How much does distance really matter?

[GLong]

But having a 50' bird attempt and not being a great putter will give you more 4's (missed comeback putts) than the guy throwing 300' and having an easy upshot. opcorn:

but there is a similar margin of error on upshots of that distance (120-150'). Factoring in wind/obstacles/difficulty of green, some of those upshots will lead to 4s as well.

And as pointed out before, throwing 300' and having an easy upshot leads to easy 3s. Good for playing conservative/tourney play, but if you can't throw as far other guys are going to birdie those holes. It means that on certain courses/layouts you will have a certain 'scoring potential' that you won't be able to change simply because you can't reach longer holes. It will get you by in MA2 or in a weak MA1 field but in a strong field it will put you middle of the pack.

 

[slowRoll]

I'm trying to figure out who are these mythical people that are so physically gifted that they can throw a Teebird 500 feet, but somehow lack the hand eye coordination to make the same 25 foot putt accuracy guy is banking on.

I am accuracy guy. I putt as well as any of you that are making this argument, and you are all wrong. Most guys that throw far started as us (300 club), and worked on improving their D. Me thinks you underestimate the work ethic and physical ability of others…

 

[Frank Delicious]

I'm trying to figure out who are these mythical people that are so physically gifted that they can throw a Teebird 500 feet, but somehow lack the hand eye coordination to make the same 25 foot putt accuracy guy is banking on.

Those are two pretty different skill sets.

 

[Jbowdown]

Adv: 350' with fairway drivers and 380'+ with distance drivers.

Pro: All the good pros around here can hit 400' accurately.

FrankD is absolutely right about distance and accuracy to determine around what skill level you'll be competitive at. Most Advanced players trying to compete in Pro will struggle to keep up with them on longer courses. Even if the hole is only 450' (we won't get into 800'+ behemoths right now) the Pro will have a chance of putting inside the 10m circle while the Advanced could still be 70' away. Inside the 10m circle is a drastically higher percentage shot than 70' away. I think Climo once said that everything inside 10m is almost guaranteed to go in while anything outside the circle (that goes in the basket) is a nice bonus. If it's possible, the average Pro is always taking the highest percentage shot that will land in the 10m circle.

The same Pro will probably even disc down to a Buzzz or Meteor if he has a tail wind for a hole like this while the Advanced player is still trying to strong arm his Boss.

 

[slowRoll]

Those are two pretty different skill sets.

And your point is? Throwing far and throwing accurately are not necessarily exclusive. The people that have responded to this thread act as if every one that throws far is some sort of baboon that can't also throw an upshot or make a putt. The best players throw farther than teh rest of us, and make more putts than we do guys. They don't get this way magically, they put in the work. If you want to putt better or throw farther, do the same.

 

[Frank Delicious]

And your point is? Throwing far and throwing accurately are not necessarily exclusive. The people that have responded to this thread act as if every one that throws far is some sort of baboon that can't also throw an upshot or make a putt. The best players throw farther than teh rest of us, and make more putts than we do guys. They don't get this way magically, they put in the work. If you want to putt better or throw farther, do the same.

I know a lot of guys who can throw far but can't putt. There are a lot of guys who can naturally throw far and that skill set doesn't translate into being a good all around DGer.

 

[Frank Delicious]

accuracy is easier to learn than distance so you have to take that into account. Physical limitations often keep people from throwing far but there are not nearly as many limitations that keep people from throwing accurately. So if you are stuck at a plateau and don't feel like working out to get stronger or more flexible, start trying to be more accurate.

 

[scarpfish]

Considering the aerodynamic qualities of our equipment, could we all at least agree the best amongst us get a degree of the good distance on their drives dare I say, by being accurate?

 

[Technohic]

I purposely backed off my distance in favor of maintaining accuracy from 1 round to the very next and had a swing 16 strokes for the better with my discs each going 10-15% shorter respectively.

That being said, I would love to keep pushing my 10-15% shorter throws to be a little further and Im not sure if that means keep working on max D or continue the controlled throws in practice.

 

[Frank Delicious]

I purposely backed off my distance in favor of maintaining accuracy from 1 round to the very next and had a swing 16 strokes for the better with my discs each going 10-15% shorter respectively.

That being said, I would love to keep pushing my 10-15% shorter throws to be a little further and Im not sure if that means keep working on max D or continue the controlled throws in practice.

Well you probably just need to learn how to keep speed (or add speed) through the hit if you want to push your shorter throws out 10-15%. That is what I worked on with rocs and wizards when I wanted them out to 300' and 250' respectively and it worked quite well.

 

[Thumber]

Considering the aerodynamic qualities of our equipment, could we all at least agree the best amongst us get a degree of the good distance on their drives dare I say, by being accurate?

That plus the lines they throw.....good players tend to have better control over their discs (accuracy) plus they tend to throw tighter lines....instead of throwing huge S-ing hyzer flips, the good players have the control and strength to throw the shot straight.

