Throwing Uphill

[Grinder12000]

It seems when I come up an uphill drive that is heavy tee lined and brush, even though I try to go with the grain and throw higher I get a lot less distance.

It FEELS there is a giant hand pressing down on the disc, Like the air is pushing the disc down, or filling in the void.

OR - is it just me! There seems to be zero glide and I'm throwing a dinner plate.

Suggestions? Are there disc's that are better then others for this?

 

[Dan Ensor]

Light weight and flippy, thrown on a hyzer; that's my preference. I also just accept that I'm not going to get much distance.

 

[DiscinFiend]

I've never really had a problem with this b/c I like to throw overhand uphill. But if you don't wanna learn overhand I'd say just use a lighter weight disc than you normally would.

 

[JReynolds]

Dan nailed it. Throw something lighter than normal, and flippy

 

[mashnut]

You're going to lose distance no matter what, you're fighting gravity and you're pretty much automatically throwing nose up if it's a steep hill so that's a lot to overcome. Something understable and glidey will lose less distance, and a slower disc won't care as much about the nose angle. I throw my comets on uphill shots a lot.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Don't try to throw "up" the hill/slope but with it.

Normal throw with a little plane a adjustment so you bring the disc low to high.

And like others said using less stable molds

 

[renoob]

Basically what Dan said. Remember that to throw uphill you need to pull from low to high, and that pretty much limits you to throwing with some hyzer if you want to keep everything in the same plane.

There is a very steep uphill dogleg right at my home course where I pull low to high but release with a little anhyzer. It's awkward, and I wouldn't recommend doing that when going for uphill distance. I need a better forehand...

 

[Mike C]

As dumb as it might sound, simply throwing harder helps. As long as you don't mess up your form in the process. If you check out the following link, on hole 1 and 13 there are some huge uphill drives. The second drive in the video was pretty crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJuMvs3S_ak

 

[bnbanbury]

You're going to lose distance no matter what, you're fighting gravity and you're pretty much automatically throwing nose up if it's a steep hill so that's a lot to overcome. Something understable and glidey will lose less distance, and a slower disc won't care as much about the nose angle. I throw my comets on uphill shots a lot.

+1. I find that i can throw my comets as far as a fairway driver up a steep hill. I also carry 1 blizzard boss if i'm playing a course that i know has big uphill bombs required

 

[Okie-J]

Flexed out annys go far up hills.

 

[Alcuin]

Hyzer flipping something understable is what I do. I'll either throw a beat Sidewinder on a steep hyzer to have it turn and flex out for max d, a River for a hyzer flip to flat, or a Comet.

Flex shots with an OS disc work too. The main thing is to keep the nose down as much as possible as others have said. I find the hyzer angle helps me do that, but an anhyzer release can help get the nose down too.

I'm sure you get plenty of practice throwing uphill and downhill here, what with elevation change being a huge factor at Elver, Hiestand, and especially Cap Springs.

 

[blackcatsmith]

By no means this being a recommendation but a playing partner has the unorthodox form of pulling from underneath his raised off arm(a la' GG) and he booms uphill drives using a beaten 168g Star Vulcan.

 

[skottyb]

I find it incredibly hard on my knees to throw up a steep hill backhand, so I generally go for something I can chuck forehand.

 

[fritothedog]

It depends on how long the hole is. At Valley Wiew Park in New Berlin, WI, hole 15 is fairly uphill but it is only 185 ft. I park my Opto Pure under the basket off a RHBH with a slight anny consistently.

If I had to go longer I would probably throw overhand or flex an overstable driver.

 

[wake911]

I just disc up. If i normally throw a mid for a distance, and it's uphill, i'll throw a fairway driver instead. Just like big downhills, I disc down. I would recommend against just throwing harder, as that could involve increased risk of injury (if the tee area, or run-up isn't level) as well as loss of accuracy if you are over throwing.

Sometimes, FH does work nicely, as I can get some extra speed and distance, with limited run up needed. Run-ups sometimes affect my ability to release the disc on a correct uphill/downhill line as easily.

And remember, basically every 1 foot of elevation change up adds 3 feet of distance to the throw. so a 15' increase from tee to basket adds 45' roughly to a throw. so a 320' hole up hill 15' is actually like a 365' hole. Took me WAY too long to figure that out, and I was getting ticked about always coming up short on my uphill drives.

 

[Stardoggy]

I tend to throw more FH's uphill...but mostly because my BH form goes all to hell throwing uphill.

 

[Grinder12000]

Yea - Hiestand is where I'm talking about #1, #17 and what is that other on #9?? They just give me fits! I don't have a long arm as it is!

wake911 - I was in Indy for the USS Indianapolis Reunion (BTW - I love that city) but never had a chance to play - any courses better then the other ones?? Next time I have to create a hole in my schedule!

 

[DiscinFiend]

It depends on how long the hole is. At Valley Wiew Park in New Berlin, WI, hole 15 is fairly uphill but it is only 185 ft. I park my Opto Pure under the basket off a RHBH with a slight anny consistently.

If I had to go longer I would probably throw overhand or flex an overstable driver.

I know that hole well, I've aced it multiple times. I find throwing an anny with a putter works best for me.

 

[Alcuin]

Yea - Hiestand is where I'm talking about #1, #17 and what is that other on #9?? They just give me fits! I don't have a long arm as it is!

wake911 - I was in Indy for the USS Indianapolis Reunion (BTW - I love that city) but never had a chance to play - any courses better then the other ones?? Next time I have to create a hole in my schedule!

I know what you mean. I struggled with those holes too, and the elevation does add considerable distance to them. I think you're thinking of hole 8 too, not 9.

Hole 1's not too bad elevation wise, as long as you stay in the fairway and work on keeping it low, you're usually ok. I choose something stable for this shot from the short tees (I assume that's what you're playing, as most people play the shorts there), like a Buzzz or Comet, or if it's a little windy I might disc up to a Teebird.

Hole 8 plays longer, and can be a tough shot. If you don't have the arm to get to the top, throwing right at the hill can be a viable look at a deuce if you can get there. Otherwise, staying in the fairway gives you an easy upshot for 3.

Hole 17 is probably the biggest elevation change. I used to hyzer flip Sidewinders for that one, but now I usually throw a worn TB or a River. A midrange can work here, but I prefer the driver. A forehand roller is also a great option, and I've parked the hole with that shot and have seen someone almost put in a roller ace once there.

Cap Springs will also force you to learn to throw uphill. The main thing is to keep the disc parallel with the slope of the hill, and keep it low. Think about what it would be like if the hill weren't there; you'd be throwing a disc way high up in the air. And throwing that high off the ground will always make a disc fade out, hill or no hill.

So if you can keep the disc as close to the ground as possible, that will help. Then, when you can throw farther and keep the nose down on higher lines, you can work on flipping something flat 20 feet in the air to land on the shelf of hole 8's hill. But that just comes with practice.

 

[Grinder12000]

#1 is always a disappointment as I'm not 100% warm yet and don't feel like throwing another 15 minutes to warm up. Normally a 3

#8 is my 2nd hardest hole after #5. I try too hard after the 2 easy holes before it. I seem to ram a disc into the hill under that tree.

#17 is always a 4 even though I've bounced the disc off the basket a few times. I'm surprised how many times people park at the bottom of 17 and watch.

I gotta take a break 81 holes in 3 days - my arm is a little sore LOL

36 Beaver Dam
27 Tokan Creek
18 Heistand Park (why is it called Radar Hill??)

BTW - getting longer slowly . . .until my arm feels like it will fall off.