How Much Distance Do I Really Need?

[etdefender19]

I love reading the threads from people who throw 500' trying to squeeze out extra distance and it leads me to a query of you more experienced players...

Without getting into form critique, or bag composition, or any other third thing, my question is this: how much effort (and practice time) do I really need to spend squeezing every last bit of distance out of the long-distance portion of my game?

My game at this point:
I'm 50, athletic, and in pretty good shape (notable exceptions to follow). I began playing disc golf in December. I play 50-60 baseball games a year (and have for over a decade), so I naturally took to RHFH more easily when I began playing disc golf. Ongoing shoulder (torn rotator cuff) and elbow (tendonitis) issues from baseball (I'm a pitcher) make the FHs I really crank on somewhat painful at times, particularly after a long practice session or round. As a result, I am incorporating more and more BH shots into my arsenal.

Over-simplified summary of where I'm at now: 200' or less: I backhand PnA discs. 200'-250': I backhand PnA's or mids, depending on the circumstance. 250'-300': I forehand a variety of speed 7-9 discs (depending on the shot). Longer than that, I go to my distance drivers (forehand) - which average about 310' - and occasionally I'll get them to 330-350'. I also have a shot I call a "hero roller" where I intentionally turn over a Colussus forehand - if thrown well, and with enough room to work, it will hit the ground about 200' out and roll another 200' (I was basket-high on a 400' hole two days ago). I'm usually only a handful of strokes over par at most courses at the end of the day.

Further detail into my question: I was throwing my DDs 20-30' farther a month or so ago, but with less accuracy. I'm very comfortable with my level of accuracy now, but would love my older, extra, distance back too (and even more). On the other hand, I feel it may not be worth my practice time to work on my drives as much (because of the pain/soreness when I throw too many fully-cranked shots) so I think I'd probably be better off focusing my practice time on the 300' and in shots.

Do I REALLY NEED more distance than I currently have? If I never throw a disc 350' again, would that be the end of the world? To use a ball golf analogy, couldn't I be successful being a relatively short-hitting Zach Johnson with a deadly short game (assuming I could ever develop one) instead of trying to be a long-bombing Dustin Johnson?

 

[Jules B]

Honestly, that distance is probably all you really need unless you are trying to play pro. If you can driver accurately at that distance and putt fairly well you should be great.

I throw about 250-280ft mids and 300- 350 distance drivers right now. One of the course I play is a actually disc golf brand course designed by Avery Jenkins. It has two legit par 5 holes 700ft+ and a few par 4. I can, on a good day birdie any hole. The course is considered advance level. Your distance sounds about the same as mine, so I suspect knowing what I'm doing if I can get my accuracyand putting game down I'd be money.

 

[Twmccoy]

400' consistently will definitely get you by. The key is being able to throw that 400' on command, at least semi accurately, and with a variety of discs in varying conditions.

 

[Shipley]

I love reading the threads from people who throw 500' trying to squeeze out extra distance and it leads me to a query of you more experienced players...

Without getting into form critique, or bag composition, or any other third thing, my question is this: how much effort (and practice time) do I really need to spend squeezing every last bit of distance out of the long-distance portion of my game?

My game at this point:
I'm 50, athletic, and in pretty good shape (notable exceptions to follow). I began playing disc golf in December. I play 50-60 baseball games a year (and have for over a decade), so I naturally took to RHFH more easily when I began playing disc golf. Ongoing shoulder (torn rotator cuff) and elbow (tendonitis) issues from baseball (I'm a pitcher) make the FHs I really crank on somewhat painful at times, particularly after a long practice session or round. As a result, I am incorporating more and more BH shots into my arsenal.

Over-simplified summary of where I'm at now: 200' or less: I backhand PnA discs. 200'-250': I backhand PnA's or mids, depending on the circumstance. 250'-300': I forehand a variety of speed 7-9 discs (depending on the shot). Longer than that, I go to my distance drivers (forehand) - which average about 310' - and occasionally I'll get them to 330-350'. I also have a shot I call a "hero roller" where I intentionally turn over a Colussus forehand - if thrown well, and with enough room to work, it will hit the ground about 200' out and roll another 200' (I was basket-high on a 400' hole two days ago). I'm usually only a handful of strokes over par at most courses at the end of the day.

