# data[].attributes.body
It was during my junior year of high school that I went on a date that forever changed my life. On that date, I unexpectedly fell in love... with disc golf. Danyel, a girl from my gym class, saw how much I enjoyed ultimate firsbee and invited me to join her and some friends one weekend for a round of disc golf. At the time, I didn't even know disc golf existed or that my town actually had a pretty nice course. I had no idea what to expect, but I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to hang out with her so I agreed to go. I was nervous that I would be terrible and embarrass myself.
Fortunately for me,  positive transfer was on my side. Positive transfer is a beneficial effect of previous experience on learning or performing a new skill.  So, although I had never played disc golf, I had played regular golf and ultimate frisbee.
The identical elements theory says that because ultimate frisbee and disc golf share a large number of component parts during throwing,  it is expected that positive transfer would be more likely for this activity.
Similarly, the transfer appropriate processes theory explains that my time spent playing golf would also prove helpful because the two sports share similar cognitive processes. Many of the strategies, rules, and concepts are the same, which further facilitates positive transfer.

# data[].attributes.body
Golf

# data[].attributes.body
Ultimate Frisbee

# data[].attributes.body
Wide open

# data[].attributes.body
Although I benefited from positive transfer during the beginning of my  disc golf career, I still was not great. My throws were unpredictable and would often  end up hitting trees or flying off the course. I was unsure if this would ever be a sport I could really get the hang of.
When beginning any new kind of activity it can be difficult to predict future performance. This is accounted for by the remoteness effect which says that as the number of intervening trials increases, the correlation between any two trials decreases. Meaning that your first trials of an activity will be less similar to your final trials than your middle trials.
This  would have been encouraging to know at the time but I still persevered regardless. My throwing has gotten far more controlled and I even have gotten a few hole-in-ones over the years!

# data[].attributes.body
Thick Trees

# data[].attributes.body
Another component of the sport I would need to learn to master was how fast to throw the disc. A fast throw could cover more distance and possibly make it all the way to the basket. However, just because that can happen does not mean it always will. A fast throw is harder to control and often ends up flying off to the side or up into tree branches.
Fitts' law explains that when it comes to motor skills, as movement speed increases,  target accuracy decreases.
So, although a slower throw may not fly as far, it is a safer bet because it is easier to control where it lands. This is important if your are keeping score and want to use your first shot to set yourself up for a better approach or put.

(Accuracy)

# data[].attributes.body
Speed

# data[].attributes.body
If I wanted to get better at my new found hobby I would need to practice. But how? Should I just keep playing the same course? Or maybe visit a driving range?
According to the schema theory and variability of practice, learning of a new skill will be more effective if the experience is varied rather than constant.
If skill retention was my goal it would have been in my best interest to use contextual interference to vary my practices. One way I could have done this would be to play on different styles of courses. Some courses are wide open fields, free of trees, which is ideal for beginners. Other courses make their way through thick forest where the arrangement of the trees dictate what type of throw you have to use. My favorite type of course is the one like in my hometown where there are enough trees to provide shade and obstacles to work around but not so many that you can only throw one way.

(Light Trees)

# data[].attributes.body
Putting

# data[].attributes.body
Similar to regular golf, in disc golf, there is a set of generalized motor programs used to reach the target. In golf the general motor action is swinging a club while in disc golf the general motor action is throwing the frisbee. A generalized motor program represents a class of movements patterns rather than a specific movement pattern (swinging and throwing). This means that instead of having different motor program for every possible movement that you make, you have one generalized motor program for each movement and the GMP can be customized for each unique action. GMPs are customized by altering the timing, force, and muscles used during the movement. These changes result in actions that are similar but are used for different goals. In disc golf these are different actions are putting, approaching and driving. Each action requires fine tuning of force, timing and muscle selection. For example, driving requires high amounts of overall force when compared to putting, however, the movements still look very similar.

(Driving)