How do I drive straight?

[JBrew04]

I'm fairly new to disc golf, but I love it and have been pretty happy with my skill progression. I wanted to increase the distance on my drives, so I just got a new Innova Champion Groove Distance Driver. The thing hooks very hard left everytime I throw it though, even when I throw it straight. Is it just the disc, or is it my form? I know it's a good disc, but I can't seem to control it. I played on the extra 9 at Plamann Park in Appleton, WI and had to give up because the fairways were so narrow. How can I shoot straight down them? Any good technique videos or pointers that will help?

 

[Dfwdscglfr]

groove is not a good disc and any fast disc wont be a good straight flyer for you just yet try a leopard or valk or even a buzz

 

[sgamerp]

a pro d cyclone has been helping me out a lot. but the buzzz is def an easy way to learn it. I think 95% of people hate grooves

 

[DSmith]

Lesson #1 throw Groove in trash.

Throw slower discs as high speed discs mask your mistakes.
Discs like Valkyries, Eagle L's, Cobras that are generally neutral stable (not over stable or under stable) as they generally fly on whatever line you put them on.

 

[bcr123psu]

Welcome to the site and welcome to the sport (addiction)!

The biggest tip will probably be to disc down. The Groove is a very high-speed driver which means that it requires a lot of juice and snap to fly its intended path. Building up from a Buzzz is good advice. If you must have a driver, go with a fairway driver such as a Leopard, XL, Eagle, Stalker, or Assassin (I might be the only one that throws this). I'd recommend staying away from any distance drivers, including the Valkyrie.

That said, you'd be doing yourself a service if you learn to throw the Buzzz long and straight and then work up to a driver.

 

[andrewkh]

if your just starting, almost everything is going to fade hard to the left at the end of it's flight. a groove is likely one of the worst discs you could have picked being a new player due to its speed and stability. until you learn good form and get your arm speed up, a fast disc will hurt your game and definatly not help you at all. you should start with a midrange, a buzzz, comet, or meteor would be ideal and learn with one of those. the midranges won't go as far for you at first but will be a lot more controllable and will have straighter flights and can teach you angles of release. personally i throw a buzzz for about 75% of my throws at or under 300ft, i like the buzzz because it is very straight when thrown flat but i can get it to turn left or right depending on my angle of release. also, cyclones and xl's are great to learn with, they are a little bit faster but are still very controllable. my advice is to stay away from maximum distance drivers for awhile and pick a slower disc that is stable or possibly understable.

 

[sillybizz]

How do I drive straight?

Don't drink before hand.

 

[sgamerp]

also this thread may help

 

[JBrew04]

Thanks for the advice everyone. So I won't want to use that disc now, apparently. What do I need to work on in order to gain more control of the disc?

 

[climbingbubba]

Definately lose your groove. It will only hurt your game.

Leopard is definitely a good option but I prefer stalkers and avenger SS's. The stalker is especially good for low straight shots on wooded areas. It doesn't go as far as my Avenger SS but i have a bit more control and its very predictable.

 

[JBrew04]

Thanks everyone!

 

[robbrews]

get suggested discs and go to a field and throw with all of your discs hyzers, anhyzers, flex shots (s curve shots) and straight shots with left turn on the end if you are a right hand back hand thrower (opposite if you are a lefty or a forehand). this will definately increase your accuracy and distance. also the search option on here is one of the most useful tools you'll have if you have a question.

 

[agent_peebody]

straight throws are very hard to do. that's why many people will throw a hyzer. they're easier to control and predict

 

[Mike C]

Jbrew, generally speaking the slower the disc, the easier it will be to control. The best thing to do when learning disc control and trying to throw straight, is start out throwing a putter, then throw some midrange discs, then the slower drivers known as fairway drivers. Discs with really wide rims like your Groove are very advanced discs that are best in the hands ofp layers throwing over 350'.

At this point you'll probably want to avoid anything that's rated faster than a Cyclone / Leopard / Gazelle.

You'll also want to look for discs weighing between 165-170 as opposed to 175 grams.

Another good tip is to research the stability ratings of a disc before you buy it, because you'll want to avoid overstable discs. For example, Innova rates their discs with a speed, glide, turn and fade rating. Speed is how fast the disc is, glide is how long it floats in the air, turn is how much it will want to turn right while it's traveling fast, and fade is how hard it wants to cut left as it loses momentum.

So for example, let's compare a Leopard and Viper.

Leopard: 6 5 -2 1
Viper: 6 4 1 5

As you can see the Viper is rated as a disc that goes HARD left at the end, while the Leopard is design to be a relatively straight flyer.

Some Innova discs I'd suggest trying out would be the Aviar Putt and Approach disc, Sharks, Leopards, Coyote and the Gazelle. If you have other brands available in your area you could look for the Buzz, Magnet, Cyclone, Magic, Element, Comet etc.

 

[U_NICED_ME]

Welcome JBrew! Learning to throw straight is one of the hardest things to learn in my opinion, but it helps to start out with discs that won't be quite so stable for you, i.e. dive to the left after you release.

A DX Cobra and DX Leopard are good discs to start off with. Depending on how strong your arm is will help you determine a good starting weight. I throw 172-178 with a mid-range disc (cobra, leopard, shark, Buzz).

Two good drivers to try are Sidewinders and Valkyries.

 

[U_NICED_ME]

Also, JBrew, if you start researching discs, it helps to understand the flight chart. Someone else can probably explain this better. But to give you an idea of the ratings we are recommending here are a couple of discs.

Because your arm right now isn't very fast, we are recommending something with low fade. Discs with a 0 are the straightest when thrown at a low speed.

Also, the speed of the discs we have suggested are medium. The higher the speed the more arm it will require to throw.

Turn is another important factor to consider, Negative values turn over to the right the most on a RHBH. More advanced players will use +1 or 0 while noobs like us, throw a lot of -1 and -2.

If I have given JBrew misinformation please correct me, I'm always up for learning.

Here is the link to some disc comparisons. http://www.innovadiscs.com/media/PDF/innova-driver-chart-web.pdf

 

[U_NICED_ME]

Sorry for the repeat Mike C! Great minds think alike

 

[simpletwist]

With both hands on the wheel.

 

[volklgirl]

This chart gives you a visual comparison of discs from many manufacturers. For now, pick discs in the bottom right corner of the chart (center to right side, speed 4 and lower).

http://www.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/media/flightguide.html

Some of the best starter discs are the Innova Cobra, Stingray, or Roc and the Discraft Comet, Impact, or Buzzz.

 

[NateDiscFlip]

a pro d cyclone has been helping me out a lot. but the buzzz is def an easy way to learn it. I think 95% of people hate grooves

Any cyclone is a friend of mine. Truly amazing disc for getting started...and will remain in your bag for the duration.


Just learn the hyzer snap with this disc for getting an awesome str8 drive you 're looking for. Try it on any anhyzer shot and see amazing results. Great compliment disc to the buzzz and stalkers which are the two discs I would say it falls in between.