Disc weight...?

[Taino]

So I'm backhanding (RHBH) a Star Sidewinder and a Star Leopard, and I'm getting the same distance out of each to within feet of each other - about 225-230 feet. I try a DX Tee Bird - about the same distance. Lastly, a Millennium Orion LF Sirius - still the same. Throw after throw, they all end up within feet of each other. I've got reasonably good technique, connecting the dots so to speak, full hand grip, X-step... Good grouping, one might say... yet, I'm puzzled as to why the distance drivers and the fairway drivers are ending up in the same area.

All of these discs weight in the 174 gram range. Would a lighter disc go further, assuming no or little wind? Or should I try a heavier disc?

Thanks,

Tai

 

[80playedin10states]

can't get much heavier in most discs(175 is max in alot of brands)...i would say try lighter ones..in the 165 range..the lighter the disc the less stable, and the more it gets effected by wind.

 

[Camgolfer]

Lighter discs take a little less effort to throw as well.

 

[jdggna]

Lighter discs will go farther. Also, any faster than the Teebird or Leopard is overkill at 230 feet. An upper 160s Teebird should be able to net you much more distance.

 

[garublador]

It's almost certainly a nose angle issue. You're not getting enough nose down for those discs to fly as intended. Faster discs require more nose down than slower ones.

The usual suspects that lead to nose up are:

Disc not properly aligned in your hand/with your forearm.
Your weight is not forward at the hit
You're pulling from high to low

I'd work on driving with your putters, mids and the Leopard until the Leopard is consistanly going over 300'.

 

[Chucktown]

I would say keep the discs you have and keep working on your technique. I bought lighter weight discs around and under 170 thinking that that was what I needed to get a straighter flight at the beginning of the year. But after about 3 months, I started improving my techniques and playing alot, so I began developing more power and consistency, i return I started turning over alot of my lighter weight discs. So I suggest, keep the discs, work on really getting the power out of your torso and those discs will start to gain distance.

 

[ERicJ]

Like others have said it might be your technique. You can often observe newer players and if you watch them throw every disc in there bag they all go about the same distance. If you can get yourself on some video to check out what you're doing, that can help a lot. When you're just starting out you don't even need fancy high-speed video. What most point-and-shoot cameras are capable of doing can be sufficient to spot basic footwork and arm issues.

 

[Taino]

Thanks for all the advice. I really like the discs I currently possess, and am not necessarily looking for a quick fix by buying more... that said, I might check out a lighter model.

I think I can get a video taken, but for what should I look in the video? Arm level, disc aligned with forearm, throwing straight not at a high/low angle...?

T

 

[JHern]

So I'm backhanding (RHBH) a Star Sidewinder and a Star Leopard, and I'm getting the same distance out of each to within feet of each other - about 225-230 feet. I try a DX Tee Bird - about the same distance. Lastly, a Millennium Orion LF Sirius - still the same. Throw after throw, they all end up within feet of each other. I've got reasonably good technique, connecting the dots so to speak, full hand grip, X-step... Good grouping, one might say... yet, I'm puzzled as to why the distance drivers and the fairway drivers are ending up in the same area.

All of these discs weight in the 174 gram range. Would a lighter disc go further, assuming no or little wind? Or should I try a heavier disc?

Thanks,

Tai

You aren't getting them on the proper line, either because your release speed is too slow to make them turn, or because you release the disc with a nose up trajectory (or both).

To see the difference you'll have to throw the Sidewinder slightly upward in the air with a little hyzer, hard enough that it flips flat and then even a bit over, whereupon it will glide and pick up most of the distance on the throw before fading out.

Keep the nose down. Check your timing, and make sure you don't start your pull until your plant foot is down. Make sure you're keeping the disc close to your torso on the pull, and that you use your shoulder strength late in the throw when you whip the disc out of your hand.

If you want a disc that is easier to turn over at lower power, so that you can practice shaping the line I described above, then pick up a Panther some time and try it.

 

[Taino]

You aren't getting them on the proper line, either because your release speed is too slow to make them turn, or because you release the disc with a nose up trajectory (or both).

To see the difference you'll have to throw the Sidewinder slightly upward in the air with a little hyzer, hard enough that it flips flat and then even a bit over, whereupon it will glide and pick up most of the distance on the throw before fading out.

Keep the nose down. Check your timing, and make sure you don't start your pull until your plant foot is down. Make sure you're keeping the disc close to your torso on the pull, and that you use your shoulder strength late in the throw when you whip the disc out of your hand.

All my BH throws are actually very straight and flat for nearly the entire length, with a sharp hyzer fade at the end. It was suggested to throw lower rather than higher to keep my disc on course rather than have it fade off into next week. I was attempting to get the Leopard to turn over - throwing BH and bringing my arm high to low on the release - but with limited success; the disc went anhyzer, then came back to flat and faded off hyzer at the very end.

I actually almost always flick off the tee for distance; I have a much stronger flick than BH, easily in the neighborhood of 250' or more with a similar, overstable disc (Millennium Orion LS). My BH, however, is more accurate for approach and putting.

Again, thanks for all the advice. Looks like it's time to put in some more driving practice, with emphasis on form rather than distance.

Cheers,

Tai

 

[80playedin10states]

"witnessed metal"? what's next..i almost birdied that hole! and 5 people signed my disc?

 

[Technohic]

Hey, its the little things that count.

 

[JHern]

I was attempting to get the Leopard to turn over - throwing BH and bringing my arm high to low on the release - but with limited success; the disc went anhyzer, then came back to flat and faded off hyzer at the very end.

This is what you want, the classic S-curve, but starting from flat or a tad hyzer. You want the disc to be peaking in altitude just as it turns over in the other direction. Not a lot of turn over, but enough to get it to glide out before fading at the end.

Nobody should regularly throw a disc that they aren't able to turn at will, in the manner I described. This is how a player should progress: from slower, easier to turn discs, up to faster harder to turn discs (and this generally goes from low to high "speed" disc on the ratings charts).

Seriously, pick up a Panther. You will be able to turn the Panther over just like I describe, and it will show you how to shape the lines for greater distance. (A Discraft Glide also works well in this slot, and you would probably like the extra distance you'll get once you can get it to glide.) You will love this disc, and you will keep it in your bag for a long time, even long after you've moved up quite a few levels.

Once you get to the point where you can turn the Leopard at will (using a clean release, without significant wobble/off-axis torque/OAT), then move up to the Leopard as your main driver. Then the next step is something like an Avenger SS, or a lightweight Champion Monarch. The Sidewinder should come after those (especially in premium plastic), or another great disc to get into at this level is the Roadrunner. When you can turn the Valkyrie, then you'll be in the 300-350' range, and you'll also want to pick up something like a Teebird (or Striker, from Latitude 64). Beyond the Valkyrie is the Surge SS, Then maybe the Orc, Wraith, and so on...

 

[ERicJ]

"witnessed metal"? what's next..i almost birdied that hole! and 5 people signed my disc?

When you've only been playing for a couple months I guess you take what you can get.

 

[Taino]

When you've only been playing for a couple months I guess you take what you can get.

Darned right. Not that it's intimidating to be in such exalted company. Really.

T