Beginner Disc-Advice RHFH Driver

[Zyro]

After I got my Forehand to work (for me as a beginner, 200ft is work ) I noticed, that I have some problems with the disc I used to throw.

I will give you a small feedback of the Driving Discs I use:

1) Innova Valkyrie DX (150g)
Backhand is okay.
With forehand the disc just turns left and never comes back before it hits the ground when I throw it with power. When I throw it with less power it does come back to right and makes a nice little S-Curve. But it obviously isn't going far.

2) MVP Servo Neutron (158g)
Backhand is okay (turns little much, but that is okay, I can handle that).
With forehand that disc quickly flicks back to flat and then to right. It makes what I want. It could have a little less fade, because I am a noodle-arm-beginner, and the disc landing (in a heavy right turn) too soon So i am missing some distance out of it.

After that feedback my question is:
Which disc could suit my throwing at this point? It should be a disc in between these two flight-characteristics. Please keep in mind that I am a beginner and I throw discs for 3 months now.

(Sorry for my English, it's not my native language)

 

[Plastic Thunder]

Not seeing you throw limits what I might recommend but weight may be the solution. I have found flicking light weight discs can be problematic for the reason you stated. They tend to turn over quickly and don't have the intended flight. I found going above 165g or so may help. I use stuff from 168-172 mostly. Destroyers(normal dome in Star), Crushes(flatter the better), Monsters(I like the "L"), Orcs(the older pearly stuff). There are loads of others, the ones you listed may work, I just don't throw them these days.

Have you considered backhand? Lighter disc perform really well backhanded. Start with the mid-range stuff or even a putter on down hill shots to build confidence. When you get the distance up, mix in your drivers.

 

[Shapers]

I started playing Ultimate Frisbee about 4 months ago. Before that my FH was terrible. When I started playing Ultimate my FH was still terrible, but I practiced a lot and focused on the wrist snap. I found it to be a lot easier to learn the snap with a Ultimate disc. Grab a friend and start throwing to each other! You're going to improve your hammer as well. Right now I'm able to throw a 171 GStar Teebird3 about 300' on a dead straight and flat line when I get it right. As a comparison I throw the same disc about 350-370' on the same line BH.

As of discs, I'd recommend putters and mids. I recently bought the Innova XT Whale, and I love it. I'm also throwing Axiom Envys for more overstable drives. I'm throwing Roc3's and a Mako3 for mids. At your power level you shouldn't be able to get very much more distance from a driver than from a mid. The mid might actually go further!

 

[DougCrawford]

I would go with a stable/Overstable fairway driver at 175g. Something like a TeeBird or stag. Will fly well even at lower speeds and will resist turning over on a forehand. Once you build up your arm it will still be a useful disc too.

 

[jeffboi]

Innova Valkyrie DX (150g) might be too light/understable but it is 95% your poor form. Think about throwing a bit more inside-out. Use more body rotation (specifically shoulder turn) and less arm, more flick and less throw. Learn how to throw a Comet or Leopard before you try something that fast.

I am 48 years old, 5'5", 135 lbs and throw a flick 350'. If it were RHBH I wouldn't comment

 

[yetipro]

Not seeing you throw limits what I might recommend but weight may be the solution. I have found flicking light weight discs can be problematic for the reason you stated. They tend to turn over quickly and don't have the intended flight. I found going above 165g or so may help. I use stuff from 168-172 mostly. Destroyers(normal dome in Star), Crushes(flatter the better), Monsters(I like the "L"), Orcs(the older pearly stuff). There are loads of others, the ones you listed may work, I just don't throw them these days.

Have you considered backhand? Lighter disc perform really well backhanded. Start with the mid-range stuff or even a putter on down hill shots to build confidence. When you get the distance up, mix in your drivers.

:thmbdown: This is not very good advice for a beginner. They need to learn how to level out their throw, have a proper wrist angle and release.

A Monster is probably the worst recommendation you could possibly give... That is one of the most difficult discs on the planet to throw. Experienced and powerful forehand players may find the discs you mention useful. However, for a beginner, discs like that will cause them to drastically overcompensate for the nosedive and develop poor mechanics. And they will never be able to develop good distance.

Zyro, since you are still working on your mechanics and distance, I would not recommend anything above an Innova speed 7 or so. A lot of people don't know this but the "speed" of the disc is not best described as how fast the disc is, it's how fast your arm speed / throw must be for the disc to behave according to its expected flight path. Since you are throwing around 200 feet, you will not be able to throw a distance driver properly yet. You will be able to build more confidence and comfort with a mid-range or fairway driver. Once you can throw it straight, with little to no wobble, and have it come to a slight fade at the end, you can advance to a distance driver above speed 7.

