Anhyzer Disc Golf Blog Disc Golf News & Updates
The eye test is clear. Calvin Heimburg has the talent and mental game to win a PDGA Major. Twitter agrees.
So can he pull off his first major win in 2022? I think so but here is what it’s gonna take to do it.
Driving Accuracy
Wait, what? Myself and old podcast co-host Darrell Morris, aka D$ looked back at the last 5 seasons for Heimburg and more specifically how he finished at Majors. Here is what we found.
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Worlds | 12th | 16th | 16th | NA | 11th |
| USDGC | NA | 41st | 28th | 2nd | 45th |
Utilizing UDisc (unavailable for 2017) we were able to see where Calvin did well and struggled during these Majors. His best finish since 2017 at any Major was his 2nd place finish at the 2020 USDGC (it was heartbreaking on Hole 17). Let’s take a look at the stats and see where Calvin can improve.
Driving accuracy for Calvin is uber important as this leads to better performances in Parked Percentage, C1 in Regulation and Birdie Percentage. This is obvious and really applies to every player, we know. But for Vinny, it’s particularly important. When Calvin struggles off the box, he is not a good scrambler. Of the Majors analyzed, for Fairway Hit %, Calvin finished 53rd (19′ USDGC), 57th (18′ Worlds), 65th (21′ USDGC) and 101st (18′ USDGC). At these same Majors, Calvin finished 46th, 24th, 80th, and 42nd in Scramble percentage. If Calvin finds the rough at these Major courses, he is likely to struggle.
Likewise, C1X putting is important too. As seen at the 2022 Las Vegas Challenge, C1X putting is costing Calvin strokes and wins. His 2nd place finish at the 2020 USDGC may have been quite different if he wasn’t 53rd in C1X putting. For the 2020 USDGC Calvin led the field in Circle 2 putting and was 11th in Fairway hits, 3rd in Parked %, 8th in C1 & C2 in Regulation and 8th in Birdie %. It was not enough to secure the win and he was in the hunt until a brutal Hole 17.
Calvin’s worst finishes were at the 2018 USDGC (41st) and the 2021 USDGC (45th). At both of these Majors, Calvin struggled in Fairway Hits (101st and 65th), C2 in Regulation (73rd and 41st), Scramble % (42nd and 80th) and C1X Putting (41st and 40th).
For Calvin Heimburg, getting off the box is key. It will lead to increased confidence, less scrambling risks and more opportunities to score.
Winning a PDGA Major takes a consistent top 10 statistical performance and Calvin Heimburg is very capable of that, he just needs to get that driver on the fairway.
