Distance Question - Putters/Mids/Drivers

[Kodachrome]

hey, guys. i have a question that has been bothering me. i took my discs out to the football field today to get a real measurement on how far i throw.

turns out i don't throw very far.

i was reading the spin vs speed thread looking for answers, but here is what's going on with my throwing:

my putters (pures) and my mids (axis, fuse, midari) go about the same distance. 270 average, with 300 on a good, controlled rip. if i try to go for more, i don't really go farther and i then i couldn't tell you where it's gonna go.

my throws with opto pure are straight with little to no fade. same with my axis. i hyzer flip my fuse for my longest shots out of them all, sometimes going a little farther than 300.

my fairway drivers go maybe 10 feet farther, if that, if i throw them on a line - pinnacle patriot (surprisingly similar to my rival; overstable for sure) and rival, but if i intentionally flex i'll get more distance.

my pd goes 320-340 but doesn't feel controlled. i don't have tiny hands, but apparently i don't mesh well with any drivers, not even fairways, really. everything else goes farther with less effort.

bottom line is this: i only feel like i am throwing in a controlled manner when i throw mids and putters, so that's what my game is going to revolve around for now. i seem to throw them both a fair distance. why are they dead even with each other? and why aren't my fairways going even farther than that? i know i'll have to post a video here at some point, but i must be doing something right to throw 300 feet on a straight line. but i must also be doing something wrong; i don't understand what could potentially cause this dead end - my mids, putters and fairways all go about the same distance when thrown flat.

any ideas what might be going on? what could cause this weirdness?

 

[sidewinder22]

Short answer is you are probably throwing drivers(and everything) like a beach frisbee instead of snapping a disc. Probable short answers are get more grip, snap, nose down, and maintain your planes and balance.

 

[Kodachrome]

i do a walkup, pull back using my arm as a lever and make sure i'm planting as my throwing arm is extended backward, keep my arm close, throw flat, try to grip it and rip it, not using the arm a whole lot except at the end to try and accelerate...

it feels right, but i'd think i would have more of a distance gap between those different kinds of discs if i were indeed doing it right. thanks for the response; i've never thrown a beach frisbee so i'm not sure what that entails, really.

i think i'll just have to upload a video once i can - that'll be probably be more helpful.

 

[DiscinFiend]

Short answer is you are probably throwing drivers(and everything) like a beach frisbee instead of snapping a disc. Probable short answers are get more grip, snap, nose down, and maintain your planes and balance.

:thmbup: Best way to fix this is to put a vid of yourself on here, I'm sure that you will get some good advice (probably from sidewinder).

Check out this thread & read the links in the technique section sticky
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91096
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26165

 

[knettles]

Don't worry, your distance isn't that bad. You're probably throwing farther than the majority of disc golfers out there.

 

[blackcatsmith]

My theory is that due to the long sharp "wing" of a driver it can fly faster and further but it also becomes more affected by wind, angle, speed and spin causing it to be less controllable than say a midrange or putter that has a very blunt wing if any at all. There is just more required of a higher speed disc to get it to perform to its' potential. Seems to me you must have good form and what's more: a good foundation on which to build distance with your drivers if you can pump a putter out to 300'.

 

[Smigles]

Don't worry, your distance isn't that bad. You're probably throwing farther than the majority of disc golfers out there.

at 300 feet ?

way to keep the expectations low, buddy

 

[Kodachrome]

well, guys - i appreciate the input.

i've read quite a bit on these forums - i was a lurker for a while before i actually hopped onto the site. the threads mentioned in the technique sticky were the ones that got me to where i am right now.

i think i'll just start posting some videos (may take a while since i've never uploaded to youtube before) from the ground up, starting with my grip, and see if ya'll wonderful gentlemen can give me a hand.

 

[AndyJB]

at 300 feet ?

way to keep the expectations low, buddy

I can't throw a putter 300 feet and I can barely get that with my mids if I give it everything I've got and don't care where it lands, so I'd say yeah, he's doing pretty dang good.

You have an interesting dilemma because to get a putter out to 300 feet you need somewhat decent form, assuming you are hitting the lines you want to...since you said it goes nice and straight it sounds like you're doing good work there. But the Axis should go quite a bit farther for you, and you should be flirting at least with 400 feet with drivers...

I'm not a distance thrower by any means but I know enough about the principles to know that a fair amount of throwers (I'm speaking specifically about local pro Joel Abrian who taught me a buttload about this) can get their putters and mids about the same distance...but mids are much better for lower lines and more accurate outside 200 or so feet because you can keep them much lower to achieve the distance you would on a putter.

Maybe you are throwing your drivers too high?

 

[Kodachrome]

Alright, gents. Let's start from the bottom up. I've read all t]he grip tips I can and watched all of the videos I could find over the past 6 months or so. I do not, however, have monster hands. This is how I grip; it is very comfortable for me and I really feel the disc being pulled into my palm nice and secure. I try to keep it firm but I do not warp the flight plate. I would like a more trained eye to look at it and see if you notice anything right off the bat that would prevent me from throwing with good form/farther.

Please note I do not keep my wrist open when I grip; it looks like it in one picture because ibam trying to grip and take a picture at the same time. Also, how do you go about requesting to have a thread moved?

 

[Mike C]

Your grip is making the disc look like it will come out nose up. Pretty sure in this vid I discuss how I grip the disc with the base knuckle of my index finger on top of the rim.

PD's are somewhat overstable. Trying a more neutral disc like a Neutron Volt, QOLS, or Valk could help.

Faster the disc the more nose angle sensitive it is and the further it can fly on low lines compared to slower discs. If you are throwing nose up this will prevent faster discs from doing their intended job.

Lastly, even once you can rip drivers, the distance gap isn't as big as you might expct. e.g. on a typical day open field throwing at a comfortable power level I could be looking at 370' putter, 390' mid, 420' teebird, 440' Volt, 480' D2. So only about 100' difference between a putter and distance driver. Its not all about distance, but knowing what to throwing for certain lines, throwing heights, wind conditions, bh vs fh etc.

 

[knettles]

at 300 feet ?

way to keep the expectations low, buddy

Ya, 300 feet with a putter is definitely farther than the average disc golfer. Notice I said "disc golfer", not "DGCR member". There's a crap ton of amateur level players out there that have no idea about this site.

 

[Halcón]

Ya, 300 feet with a putter is definitely farther than the average disc golfer. Notice I said "disc golfer", not "DGCR member". There's a crap ton of amateur level players out there that have no idea about this site.

From what I've seen, the majority of disc golfers can't throw any disc 300 feet, much less putters.

 

[AndyJB]

From what I've seen, the majority of disc golfers can't throw any disc 300 feet, much less putters.

I'd say 90 percent, without exaggeration.

 

[AndyJB]

To the OP: no matter what you do, listen to what Mike C says and watch his vids. Dude has form down on lock for sure.

 

[Kodachrome]

haha; got it.

yeah, regardless of how far others throw, i just want to improve things. it's not about distance, it's about getting better overall, which includes throwing farther with less effort, more consistency, more accurately . . . which boils down to form. i'm addicted to improving.

with that said, i think i had a bit of a revelation today when i was thinking. went out for a couple rounds . . . i bent my knees more because normally i stand up straight with a bit of an arch in my back, spread my stance out a bit, took larger scissor steps.

this activated my core on the pullthrough, shifted my weight with the larger steps, and overall got more torsion throughout my body.

i can't say how much of a difference it made overall until i experiment with it more (i still have problems transferring my weight well) but i did have my all-time longest drive. if the distance on the site here is anything to believe, oakwood park's 17th hole is 405. parked it with my buddy's champ sidewinder, lol. i got the pd out to about 380.

seems like a good start - will definitely watch mike's video and probably post in the critique section with a vid at some point.

one thing i will say - i've tried the "between the index and middle finger" trick before and my finger doesn't wrap far enough around the rim . . .

 

[Kodachrome]

aaaah, ignore the last sentence in that post. sorry for the double post.

 

[Nold]

I am currently having the same issue as the OP. I haven't been to a football field, but I imagine I am throwing around the same distance. Everything going about the same distance. I haven't seen this movie yet. Turns out I had the disc oriented wrong in my hand!

Going to try the new grip this next week and hopefully I'll get some more distance.

 

[DeadEye]

at 300 feet ?

way to keep the expectations low, buddy

You're dumb.

 

[Smigles]

All that hating again. Noodle arms really have a very fragile self balance.

Dont come in a thread where somebody wants to actually learn something and improve and give him all that "you are allready good enugh" ****. You guys may need it to make your inferior self feel somehow adequate. But hope is not lost for all players, so at least teach the newbies properly.

****tards