Your Servo should suit you well for learning the forehand.

If you want to try something else, the Teebird is an ideal beginning forehand disc. It is slightly stable but solid all-around. I would also recommend a Roc but depends on your feel for it. Any putter/mid-range/fairway driver that is slightly stable to stable will do, your local disc golf vendor can help show you other options.

Also, I wouldn't recommend buying DX plastic, because it will beat in and become flippy. This may be the problem with your Valkyrie, once it hits a tree or two it will start flipping over. Any other plastic will do, depends on your feel.

Check out some of the resources on YouTube / The Internet for forehands, such as grip and release. Video your throw if you can and then correct it!

 

[Zyro]

Thank you everybody for your advices. Very interesting stuff. :thmbup:

Zyro, since you are still working on your mechanics and distance, I would not recommend anything above an Innova speed 7 or so. A lot of people don't know this but the "speed" of the disc is not best described as how fast the disc is, it's how fast your arm speed / throw must be for the disc to behave according to its expected flight path.

I do know that and I am definately not looking for a speed 11 or something. I think the Speed 9 Valkyrie is the fastest I can throw at this moment without having it crashing down.

Since you are throwing around 200 feet, you will not be able to throw a distance driver properly yet. You will be able to build more confidence and comfort with a mid-range or fairway driver. Once you can throw it straight, with little to no wobble, and have it come to a slight fade at the end, you can advance to a distance driver above speed 7.

I can already throw straight with no wobble (backhand and forehand). But my form is far from perfect and there is much to be done. I do know that.
I will practice more and more. My forehand is giving me more confidence now than my backhand. So much more confidence that I managed to make a 60 feet forehand putt with just flicking the Valkyrie out of my wrist

And thats where I lose it. When I throw it with low power and concentrate on the snap. Everything is fine. But it seems that I can not get the snap to work when throwing with more power.

Your Servo should suit you well for learning the forehand.

Yes, I feel the same. This is why I am thinking an other MVP Disc would suit me. Because I know that I like the Neutron Plastics and the Overmold.

If you want to try something else, the Teebird is an ideal beginning forehand disc. It is slightly stable but solid all-around. I would also recommend a Roc but depends on your feel for it. Any putter/mid-range/fairway driver that is slightly stable to stable will do, your local disc golf vendor can help show you other options.

Good. Thanks for the Advices.

Also, I wouldn't recommend buying DX plastic, because it will beat in and become flippy. This may be the problem with your Valkyrie, once it hits a tree or two it will start flipping over. Any other plastic will do, depends on your feel.

Yes, I can imagine your right. I have thrown the Valkyrie DX many times and hit numerous trees with it. It already looks bad So maybe that adds up to my bad form with that disc.

As I mentioned above. I think I like the Star Plastics of Innova and the Neutron Plastics of MVP. But I have to say. I have not tried so much different, because we don't have local stores here in my area.

 

[Smigles]

The valkyrie sounds like a good disc to train with. Backhand and forehand.

Start throwing it on hyzer lines (both BH and FH) till it does no longer flip over. Then start giving it more power. You'll have a very reliable hyzer throw in the end.

 

[Onyx]

I'm RHFH and throw MVP/Axiom as well. Range wise, I'm right around 320.

The only other discs I might suggest would be the Crave or the Theory. Since my first throw with it, the Crave has been a go to disc for me. Thrown flat, you'll get a little turn. Thrown with a little hyzer, it'll flip flat.

I think the Theory will be a good disc for you to bag and to practice with. The Theory will definitely tell on you if you are rolling your wrist over at all when you are flicking. At your power level, released smooth and flat with no OAT, the Theory will fly straight and land straight.

If MVP/Axiom is a brand you like, I'd recommend stopping by this Facebook group. It has a ton of helpful MVP/Axiom throwers. I would love to see you there.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MVPFans

 

[Quinum]

The only other discs I might suggest would be the Crave or the Theory. Since my first throw with it, the Crave has been a go to disc for me. Thrown flat, you'll get a little turn. Thrown with a little hyzer, it'll flip flat.

I agree with the Crave suggestion. I used to bag craves, and they flew great for me on FH shots (and BH for that matter). The low profile felt great in my hand, and always gave a very straight flight with consistent fade to the right on RHFH throws. Solid disc.

I now throw teebirds in this slot and they are also great all-around discs that you could easily use to develop your FH shot.

 

[Timeetyo]

:thmbdown: This is not very good advice for a beginner. They need to learn how to level out their throw, have a proper wrist angle and release.

A Monster is probably the worst recommendation you could possibly give... That is one of the most difficult discs on the planet to throw. Experienced and powerful forehand players may find the discs you mention useful. However, for a beginner, discs like that will cause them to drastically overcompensate for the nosedive and develop poor mechanics. And they will never be able to develop good distance.

