Advice on practice/drills

[kmatt333]

I've come down with the addiction in a bad way this summer and I'm hoping to learn how to really make a disc fly properly. After some research I've found that I was doing pretty much everything wrong--even the way I held a disc in my hand. The good news is that I've found a lot of really great information...the bad news is that I've found A LOT of really great information.

Like most of you, I'm sure, the obligations of life keep me from playing and practicing as much as I'd like. I'm hoping for some advice on where to begin and how to best build a solid foundation to improve my game. Basically, is there a sequence or progression (get a solid grasp on x before attempting y) that a beginner would be best served to follow? Should I focus on the upper body (Hammer Pounds, Closed Shoulder Snap Drill) or try to get ahold of the lower body (Heavydisc's Feet Together, SW22's One Leg, Door Frames, etc)? Maybe something else entirely? I know there's no real substitute for getting out and throwing, but drills I could work at home especially interest me.

For reference, I'm throwing rhbh in the neighborhood of 240'-250'. Thanks in advance for taking a look.

 

[ru4por]

You should get a basket and start practicing being a great putter.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

The mantra "from the ground up" is repeated all the time for a reason. Balance and footwork are first and getting everything else in the sequence to follow.
What order do you watch or try drills? Kind of an individual thing. I would say post a video of some throws in the critique section and listen to where the corrections need to occur.

I might say though as far as the SW22 drills hard to put an order to everything but for sure watch them all and then go back and start with
Crush the can drills
Maybe even switch back and forth between crush the can and single leg if you can get some feeling of how those relate in your body's motion.
Hershyzer and butt wipe drills.
Then door frame.
Really try and get the feelings from one to the other. Carrying the can crush feeling and applying the hershyzer and butt wipe to the door frame drill they all relate and its tough to give a sequence when what you are looking for is some integration between them.

And yeah being a great putter will make up for being a mediocre thrower.

Or hell I just went back to the video thread. They are listed in a good order. Just do them in that order, but think about the integration between them as I said.

 

[Shamis]

If you're focused on driving, get a video camera. record your form from different angles. Then compare it with the pros. Look at the heavydisc blog for good breakdown of mechanics. Keep tweaking your form until you look feel you look like the pros, then post a video here and somebody will tell you what else is wrong.

Other than that, get a basket and putt. If you can hit 40 footers all day your 250 foot drives won't really seem so terrible anymore.

 

[DiscFifty]

I always post this advice, but it's simply some of the best advice ever given to me and others. Throw a stable putter, over and over, keep your arm on a plane as if throwing on a flat table. Try to make the disc come out level and fly straight. Do this over and over and over until you are throwing straight & level out to around 200-250ft with that putter. Muscle memory is key in this game.

 

[Didn'tSeeThatTree]

You've probably seen all this before, but here is my $0.02

I totally agree with DiscFifty. Find a putter you like, get a few of them, and practice throwing straight. Throwing putter for the last year has really helped me...this along with putting practice has moved my rating from 870 to around 925 in a little over a year.

Field sessions are great, but if you are like me and don't have much time to practice or play I almost always pick playing a round over going to the field.

I do have a compromise. I play a lot of rounds by myself and play each hole twice during the round; as Normal guy, and as putter guy. Putter guy is only allowed to throw a putter. Putter guy hasn't won yet (usually only a couple strokes off), but in the last year both have gotten much better. There are even some holes now that I used to tee with high-speed driver that I'm using a putter now.

Putting is a different discipline entirely, and arguably more important. If you can afford it and have the space; get a practice basket and use something like the Finnish putting game to get a few practice sessions in each week. It's fun competing against yourself, and you can get a round in about 20 minutes.

Web app for putting game.
http://jyly.altervista.org/

A few other things that helped over the last couple years.
- Forcing my self to use a power grip...used to be all fan grip
- Throwing stand still drives for a while to reduce the number of variables
- Sticking with one putting style. Seems obvious, but I was inconsistent with my putting style.
- Buying more discs. Sounds funny, but playing around with the way different discs opened my eyes to new shots.
- Learning a FH. It was really ugly for a while, but now I love throwing side arm. Probably 50/50 BH/FH

Good luck, and have fun!!

 

[kmatt333]

You should get a basket and start practicing being a great putter.

I think I'd settle for being a "meh, he's sort of okay" putter. Your point is well taken--eliminating misses inside the circle would be way more beneficial to my score than an extra 50' off the tee, no question. My wife gave me a backyard basket as a birthday gift; I just need to put the work in. Thanks for your response.

 

[kmatt333]

I always post this advice, but it's simply some of the best advice ever given to me and others. Throw a stable putter, over and over, keep your arm on a plane as if throwing on a flat table. Try to make the disc come out level and fly straight. Do this over and over and over until you are throwing straight & level out to around 200-250ft with that putter. Muscle memory is key in this game.

I've been doing this with my fairway drivers for the past few weeks (opto diamond and/or a star leopard). I've been throwing from a standstill only--that was an easy transition, especially when I found that my "run-up" was doing absolutely nothing but causing me to spray discs all over the place. My distance is roughly the same, but I'm now keeping it in the fairway for the most part.

I have an opto pure that I've been using as an approach disc--looks like my goal should be to get it out as far as that diamond. Focus on straight, flat shots. I'll work on it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[kmatt333]

I do have a compromise. I play a lot of rounds by myself and play each hole twice during the round; as Normal guy, and as putter guy. Putter guy is only allowed to throw a putter. Putter guy hasn't won yet (usually only a couple strokes off), but in the last year both have gotten much better. There are even some holes now that I used to tee with high-speed driver that I'm using a putter now.

