Success Stories

[archimedesjs]

I've been spending an unhealthy amount of time on these forums as of late. I've read through all the stickied threads start to finish, and have come across several people that started in the "maxing at 300" and ended up talking about hitting 500+ later on in the "working from the hit backwards thread", and even showed up in the "snap 2009" thread when they were hitting 400. I put in as much time as any other person that I know trying to improve my D. I spent 4.5 hours doing nothing but right pec drills earlier today, and followed it up with 4 hours of reading these forums, and it's not the first day I've done that. Laziness is not my issue, and I am not looking for a quick fix. What I have seen that intrigued me, and the reason I am making this thread, is a few people who had "aha" moments for each jump in their plateau. Patdabunny for one, and mrscoopa as well. If either one of you, or somebody with similar success, would maybe put out a thread with how you broached each plateau in detail. The training regimines that got you there, the actual aha moments when things clicked. One of these guys mentioned reading something and having an "aha!" moment, and testing it out with a towel and having it be successful. But neither the article that was being read, nor the towel snap drill was explained. I know Dan Beto spent 8 solid days doing nothing but right pec drills, with about 400 throws per day. What were his gains like? What kind of results did he have? Everybody learns at a different pace, but it's nice to know when you're headed down the right path. What was it that finally clicked for him when he reached the next plateau?

Ultimately what I would like to do is streamline the learning curve for myself, if at all possible. If there was something that clicked for one person, perhaps there is a chance it would click for me without me putting a lot of time and energy doing something the wrong way. Right now I'm stuck at the 350'-380' plateau with slower plastic and have been for about a year. I'm looking to put all my time and effort into breaking 500' by the end of the summer. I've read through and done the techniques from the incomplete secret technique. I've been doing nothing but right pec drills when I'm out at the course. I feel like I'm doing them aimlessly though, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing. When I know what I'm supposed to be looking for, then I feel I will be more successful, which Is why others' success stories would be beneficial. I believe there are other people in the same position as myself, and they too would benefit from this. Anyway, I'm rambling. If anybody feels this isn't a bad idea, and would like to contribute I would be extremely grateful.

[Blake_T]

it doesn't matter how much time you put in so much as it is putting in beneficial time.

the idea of all drills is to keep working on it and tweaking things until something happens differently than it did before.

if you get stuck and are no longer making adjustments there really isn't much that can be done, nor will continuous reps benefit you unless you can make some adjustments that boost things.

Dan's results with the right pec drill were as follows:
Day 1: he learned the drill and started "feeling" parts of what he was supposed to feel. basically it was a different feeling than his normal throw and he was able to throw putters 150'+ with minimal effort.

his following days pretty much built on that, seeking out a stronger "feeling" and adjusting until that feeling got stronger and results continued to improve. once the feeling was solidified the reps were meant to increase his execution % of said feeling. e.g. first couple of days were probably about a 30% success rate. next few days were about a 50% success rate. etc. he kept going until it was more like an 80% success rate.

unless you're reaching distances you are happy with, you won't really go anywhere without making more adjustments.

rule of thumb: if it's a drill that has helped lots of people, if it doesn't help you, you're doing it wrong.

right now you are teetering on the cusp of half hit and weak hit. full hit will be roughly 80' farther than you are going.

[CatPredator]

I think the stuff that people write about on here as being "Aha!" moments are usually conceptual breakthroughs. Actually doing it consistently is another matter.

Day 1: he learned the drill and started "feeling" parts of what he was supposed to feel. basically it was a different feeling than his normal throw and he was able to throw putters 150'+ with minimal effort.

his following days pretty much built on that, seeking out a stronger "feeling" and adjusting until that feeling got stronger and results continued to improve. once the feeling was solidified the reps were meant to increase his execution % of said feeling. e.g. first couple of days were probably about a 30% success rate. next few days were about a 50% success rate. etc. he kept going until it was more like an 80% success rate.