Zyro, since you are still working on your mechanics and distance, I would not recommend anything above an Innova speed 7 or so. A lot of people don't know this but the "speed" of the disc is not best described as how fast the disc is, it's how fast your arm speed / throw must be for the disc to behave according to its expected flight path. Since you are throwing around 200 feet, you will not be able to throw a distance driver properly yet. You will be able to build more confidence and comfort with a mid-range or fairway driver. Once you can throw it straight, with little to no wobble, and have it come to a slight fade at the end, you can advance to a distance driver above speed 7.

Your Servo should suit you well for learning the forehand.

If you want to try something else, the Teebird is an ideal beginning forehand disc. It is slightly stable but solid all-around. I would also recommend a Roc but depends on your feel for it. Any putter/mid-range/fairway driver that is slightly stable to stable will do, your local disc golf vendor can help show you other options.

Also, I wouldn't recommend buying DX plastic, because it will beat in and become flippy. This may be the problem with your Valkyrie, once it hits a tree or two it will start flipping over. Any other plastic will do, depends on your feel.

Check out some of the resources on YouTube / The Internet for forehands, such as grip and release. Video your throw if you can and then correct it!

Pretty much all of this.

Your poor form is why the discs are flipping more FH than BH. You really have 2 options....get something faster / stable that won't flip to mask your problems - or learn to throw a neutral disc properly. Many choose the former but you are forever stuck on that crutch. The best thing you can do is learn to clean up that form and you'll have a whole world of options open to you if you have a clean FH shot.

Also - I know you want to throw those 9 speed - but they aren't getting up to speed at 200'. They may not be unmanageable for you, but a teebird / leopard (or equivalent) will fly JUST as far as a valk at that distance and be so much more reliable.

 

[Hampstead]

170 TeeBird


thank me later

 

[FlyingHyzer]

I learned to flick with a TeeBird, now on my FH drives I use a Thunderbird, and a Firebird.

 

[yetipro]

Pretty much all of this.

Your poor form is why the discs are flipping more FH than BH. You really have 2 options....get something faster / stable that won't flip to mask your problems - or learn to throw a neutral disc properly. Many choose the former but you are forever stuck on that crutch. The best thing you can do is learn to clean up that form and you'll have a whole world of options open to you if you have a clean FH shot.

Also - I know you want to throw those 9 speed - but they aren't getting up to speed at 200'. They may not be unmanageable for you, but a teebird / leopard (or equivalent) will fly JUST as far as a valk at that distance and be so much more reliable.

Good advice, having the right form is 95% of the battle... Some discs are better than others to help you learn the form. I actually should have mentioned the Leopard first! That will help him learn a lower speed neutral throw better than a Teebird.

I actually have used Leopards since I was a beginner, I play a ton now but I still find that disc to be pretty ideal so long as the wind isn't too bad. Most drivers I can throw right at 350, but I have a seasoned DX Leopard that I've gotten over 400 (with no wind of course). So it may be marketed toward those who are new to the game but it's always gonna find a way to stay in the bag.

 

[The Shide]

Don't neglect the fact that the weight of the Valk is WAY too light. You'll want to bump up to, say, a 160ish. Lighter weight discs in slower speeds tend to flip into rollers very quickly.

 

[The Shide]

Also, I would recommend trying a Star FL for a beginner FH disc.

 

[The Shide]

And here's a good place to shop for one.

http://proshop.innovadiscs.com/factory-second-st-fl.html

 

[slowduc]

from one noob to another, use a leopard and teebird for a while. i've got them in i think 165g and 167g, and they are heavy enough not to turn over too easily, but light enough for my noodle arm. i just recently started using the teebird (leopards don't do headwinds well ) and that thing is awesome... when thrown correctly, it just goes long and straight with a little fade at the end.

 

[wims]

Don't neglect the fact that the weight of the Valk is WAY too light. You'll want to bump up to, say, a 160ish. Lighter weight discs in slower speeds tend to flip into rollers very quickly.

Doesn't a heavy disc just mask OAT more than a light disc? Wouldn't a very light disc be better to learn perfect form rather than a heavy one that you can crank like crazy, yet it still flies stable?

Sorry for the late reply, I'm a noob tho and I'm looking for advice on the same topic.

 

[C_Dub]

This thread is highly informative. I have the same question, essentially, and the info I have gotten from the folks I play with varies pretty significantly. I have been RHFH a Valkyrie with inconsistent results. I really want to develop a consistent FH to be more versatile and gain more control left to right. I'm going to start drilling my Teebird FH and see if I can clean up my form. Thanks for the tips.