Hello, and thanks

[Torg]

First post.

I've been playing disc golf for about 15 years or so. In that time I always used a 2 finger throwing technique and many people commented on how far I threw. In those years I found maybe 3 people that consistently threw farther than I do., and those people not by much. I typically play at Acorn Park in Roseville Minnesota. This made me curious.

I was at a farm and marked off a field in 100 yard increments. I started throwing. The surprising results were that I rarely threw over 300 feet. If I did throw farther than that it was the skip that sent it past that mark. Interestingly I could throw putters about 250 feet. Remember now what I said about the number of people that threw farther than me and how long I have played. This again made me curious. What could I do to improve my throws.

I read Blakes articles and tried different grips. I settled in on the 3 finger power grip, mainly because I have Meatly hands and fingers and 4 fingers just didn't fit well under the rim. Then I started practicing. After I learned the grip somewhat I tried to concentrate on my delivery. I have always used an x step so I didn't have to change that. The main thing I had to change was the cant of the disc as I delivered. Things were feeling smooth so I decided to hit a football field and check out my progress.

My putters were now going about 270 feet and my drives were pretty consistent at about 290 - 330 feet. Better, but not much. I use a XS as my main driver, so I went out and bought an Orc and a Wraith to see if different drivers would help at all. I took a few weeks breaking them in and learning to throw the different mold. So basically I am about 2 months into this project with no big improvement and time and money invested. So I did what any sane person would do. I reread the articles and concentrated even more on my grip and delivery.

Last night I went out to the football field to practice. Sure enough, 300 to 330 feet consistently, and then it happened. I threw one no higher than 12 feet off the ground and it landed at the 450 foot mark. It went like this, 330 300 330 450. I grabbed my drivers and tried again. Same thing, 330 300 330 450. The Orc and the Wraith were now starting to drive better. Inconsistent but great results.

This post is to thank Blake for his time and effort putting up this webpage. I now know I will hit 500 feet sooner or later (a goal) and that my drives will be more consistent.

BTW, I have never played in any tournament. There are other old timers like me out there. Maybe next year I will take some time to wipe the course with you whippersnappers in a tounament. This game needs more older people that talk lots of smack.

Next year, imroving my putting.

[TBird]

"This game needs more older people that talk lots of smack. "

I resemble that remark!

I too have found that keeping my drives low (12') and nose down lets me blow past the 300' barrier. What I can't figure out how to do yet is keep the nose down, but still get 20'-30' of height at the peak. I figure that if I can learn how to do that I will get much greater range.

Travis

[Blake_T]

congrats on the 450' throw.

as for throwing higher, it's tricky, and generally much more difficult with newer drivers. it's also hard to throw high and flat, generally you will have to commit to an anhyzer/hyzer angle to get it to stay nose down.

easiest way to develop a higher throw is to to back to older-school plastic and concentrate on either a hyzer flip or anhyzer line.

when it comes to big golf d throws, most of the huge arms out there just get a tremendous amount of natural lift due to their power. e.g. their throw looks like most throws that will peak at 12', but when theirs reaches 12' it just keeps rising and rising until it peaks in the 20-40' range.

most discs like the wraith and starfire will peak in the 8-15' of height range on most golf throws. being able to get them 25'+ high and nose down is really the key for breaking 500+... well the other key is having the power to get the disc to stay in the air that long but height helps a lot. reason i don't condone going for D too low, is that when you are throwing very low, small changes in height will yield great changes in D. i have had a lot of throws with discs like the flash and starfire that i released a little low... they were 6' high and went 350'... had they been 8' high they would have hit 400... when 2' of heigh = 50' of D, that leaves little margin for error.

btw Torg, sounds like you are local, if you ever want putting lessons let me know.

[Torg]

Well, picked up a Orion like you recommended and a Starfire. As I tested it sorta felt like the Orion threw more like a Roc and the Starfire like a Orc. Both are pretty easy to throw, with the Starfire getting about 10 meters more distance. I've had them land on top of each other though.

The drives are pretty consistent at 370 now. I think I need to add more spin to get past the current plateau. I did play with some sort of experienced tournament player and although he was surprised that some Joe Schmo could drive as far as I can, he did keep commenting that a Orc shoudn't have the path that I consistently throw it in. I throw it flat with a hyzer end. Nothing I have thrown since a Stealth has given me solid "s" throws. Now if my putting was up to snuff I coulda kicked his too many disc carrying butt.

Incidentally, what course do you normally set up at and do you work out of a store. I believe in supporting local shops if possible, and ...well... my putting isn't great.

[Blake_T]

actually, it's not really spin that does it. the key is snap and line.

sounds like you probably have a very clean release, which is rare nowadays. most players torque badly and s nearly everything.

if the orc is a champ orc, they rarely turn unless you force them to or are throwing like 450'.

the starfire and orion should get nearly the same D if you throw them with equal power on their intended lines. i honestly believe the orion probably has a little more distance potential for most players since it is an easier disc to hyzer flip and hold nose down through a turn (with enough height under it).

most newer drivers aren't good for true S paths. the dx eagle is one of the last good s curve drivers out there. newer discs generally don't fade predictably enough to be utlilize the s well, unless they are very overstable and thrown anhyzer. distance anyhyzers open up the options quite a bit.

one thing to keep in mind is that height will come into play a lot with most discs. while it is feasible to throw 400' with a starfire at 10' of height, 450' will require more like 20+' of height.

as for courses, the 2 closest to my apartment are kaposia and acorn, but highland is the closest by far when it is open. i live by the u of m near 94 and 280.

the place i work at is: http://www.gottagogottathrow.com
this is likely my last week there... not sure when my last day is exactly. if you pick a day you would like to come in, i can try and make sure i am there. wed they are open till 8pm, otherwise till 6 on other days (closed on weekends).

they have some really good deals going on right now. $9.95 for the champ orc, sidewinder, valk, coyote, and teebird. $9.95 for the z flash, crush, buzz, flick, wasp, and xl. $8.95 for the z mrv. $7.49 for the jk aviar, pro starfire, x soft challenger, and x xs. $5.95 for the dx archangel, dragon, and roc and pro d venom, drone, and soft magnet, as well as the x mrv. $9.95 for quarter k's as well.

pumpkin stamps for $5.25 dx, $6.95 elite x, $8.95 elite z. notenboom cyclones, xclones, and stratuses for $5.25.

random lil stuff, not that i'm a fan of dyed, but if you are i have also been getting stuff dyed by j-bird there that isn't normally available, e.g. x avengers, z flicks, x crushes, champ sidewinders, pro starfires, pro wraiths, and orions.