This is pretty much the way it goes, although not everyone is successful. The learning process is greatly aided by watching skilled players throw and having a coach. Throwing far is all about efficiency and timing. Work on developing the feel of an efficient, clean, forceful snap at low power and then add more power with your body. If you can't manipulate the weight of a putter efficiently at 50% power from a standstill, you won't be doing it right when you're throwing a Destroyer at 100% on a big run up with a crappy weight shift.

[DsmDisc]

I'm one of those that went from 280'-300' to 450'+ after reading threads here. I have had a minimal amount of field work, almost all of my disc time is spent on the course. I'll do my best to describe my progression.

So when I first started getting some consistency in my throws, I was topping at about 280'-300' with fairway and distance drivers, 260'-280' with mids and a bit less with putters. My drives would spray left, right and less commonly dead straight on line. My first improvement came when I realized there was a 'proper' way (perhaps 'most efficient' is a better term) to throw a disc when I started reading these forums. From that point, I began to give up my original form, and try tons and tons of different ways to throw. Some worked better than others. I forgot the failures, and remembered the successes.

This did not lead to more distance or accuracy, but it DID lead to more 'normal' flight paths. No more straight line then dying left on every single throw. I was able to start to get discs to make different lines, like hyzer-flips, annys, hyzers, s-curves, etc. If I had to pick an 'ah-ha' moment in this stage, I would say it was slowing down and smoothing out my footwork. Being choppy, or too fast just killed my timing. Really though, just seeing that I could get a disc to fly correctly was the biggest key in this stage.

So at this point my distances were about the same, and I decided it was time to add distance. I noticed from my own videos that I had taken the 'turn your back to your target' advice a little too much to heart. I was more or less walking backwards to the target, and never getting twisted back. So I stopped doing that, and started walking more toward the target, with my chest facing perpendicular to my line. Sadly, this did not improve my distance, but it did improve accuracy and consistancy.

So now I just had to add distance. 300' wasn't cutting it at Pickard and the back 9 at Ewing. 1 minor adjustment got me to 350': focus on having a slightinward bend to the wrist when the disc got to my chest. This seemingly small change made a world of difference. My throws then looked like proper lines, albeit not as far as the true distance throwers.

From there, the improvement has been very rapid. In a matter of a month, a hole that used to be just reachable in two is now within inches of being aced, even overthrown by 60' (for those of you familiar with it, hole 10 at Ewing in Des Moines.) The most recent development? Putting all those aforementioned things together. Every time I tried something new, it killed my timing on the rest of my throw. So now that I have some GOOD habits, and most of my BAD habits are gone, I've been working with a competent throw, and the timing is coming together. Downhill i've easily thrown 600', flat holes I get 450'-500'.

Of course, that's just my driving. My improvement in my approach game has mainly been because I used to throw mids flat-footed, where now I throw putters with a very slow, small stepped walkup.

If you want a TL;DR version, remember the good, forget the bad. If some little adjustment helps (like me with the slight inward bend of the wrist), keep with it. As you piece together good habits, it will eventually come together. For those of us that don't have folks like Brad or Beato or Blake around to teach us, this - in my opinion - is how it is learned. The ideas on this forum are either very abstract and difficult to duplicate, or very precise and difficult to achieve. Only by finding the good, and forgetting the bad will you improve. Don't be afraid to experiment, and don't take every word on here as gospel (though this forum is incredibly helpful for realizing that there is a 'most efficient' way to achieve proper throws.)

[DsmDisc]

Oh...and do WHATEVER it takes to get rid of any nose-up issues. This is, without a doubt, the number one killer of distance and lines. Whether its weight forward, wrist down, higher reachback with a lower pull-through, whatever. ELIMINATE NOSE UP. A throw that would have been 500' can fall short of 300' if it leaves nose up. I wince in pain when I see all my friends that used to outdrive me launch a disc nose-up every single time they throw. If only they eliminated that (which one of them has done with great success), they would still be keeping up with my new-found distance!

[Smigles]

After finding this forum and starting to practice regularely, I improved from 200 to 450 within a year. Now I dont work on D that much any more, but on precision.

