Backhand thrower needs advice

[cloudstrife]

I had a shoulder injury from baseball a few years back, which now prevents me from throwing the hammer or a forearm shot. This limiting factor of my game has lead me on a search to find some discs that would benefit me the most.

Just about all my drives curve the the left (Inferno driver by Quest) but I'm looking for something that will do the s-curve sort of motion. Even my Wolf multi-purpose ends up to the left most of the time. I'm not the most familiar with over-stable / under-stable, I have been trying to read up on it but have gotten slightly confused....which type do i need to look for? Any other factors I should take into account? Thank all--

 

[garublador]

This article should answer a lot of questions:

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles/choosingadisc.shtml

 

[justin]

For a right-hand back-hand thrower (RHBH) ALL discs will fade left as they run out of spin. Understable discs need less spin to stay straight and overstable need more spin to stay straight. If you see someone throw a very overstable disc which does not fade that is because they are keeping it low and it hits the ground before loosing all of its spin. Keep in mind that "faster" discs need more spin so although an Inferno is very understable it will take far more spin to stay straight than a Wolf which is about as understable but much slower.

The Wolf is a very understable disc so if that's still trailing left a lot for you take a look at how you throw. Make sure you're keeping the discs' nose down upon release. Once you get that you'll notice your understable discs trailing far right and everything will change for you.

 

[MattK]

http://www.afda.com/skills/physics.htm

I'd say that fade is caused by a running out of SPEED (not spin), with spin being maintained. As such, more overstable discs tend to fade sooner and harder, as they have more perimeter weighting, therefore more angular inertia. Having too much speed (or too little spin) doesn't cause a disc to fade (which happens at the end of a disc's flight, when it is going its slowest) it causes turnover (which starts to happen at the beginning of flight, when a disc is moving at its fastest).

I'd also say that understable discs need MORE spin to fly straight, and overstable discs need LESS spin. The rationale being that for a given airspeed, a certain angular momentum is needed to maintain level flight. The factors of this being: 1. the perimeter weighting of the disc and 2. the rotational speed of the disc. Overstable discs have more perimeter weight, so require less spin to have the same angular momentum, while understable discs have less perimeter weight, so require more spin.

 

[WillA]

Get an ACE or a Maximizer and play with it until it gets beat in. Either one will become sick understable and fade right for you after they are beat in. For S-curves take a Beast and anhyzer it.

 

[cloudstrife]

Thanks All

Thanks for the multiple responses!

Just read through the resources posted be everyone, i'm thinking my angle of release is whats causing some problems. My buddies got a beast so I'm gonna try that out and see how much thats curving for me. I remembered the other day when I first got the Inferno it wasnt curving as much as it is now. So it must be something i changed in my technique. Going to head out for a game now and I'll throw lower with nose down and see how thats working.

Again thanks, i didnt expect such a thorough set of answers.

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

The simplest way I can describe technique to anyone, especially beginners, is to be conscious of your disc during the throw. Simply put, if you start the throw at waist high and end shoulder high with the disc wing angled down, it will set the trajectory for the throw; high and falling to the left. Conversely if you start shoulder height and end waist height and the nose down, you are going to bury it in the ground 5 feet ahead.

Disc stability really only comes into play once you learn how to maximize speed, spin, power ad trajectory. Starting at shoulder high, ending shoulder high, and keep the angle of release parallel to the ground will give you the straightest possible throw for the disc thrown. An understable disc will only turn well if there is enough power behind it. I find that the Sidewinder and the Roadrunner are excellent turnover discs.

As for your S curve, any disc will do and in fact the more overstable the disc, the bigger the S. Just adjust you wrist to angle the nose and wing slightly up. The more angle, the more S and the natural loss of speed/spin will bring the disc back left (RHBH). An understable disc will give you more of a ? shape than an S.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv76JEe1qUo
Just in the intro to this video, Klimo demonstrates good upper body form for a throw, then again at 2:05 he shows what the body should do prior to the the throw to align it where it needs to be.

 

[Texconsinite]

Weight

Another important thing to consider is the weight of the discs you are throwing. When I first started playing, I jumped from 150 class discs right to max weight discs, and everythign faded left for me with no s-curve. I bought a 175 wraith, and it faded pretty hard, which frustrated me. But after losing it, I now purchased a beat up 168 dx wraith, and holy moley, the thing makes a big bautiful s-curve. It seriously added 50-60ft to my drives. Try some lower weight discs in DX/ Pro-D plastic (since these are more understable than the premium plastics). If you can, get used discs that are already broken in, since they will tend to fly even more understable than a new one.

As for your Wolf, throw it with enough anhyser, it should make a nice right turn, then level back out. Great disc, I got the closest I've ever been to an ace with mine. (First Ace thread)

 

[ERicJ]

[...]Disc stability really only comes into play once you learn how to maximize speed, spin, power ad trajectory.

I have personally found that to be quite true. I've only been playing for four months but I'm averaging 9 holes per day over that period, so I'm getting lots of practice in. For the first three months it really didn't matter which disc I threw, they all did pretty much the same thing. It's only been the last month or so as my technique is getting better and more consistent that the discs are now doing what they're designed to do. It's like learning a whole new bag of discs.

