Looking for help with form

[nicktoons]

Hey all,

I started playing DG back in fall of 2020 and am mildly obsessed. It has been a great activity to dive into and has been a welcomed replacement of ball golf as my main activity. The first year was mostly trying out new courses, learning discs, and figuring out how to throw further. This winter i've been trying to add on more distance, accuracy and form improvements with some luck but still have a lot to gain.

I'm currently sitting around 200-230 on putters, 260-275 on mids, and fairways to drivers anywhere from 275-350. I struggle with the consistency and accuracy the farther I try to throw but I want to get to a point where 350-375 with decent accuracy is a normal thing and push my mids out to 300. The things i'm currently struggling with are the weight shift and brace, understanding the power pocket and driving spin on the disc, and nose angle control. I feel a lot of my discs fly nose up. Any help is appreciated!

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apV-dB6PiYU

 

[sidewinder22]

Note how your disc is wing up in the power pocket and swing down and release nose up.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134415

Need to turn your whole frontside and head further back into the plant and smooth out the backswing.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118948

 

[nicktoons]

Thanks! I didn't notice that before and makes sense now that i see it. I'll see if I can work on that in the field. Appreciate it!

 

[nicktoons]

So I was able to get back in the field for more practice. I was digging through some other threads and was working / thinking on a few things i've had trouble with. Key things being reach back / nose angle withe the bow & arrow, weight transfer / hips with the hershyzer and door frame drill. I still need to do work with the bow and arrow as i've tried to feel it without a tool but i'm seeing the same issues mentioned above in my side view shots with the top plate / wing being up in the power pocket and my elbow being lower than my hand. One thing i'm noticing is it looks like my shoulders open early and are fully open at the hit / release. For weight transfer, I focused on getting my left hip rotated and letting gravity help me by 'falling' into my plant, however me knee looks to absorb the fall but I don't quite extend into the heel and pivot around it. One key breakthrough that was giving me more distance was a feeling that I hadn't had before. I kept thinking about how to clear my back hip and get my back shoulder higher than my throwing shoulder and to do this it felt like I was standing up taller during the X-step and pushing my left hip around the back of my body to push my back shoulder in front of my head. That feeling and focus really seemed to help and was able to get some of my midranges out to around 300-315 on flat or hyzer lines.

Videos linked of side & back view throws:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhGo_txeYcs

 

[Cowabungapizzabomb]

Nice breakthrough! I have similar issues. So you're getting your hip deeper but then it looks like you are still "firing" the hip rotation and end up rotating into and around the plant. See if you can let the hip rotation be a result of the plant pushing into the ground giving you the extension you mentioned. It will involved either going even deeper with the left butt on windup, or delaying it slightly so your hips get fully loaded slightly later. (Tied into what you mentioned about being too open)

 

[sidewinder22]

Looks great until just before you plant and you open everything up early and collapse the front hip. Need to shorter your stride a little and keep turning back deeper into the plant, then swing. Note how your rear hip is extended while Eagle's is still hinged back and shoulders keep rotating further back.

yellow = rear ankle
orange = right hip stride
purple = right shoulder plant

 

[nicktoons]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely see how much deeper Eagle is getting back. I will focus next session on delaying the back swing a bit and trying to push my right shoulder even further back / shoulder under chin. It felt like I was doing it but clearly not enough! Also with that comparison it is clear that i'm doing everything a bit too early with my hips already opened back up at the plant. Need to keep working on timing.

 

[nicktoons]

Got back out in the field today, been having some good weather so getting rounds in but still need to work on my form and consistency. In this session I tried to focus on my shoulder turn and hips getting fully loaded, shortening my steps and slowing down. I also have been making a point to try to plant my front foot more turned back rather than open to allow my hips to remain closed at the plant and then uncoil after the plant. I still feel as if i'm leading most of my throw with my arm, and not from the ground up. I haven't felt the whip or that the hips & shoulders are pulling my arm with them. Also looking at these clips it's apparent that my left arm isn't adding to my power but is more of a dead weight or counter balance and may be taking speed away from my swing. Any thoughts or new drills to try out are appreciated!

Link: https://youtu.be/SY_hGSwFWl4

 

[sidewinder22]

Yeah your left arm is dragging behind everything. Your right arm is also going early/pulling bending elbow. Your weigh shift should cause your elbow to break/bend. The left arm going in helps shift your weight squeezing it against the frontside while the right arm is lagged behind.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124523

 

[Brychanus]

Also looking at these clips it's apparent that my left arm isn't adding to my power but is more of a dead weight or counter balance and may be taking speed away from my swing. Any thoughts or new drills to try out are appreciated!
Link: https://youtu.be/SY_hGSwFWl4

See sw22's don't spill the beverage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Awpyw2k3QM&ab_channel=seabas22

I also collected a few beverage/bowling/swim etc. motions here:
https://youtu.be/qzyZzNq51Fs?t=105

Honestly, I think just getting that elbow into the hip with the shoulder protracted forward in the "don't spill the beverage" position is the best way to start for most "off arm draggers" like I used to be. If you focus too much on getting your elbow wide out from your core in the backswing, or the counter-rotation of the "swim move", but don't get that elbow/shoulder action right first, you're leaving the first big chunk of acceleration on the table. Simplify things by tucking it in tight and learning the new balance, then fuss with variants. Get postures/footwork tight while keeping the off arm as simple as possible.

 

[nicktoons]

Thank you for the notes! I have been working on keeping the left arm tighter and different methods whether it be the swim move, just keeping the drink hold method for the whole throw, etc. I can get it sometimes but have a challenge keeping my shoulder protracted. Will keep trying some things out in the field to get it to feel more natural.