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NAME: |
Sarah DeMar |
| HOMETOWN: |
Novi, MI |
| PDGA #: |
25166 |
| 2012 PDGA RATING: |
892 |
| 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 Pete1st, 2006 Virginia Beach Bash1st, 2006 Newport News1st, 2006 Virginia Beach Bash1st, 2006 Lumberjack Open1st women ever to compete at US Am Nationals, 2004 |
| MEMORABLE DISC GOLF MOMENT |
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I think my most memorable moments in disc golf have occurred between the tee-pads of holes 1 and 10 on top of the hill at Hawk Hollow in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Each year during the Virginia Team Invitations, players compete in match-play for overall team victories. During the Finals, teams cheer from the top of the hill as players indicate victory with pumping fists or defeat with heads hanging. My most memorable moments have been the ones where I climbed that huge hill grinning that my point could help TTeam UniTTy to another VTI win.
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| 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.
Eye Eye, Matey
How to figure out which eye is your aiming eye: With both eyes open point your finger at a target 50 - 100 feet away. Close one eye, then the other and determine which eye makes your target 'jump' farther. This is not your dominant aiming eye. Your dominant eye is the one which is open when your finger remains pointing straight to the target. You will also know by thinking about which eye you would to look through a target scope. Once you know your dominant aiming eye, you may want to adjust how you focus on your putting.
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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.
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| Course |
Comments |
Black Falls
Montgomery, VT |
Old-growth forest and rocky elevation with double tee-pads and double baskets, allowing for a 72-hole layout. |
Taylor Ranch
Pawhuska, OK |
Two beautiful courses harboring long, difficult holes. Clever use of water. |
Deer Lakes
Portersville, PA |
With a memorable 800+ corridor shot, this new course should be a great addition to the 2010 PFDO. |
North Calais
Calais, VT |
Stunning land, immaculate grooming and a demanding design in remote Vermont will blow your mind. |
Independence Lake
Whitmore Lake, MI |
Independence Lake offers a charming duo for a full day of golf with woodsy Chuck D and the fun, winter-only Picnic course. |
| In The Disc Golf Bag: Drivers |
| Disc |
Comments |
Z Stalker
(172)
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Like a Buzzz that goes farther, the Stalker is a great, straight-flying disc. Replacing my old favorite, the XL, the Stalker has a longer flight and is less sensitive to being turned over now that my snap is stronger.
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Z GLO Stalker
(174)
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Until the long days of summer return, I always keep a GLO Stalker in my bag for early sunsets. A simple keychain black light connected to my bag makes it easy to recharge my Stalker when you don't want to lose a disc in dim light.
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ESP NUKE
(172)
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The shockingly wide rim might make you think it's a super overstable disc, but in truth the NUKE is very controllable and provides lovely S-curves. I particularly like it for throwing forehand because the wide rim allows for great control.
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ESP Surge
(170 - 174)
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A completely reliable long-distance driver delivers a smooth, consistent flights every time.
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ESP Avenger SS
(170 - 172)
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This is such a wonderful turnover disc. When you throw it hard and low with a lot of hyzer, my SS Avenger can achieve huge distances maximizing its S-flight.
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FLX Surge
(168 - 172)
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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.
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ESP Predator
(160 gm)
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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.
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Z Avenger
(172 gm)
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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.
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X Avenger
(168 gm)
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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.
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D XL
(172 gm)
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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."
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Z XL
(171 - 172)
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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.
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| 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 knows that already and everyone I know loves the Buzzz since it is so easy to control and has a predictable flight.
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ESP Comet
(174 gm) |
My other favorite turnover disc for distances under 260. Thrown correctly, a Comet will never disappoint by fading gently right under the moment it lands on the ground.
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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!
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| 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.
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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. Challengers have a great grip and fly with great spin.
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D Ringer
(174 gm) |
Not quite as stable as the Zone, the Ringer is nice for hyzer upshots. I also like lofting it over bushes when I know I need to give the loft a lot of anhyzer but still want the disc to finish back to the left.
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