September 2, 2022 by Kingsley Flett in Analysis with comments

Former US Navy Seal Jocko Willinick has found an audience in the world of motivational podcasts and literature with his own brand of hard-bitten stoicism. His advice for dealing with whatever fate lays in front of you? Start with the word ‘good’, e.g., “missed our rendezvous with the chopper? Good. Now we get to walk.”

I was reminded of this today when I saw Paul McBeth’s grim smile during his post-round interview after round-three at Jones Park in the PDGA Pro World Championships. Terry Miller had asked him about his leg. It was Disc Golf Network commentator Nate Doss who first noticed the limp though. “Now I’m not saying anything,” said Doss, looking to reassure the audience that his expertise lay more in disc golf and brewing beer than sports medicine. “But I can see that Paul is favoring that left leg.”

“I had a cramp yesterday about hole 17 and it hasn’t left my calf,’ McBeth said after the round. “I’ve been trying everything but it’s still there so I’m just trying to get off it as quick as possible but keep it moving and keep it loose. I’m getting no push off my back leg so I’m going to straddle putt from here on out. I’ll see if I can loosen it up and get some push but, if not, I’ll have to use both legs.” When Terry Miller suggested that the issue might be more serious and asked if he’d sought any professional help, McBeth said, “I’m just trying to work on it like it’s a cramp and then after the tournaments done, we’ll see.”

Muscle strain in the left leg? Good. Now I get to push off on my right.

Facing an uphill putt from the edge of circle-two on hole 18, to share the lead with Aaron Gossage, McBeth drained the shot of the day and gave a little fist pump as he hobbled to the basket. “I felt like I’ve had a chance to make a putt on that hole for quite a while,” he said. “I felt like I could put my right leg back and launch it up there. As soon as I let it go, I knew it was in.”

The camera switched to Gossage’s face after the putt. All the co-leader could do was smile and mouth ‘wow’. So far Gossage has looked like he belonged walking the fairways as leader of the World Championships. If he’s having any ‘pinch me’ moments, he’s keeping them to himself and looks assured and in command. After sailing his first drive over the…