For Simon Lizotte, the off season has been filled with a little vacation, creating YouTube videos, and of course a little disc golf. As the start of the disc golf touring season creeps closer, Lizotte is nearly ready to tackle the top disc golf tournaments around the world.
For the first time in years, Lizotte took a non-disc golf vacation to Portugal and Spain. After throughly enjoying himself, he realized that he wasn’t physically ready for the disc golf season and had to get things in gear sooner rather than later.
“I went all out on that trip. I was eating big meals and gained about 10 pounds,” Lizotte says. “I was almost 200 pounds after that trip. I knew I needed to do something.”
As a challenge to himself, he posted on his Instagram account that if he didn’t get his weight down to the 170s by the Las Vegas Challenge, he’d donate $1,000 to a charity.
He went on a run to help get back in shape and started to eat healthier, but soon fell ill. That slowed things down, but he’s nearly back at full strength.
Lizotte says a change in diet has been key, “I’ve dropped about 15 pounds in a week. I’ve had a lot of people concerned with what I’ve been doing. I cut out beer, cut out sodas, and started to eat healthier. That’s it.”
He says he’s been bouncing around 184-186 pounds and still needs to drop a few to get into the 170s with less than two weeks before the Las Vegas event.
As for disc golf itself, Lizotte feels pretty good, “I played three rounds since the start of the year and every time I play, I’m vlogging. It’s a different style of play. In front of the camera it’s different than playing by yourself. Physically I feel pretty good. Every year I feel more mature mentally and more ready. I haven’t played too much, but I have two more weeks to work things out.”
As mentioned, Lizotte will begin his 2020 season at the Las Vegas Challenge which starts February 20. His schedule will mirror almost exactly what it was in 2019. He initially planned on playing the Idlewild Open on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, but is opting to remain in Europe between the European Open and European Championship.
For Lizotte, a successful 2020 season means two things. First is always finishing in the top 10.
“If I can finish a whole season, 100% in the top 10, that means consistent and successful,” Lizotte says. “If I can squeeze a few top-threes in there, that would be great. I’ve averaged one or two big wins a year, so winning another NT or my first Major would be great. Beyond that, defend my European Championship in August.”
Beyond disc golf, Lizotte has been putting more focus on his disc golf vlogs on his YouTube channel. He just passed 40,000 subscribers and he would love to see it reach 100,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
Lizotte says he plans on bringing his vlog camera on tour and will have some help from his brother Jason for a few weeks to bring things to a new level.
“He’ll be my personal camera man filming during rounds, going behind the scenes, and following me off the course. This gives me a chance to provide a super-inside look into what a disc golf round is like. It’s a true personal camera.”
Be sure to subscribe to Lizotte’s YouTube channel and follow him on Instagram as he heads out on the disc golf scene for 2020.