day, figure out your tight spots, know that they are affecting your game, and do something about it. Also, develop mantras for your mental game. Repeat your mantra over and over in your head to empty your mind and focus your attention so your disc will do what you want.

The Perfect Pre-Tournament Breakfast
Bring a cooler. The night before the tourney pack the cooler with chopped fruit (strawberries, blueberries, banana, pomegranate seeds, etc) and chopped veggies (onions, mushrooms, green and red pepper, asparagus, broccoli). Also bring 2 eggs, cinnamon, honey, dry cereal, pecans, milk, butter, cheese, salsa, salt and pepper. An hour before the tourney, use a propane-fueled camp stove to melt butter and add veggies to a pan on low heat. While veggies cook, assemble cereal with nuts and fruit, including honey and cinnamon. Add eggs, scramble into veggie mixture, add cheese and salsa. Generously sprinkle with hot sauce. Give your body outstanding fuel and you'll have lots of energy for an outstanding round. (I really do this before every tournament, I swear!)

Dealing with a Sore Muscle or Suspected Tendonitis
Disc golfers experience a lot of repetitive movement strains and injuries, whether its the torso rotation of the drive, the arm lift of the putt or even your routine before the shot (think of Bennett doing The Lawnmower!) When a muscle is overworked or pushed beyond it's comfortable range of motion, tiny tears in the muscle tissue can occur and lead to trigger points and the build-up of scar tissue, which is the same as stabilizing tissue. Scar tissue attempts to restrain movement so that no further damage occurs, but unfortunately the brain only knows that it feels pain during some movements. If you feel pain, you need to address it, ask it what it needs to help the muscle, and do it. If your throwing arm's rotator cuff is sore or sends stabs of pain down your arm, nob it with a Backnobber II or get a massage. If your shoulder joint hurts when you putt, use your fingertips to explore your pecs for sore spots and rub them out. The bottom line is PLEASE do not take an aspirin before every round and do nothing for sore muscles. Self-massage, ice, stretch and warm up properly. Take care of your muscular system and your golf game will take care of itself.

COURSES YOU SHOULD PLAY:		Let's help bring more women into the sport. Compared to men, Amateur Women are far less likely and take longer to become a Pro Women. With so few women playing, the 900+ rated women cash often, while the mid-level women (850 - 899) battle it out for small cashes. If disc golf could increase the number of newer pro women, it would fatten the field and allow for deeper payouts. So how can we get more women into disc golf? You have to find a woman who is competitive and likes to throw things. Targeting high school softball players, tennis players, ball golfers and even basketball players is a good start. If you have a sister or know the coach of a team, introduce them to the sport and take them out for a round. Many women abandon team sports once reaching college and disc golf would be an excellent individual sport to fill the void.
Course	Comments
Leviathan Ludington, MI	Brand-new course bullies golfers with blind shots and huge bombs.
Tyler State Park Newtown, PA	Get your gap-hitting game on for this 27-hole enchanted forest.
Red Hawk Crystal River, FL	Throw your stable plastic hard and low to keep it under control so the gators and OB don't getcha.
The Grange Spotsylvania, VA	Including the Tiki Course lit by Christmas lights so you can play at night.
Flip City Shelby, MI	A landscape so harmonious with disc golf, it's hard to imagine anything else there.

In The Disc Golf Bag: Drivers
Disc	Comments
ESP Surge (170 - 174)	These are great for throwing hard and low because they pan out just enough to get great distance while I never have to worry about flipping it over. If I need control, distance and a nice hyzer skip at the end, I'll throw the ESP Surge.
ESP Avenger SS (170 - 172)	I can get incredible distance with the SS Avenger by throwing it with plenty of snap and hyzer to create a beautiful S-flight. It is understable even brand-new and the ESP plastic is slower to beat up. These discs last a long time and provide long turnovers when they beat up.
FLX Surge (168 - 172)	When temperatures plummet and the snow falls, my FLX Surge comes out. They come in nearly-neon colors so they are easy to find in the snow and the FLX plastic stays flexible and finger-friendly in frigid conditions. It flies the same as my summer Surge, but I'll throw a few grams lighter to make up for icy run-ups and less power.
ESP Predator (160 gm)	This disc only gets into my bag if I'm playing a course with incredible headwinds or elevation changes. When you throw down a hill into a headwind, you need to have a disc you can trust no matter what. An ESP Predator will never, ever flip over in any wind, no matter how much you botch the angle of your wrist. When predictable results are necessary, use a Predator to keep stability in any wind. If winds are not as intense, then a Z-Flick does the trick.
Z Avenger (172 gm)	This is a very fun disc to throw, similar to the ESP Surge. You'll get long hyzers out of the Z Avenger, but some winds you'll get a longer flight because the disc will pan out slightly more. Let this disc rip in wide open shots when you can play with angles and glide.
X Avenger (168 gm)	Used and abused. I can give this disc 45 degrees of hyzer and it will still begin to flip 50 feet from leaving my hand. It doesn't stop flipping and almost never hyzers out at the end. Used for big turnovers around clumps of trees.
D XL (172 gm)	Gets flippier every day. A great tailwind disc, it's also a favorite tight woods disc. My mantra: "I'm a gap hitter. I hit gaps. That's what I do."
Z XL (171 - 172)	I carry two. The yellow one delivers a gentle anhyzer fade that lasts and lasts before coming out of it, even when I put some power into it. The Messiah himself (Roxboro, NC) gave this disc to me and it perfectly rounds out my XL artillery. My orange one is the most stable of the XL bunch. Holds its line at slower speeds than the Surge, I'll use it when there's a slight headwind or crosswind. Good, balanced feel to the plastic.

In The Disc Golf Bag: Midrange
Disc	Comments
ESP Buzzz (174 gm)	You can really give a Buzzz some oomph: throw it hard and it will travel straight and true. Everyone I know loves the Buzzz since it is so easy to control and has a predictable flight.
ESP Comet (174 gm)	The ESP Comet is ultra-dependable for high turnovers and gentle anhyzers ranging from 120 - 240 feet. The higher my anhyzer, the less likely my Comet will hyzer at the end, but if I give it a low line drive, it will flip nicely for a while before ending on a gradual hyzer.
Z Glide (172 gm)	Probably my most trusted disc in sticky situations. Put hyzer on my Glide, it goes straight. Throw it straight and get a gentle anhyzer. Give it anhyzer and it won't ever come out. Very sensitive to speed of spin, but easy to get used to. I'm surprised I don't see it in more bags - I think it is a very unknown and underused disc. Try a Glide, really!

In The Disc Golf Bag: Putt and Approach
Disc	Comments
CryZtal Challenger (174 gm)	The CryZtal version is stable and predictable. It's a limited edition that you can find at tournaments or on EBay. I use it for most upshots from 140 to 60. Even when I put a little oomph into it, it won't flip on me. CryZtal plastic is awesome for never beating up, but leave it in your car when it rains.
D Challenger (172 gm)	Stiff and grippy. The mantra I use for my putter is "Keep it flat." If I do that and give it enough height, it's bangin' chains every time.

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