Keeping disc flat when putting...

[hazed_0ut]

Hey everybody, hoping someone can point me in right direction or give me some tips. For background, I've only been playing about 2 months and am trying to work on my putting. I've watched Feldbergs push putt clinic and many other videos in putting. My problem is when I try a push putt, it seems I get no spin on it disc and I can't reach the basket when just outside the circle, it almost Looks like a knuckleball. So I started doing a combo push/spin type putt to try and help me get more distance, but it seems every time I do it, the disc leaves my hand at a hyzer angle / and stays like that - I can't seem to figure out how to keep the disc flat. I feel like I'm doing myself a disservice throwing it like that as I'm often just missing or its spitting out. Every pro I see throws it flat, I just can't figure out how.

Any tips, videos, whatever you could point me to would be awesome. Thanks everybody.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Just hold the disc flat?

Not trying to sound like a dick but honestly if you have too much hyzer on the putt lift up the outside edge (maybe eveb use a slight anhyzer release like you see with Nate Doss and a few others) keep elbow up and wrist flat. Power from the lower stomache area will help you feel the core momentum and help push the disc. Shouldn't need much effort for a flat putt to float in with some good spin.

Also you might have a very OS putter mold and could check out something without as much fade. What mold do you use now to putt with?

 

[hazed_0ut]

Just hold the disc flat?

Not trying to sound like a dick but honestly if you have too much hyzer on the putt lift up the outside edge (maybe eveb use a slight anhyzer release like you see with Nate Doss and a few others) keep elbow up and wrist flat. Power from the lower stomache area will help you feel the core momentum and help push the disc. Shouldn't need much effort for a flat putt to float in with some good spin.

Also you might have a very OS putter mold and could check out something without as much fade. What mold do you use now to putt with?

Don't sound like a dick, no worries, I say it to myself every time I Putt. I've tried telling myself to keep it flat, but there must be something mechanically I'm just not getting. I've thought about what you said, lifting the outside edge but somehow it like my hand just naturally goes hyzer, hard to explain. If there isn't something real mechanical or technical I'm missing, it may be something I just have to sit at a basket and shoot over and over until I get it.

I throw RFF wizards but they aren't real flexy, seem a bit stiffer than other RFFs I've seen.

I appreciate you taking some time to give me some insight.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Definitely not your putter then as wizards are very straight. Without seeing you in person its hard to say exactly what could help but maybe watch these:

 

[hazed_0ut]

Definitely not your putter then as wizards are very straight. Without seeing you in person its hard to say exactly what could help but maybe watch these:

Thanks, some new ones there I haven't seen yet. It's probably just something I need to get out on a basket and consciously work on for an extended time. Just wasn't sure if there was some type of technique I was missing. I feel a lot of it is mental too, almost like I'm tricking myself into throwing like that in order to gain distance when I don't have to. Again, appreciate you're help!

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Its something I deal with but on purpose lol. I have messed around a lot with slight anny, hyzer and flat releases from different putting styles to spin, push, combo/hybrid etc.

Still can't putt for **** Practice is going to be the key here, regardless of the style you end up picking. Good luck!

 

[slowplastic]

Try changing your grip (way different from throwing and approach grips...I have it way into the meaty part of the base of my thumb), and try tossing the putter straight up in the air in front of you and catching it. It's a good way to test if you have a flat and stable spin without having to go get it every time.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Practice different grips and hand and wrist angles. May just be some trial and error involved until you dial it in. When I've experimented with push putting I felt like I had to exaggerate my wrist tilt quite a bit when I brought the putter back low. (Kind of how Wysocki does it.) And I adjusted the amount of spin with that style also, and realized it required more than I expected.

If you don't have a practice basket at home, putt at a tree or make some kind of target to aim at. Repetition and experimentation will be your friends.
Most importantly, find a stance and motion that are repeatable and comfortable for you. If you're forcing something that's uncomfortable for you, you will limit your success.

 

[Dan Ensor]

Maybe you missed part of Feldberg's clinic (or watched a different one), but he says "This takes muscle! If you put in the work, you'll start putting better from your friend. Stick with it for 6 months!" You've only been playing 2; just keep at it.

