Push Putt Issues

[mark12b]

call me ignorant but I did a general search and couldn't find anything specific explaining wrist extension. what is it?

when it opens, or unbends.

[cornelius]

and why is that so crucial?

[mark12b]

with a push putt, wrist extension occurs when your hand moves from the front half of the disc to the back half of the disc. iow if 12:00 is the point on the disc closest to the target, and you're gripping somewhere between 12:00 and 3:00, then in order to have any "push" in your push putt, you have to get the hand into the 3:30 - 5:30 area at release. so you extend the wrist. for me the extension is pretty much automatic -- if i'm focusing on good finger spring and palm push, the wrist extension basically takes care of itself.

[MrScoopa]

I put with a straight arm push put. My accuracy went through the roof when I transitioned from the spin put. Before I was missing 15 footers most of the time. My initial problem with the push put was getting enough momentum on the disc to make anything over a 5 footer. My solution was as my arm was lifting to the release it was in hyzer orientation but the second before the hit I sprung my wrist to flat as to do a handshake. This motion snaps the disc out, and as I practice the distance increases.

Another way to describe it would be until the second before the hit my palm is facing down. At that very last second right before my back leg is at full extension and my hand is at the height I want I turn my palm to the left quickly. Until that point I am lax and just letting the legs do the work.

As I was training myself to do this I would just think. "Hyzer to flat". Once I got this going it shaved so many strokes off my game.

[Planeman93]

I put with a straight arm push put. My accuracy went through the roof when I transitioned from the spin put. Before I was missing 15 footers most of the time. My initial problem with the push put was getting enough momentum on the disc to make anything over a 5 footer. My solution was as my arm was lifting to the release it was in hyzer orientation but the second before the hit I sprung my wrist to flat as to do a handshake. This motion snaps the disc out, and as I practice the distance increases.

Another way to describe it would be until the second before the hit my palm is facing down. At that very last second right before my back leg is at full extension and my hand is at the height I want I turn my palm to the left quickly. Until that point I am lax and just letting the legs do the work.

As I was training myself to do this I would just think. "Hyzer to flat". Once I got this going it shaved so many strokes off my game.

Wow, thanks. That makes it a lot more simple for me to think about. For this putt I am at the point where most of the time I would be able to get the power, but on the ones I did it wrong I didn't know what was going wrong. Now with your help I realize I was doing that most of the time which was giving me the power. This is great because now I can get consistency by knowing what I have to do everytime.

[Planeman93]

I looked around quite a bit about what kind of hardness/putter is ideal for push putting but didn't find much of anything. Is something like a medium wizard perfect? Or should you be going even harder, like maybe a firm wizard...

Thanks for the help.

[Monocacy]

I looked around quite a bit about what kind of hardness/putter is ideal for push putting but didn't find much of anything. Is something like a medium wizard perfect? Or should you be going even harder, like maybe a firm wizard...

Stiff is more important than hard . . .

A soft Wizard is just fine for push putting, or even a stiff supersoft.

[jubuttib]

Yeah, it's mainly about the stiffness. Soft Wizards can be plenty stiff, but they also have good grip, very good for push putting.

[Planeman93]

By hardness I really meant stiffness. The stiffness area you guys are talking about seems to be simply whether or not the disc bends...but doesn't the flight plate have to be stiff also? I know I can feel my thumb flexing the flightplates on the soft wizards I have.

[jubuttib]

I can't since I place my thumb right over my index finger.

And it's Gateway, their Softs can vary from SSS to Med. Try to find some stiff Softs to try out.

[SirRaph]

Since I started this thread, I played a lot with the push putt. Then moved back to the spin putt in frustration. Now, after a lot (and I mean a lot) of home basket practice, I'm getting confident with a putt that looks a lot like Nikko Locastro's.

At its core, it's still a push putt. In fact, I'd say that if what you're looking for in a putt is to reduce the number of moving parts, Nikko's is the way to go. By having the full swing of the arm by straddling, you get a lot more power out of little effort. So I don't use any knee bend or spring at all. All I move is my shoulder and my wrist, and my back/core to some degree. So all that damned weight shift and wrist pop and blah blah blah is gone. It's also a little more natural for me to use for a jump putt. Lastly, it's relatively easily adapted into a spin putt for low-ceiling situations. Just toss it on a lower, faster arc.

Three quick tips for anyone who wants to give this thing a shot:
1) Release the disc well before you think you should. It should be released almost before it passes your knees. The elevation comes as the disc continues upwards after the release. Think of granny-ing a basketball, but forward instead of up.
2) The amount of hyzer angle that video shows this putt having is deceptive. I pop my wrist at the release, to bring it closer to flat. However, it'll still have some hyzer on it. But fear not, it'll go straight long into its arc. Dead-nuts straight. For longer putts and jumpers, pop it to completely flat.
3) There's a reason Nikko uses Magics for this putt. I've tried it with KC Aviars, Wizards, even a Voodoo, and it's just not the same. More stable/overstable putters fade much more quickly with this putt, and you end up having to account for the fade. Magics work great for it, Aviars aren't bad, you want something stiff and straight or even flippy. I also find that a domey putter makes it a little more difficult as well. Once you get a feel for this putt, it's more akin to tossing a ball than it is throwing a frisbee, so a flatter disc seems to mess with the arc less than a domey one does.

[xeroxed44]

I didn't notice anything about this question earlier in the post, excuse me if it was mentioned already..... I use a hybrid push putt/spin putt, if thats even possible to say. Its the same technique that Feldberg teaches in the putting clinic, but with a slight snap/wrist extension at release. I currently use a 164g Soft Wizard as my goto putting putter.

Now to the question, I'm having a lot of problems with nose down, as in I can't see the top of the flight plate at all. I get alot of bounces off of the front of the basket between 20-30 ft.

Whats my malfunction?

[cornelius]

i have been push putting for about a year and i also have had the nose down problem from outside of 25 ft. the problem is you are trying to muscle the disc to account for the distance and releasing later among other things. the solution is to just pretend you are putting from 15 ft and just stay loose throughout your putt.

[mark12b]

yeah, on longer putts what's helpful sometimes for me is to remember "trust the pop" -- iow release close to the body and let the "pop" action send the disc flying. reaching for the basket can cause aim problems and/or too much nose-down (since nose down comes from releasing toward the rear of the disc).

to control the nose angle on putts, work with your release point. closer to 12:00 will give nose up while closer to 6:00 will give nose down.

[xeroxed44]

yeah, on longer putts what's helpful sometimes for me is to remember "trust the pop" -- iow release close to the body and let the "pop" action send the disc flying. reaching for the basket can cause aim problems and/or too much nose-down (since nose down comes from releasing toward the rear of the disc).

to control the nose angle on putts, work with your release point. closer to 12:00 will give nose up while closer to 6:00 will give nose down.

If i'm following you correctly, release the disc with my hand closer to 12:00 vs 6:00?