How Do You Throw Overhand?

[BogeyNoMore]

I only throw them if I have to. I can throw both, but my tomahawk is longer than my thumber by a good margin (~300 ft vs ~250 ft).

exact same for me, only cut down on the distances.

 

[TN Teebird]

I only use mine if i need it for an upshot to get oversomething or I need to curve around a tight bend that requires a pancake.

they can be very hard on the rotator cuff so I never drive off the tee with them.

 

[hipster]

Love the overhand shots for some shorter tee, approach, and out of trouble shots. The tommy is a more natural shot for me but I've developed thumber through practice. Usually with a dx whippet. If I'm throwing well, both shots spike into the ground androll a little around the basket.

 

[captain jack]

Tommy makes my fingers dance, just not comfy.
Thumb, locked into the Gazelle, hits the mark like a bulls eye every single time.
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO FOLLOW THROUGH.
Stopping your arm mid rotation will cause unnecessary pain.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

for the most part, I don't... Few upshots and get out of trouble throws but never a drive unless it is a very odd hole. Can only think of 1 that I use it on and that's basically a tee off a cliff with pin short and you cant really let the disc fly.

 

[bobmcnelly]

for the most part, I don't... Few upshots and get out of trouble throws but never a drive unless it is a very odd hole. Can only think of 1 that I use it on and that's basically a tee off a cliff with pin short and you cant really let the disc fly.

Random question/ Thread derail of my own thread: Do you like that hole that you speak of that "you can't let the disc fly"? What would you think of a course that has 3 or 4 shots like that?

 

[Aim For The Chains]

The hole is pretty worthless. You basically just toss the disc straight down at the ground and hope you don't hit one of the early trees. I have seen some high level players execute overhand shots with some crazy success at longer distances but also takes a whole different level of skill and power that never seems to be any different from that of a conventional BH or FH line.

A course with a few holes where it takes very little skill and you just throw a disc like a baseball towards the pin hoping it lands close is just not really in the spirit of disc golf to me.

 

[bobmcnelly]

Thanks for you thoughts Aim.

 

[Star Shark]

Poorly... but the real answer is that I only use them for out shots... my shoulder is toast.

 

[All Day]

I throw thumbers only with Vibram Ascents and Gateway Blazes, anywhere from 250' holes out to a max of 325-330'. Primarily a RHBH guy, but this morning I will throw 7-8 thumbers off the tee on the course I'm playing.

 

[BirdieMachine]

I sort of wrecked my shoulder earlier in the year throwing a thumber. So until it heals up better I am out of the OH game.

 

[mm1315]

Both off the tee both go about the same distance just depends on the curve of the fairway.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Thanks for you thoughts Aim.

FWIW I recently played a round with 2 guys who literally threw overhand nukeOS shots on EVERY hole and that was enough to never want to throw a overhand again. The one guy kept complaining about his shoulder too :doh: There was very little line shaping and it was more like lawn darts.

Now taking the OH to this level is a whole different topic:

 

[Brodysseus]

How do I throw overhand?

Badly.

I'm in this same boat.

I'll only throw an overhand if it's absolutely the only shot to go over a tall obstacle in front of me. But as I have a BH, FH, a good flick roller, a meh thumb roller, and I'm ok at doing flick cut rolls... I rarely overhand and it is definitely my last option.

 

[Dan Ensor]

FWIW I recently played a round with 2 guys who literally threw overhand nukeOS shots on EVERY hole and that was enough to never want to throw a overhand again. The one guy kept complaining about his shoulder too :doh: There was very little line shaping and it was more like lawn darts.

Now taking the OH to this level is a whole different topic:

So you only have a problem with OHs until you're awesome at them? How do you get to awesome without passing through noob?

I throw both. Not very far with either. I definitely never try to crush an OH. 250' is about all the distance I'll try with them. I'll throw wide open approaches OH, and just play lawn darts.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

So, I hesitate to even remotely act like I'm capable of throwing OH - but I do practice them and feel like I'm more accurate with thumbers than any other shot. That said, I only throw them if I don't have a BH or FH available. It really can jack my shoulder up if I am not really warmed up.

The single biggest help with throwing thumbers, and I assume TH (which really is uncomfortable for me), is developing a hit. Most players can throw them 200-250' which is about as far as you can "throw" a disc like that... but developing a hit, the spot where it arcs around the release - is how you can jump out 50-100' further - very similar to what we discover with BH shots.

I strongly suggest
1. Warm it up slowly with mids and putters at 50-100' until you've really loosened up the body - similar to playing catch.
2. Throw low - like a pitch, especially if you have a decent throwing arm. I suggest this because it's a more natural feeling for most people and it'll help for low shots - then move to a higher trajectory until you find the right distance.
3. People typically thumb OS discs, but using discs like teebirds or even mids, give different flight paths.
4. It's not about throwing it hard... just like w/ a BH or FH, it's about isolating the hit. That's why I think starting slow, focusing on the hit is so helpful.
5. I may be comletely wrong on this, but I focus on driving my elbow down while keeping the elbow loose and whipping open my lower arm once my weight is fully tranferred into my front foot.

 

[Halcón]

Only time I throw OH is for rollers. I'm still working on the angles, but when they hit right, they go nice and far.

 

[B3NDER]

^ Get out and Frolf, Bräu.

It's all about the thumber. I love how it flips mid air, and will either hit the ground and skip for extra distance (or jump over obstacles) or it will land on the rim and roll an extra 20 feet at least.

-Stick Putts, Bräu-

 

[Dan Ensor]

5. I may be comletely wrong on this, but I focus on driving my elbow down while keeping the elbow loose and whipping open my lower arm once my weight is fully tranferred into my front foot.

I'd just say "forward" not "down", just like any other throw. But in most OH throws, they're pretty synonymous.

 

[Qikly]

I used to be pretty snazzy with thumbers. I would use them for approaches, super tight windows, get out of trouble shots, drastic elevation changes, and shorter left to right holes (using a thumber grip but a forehand-type perpendicular-to-the-body release I can get some really sharp right angles and huge, predictable skips). Unfortunately I too succumbed to shoulder pain - those side arm thumbers are not anatomically kind - and had to really cut back on them. That said, I still use thumbers in the above circumstances, just more sparingly. I think it's a great shot to have in the arsenal. In my experience even a crude overhand goes a long way. It's definitely saved my butt a bunch of times on the course.