To be honest, I think I had it in me all the time from a decade of playing Ultimate, I just wasnt able to produce it at first with these strange small discs But what definitly helped me most of all is field work, every day if possible. I spent at least 10 hours a week on doing nothing but fieldwork. We dont have a course here in my hometown, so that helps alot

What I did was throwing all my discs, no matter how stable or fast. At first they all did the noob hyzer after 150 feet, so it didnt matter anyway what disc I picked. After a few afternooons I stopped fiddling arouond with throwing motions and just went back to the Ultimate-motion that I am used to, which quickly got me to 300 feet. Then I started working on angles. I took all the discs I had and tried to othrow them all on the same angle, hyzer and anhyzer. My goal was to get rid of the hyzer, because coming from Ultimate, all my throws had a natural hyzer to them. I still prefer hyzering to this day. Once I got rid of the hyzer, I noticed OAT ^^ So I took all my comets and Leopards and started working on getting rid of my OAT by throwing those discs flat all the way or hyzer all the way.

I dont remember most of the small things any more. I vaguely remember working on small things alot, hand positioning, towel drills, OAT drills, leaning into the throw more with the right shoulder, ken climo grip was one hell of a breaktrough, Leopards realy helped my form as much as nukes helped my distance I think my top 3 breakthroughs were

1 : climo power grip
2 : trying to throw into the ground ( leaning forward with torso and shoulders, weight shift )
3 : nuke for D !
4 : comet and leopards for precision

[gretagun]

From there, the improvement has been very rapid. In a matter of a month, a hole that used to be just reachable in two is now within inches of being aced, even overthrown by 60' (for those of you familiar with it, hole 10 at Ewing in Des Moines.) The most recent development? Putting all those aforementioned things together. Every time I tried something new, it killed my timing on the rest of my throw. So now that I have some GOOD habits, and most of my BAD habits are gone, I've been working with a competent throw, and the timing is coming together. Downhill i've easily thrown 600', flat holes I get 450'-500'.

Over throw 10 at Ewing by 60 feet?? Sign me up bud! I play in a league on Thursday nights that consists of a many local Des Moines Open players, and despite the old "you have to play with better players to improve" mantra, this year(my 3rd in this league), has been my worst ever. I have actually lost distance and my stats are worse than last year's. I have tried to get some advice from these guys, but again, it seems like no one knows how they throw so far, they just do it. I have been on this site for years, and am so close to accepting the fact that I can only throw 350' on a good day with a warp speed driver when all the stars are aligned perfectly. I'm convinced now that all the field work over the last 4 years have accomplished nothing, and has just ingrained poor technique into my muscle memory. I have learned to do many things on my own from books and the internet, but improving at disc golf has been the one thing that I have not been able to learn on my own, and it frustrates me to no end.

Your post gives me hope, and I may hit you up for some advice. Even in the Thursday night league, there are maybe 3 or 4 guys that can throw over 400' on demand, so I'm eager to find that missing link. I have been on this site much longer than you have, and you seemed to have grapsed and profitted from all the knowledge contained within this site. I might have to join you for a round sometime so I can get some pointers.

[fanter]

I successfully located the point in my throw that was causing some knee pain...and by fixing it I've added some power/accuracy issues to my throw that weren't present before.

[archimedesjs]

From there, the improvement has been very rapid. In a matter of a month, a hole that used to be just reachable in two is now within inches of being aced, even overthrown by 60' (for those of you familiar with it, hole 10 at Ewing in Des Moines.) The most recent development? Putting all those aforementioned things together. Every time I tried something new, it killed my timing on the rest of my throw. So now that I have some GOOD habits, and most of my BAD habits are gone, I've been working with a competent throw, and the timing is coming together. Downhill i've easily thrown 600', flat holes I get 450'-500'.

When you say the improvement was rapid, that is the part that does not really seem to get addressed much in detail on the site. The 350 to 450-500 gap. Do you remember ANY of the things that helped you to bridge the gap, besides slowing down your footwork? That jump seems to be one of those "A-HA!" moments. It's not a gradual one. Nobody really seems to be able to express what it is that made it "click" for them. If you can maybe try to think back on some of the small things that helped you, it would be immensely appreciated. Just like you said the slight wrist bend did it for you to get from 300 to 350.

