By all accounts, the disc golf season is over except for a few local events here and there during the winter months. As you take time to unwind and rest for a bit, it’s an ideal time to reflect on the past year. Sure, it’s fun to recall the great moments you had with your friends on tour, but identifying areas of opportunity and improvement can sometimes be difficult. In today’s blog, let’s review some things to think about when it comes to your 2019 season and how you can make it your best year yet!

A Dirty Word

Many don’t like to talk about it, but you can’t reflect on your tour properly without addressing the financial aspect of things. “Money” may be a dirty word, but it’s a huge consideration for your next year out on the road. Whether you kept careful track of your finances or you flew by the seat of your pants, the balance in your bank account right now will give you some indication of how this area of your tour was managed.

If you ended up pretty comfortable throughout the year, congratulations! Careful planning and sticking to a budget can pay off, so if you already have a handle on this part of the tour, simply keep up the good work. Yet if you found you ate cheap food and slept on people’s couches more often than you wished, it may be an area for you to reflect on during the off-season.

Many touring players get a seasonal job to build up their cash reserves before hitting the road again, and if cutting back on expenses is a challenge, starting off with more money can help to remedy the situation.

Exploring Logistics

Deciding where to actually go on your tour can be one of the more challenging portions of planning, so make sure to dedicate a good amount of brain power here during the winter time. Look at all of the events you played during 2018 and ask yourself if they were “must visits” each year, or if you can afford to skip some.

While the various professional tours do a great job of keeping events in a systematic type of flow, sometimes you can still find yourself wasting too much time in the car as you criss-cross the nation. Try changing things up a bit for 2019 and play a few new events to see what they’re like.

Getting Your R&R

The last thing you need to be doing is stressing out about 2019 already, so while it’s important to think about what you can do differently for next year, make sure to take some time for yourself. For many players, the off-season is the first real chance they get to see friends and family for an extended period, so make sure to spend time with those you love.

Whether you’re about to start a rigorous training regiment for the next few months or simply want to keep your discs in the closet, take a bit of time to evaluate what went well this year, what went wrong, and how you can make 2019 the best year on tour yet.