The Newest Greatest thing you just figured out

[Mark Ellis]

If you are not learning then you are not getting better.

Each of us goes out to the course and has that constant, undeniable urge to improve. To do better than yesterday. In the process we figure stuff out. From the rawest beginner to the most advanced Pro we all learn new things. Some of them may be small, some may be game changers. Some may work only for you or be helpful to many. Some new things may not seem worthy of a new topic by themselves but this thread is a place to mention what you just figured out and might, just might be helpful. Because whatever level you are right now there are lots of players who visit this website who are right where you are, trying to figure out the same things.

This is a general topic, not limited to equipment or technique or gear or whatever. If it works for you it is good enough.

Ok, I will start. Somebody has to.

I have gone back to Glow Golfing after years away and learned: Packing tape is not a secure way to tape on an LED Light. An early hard hit will knock it right off, leaving the light easy to find and the disc somewhere in the dark. I have heard that duct tape is made in CLEAR. Has anyone tried this?

In daylight small stumps are difficult to see. In dark they are invisible. Sturdy toe protection is good. Flimsy running shoes are bad.

Retrieving your disc out of the bushes can get you poked in the eye in the dark. Enter cautiously with a hand in front of your face.

In the winter the skin on my throwing hand thumb, index and middle fingers will dry out and split in multiple spots and quite painfully. Although I keep moisturizer (hand cream) in my car I did not start using it early and often enough. My thumb has already split. Now I am using it every time I get in the car. What is the best hand cream?

I found lightweight mittens in Smartwool, which is some kind of wool blend. Really like them. The market for mittens for Men has evidently died and they are very hard to locate. The fold-back half gloves, half mittens are flawed since they are difficult to take on and off when your hands get wet, which they will in cold weather golf. Does anyone know where to find lightweight mittens? The huge thick mittens are still out there but way too hot to use except for Very cold conditions. Lightweight mittens are the shizzle.

Winter hats all look weird, of course. Worse they bother me when I putt with a hat on. This makes no sense. I can putt in the summer with a baseball hat on. Why does a winter hat mess with my putting?

I was looking to make up a Glow bag and so searching my collection for discs to tape lights on. Through the years I have lots of back up discs. Lots and lots. The disc I can't keep in stock? The Z Crush. I have been a Crush guy for years but can't hold on to them. Players ask for recommendations for overstable discs which are strong but not so strong they can't glide so I keep passing on Crushes. In my last order from Discraft I purposely stocked up on Crushes and already many of them are gone.

[keltik]

I wear a Yooper hat. I've never even been to Michigan.

I miss putts in a weird way. I usually hit the tray. I should put that in your thread about putting mistakes.

playing in a button down work shirt is

Mark use Vaseline.

[JHern]

How to throw an object when you can't exert force directly through that object's center of mass.

[Frank Delicious]

I just found out forcing a new overstable roc over onto an anny line is a really good way to throw some great anny lines.

[Stringbean]

45 and sunny is perfect disc golf weather.

[JR]

Mark argan oil is great but hellaexpensive but maybe not for someone in your line of work. It has several useful ingredients and sinks into the skin in a lot faster time than anything i've tried. Creams leave more residue to make the fingers slippery. Even duct tape comes off of a disc unless it is some expensive specialty tape. I have not gone to the high end 3M stuff. Criss crossing multiple layers of tape over the LED helps in maintaining it in place much longer and you have a visual means of checking when it starts to come loose. Some parts may come off and that is the time to add more tape or replace each piece. I'd use over an inch of extra tape beyond the LED system. Use a jacket with a hood for warmth and stopping the wind and beanie for warmth. Taking the hood down for drives and putts leaves you trouble free and the face acts as a wind speed and direction meter when the hood is down. And the hood of a wind proof jacket is nice for warmth in between. I try to throw with a bare hand and use gloves even though they are more clumsy than mitts to put on and take off. Unless it is really cold and then heavier mitts are great. So far i haven't been able to use my Hotronic FootWarmers to warm my hand in below freezing conditions because it is warmer than that. I'm sure it will make a difference. I use two water proof pouches and put polyester wool (pillow stuffing material) in it and the heater element with the battery being in between the pouches. In the 40s it gives me summer like skin temperature and grippyness. Not being cold is a prevention of the cracking of the skin so it is better than the cure of adding oils after the skin has cracked. Since it already has you're in for weeks of needing to moisturize the hand several times per day to heal as fast as possible. I've seen people wearing gloves with grease on the inside 24 hours a day for a few weeks.

Am i right in thinking you can't look for Crush type discs from other manufacturers? Or are unwilling to recommend non Discraft discs?

[chainsmoker]

If someone has a cure for the cracking skin on my thumb it will be the greatest thing I figure out. One time it was so bad I was playing in an ice bowl event and I had little spots of blood on my white dx Roc. Currently I put super glue in the cracks.

[Frank Delicious]

to get rid of something like that you need to soften the callouses by putting a good lotion on your hand for a few weeks. preferably something with vitamin E in it.

[Disc Golf Live]

to get rid of something like that you need to soften the callouses by putting a good lotion on your hand for a few weeks. preferably something with vitamin E in it.

I use straight vitamin E out of a bottle (a gel pill would also work) dabbed onto a crack site, covered with an E soaked band-aid overnight to treat acute winter crackages. Dang, those things do hurt a lot for their size. As ongoing prevention, something like Bag Balm might help, applied a couple times a day.

[Aubin]

45 and sunny is perfect disc golf weather.

^ this.

Also, Pro destroyers go really really far.

A good pair of Magnets is all you need from 200' and in.

taking 2-3 weeks off without throwing is a BAD idea.

Stretching before playing is essential.

[allsport1313]

For me lately (5 months playing),

Amazing results can come from experimenting with grips you never bothered to try.

Not all discs need to have super glide... In fact, discs with shit glide are nice for upshots.

Runups sacrifice some amount of accuracy. Been incorporating standstills and 1steps whenever possible.

[Mark Ellis]

For me lately (5 months playing),

Amazing results can come from experimenting with grips you never bothered to try.

Not all discs need to have super glide... In fact, discs with shit glide are nice for upshots.

Runups sacrifice some amount of accuracy. Been incorporating standstills and 1steps whenever possible.

Lack of glide is good as it allows distance control. The slower the disc the less it skips too (and skipping is a risky variable). The reason we don't just use drivers and dial them back is that distance control is easier with Mids and much easier with putters. Use the slowest disc you can comfortably for the shot.

With practice a run up will not harm your accuracy. The farther you want to throw the bigger and faster your run up. But a standstill shot is still something you need to master, like on a severe uphill lie or in a thicket where no run up is possible. Don't avoid run ups though, that momentum minimizes the strain on you arm and body and you want to use the degree of run up which helps out a smooth, balanced shot.

[Mark Ellis]

I just found out forcing a new overstable roc over onto an anny line is a really good way to throw some great anny lines.

This shot requires serious skill. It has to be thrown at the correct speed and angle or it hyzers out early, or S's back as it slows down or turns too hard and rolls. It works better when you can throw the shot firmly. The less distance this shot needs to travel the greater skill required. Try throwing a 25 foot anhyzer putt around a tree with a crazy overstable driver. Sure it can be done but it ain't easy and if it misses it ain't gonna be pretty, especially if there is a drop off past the basket.

Although good players can memorize particular shots (a well practiced disc at a certain speed and angle) and pull them off, they are still more difficult and have a smaller margin of error than using a less stable disc. God makes flippy discs for a reason.

Perhaps with enough effort you can train a herd of cats to do synchronized tricks to Celine Dion music but is it really worth the effort?

[Mark Ellis]

Mark argan oil is great but hellaexpensive but maybe not for someone in your line of work. It has several useful ingredients and sinks into the skin in a lot faster time than anything i've tried. Creams leave more residue to make the fingers slippery. Even duct tape comes off of a disc unless it is some expensive specialty tape. I have not gone to the high end 3M stuff. Criss crossing multiple layers of tape over the LED helps in maintaining it in place much longer and you have a visual means of checking when it starts to come loose. Some parts may come off and that is the time to add more tape or replace each piece. I'd use over an inch of extra tape beyond the LED system. Use a jacket with a hood for warmth and stopping the wind and beanie for warmth. Taking the hood down for drives and putts leaves you trouble free and the face acts as a wind speed and direction meter when the hood is down. And the hood of a wind proof jacket is nice for warmth in between. I try to throw with a bare hand and use gloves even though they are more clumsy than mitts to put on and take off. Unless it is really cold and then heavier mitts are great. So far i haven't been able to use my Hotronic FootWarmers to warm my hand in below freezing conditions because it is warmer than that. I'm sure it will make a difference. I use two water proof pouches and put polyester wool (pillow stuffing material) in it and the heater element with the battery being in between the pouches. In the 40s it gives me summer like skin temperature and grippyness. Not being cold is a prevention of the cracking of the skin so it is better than the cure of adding oils after the skin has cracked. Since it already has you're in for weeks of needing to moisturize the hand several times per day to heal as fast as possible. I've seen people wearing gloves with grease on the inside 24 hours a day for a few weeks.

Am i right in thinking you can't look for Crush type discs from other manufacturers? Or are unwilling to recommend non Discraft discs?

JR, you would be much easier to read if you used more paragraphs. Your brilliance all runs together and gets muddled up.

A Z Crush is akin to a CE Firebird in stability and glide. For players with Pro power it is overstable but not crazy overstable. It is USEABLY OVERSTABLE, reliable, fights wind and still has good glide. It does not have a very wide rim (like a Nuke, for example) so it is more forgiving and more controllable but of course has nowhere near the glide of a Nuke. A Z Crush is a GREAT workhorse disc for a forehander or a power backhander.

Winter golf exposes fingers to the hot/cold cycle and the wet/dry cycle as well. I need a somewhat warm and DRY hand to throw forehands, my dominant throw. I use a bunch of disposable handwarmers every round, which along with giving warmth, sucks moisture. Not getting cold is not an option. My hands will get cold playing in winter even with handwarmers and mittens. My strategy is mostly preventative. Repairing cracked skin is nowhere near as effective preventing it in the first place. So I use lots of moisturizers. Lots.

I like disc golf gear. I have oodles of it. I have lots of hats which fit my oversized melon. The various winter hats I have bother my putting. Mostly I take them off to putt even in bitter cold or driving rain. If I were willing to spend enough time practicing putting with JUST ONE particular hat I know I could overcome the distraction. But I can't limit myself to one hat. Depending on the conditions I need to pick the optimal outfit, hat included.

The tape on my LED lights doesn't fray at the edges then pop off on a tree hit. I install a generous swath in the warmth; warm tape, warm disc and let it sit and bond. Then when playing, the tape pops off all at once on an early tree hit. Evidently the packing tape just cannot handle the impact. I did subsequently resort the to the crisscross tape pattern but don't know its efficacy as I have not yet hit an early tree. I try not to do so very often, even in the interest of science.

[uNicedmeMan]

The answer for clear tape that withstands cold temperatures lies in Frost King Tape, trust me. As always, it's better to tape your lights on while the discs and tape are warm but Frost King still works if applied in the cold.

I've learned that having fun playing disc golf is more important to me than being good at disc golf. Recently I've learned that having fun playing disc golf often results in being good at disc golf.