disc selection

[Eric O]

Hi. I've been using this website as a resource for a few months but this is my first time posting to the forum. Very useful website, by the way. A short introduction:

Several years ago I used to throw discs around at natural targets before there were any courses with baskets in my area. Mostly with big diameter discs but I had seen and thrown golf discs occasionally. Late last summer my brother bought me a Shark and showed me to the baskets. The beginning of this summer is basically when I began really learning to try and throw the plastic properly.

I made what is probably a common mistake by going immediately to very fast long range drivers. I believe that trying to throw these discs straight, without being able to generate the necessary speed, has had a negative impact on my throwing technique. Specifically, I started overcompensating by dropping my lead shoulder too far at the point of release and swinging through with my elbow too late. One of the many undesireable effects this has had is to prevent me from getting good snap. I am currently trying to correct this problem by throwing slower molds only. One of my staple discs is a 173 DX Roc that is now getting pretty well beat up. Using similar technique to how I had been throwing drivers, I was often turning the Roc well to the right (RHBH). After concentrating on slowing down my X-step and trying to correct timing and release issues, I am getting long, flat, straight drives with it now.

In keeping with the idea that I can develop better technique by sticking with slow plastic for now, I have been using a 170g DX Cheetah for drives off the tee where a midrange won't provide enough distance. I have yet to be able to get enough speed on it consistantly to keep it from showing overstable tendencies. I am told by a friend that I would benefit by throwing something even lighter and more understable.

I am considering something like a Leopard around 160g. Before purchasing any more discs I'd like to get an outside opinion on what would be a good choice as a learning tool for focusing all my power into the hit and getting discs to take the flight path I intend. I am 5'9", close to 200lbs, 28 yrs, and have basically been disc golfing for three months. I'm comfortable with my mid and putting game relative to the short time I have been playing, but a consistantly good drive is very elusive with any disc designed to travel long distances.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Eric

[garublador]

I have a couple of questions. How far are you throwing the Roc? How far are you throwing the Cheetah? What do you mean by "overstable tendencies?"

If by "overstable tendencies" you mean that you are unable to get it to flatten from a slight hyzer or that the disc goes left the entire flight then the advice you got to try a different disc may be valid. Keep in mind that the Cheetah is considered to be a fairly understable disc and a great disc for beginners so the problem may not be the disc iteslf. If you mean that the disc is going straight and fading off at the end of the flight then you may be dissappointed by most other drivers. They pretty much all do that.

Either way I think that the Leopard is a great driver to start off with. It's also a good disc to have when you don't want much of a fade. It's easy to get it to flatten from a hyzer and it has minimal fade. It's a disc you may end up keeping in your bag indefinitely. I always push it because it's the disc I was using as my driver when the little light went off in my head and I all of a sudden understood how to throw a hyzer flip. For the record, it was a 175g DX Leopard I found that was in brand new condition with no name on it. I was throwing about 280' max at the time (about a year ago).

Have you tried throwing your putter for distance? You may be suprised at what those things can do.

[Eric O]

I have a couple of questions. How far are you throwing the Roc? How far are you throwing the Cheetah? What do you mean by "overstable tendencies?"

A good throw with the Cheetah for me, while still maintaining accuracy, is about 210 ft. Probably a little long of 180 ft with the Roc.

If by "overstable tendencies" you mean that you are unable to get it to flatten from a slight hyzer

That's what I mean. I am guessing I am simply not getting enough speed on the disc. Every once in a while I will hit it right and get it to flatten but it happens on less than a quarter of my throws.

Have you tried throwing your putter for distance? You may be suprised at what those things can do.

I've thrown it off the tee from time to time. Almost aced a 175 ft slight downhill hole with it today.

[garublador]

Anyone can feel free to correct me, but I'm guessing at those speeds most any driver will act pretty overstable so switching to something else may not be any different than throwing with the Cheetah. The Cheetah was the first discs I bought and while it did act pretty overstable at first, it wasn't long before I had it flying pretty straight. In other words, I'm not sure switching discs will really make that big of a difference or speed up the learning curve. I've been wrong many times in the past, though.

Keep it up. I found the early phases of learing the game to be very fun and exciting. Appreciate rapidly adding disctance to your drives because that part will dry up before you know it.

[Blake_T]

sounds like nose angle and power = the factors here. this will also ease up a bit when the cheetah breaks in.

an old school driver would probably suit you best for the time being. driver enough to require nose down, but slow enough for you to power it.

dx cobra
#2 flyer
d ecclipse
dx panther

those come to mind.

[Eric O]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Is disc weight much of a factor in my ability to learn to throw correctly? I have been throwing mainly heavier plastic around 170g and up, but I am told I may be able to get more speed on a lighter disc.

[Blake_T]

it will have an effect on how far you throw and its stability, but minimal effect on technique development unless you try to force a turn out of a disc that is too heavy/overstable for you to throw.

w/ the distances you are describing you are likely best off throwing discs under 170g

[Eric O]

update:

Success! It turns out that many a technique problem was at the root of my driving difficulties. No surprise there.

I didn't take the advice of throwing Cobra type discs as my driver, but instead picked up a 165g pro Leopard and a beat to hell Ace that a friend traded to me. I really wanted to work with something that had a driver-like rim to make sure I was putting proper emphasis on throwing nose down. The Ace was particularly helpful because I was able to actually flatten it from a hyzer and make it helix shortly after i began throwing it. Having a frame of reference for how to make a disc fly as desired, I was able to teach myself how to duplicate the same thing with other discs to an extent.

A week or two with the Ace, and I felt like I had outgrown it. Here is my current driver set up:

165g pro leopard
167g dx teebird
168g 11x teebird
169g orion

The Leopard probably makes the sweetest throws for me and is great when I need a right finish or distance in between a mid and a teebird. It will turn out of a hyzer release for a long ways then come back before it hits the deck. Teebird pair gives me a good straight disc in dx, as well as the champ version that finishes predictably to the left. I reserve the Orion for when everything is clicking and I'm feeling saucy, where it gives me more distance than the other discs. Of course if I'm not throwing well on a given day I will tend to put it nose up or something equally dissatisfying. I have a handful of other drivers but none of them are as sexy for me as the ones listed above.

The technique repair section of the website has been a tremendous help, as well as the link to area46. The photos on that page allowed me to get a better idea of what my footwork and pull through should look like. Now its largely a matter of training my muscles to do it consistantly.

[Blake_T]

cool.

glad to hear things are working out.