 

[hazed_0ut]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Guess it is just trial and error after all. I'll definitely keep working. There's a tree in my backyard with my name on it!

 

[5QU166Y]

Try following through after your putt with your palm up and your hand stretched out towards the basket. It could be that you start with the disc flat, but as you putt, you change to a hyzer without noticing. I started focusing on my follow through and my putts seem to come out faster and flatter than they did previously.

 

[biscoe]

bend your knees- power comes from the legs.

 

[hazed_0ut]

Thanks guys, I've done a little bit of practice, haven't had time to really get out yet but I think I'm starting to figure out what I was doing, I'm not coming up straight. I setup straight, I swing my arms straight in the practice swings, but when i throw, I'm pulling my arm up to the right making the disc fly out on a hyzer angle. I'm working on keeping it straight while being conscious of the left side of the disc. That follow through with palm up seems like a good idea, I'll try that out tonight. Thanks again everybody!

 

[mcmurma]

The always hyzer putt is has been a definite issue for me as well. And like others I have tried adopting completely different putting styles to try and eliminate it. Ultimately, though, I'm starting to see that its not worth it to putt perfectly flat and just work with a mild hyzer. Turns out a mild hyzer is not a bad thing at all. There is even a clinic video out there that he does with KC and they talk about using the hyzer themselves... they don't putt flat either.

When I started playing I was trying to execute the Feldberg variation of the push putt, and from shorter distances, maybe up to 15 ft or so, it was working fine. Even with the omnipresent (pretty steep) hyzer angle, after a few months I was sinking a lot more putts than when I started. It was the curved flight trajectory on longer putts that was killing me. Putts over 20-25 would fly on a big hyzer curve... I mean bad. Misses were a terror. If I happened to get a little unfortunate disc roll or a slippery landing around the basket, a missed putt would sometimes be as long on the comeback. And that got old quick!

So I tried launching the putter on a strong anhyzer trajectory. To accomplish this I tried lots of different body angles to make this motion comfortable and wound up putting for a few months facing over 90 degrees from the basket (had to turn my head to see the basket). Putting from this position the anhyzer release was actually workable. On short putts the disc went in flat or mostly flat and the flight on longer putts was pure anhyzer, and would S back to the left at the end. Misses were a lot less severe and would usually end up only a short distance from the basket. It definitely lowered my scores.

Lately, I have gone back to putting with the Feldberg style because after months of putting big anhyzers, I found that getting the disc to go in flat (or mostly flat) with the Feldberg push putt was much easier. Now I can use either technique with confidence and feel like I'm a better putter as a result. YMMV, of course, and I still think putting will always be a work in progress.

 

[Mocheez]

Weight shift is critical. Put your disc down and play around with shifting your weight from the back leg to the front leg. If you keep your arm loose, you will notice that it will automatically spring outward after you shift your weight. The quicker you shift your weight, the more your arm will spring forward. You really don't have to push with the legs, you just have to lift your rear leg quickly.

Once you get a feel for utilizing the momentum of your weight shift, you can add a little pop with your arm/shoulder muscles. Timing is critical though because if you fire your shoulder/arm too early, you negate the momentum created by the weight shift. Once you have the timing down, 35 foot flat putts should feel smooth and effortless. If you find yourself muscling the disc towards the basket, your timing is probably off... relax and let momentum do the work.

 

[hazed_0ut]

Yep, I noticed myself doing this yesterday. I concentrated on that momentum and was hitting a consistent target, disc was flat, sometimes a little wobbly but I'm getting it there and it doesn't feel like I'm forcing it. Definitely will keep working. Thanks again!

 

[Toro71]

Mocheez is spot on. Timing is everything for a straight arm/wrist push putter. I'd also add the timing of the hand spring. That's crucial for me as well. No elbow, no wrist. Just swing up from the shoulder, pop open the fingers.

When my timing is off, I know it, because I practically need a cut-off man from circle's edge, lol.