Further detail into my question: I was throwing my DDs 20-30' farther a month or so ago, but with less accuracy. I'm very comfortable with my level of accuracy now, but would love my older, extra, distance back too (and even more). On the other hand, I feel it may not be worth my practice time to work on my drives as much (because of the pain/soreness when I throw too many fully-cranked shots) so I think I'd probably be better off focusing my practice time on the 300' and in shots.

Do I REALLY NEED more distance than I currently have? If I never throw a disc 350' again, would that be the end of the world? To use a ball golf analogy, couldn't I be successful being a relatively short-hitting Zach Johnson with a deadly short game (assuming I could ever develop one) instead of trying to be a long-bombing Dustin Johnson?

You can be very competitive with your distance, and a strong short game.

However, be forewarned...if you plan to participate in distance discussions on DGCR, you'll need to do some field work and increase your "internet distance", to at least 550 ft.

I won't tell you what my distance is on the course, but in internet distance, I throw putters 575 ft, and that's with my off hand.

 

[discgolfer25]

As a baseball guy myself, this is the analogy that I would use, pitching velocity. Can you get by without it and be successful pitcher? Sure, Greg Maddux is a hall of famer. But, it sure helps if you do have velocity. Were Maddux had to hit his spots consistently and be able to paint corners to be successful, a guy who throws 98 can miss a spot every now and then and get away with it. And then there are guys like Nolan Ryan who could do both and that's when you have an almost unhitable combination.
Same thing in disc golf. A guy who throws it not as far (aka slower, like Maddux) can be successful if he knows where it is going every time. The margin for error is slim, like a low velo pitcher. A guy who can throw it far, can sometimes miss his intended target and get away with it because of his distance. A guy who can do both, becomes almost unstoppable (McBeth, Wysoki).

 

[Jules B]

see below

 

[Jules B]

You can be very competitive with your distance, and a strong short game.

However, be forewarned...if you plan to participate in distance discussions on DGCR, you'll need to do some field work and increase your "internet distance", to at least 550 ft.

I won't tell you what my distance is on the course, but in internet distance, I throw putters 575 ft, and that's with my off hand.

LMBO:clap:

 

[slowplastic]

I feel that getting to the backhand 330-350' area is where it's necessary to have a "good time" playing. Just because at this point, it's generally where players get that "snap" on the disc (what I call it when the wrist acts as a lever) and discs really start flying the way they are supposed to. It lets you throw shots under 300' with quite a lot of ease, and throw drivers easily over 300' with some different flight paths. Plus when you have developed that form your discs will behave fine in the wind.

So to me to play enjoyably it's more getting to the form level where the shots don't take a ton of effort, so you can hit the gaps, and discs act like they should.

As far as how much distance you "need" I feel like at the 375-400' level you open up a lot of higher power lines on medium length courses...throwing 300-330' hyzer shots over or around things very easily. It really depends on where you live and what the courses you play are like for distance and how open they are.

For me I want 450'+ just because it interests me and it would be very fun. If I wanted to score better I should work on 125' and in, forehand and backhand, on all lines, and putts from 25-40' especially. I spend my time practicing drives mostly instead.

 

[etdefender19]

You can be very competitive with your distance, and a strong short game.

However, be forewarned...if you plan to participate in distance discussions on DGCR, you'll need to do some field work and increase your "internet distance", to at least 550 ft.

I won't tell you what my distance is on the course, but in internet distance, I throw putters 575 ft, and that's with my off hand.

 

[teemkey]

OP: Are you asking about casual play or tournament play? If tournament, then pro or am?

 

[etdefender19]

I would eventually like to compete in some amateur tournaments in my age group, at least locally. I play in the monthly with the club from my home course and look forward to those (and have the same nerves) as much as any baseball playoff game I ever play in, but that's the highest-level tournament I currently play

The longest hole on the modified course setup for the monthly is probably 500-525 feet, and there's only a handful longer than 400 feet (out of 27 holes total)

 

[Guurn]

I'm a 52 yo guy with various nicks and injuries just like you. I'm almost totally unable to throw forehands due a broken elbow back when I raced bikes. In addition in the last 2-3 years my distance has dropped from just under 400 to around 365 and I've found it affects my game quite a bit. This has to do with the way new courses are designed. If you are happy playing courses that don't benefit from your distance capabilities then no worries.