Lots of newer people throw really far using hyzer flips that use a ton of space to achieve good distance. The good players pick their lines and the disc tends to go really far and straight.

 

[Frank Delicious]

I always thought hyzer flips used less space than other lines like a flex shot unless you are just saying that newer players hyzer flip lines use a lot of space and not hyzer flip lines in general.

 

[Thumber]

I always thought hyzer flips used less space than other lines like a flex shot unless you are just saying that newer players hyzer flip lines use a lot of space and not hyzer flip lines in general.

I could have my terms wrong....I am talking about shots where it turns over and does a great long S-flight pattern

Newer players tend top throw these shots over straight down the pipe shots

 

[slowRoll]

I know a lot of guys who can throw far but can't putt. There are a lot of guys who can naturally throw far and that skill set doesn't translate into being a good all around DGer.

So again, who are these mythical people that throw Teebirds 500 feet but can't make a putt Frank? I don't know of anyone at all that can mash like that and can't play. Would the persons that went on an accuracy is everything rant please at least try to defend this?

I'm rated Adv, and have been playing tourney dg for 3 years now so I have a little experience with what I'm about to say. My ability to throw darts from 300 feet down the middle serves me well on many of the courses we have here in TN. I excel at tighter wooded courses when the wind is calm and I'm feeling golden (no aches and pains). There are several guys that throw much farther than me in my division. I enjoy competing with them even though many of them are younger and in better physical condition than I am. That said, on a couple courses we have here the average distance for holes are longer than I can throw by a fair amount. I find myself often 60- 80 feet away from the basket because of my lack of D, while they are 20-40 feet. While I am able to par every hole with a few birdies sprinkled in, my general scores on courses like these are within a stroke or two of even par. I've never gotten a win on either of those courses, and stand very little chance of doing so unless I put in the work to improve my A. Physical condition (strength, quickness, balance, and flexibility) and B. form. When it comes to open longer courses, raw D is what matters, along with the ability to stick the putt. Placement is great, and we obviously all need to keep it in bounds, but the overall downplaying of the power game I've read here is a bit insulting to my intelligence. A power player can max out at several under on a course like that, meaning that when they are on, their best is better than my best.

 

[Frank Delicious]

So again, who are these mythical people that throw Teebirds 500 feet but can't make a putt Frank? I don't know of anyone at all that can mash like that and can't play. Would the persons that went on an accuracy is everything rant please at least try to defend this?
.

I don't know if you are mixing me in with the "accuracy is everything" people but the guy who beat me at the last Zebulon PDGA is a guy who can mash but has problems with his short game. I won't name him but you can find out who took first there easily enough. The reason he won that tourney is because he finally put the short game and long game together and didn't miss a bunch of putts inside the circle (which he has done in a lot of other PDGA). He can throw a gremlin longer than I can throw my SOLFs but lacks the touch required for shots inside of 100' and putting.

There are also a couple of Ams I used to play with who could mash way farther than me and they were horrible at putting. These dudes could throw 400' after like 2 months of playing (made me jealous as hell) but they were horrible ams at every other aspect of the game.

I don't really see how you can't understand how a person could naturally be good at throwing a disc really far but not good at the part of the game that requires a lot of practice and finesse. If you would like an example from another sport look at Shaq and his ability to hit free throws. Dude uses his natural gifts well on the court but lacks the finesse to hit free throws.

 

[Frank Delicious]

Think of it this way. Pitching and batting in baseball two completely different skill sets inside of one sport. Throwing long drives and putting are the same way. I mean they aren't even the same motion.

 

[emook]

I had the opportunity to watch my first A tier tournament over the weekend. That being said I don't think the same as I did before about average accurate drives vs. Throwing super far.

Given they were all the top pros who can easily throw their putters 350 and can putt on a dime, BUT all that really showed me is don't think any part of the game is more important than another.

After seeing someone make a drop in bird on a 500ft open field hole with a buzz, I started to realize, uhhhh yeah I can drive an average of 380-400, and that aint gonna cut it.

Accurate, far. and bang in the putt. It all needs to be practiced

 

[Jbowdown]

I could have my terms wrong....I am talking about shots where it turns over and does a great long S-flight pattern

Newer players tend top throw these shots over straight down the pipe shots

You're talking about a anhyzer flex shot with a generally overstabe disc. A hyzer-flip with a stable to undersable disc flies very straight and very far with little to no fade (depending on the disc).

 

[slowRoll]

I don't know if you are mixing me in with the "accuracy is everything" people ...

I'm not, but I like to bounce ideas off the regulars here from time to time just to see if I am thinking clearly. I honestly don't know anyone that throws that far that is not an adv player, and most adv players are able to get up and down from most spots, and are pure cash money homey(forgive me, Randy Moss is our newest Titan) within 20'.

 

[Thumber]

I'm not, but I like to bounce ideas off the regulars here from time to time just to see if I am thinking clearly.

You are arguing with Frank. Clearly not thinking clearly :doh: