How do you know your grip is full hitting?

[semisensei]

I was throwing in the field today and started with a stack of judges. Feeling good snap and release off my pinch and getting about 280 ft. Then I switch to drivers and I I realize that they are not going that much farther than the putters. There was a steady left-to-right wind which was definitely pushing the hyper angle down, but I felt like something else was missing.
I don't think it's the nose angle- I'm throwing them pretty nose down and flat. Rather, I think it could be my grip- I don't think I'm getting the same hit as I get with the putters. With the judge, I feel the disc leveraging around/ripping out on my index finger pretty clearly. I'm gripping with a modified fan, index and pinky on the rim, middle and ring finger on the flight plate.
With my drivers (a couple 11 speeds, couple 9s), I feel less rip. I'm gripping the 11 speeds with a 4 finger power grip, and the 9 speeds with the modified fan. And they feel like they are slipping out rather than leveraging a rip, like with the putters.
2 theories I'm going with: first, the judge, with its deep rim, is just more forgiving and easier to grip for longer.
Second, maybe I'm bringing too much speed into the power pocket with the drivers maybe because I'm trying to throw super fast, and it is slipping out early.
Or third, maybe I just forget to grip it hard at the right time?

Ok that got long winded fast. Here is my question: what should it feel like to have a full hit on the rip? How do you know when you get it right?

 

[semisensei]

Pics of the grips

 

[sidewinder22]

Feels like the disc just springs out the hand. Your theories sound sound.

Both your grips, I prefer have some space between the index finger and the rest, so it's more of a hook wrapping around the wing with the index. In the power grip, I use the modified power grip with the middle two fingers curled to the finger tips are more on the inside rim.

 

[Ryan P.]

When disc go far, I know me throw good.

On a serious note, There are different versions of a power grip. I've tried gripping with various parts of my fingers (the tip, wherever its called that I have a callous from playing guiter, the side of the tip, the side of the first joint, etc.) I'd mess around with that until you feel more of what you feel with the putters.

Also, you might be right that the disc is just coming out too early due to the speed. Throwing at the same speed as with your putters would help eliminate if this is the issue.

 

[navel]

For me this is how I feel the hit. A bit more difficult to feel with drivers, but not impossible.

New drill!

I didn't know where to post this so it ended up here. It may have a place in the disc pivot and snap thread? Maybe somewhere together with BlakeT's drills? I'm not sure.

This is a drill that has helped me a lot. It's one of the most helpful tools I know (as of now) for timing, snap and hitting the lines. And the best part is that it's really simple.
It might just work for me and nobody else, who knows? It's still a work in progress so there is surely room for improvement.


Enough rambling, here it is:

1. Grab a disc in your throwing hand with your usual grip. (Flat putters work best for this drill.)

2. Add onother disc on top with the top facing down. Grip the edge with your thumb. The discs should now be perfectly lined up.

3. Swing through slow and smooth until the upper disc moves forward towards the target. Imagine the upper disc being the handle of a hammer.

How and why does it work?

1. The added weight of another disc makes the swing and movements more fluid and smooth.

2. It's easy to feel the hit when the top disc moves. Does the top disc move/pivot straight towards the target, or would it rip out early or late? Does the hit feel "heavy" to you? Can you make the disc pivot feel "snappier" with better timing (not by adding speed or power)?

That's it! It feels like a sort of hammer drill for me. It's not going to fix your whole swing from the ground up. That's not what it's meant to do. It's a tool for finding the hit and release point and adding more smooth power to the snap. The movement could be part of a pre throwing routine, before putting or before an approach shot.

 

[timothy42b]

The top disc is going to pivot around your thumb. With no other fingers to prevent it, it will just swing around.

Is that what we're trying to accomplish? Spin&Throw is just now recommending something very similar by holding the bottom disc with a one finger pinch. I thought Blake T in his description long ago said that was not really the pivot or rip. I don't know enough to have an opinion.

That might be what the bonapane grip does, too.

Stokely said in that clinic that the disc will rip if you get on the plant leg first, and if it comes out what he called fluffy you pulled too early.

I'll try the thumb drill after work today.

 

[navel]

The top disc is going to pivot around your thumb. With no other fingers to prevent it, it will just swing around.

Is that what we're trying to accomplish? Spin&Throw is just now recommending something very similar by holding the bottom disc with a one finger pinch. I thought Blake T in his description long ago said that was not really the pivot or rip. I don't know enough to have an opinion.

That might be what the bonapane grip does, too.

Stokely said in that clinic that the disc will rip if you get on the plant leg first, and if it comes out what he called fluffy you pulled too early.

I'll try the thumb drill after work today.

I think this might be a good way to feel the hit, but no promises. It seems to work for me. The disc will either slip out to the left, the right, or accelerate out forward feeling heavy with a sudden pop. It' not just rotating freely around the thumb. There needs to be some force in the grip for it to work. Just enough to add friction. The force making it pop forward should overcome the friction in one sudden movement and pull you forward like being stuck with your fingers in a bowling ball.

 

[seedlings]

I'm the other way around. I can feel it better with higher speed discs than putters. Hold the disc very tight at the hit. There will be a 'bounce' kind of sensation with the wrist (don't know how to describe it). Don't think we'll be able to 'full hit' unless all the other parts of our form are solid.

 

[semisensei]

So awesome. Thanks for your insights everyone. I love this damn forum!
I'm going to try slowing things down and playing with my driver grip a bit more. In the recordings I've made of myself, I see acceleration out of my hand, but nothing like the pop that GG or Calvin seem to have. The disc seems to almost double in speed right out of the hand, it's amazing to watch. In my snap/hit it sees a little bump in speed but nothing dramatically faster than my arm speed. Which makes me wonder if I'm actually getting to that "full hit" zone, or if I'm stuck in a half hit.