This is brilliant. I'm adding Putter Guy to my udisc right now. I'll check out the putting app as well. Thanks for that.

 

[kmatt333]

Really try and get the feelings from one to the other. Carrying the can crush feeling and applying the hershyzer and butt wipe to the door frame drill they all relate and its tough to give a sequence when what you are looking for is some integration between them.

Yep, tough to find a sequence when they're interrelated...that's pretty much where I was getting confused which led me to post. I wasn't sure (still not) if there was a base drill that I should have down before moving to the more complicated/advanced motions.

Or hell I just went back to the video thread. They are listed in a good order. Just do them in that order, but think about the integration between them as I said.

Will do...I appreciate the help.

 

[kmatt333]

If you're focused on driving, get a video camera. record your form from different angles. Then compare it with the pros. Look at the heavydisc blog for good breakdown of mechanics. Keep tweaking your form until you look feel you look like the pros, then post a video here and somebody will tell you what else is wrong.

Other than that, get a basket and putt. If you can hit 40 footers all day your 250 foot drives won't really seem so terrible anymore.

Makes perfect sense...I don't suppose it's possible to help me figure out what to work on when you have no idea where I'm at with my throw. I'll work on getting some video. Thank you.

 

[Didn'tSeeThatTree]

I have an opto pure that I've been using as an approach disc--looks like my goal should be to get it out as far as that diamond. Focus on straight, flat shots. I'll work on it. Thanks for the advice.

YES! Opto Pure FTW!

 

[StevenSeagal]

If I could go back in time and retrain myself this is what I would do. First I would buy a few putters and then I would find a local professional and have him or her show me how to throw from a standstill position. After learning the basic fundamental standstill form I would then go to a field and work on throwing hyzer, anhyzer and straight shots with my putter on command.

If you do not have a confident, fundamental standstill form I honestly do not see the point in trying to learn anything else.

 

[sidewinder22]

Neutral Putters and Mids are your friend. You can also get a net or blanket to throw into, or get a PowerSnap disc golf trainer.

There is no real short cut or secret, just dive into it, absorb info and practice and review video of yourself vs pros.

Closed Shoulder Drill is where I would start and read the Snap 2009 thread. Along with Shawn Clement vids anything involving Weightshift, Hammer/sledgehammer, Fencing, and Tilted Spiral #2

Then:
Reciprocating Dingle Arm
One-Leg
Door Frames
Crush the Cans
Hershyzer
Butt Wipe
Turbo Encabulator

 

[AccidentalLayup]

Somebody on reddit compiled a big list of resources...

https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/51r3l0/drill_list_for_off_season/

 

[MarkDSM]

... Do not forget to be friendly and chat the grizzly looking guys on the course that effortless throw mids 300 with soft landings for advices.

.,, and play long catch / slap down with you putters and a playmate

 

[kmatt333]

If I could go back in time and retrain myself this is what I would do. First I would buy a few putters and then I would find a local professional and have him or her show me how to throw from a standstill position. After learning the basic fundamental standstill form I would then go to a field and work on throwing hyzer, anhyzer and straight shots with my putter on command.

If you do not have a confident, fundamental standstill form I honestly do not see the point in trying to learn anything else.

Solid. I've been throwing only from a standstill...my lower body/run-up wasn't doing anything at all, I found out. It's a pretty good idea to seek out a lesson or five; there are a couple of near thousand rated guys that have been doing well for themselves in my area. I'll check around to see if they'd be up for giving lessons in the off-season.

(Loved you in Under Siege, btw)

 

[kmatt333]

Neutral Putters and Mids are your friend. You can also get a net or blanket to throw into, or get a PowerSnap disc golf trainer.

There is no real short cut or secret, just dive into it, absorb info and practice and review video of yourself vs pros.

Closed Shoulder Drill is where I would start and read the Snap 2009 thread. Along with Shawn Clement vids anything involving Weightshift, Hammer/sledgehammer, Fencing, and Tilted Spiral #2

Then:
Reciprocating Dingle Arm
One-Leg
Door Frames
Crush the Cans
Hershyzer
Butt Wipe
Turbo Encabulator

Thank you so much; this is exactly what I was hoping for. I just ordered a couple more Pures and I have a couple of Comets and Truths already...I'll be working with them until I'm getting results.

The PowerSnap trainer has my attention (I'm a sucker for gadgets). Is it legit or more gimmicky? I've seen Feldberg mention using resistance bands as a way to gauge whether or not the pull through is straight or rounded...seems like it could be a good way to get some reps in when I can't get outdoors.

 

[kmatt333]

... Do not forget to be friendly and chat the grizzly looking guys on the course that effortless throw mids 300 with soft landings for advices.

.,, and play long catch / slap down with you putters and a playmate

My unusual work schedule leaves me on the course alone 95% of the time...I'm usually out early on weekday mornings when I can make it. It's great in the sense that I can throw as many shots as I want per hole without worrying about slowing anyone else down, but it's prohibitive to buddying up with anyone that could give me real time pointers.

And I've learned the hard way not to try to catch a decently thrown disc unless it's a putter...slap downs only for me.

 

[Dan Ensor]

but drills I could work at home especially interest me.

Hammer pound drill; do it on the couch watching tv, even.