slowplastic
* Ace Member *
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
- Messages
- 6,254
Everyone learns differently, some ideas are obvious for some people, while others just will result in a blank stare. Today was good, I ran into someone I'd seen on the course before and we decided to play a couple of rounds together. This guy has been playing quite a bit I could tell, but was at a serious plateau/barricade. After our first round together, with him doing full X-step pro Valkyrie flex shots/forced annies for up to 250' on over half of the holes (including a couple of 220'ish holes) I could tell he wanted more distance and less fade. Not that I get huge distance, but I was throwing standstill drives 380-400 today so he could tell there was a technique rather than strength barrier. So between rounds I wanted to give him a couple of tips to see if it would help. Maybe this will click for someone here too.
First was just making sure grip was proper, as should be for anyone who you don't know what they're doing. Proper placement under the knuckle, thumb pressure, wrist orientation, the important stuff.
Then I tried to explain that throwing with the right snap/hit will feel different, like hitting the sweet spot on a bat compared to hitting the end cap. If you hit the end of the bat, it doesn't matter how hard you swing...it won't help much. I showed him the hammer pound/forearm stop type motion to get the wrist to slam open, but after 10 seconds I got a blank stare like "duh, of course your wrist opens if you stop your arm". I could tell this would be a waste of time (although this method has worked on tons of people).
So I tried what worked for me. Do a full reachback, then drive your arm/elbow forward to the right pec position, and stop. Your wrist should slam shut to the point where your disc nearly hits your forearm. It didn't happen? Try again. Get your elbow out there until when you stop your arm suddenly, your wrist slams shut. It's automatic. Try it again, and as soon as you feel your wrist starting to slam, then extend your elbow outwards (elbow chop). Your wrist should now fling open. That's it.
He felt that right away in drill mode so I just said chuck a disc. First disc was low but I could tell it had better spin. Second disc was a Roc3 (which he hated and never threw) that was suddenly about 250' straight without fade, from a standstill. For the entire round he threw from a standstill, and was getting 300' out of his Valkyrie consistently, much straighter, and on hyzer flips of reasonable height. The Roc was now his driver for half of the holes. Massive difference between round 1 and 2.
Maybe this technique tip will help someone else. But it was just incredible to see within 5 minutes of talking and throwing, his entire form changed. It was a super fun second round.
First was just making sure grip was proper, as should be for anyone who you don't know what they're doing. Proper placement under the knuckle, thumb pressure, wrist orientation, the important stuff.
Then I tried to explain that throwing with the right snap/hit will feel different, like hitting the sweet spot on a bat compared to hitting the end cap. If you hit the end of the bat, it doesn't matter how hard you swing...it won't help much. I showed him the hammer pound/forearm stop type motion to get the wrist to slam open, but after 10 seconds I got a blank stare like "duh, of course your wrist opens if you stop your arm". I could tell this would be a waste of time (although this method has worked on tons of people).
So I tried what worked for me. Do a full reachback, then drive your arm/elbow forward to the right pec position, and stop. Your wrist should slam shut to the point where your disc nearly hits your forearm. It didn't happen? Try again. Get your elbow out there until when you stop your arm suddenly, your wrist slams shut. It's automatic. Try it again, and as soon as you feel your wrist starting to slam, then extend your elbow outwards (elbow chop). Your wrist should now fling open. That's it.
He felt that right away in drill mode so I just said chuck a disc. First disc was low but I could tell it had better spin. Second disc was a Roc3 (which he hated and never threw) that was suddenly about 250' straight without fade, from a standstill. For the entire round he threw from a standstill, and was getting 300' out of his Valkyrie consistently, much straighter, and on hyzer flips of reasonable height. The Roc was now his driver for half of the holes. Massive difference between round 1 and 2.
Maybe this technique tip will help someone else. But it was just incredible to see within 5 minutes of talking and throwing, his entire form changed. It was a super fun second round.