• Ask the Champ Vol. 1
  
• Vol 2
  
• Vol 3

Ken, You blew me away when I saw you once roll uphill 425 feet. What are your tips on laying down a good roller and what disc do you use?
-Chris Hill, Doylestown, PA

I generally roll a Stingray. There are two different ways to get an effective roller. One is using a really beat up disc and releasing it flat with a flat follow through, but throwing hard enough to make it turn and roll. With this type of shot the disc gels and flows into the ground nice and smooth.
The other type of roller is a total anhyzer release, getting it out there before it hits on the same angle of release. Here you want to choose a more stable disc so it doesn't turn in flight as much. And you want to follow through on the same angle. I've found there's hardly any need for the long flat air flight roller any more. There just aren't that many holes that require this type of shot unless you have a low ceiling. With either style remember that spin is your friend. If you have plenty of spin and the right angle, your rollers will be working for you.

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What do you do outside of disc golf to keep in shape?
-Dan Robertson, Ann Arbor, MI

I don't have set routines per se - I exercise when I feel it's necessary, and a lot of times it's doing something fun, like mountain biking or freestyling on the beach - let me tell you that can get tiring. I really don't do weights any more. You don't want bulk, you want the long muscles for disc golf. But I will do isometric stuff like pushups. I have some Chinese therapy balls to work my forearms and finger muscles. And I use the Equalizer. Finally, stretching is very important. You need to be limber to play at your best.

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Ken, your disc lands 75-100 feet from the basket. Would it make a difference if you were an amateur or a pro if you would go for it or not?
-Ken Scdoris, Lincoln, NE

From this range there isn't a person in the world, am or pro, that could hit more than 2-3 percent of these shots. And there probably isn't a person in the world that throws at the basket trying to hit from that range and doesn't take a bogey more than 25% of the time. So my thought here is lay up. Unless it's the last hole and you need it - then it doesn't matter. I'm a very conservative golfer.

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Ken, you know how you step up to a putt and have the feeling it's going in and it does? Then there's the terrible counterpart where you step up to the putt and know you're going to miss and you do miss. I virtually miss 100% when this situation arises, Any advice?
-Jim Palmeri, Rochester, NY

Any negative thought is going to result in a negative shot. If you're having a negative thought while you are standing at your mini just step away. C.R. Willey does this often, Something distracts him or something isn't just right and he will step away, turn around, and approach the lie brand new. Another thing is to focus on a link or the pole to get your thoughts tighter on the object rather than the outcome.