On some of my regularly played courses having the additional 35 feet does matter. More than that I know the primary reason I've lost distance is laziness. I'm pretty convinced that given good instructions, reasonable fitness, smart disc choice, and limited injuries everyone should be throw about 350'+ with accuracy. Smart disc choice is huge.

All of that being said, I've lost rounds to guys that couldn't throw 280' as recently as last year, fortunately my putting is much now. If it is worth your time and effort get better, just like you have in every other sport, do it through practice, fitness/flexibility training, and instruction. If not just enjoy the sport.

 

[Guurn]

Oh yeah, how much effort will that take. If you have someone help you clean up your technique then practicing throwing for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week will easily get you there. Make sure you are practicing technique and not just whipping crap (i see that all the time) and make sure you aren't walking away with a back that is killing you or a knee you can barely walk on. If you are then you are doing it wrong. Remember back when you didn't know how to pitch and you had coaches? Being old helps you there, get instruction but you will find you listen better and learn faster.

 

[Pymm]

I think you answered your own question, honestly. Do you need more distance; almost certainly not from the way it sounds. Should you want more distance? I don't know. I feel like, personally, I want to improve everything about my game, putting, upshots, distance out of the box, etc. The reason being that a lack of distance off the tee puts more pressure on your upshots because they are consequently longer which often leads to a longer putt at the end. If your time for practice is limited and you can only focus on one thing then distance is probably not the thing you want to focus on. I try to do a little bit of everything in my practice sessions because I think it is beneficial to improve all areas of my game.

TLDR: No one area of the game is more important than the other imo. They all work together to produce a good hole, a good round, a good number. To consciously accept one area as "good enough" increases pressure on the other parts of your game.

 

[ru4por]

Your current game will play very well in Grandmasters. Sign up for a few events, have fun and test your skills.

 

[Pbmercil]

How much distance do you need?

That's an impossible question to answer, because it depends on what your goals are for your play and how you want to reach them,

If you want to be the best player you possibly can, then yeah you should be trying to add distance as well as working on every other aspect of your game. Sure, there are some good players for whom throwing far is 90% of there game, and at the same time time there are other players who are super accurate with great short games. But the best players have both skill sets at an elite level.

Do you NEED to as distance? Of course not. Nobody really does. Would adding distance improve your game enough to be worth the work you put into it? Only you can answer that.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

http://www.heavydisc.com/2016/01/throwing-for-distance-why.html

I put down a detailed answer here.

 

[teemkey]

In my area (Portland OR) there aren't many MG1 (Amateur 50+) players who throw 350' regularly. Most 50+ players averaging 350+ play MPG (Professional 50+). The Ams who throw 350 and win, pride themselves on their putting skills; the Ams who throw 350 and don't win, pride themselves on their distance skill.

If you want to win tournaments, you need to play well in all phases of the game.

 

[etdefender19]

Thanks for all the responses and the blog link (that was a good read)!!

I think I'll try and find someone this winter to work with on my forehand - the problem I foresee is that I suspect whatever form issues I have are injury-related and may not be fixable. I'll probably concentrate my field work there once baseball season ends after the October Phoenix tournaments (adult baseball's "worlds" if you will)

Near-future priorities will likely be honing the short game and then expanding my BH game

Again, I really appreciate the input. I particularly enjoyed the baseball analogy because Greg Maddux is my favorite pitcher ever

 

[lyleoross]

Arrrrrgggggghhhhh!


Grandmaster, 56, I'm typically the longest guy on the card. I can throw over 400 feet, but in tournament play rarely get over 370. I get my back end kicked by guys throwing 320 all the time. It isn't distance, it's accuracy. The guys that beat me, from 200 in, lay it in a 20 foot circle every time. They are 950 or higher putters.

BTW it doesn't matter whether it's a tight or open course. If you can throw 320 and hit your line you're golden.

Work that short game!

Last, the guys I'm talking about are 930 rated players play advanced GM, and typically are at or near the top of their cards.