5 ways disc golf can actually sharpen your vision
What's the story
Disc golf is a sport that blends the physical challenge of traditional golf with the enjoyable accessibility of Frisbee.
While it's known for its cardiovascular benefits and coordination improvement, disc golf also provides a hidden gem for enhancing vision accuracy.
This article delves into five unexpected benefits of tackling disc golf challenges that specifically hone your visual precision.
Moving targets
Sharpening focus on moving targets
Regular disc golf players constantly track fast-moving discs against complex backgrounds (think trees, clouds, etc.)
This "eye workout" trains your peepers to lock onto moving targets with speed and precision.
You'll eventually develop a hawk-like dynamic visual acuity - super useful for sports, but also for everyday stuff like not crashing your car!
Depth perception
Enhancing depth perception
In disc golf, you have to throw a disc at a target that's often hundreds of feet away.
You need to accurately judge that distance to throw well.
Over time, this practice improves your depth perception, helping you estimate distances more accurately in all areas of life, whether it's parking your car or catching a falling object.
Better depth perception means you can move and react with more precision.
Peripheral vision
Boosting peripheral vision awareness
A standard disc golf course is designed with the basket or target positioned amidst obstacles (think trees and bushes).
Players have to use their peripheral vision to avoid the obstacles while keeping their eyes on the prize.
By playing disc golf regularly, you can enhance your peripheral vision awareness, enabling you to more easily notice and respond to stimuli occurring outside your immediate field of view.
Eye-hand coordination
Improving eye-hand coordination
The act of successfully throwing a disc at a target requires complex coordination between your eyes and hands.
Your eyes need to judge distance and direction accurately, and then your hands have to throw the disc based on that judgment.
Playing disc golf trains this coordination, making you better not only at sports but also at activities that require fine motor control like typing or playing musical instruments.
Outdoor play
Reducing eye strain through outdoor play
In a world where screens have taken over our lives, outdoor activities like disc golf offer a welcome break for our eyes.
Natural light is good for your eyes, it reduces strain caused by staring at screens all day.
Plus, looking at far-off objects (read: frisbees) gives those eye muscles a workout. They don't get that when you're just looking at screens all day!