Team Discraft: Sarah DeMar Disc Golf Bio

	NAME:	Sarah DeMar
	HOMETOWN:	Novi, MI
	PDGA #:	25166
	PDGA RATING:	903
	BORN:	1974
	STARTED IN DISC GOLF:	2002
	CONNECT:
	day gig:	Owner and Massage Therapist at Ivy Garden Massage
	All THAT GLITTERS:	2015 Women's Masters World Champion 2013 Michigan State Champion Undefeated in Mixed Doubles since 2009 MVP 2013 Virginia Team Invitational 1st woman ever to compete at US Am Nationals, 2004

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.

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.
Course	Comments
Hawk Hollow Spotsylvania, VA	Scenic and challenging course with a winding river, lots of elevation and cow poop.
Kensington Toboggan Milford, MI	Nothing tests your elevation throwing skills and climbing muscles like the mighty Toboggan.
Moraine State Park Portersville, PA	Offering tremendous shot variety, Moraine demands accuracy and a big drive.
Flip City Shelby, MI	The most charming disc golf course anywhere, Flip City is simply disc golf at its most fun.
Victory Park Albion, MI	While Victory Park may appear tame and manicured at first impression, it plays much trickier and scoring well can be surprisingly difficult there.

In The Disc Golf Bag: Drivers
Disc	Comments
ESP Crank (167)	The Crank came out only a few weeks before the 2013 Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open, a national tour PDGA event. I was immediately impressed during field work how much farther I could throw my 167 Crank than any of my other discs. It had great flight distance thrown on straight lines and I loved how much glide it got with anhyzers. I played most of the PGDO with my new Cranks and crushed a lot of the field with huge distance drives. If there was an SS Force, it would be similar to the Crank. It has a wide rim and low profile, great for fast spin.
Z NUKE (172)	Nukes have been my favorite go-to discs since they came out. Fast yet reliable, Z Nukes have slightly more stability than their ESP cousins and I like that I can put a bit more snap into my throw and its flight will be predictable."
Z Stalker (172)	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.
Z GLO Stalker (174)	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.
ESP NUKE (172)	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.
ESP Avenger SS (170 - 172)	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.
ESP Surge (170 - 174)	A completely reliable long-distance driver delivers a smooth, consistent flights every time.
FLX Surge (168 - 172)	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.
ESP Predator (160 gm)	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.
Z Avenger (172 gm)	While I really like Predators or Flicks for extremely boistrous headwinds, I use my Z Avenger for most standard headwind shots.
X Avenger (168 gm)	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.
D XL (172 gm)	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."
ESP ESP Stratus. (172 gm)	There's no way around it; your Stratus will anhyzer for you. With that in mind, its an outstanding beginner disc for nearly everyone. You can throw it at slow speeds and on a hyzer angle and it will still turn over and fade. If overpowered it will turn into a dramatic roller. I love using my Stratus for lofty, tight anhyzers."

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.
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.
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!

In The Disc Golf Bag: Putt and Approach
Disc	Comments
Soft Magnet (172 gm)	I made a significant change to my bag in 2013, replacing my putter with a Soft Magnet. With a little less stability than the Challenger, Magnets fly a little straighter which has helped my putt tremendously. I also find that they seem to resist rollaways better than other putters on steep greens. I love the feel of the D plastic and it seems to grab and cling to the chains very effectively.
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.
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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