I stayed away from overstable discs for most of that early time because I had more than enough natural left fade. I had a Pro Beast that was my favorite disc. Now I can't keep a Beast from turning right on me just about every time. I used to love my Sidewinder and trusted it to go straight, now it turns hard right most of the time. My go-to discs are now Star Firebirds and Star TeeRexes.

I'm having a great time learning how to play this sport and keep looking forward to the day when I can make a disc do what I want most of the time

ERic

 

[Texconsinite]

Try the XL or Stratus, those fly pretty straight for me Backhand

 

[rcmalamutes]

Very excellent thread.... Whisker Biscuit's post was very helpful... it is true, all the discs throw the same right now.... I have only been playing for a couple of months, and trying to learn how to really drive is very frustrating. So far.... I like the Valkyrie the best with a Monarch coming in close second.... I did get an XL and a Surge today to learn a few different ones, but now... I am going to do nothing but technique... no new discs for a while.

The footwork is hard to get into rhythm.... I am okay I think on the release angle... but the real snap of the whip isnt happening yet. My drives go about 160 - 180.... but I still haven't pulled out all the stops on a 250-300..... can't wait......

Thanks for all the good advice.

 

[BrotherDave]

Very excellent thread.... Whisker Biscuit's post was very helpful... it is true, all the discs throw the same right now.... I have only been playing for a couple of months, and trying to learn how to really drive is very frustrating. So far.... I like the Valkyrie the best with a Monarch coming in close second.... I did get an XL and a Surge today to learn a few different ones, but now... I am going to do nothing but technique... no new discs for a while.

The footwork is hard to get into rhythm.... I am okay I think on the release angle... but the real snap of the whip isnt happening yet. My drives go about 160 - 180.... but I still haven't pulled out all the stops on a 250-300..... can't wait......

Thanks for all the good advice.

Watch this vid, rinse, and repeat, A LOT.


To work on your technique practice with putters and mids only. Once you start belting those out there, work in some slow drivers. Stay away from fast stuff like Surges and Beasts, etc. They mask form flaws. If you have any more problems, keep posting them!

 

[Jacob]

If you want a driver/mid that flies right get a #4 driver for RHBH.

 

[TxDiscGolfBoy]

I had a shoulder injury from baseball a few years back, which now prevents me from throwing the hammer or a forearm shot. This limiting factor of my game has lead me on a search to find some discs that would benefit me the most.

Just about all my drives curve the the left (Inferno driver by Quest) but I'm looking for something that will do the s-curve sort of motion. Even my Wolf multi-purpose ends up to the left most of the time. I'm not the most familiar with over-stable / under-stable, I have been trying to read up on it but have gotten slightly confused....which type do i need to look for? Any other factors I should take into account? Thank all--

I'd suggest you start with something more understable...check out innovas website... www.innovadiscs.com ...and go to their discs home page. They do a pretty good job of rating their discs with their flight characteristics and do a pretty good job of explaning what you're trying to understand.

Valkyrie -- Gives great "s" turn when the power and spin and all that are there. The disc also gives you room to try stuff more overstable (tendancy of a disc to want to turn left as soon as you release it) and stuff more understable (tendancy of a disc to want to move right in it's high speed flight), stuff faster and stuff slower. It's pretty centered on their chart of discs

....keep in mind i'm talking about RHBH throwers

 

[chiggins]

Watch this vid, rinse, and repeat, A LOT.

Before you do that, though, watch this one and make sure you understand pivot. It makes the Beto stuff lots more effective. It makes everything lots more effective.

 

[rcmalamutes]

Before you do that, though, watch this one and make sure you understand pivot. It makes the Beto stuff lots more effective. It makes everything lots more effective.

This is very cool... and helpful... my only issue that I had with it, is that I didn't think you were supposed to wrist curl so much around the disk... isn't the bottom line to keep it kinda locked out and then just extend that wrist a bit at the end of the snap (whip)?

The other video, I had seen.... and that is a good one too. In terms of just driving with mids.... I got a couple drivers with a 0 Discraft rating (The Surge 150 and the Pro D XL for exactly that purpose... I figured they wouldn't mask my form flaws as badly. The mid is a good idea too though.... I will probably practice driving my DX Pro today.

 

[chiggins]

This is very cool... and helpful... my only issue that I had with it, is that I didn't think you were supposed to wrist curl so much around the disk... isn't the bottom line to keep it kinda locked out and then just extend that wrist a bit at the end of the snap (whip)?

Don't worry so much about wrist extension at this point. Focus on using your thumb/forefinger grip as a pivot, throwing the "fling" side of the disc, and having the disc rip cleanly off the other fingers.

Bradley has another couple videos where he talks more about getting snap by throwing the outside of the disc as if it were the head of a hammer. Here's the first one. It'll change the way you think about the throw, and though it won't get you out to 500' instantaneously, chances are you will see results the first time you hit a field.

 

[YawningDrone]

interesting stuff

 

[craftsman]

You are correct. Attemt to keep your wrist straight. The acceleration will pull on it. Didn't watch the vids but guessing they're great players with tons of acceleration, thus what appears to be a wrapped wrist.

 

[rcmalamutes]

That hammer throw pivot is very cool.... I will start working on that right away.... great stuff. Thanks all.