[InvaderMirO]

also from des moines here. that is some crazy distance.

currently on hole 10 at ewing i am maybe hitting 3/4 of the way to the basket with almost any driver i throw.
beat wraith, beat beast, S-PD, hell even the 150 teebird will get down there.

lately ive been struggling with throwing my rocs and trying to get my distance to be consistent on flat ground holes. throwing my roc higher has been a big help and also trying to not torque my arm while tossing it.

i have attempted the right pec drill a few times but it fells very strange any time i go out to the field in attempts to utilize it. what i have picked up was that before i threw my arm way out and around. i currently bring it in closer to my body and am also in the 350-380 range. though on a golf line its closer to 300-325 (i can park about 1/2 the holes on grandview close to the basket).

hearing this of someone in des moines has made me more excited to want to throw farther.
will likely have to watch a few more videos this morning before i head out to ewing to see if i can get further down on hole 10.

[DsmDisc]

When you say the improvement was rapid, that is the part that does not really seem to get addressed much in detail on the site. The 350 to 450-500 gap. Do you remember ANY of the things that helped you to bridge the gap, besides slowing down your footwork? That jump seems to be one of those "A-HA!" moments. It's not a gradual one. Nobody really seems to be able to express what it is that made it "click" for them. If you can maybe try to think back on some of the small things that helped you, it would be immensely appreciated. Just like you said the slight wrist bend did it for you to get from 300 to 350.

You're absolutely right on this. I'd love to hear Blake or Brad or some of the other experts chime in on this too.

One other little detail I can think of is my plant foot angle. I used to plant my foot 100+ degrees from the target. When I was around the 350'ish range I made a point to start planting as close to 90 degrees as I could. I find that this helps open the hips to begin the rotation of the torso.

Really though, I think the reason it doesn't get discussed much is because breaking the 350' plateau isn't so much about little tweaks here and there. Its more about timing and putting everything together. Once you start to settle on good habits and your form starts to look pretty good and you're not constantly changing things, the feel of the timing starts to come. Once everything is working together, you get some big jumps in distance quite quickly.

[InvaderMirO]

had a few 400 rips out at ewing today. the new star wraith for my arm is doing really well as a headwind distance disc.

[JR]

also from des moines here. that is some crazy distance.

currently on hole 10 at ewing i am maybe hitting 3/4 of the way to the basket with almost any driver i throw.
beat wraith, beat beast, S-PD, hell even the 150 teebird will get down there.

lately ive been struggling with throwing my rocs and trying to get my distance to be consistent on flat ground holes. throwing my roc higher has been a big help and also trying to not torque my arm while tossing it.

i have attempted the right pec drill a few times but it fells very strange any time i go out to the field in attempts to utilize it. what i have picked up was that before i threw my arm way out and around. i currently bring it in closer to my body and am also in the 350-380 range. though on a golf line its closer to 300-325 (i can park about 1/2 the holes on grandview close to the basket).

hearing this of someone in des moines has made me more excited to want to throw farther.
will likely have to watch a few more videos this morning before i head out to ewing to see if i can get further down on hole 10.

Right pec drill feels odd and masterbeato threw 10 000 of them in a week. Nothing like practice.

[InvaderMirO]

throwing backhand felt weird after learning sidearm the first year of play. need to remember that small steps back now will hopefully create large steps forward down the road.

[Whiz]

I think I had a bit of a breakthrough today so I will post what I found. I have known for a long time that I have not had the shoulder pause that I need during the throw. Today I practiced doing the right pec drill and keeping my right shoulder pointed directly at the target until my followthrough. I tried to have a nice straight pull across my torso and because I was not opening my shoulders too early I was able to get a good feel for the disc pivoting. I am going to have to practice it a lot to figure out how to build a full throw around this feeling but I thought I would share. (This was after about four hours of field work with a couple dozen rocs.)