midrange advice

[proteus7]

First forum post! I've been playing for about 4 years, but only recently have I started playing on a regular basis (almost every weekend). I reached a point where practice by itself will not improve things so I need some advice. I hope to contribute more to the forum once I get familiar with the lingo and have some positive results to speak of.

Quick background:
right hand thrower, mostly backhand but some forehand.
my drives are decent, not great, but the course I play (Live Oak, Texas) does not require super long drives. Most are par 3 holes usually 240 feet to 270 feet, and a few over 300 and some 400 to 500 feet. The real trick is just avoiding the trees. Many have low branches. I can get it through the trees off the tee and can put myself in range for a par on most holes, but my midrange approach shots have been inconsistent and the result is usually a score of about +6 per 9 holes. I can score 4 or 5 pars but usually 4 bogeys and a double bogey.

I have some throws that I turn over too much. As a result, I choose discs that fade left but sometimes they fade too much and leave a long putt.

I feel like I need a consistent form and a reliable disc and with a bit of practice I can stay much closer to par. If you have advice, throw it at me.

Paul

[Itchy]

I'd suggest going to an empty base ball diamond. Try throwing from home plate to first base, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to home and then do everything backwards... home to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd... etc. Try landing the disc on the plate. You'll get to face 4 different wind directions and can hyzer, anney and line drive them if you want. After that try going home to 2nd, 2nd to home and 1st to 3rd, 3rd to 1st. That should help with form and after that you should be able to anney an understable and hyzer a stable disc in case you have to approach around something... straight shots should become NAGS and easy par.

... that worked for me at least.

[JR]

Stand still approaches with massive weight shift (look at Youtube channel lcgm8 Finnish Open 2010 for Jussi Meresmaa) and a very exaggerated follow through with the arm and the left leg. In disc golf too much follow through in approaches can't happen as long as it is balanced, symmetrical with the x step that would happen in a normal throw and not jerky. The large follow through ensure no jerks to change the disc angle.

[proteus7]

Ok, will do. There's a baseball field next to the disc golf park!

Gotto learn the lingo -- Anney means anhyzer, I assume. I'll have to look up NAGS. I don't even know if I have an under stable disc.

[JR]

I'm not sure about NAGS because i've seen a couple of uses so i won't comment but anny/anni/anney=anhyzer=a throw where the side of the disc that faces away from your body is above the horizon.

[kern9787]

Nags = not a golf shot.

[curt]

NAGS: think of it as a shot that is so easy you're going to get up and down 95% of the time.

Also, when you head out to the baseball field, bring putters with you. You may not be comfortable throwing putters 90 feet now, but you're game will benefit greatly from having that shot. Theoretically, you should probably be working towards 90 feet being a standstill throw with a putter

[proteus7]

Thanks fellas, I'll be out there tomorrow to try out your suggestions, and I'll check YouTube too.

Paul

[proteus7]

It took me some time on the course to get used to the new tips that I learned, but at the end of the round my score was 3 shots better than my recent average. No double-bogeys. Several easy pars. Just a few bogeys where I was not able to get the approach shot close enough -- even a few feet closer would have made a huge difference. Was able to anhyzer around one tree to get it in putting range. Thanks!

[Itchy]

Good to hear. Putting and approaches, I feel, are the easiest places to loose strokes so keep working on those. Then accuracy/distance on drives, learn a little sidearm and play with rollers. After that, I don't know... that's kind of where my game is right now. I'm right at the top of that rec player bell curve though. Maybe somebody with a better rating could help you more, but as far as learning a good foundation, I feel you're on your way.

[proteus7]

Update and thanks again to everyone who offered suggestions...

I watched a couple dozen youtube videos and did a lot of practice through the week after work. I developed a more compact approach shot that has worked very well from 200 feet and shorter. I focus on standing perpendicular with the target before the throw and keep it low (especially with a disc that hugs the ground and skips well).

With this new ability to Par Out from medium range, I don't have to take as risky a first shot, so I have been focusing on the finding the fairway.

The result? Last 2 outings I scored a +6 and +3 after 18 holes, with 2 of my best back-9 scores ever of +1 and 0 even. That's 6 to 9 strokes off my previous average!

Thanks again!