Need form help, please critique

[ChrisBirke]

Hey there, I have been playing for about 3 years and have become quite consistent with my driving, approach game and putting.

I now would like to have some more distance and need your help there. I usually max out between 300 - 330 ft on a line drive in the field.

This is me throwing Rivers from a standstill:
View from the side
View from behind

I see a lot I'm doing wrong:

• I'm rounding
• I'm in a bit of a horse stance
• I'm dipping in the pull / not keeping the disc on a plane
• I'm throwing severly nose up
• ...

(Actually watching this I'm amazed these drives go up to 300ft.)

Problem is I don't seem to get these things fixed.

I tried a lot like reaching back higher, lower, wider, changing grips, focusing on balance, doing some drills, changing the timing and so on. Results are always more or less the same.

So I would be very thankful for your critique and some pointers regarding what to focus on next.

 

[slowplastic]

It looks like you're close to some really good positions, but just enough off that you are pushing your upper body forward instead of driving straight toward the target at your center of mass. Your balance is getting wacky because of the tipping drive/push and that means that anything to do with swing plane (or nose up) is just a band-aide for the lower body balance.

You can see for example, when you are about to push off the back foot your rear knee doesn't move. It just stays there for the rest of the throw. You're driving up through the leg and the torso is getting pushed ahead. Instead the heel and knee should appear to drive forward under the hip.

I would watch these videos for starters. They are very packed with info and may take re-watching many times. I know months go by and I still find more info on additional viewings. The Door Frame Drill will show you how to reach back later as you are planting toes then heel down. The Swivel Chair video will show how to drive off the rear foot and how the knee should feel. The Turbo Encabulator video will show you how to be more balanced over your toes, and how the tilted spiral balance works.

Also check out this thread for different visualizations on weight shift direction/feel. https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127477

 

[sidewinder22]

Yeah, it's not all that terrible, actually pretty smooth and no wobble. Maybe slight rounding, but that's not really your main issue. It looks like you aren't really shifting all or any your weight into the plant to initiate the throw. You put your front foot down too lightly and too far away from you and then try to push your weight over too late. You need to get off the rear foot before you really plant the front foot so all your weight Crushes the Can as the heel plants. Also your rear arm is hanging back behind you doing bad things instead of helping you shift everything forward and tight inside your feet.

in addition to the vids SP linked, I'd recommend Crush the Can part 1 and 2(raising the rear foot), and Hershyzer 1 and 2, and One Leg Drill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpp7ZFLHK90&t=8m44s

 

[ChrisBirke]

So, fast forward a couple of years ... I've improved overall as a player. Concerning the driving, I reach my distances with less effort and very consistently. Distance-wise it's still about the same though. I've been working on it on and off but now I'm giving it another serious go.

Here's me throwing into a net:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv5p-InUoYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuAVimW4lDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX0i0xrTaQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUS1LzsrZwo

Some notes:
- Since a couple of weeks, I have this slight wobble in my throw which is freaking me out. Never had this issue before.
- When I throw in the field, things look a bit more unbalanced. I'll record some shots in the field and post them later.

Thanks for your input what I should work on.

 

[sidewinder22]

1. Looks like you are pulling your elbow in/forward instead of it staying out/forward relative to shoulder. Your hand can follow thru more if you rotate the arm palm down.

2. Looks like your rear foot is not extending/plantar flexion. You are just using knee extension and your foot is flat and getting dragged instead of driving the ankle/knee/hip.

3. Your rear arm is staying behind your back and dragging behind and around instead of helping you shift forward into front leg in front of torso and then countering away behind. Try keeping your rear arm in front of your body throughout backswing.

 

[ChrisBirke]

It's been a long day in the home office so I only managed to get in a few throws.

I only focused on 2. and 3. today to not get too mixed up.

While in the video it doesn't look much different to me, I felt I pushed the "gas pedal" into the plant foot and actually the throws felt more powerful. Maybe I have to pronounce it more or do it earlier or ...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLZGNH2u7so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30d7ESqv7ZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GA4Sl3cwZc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRr6R24p-rM

Other than that I see that I lean back a bit on the standstill today.

Thanks for your comments!

 

[sidewinder22]

Certainly looks like you got more velocity on those! Agree still need to work on #1 - keep elbow more up and forward.

Not sure I really see a lean back issue, think your starting stance is just a little too wide to stay a little more upright. You are going over your front leg in the finish - I think from pushing too late off rear leg.

In "standstill" I would start with a slightly narrower stance and stride the front foot 3-6" forward during the backswing like baseball batter. Your stance looks a little too wide to start and then you shift your hips forward too much relative to the front foot instead of moving everything more together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxnhM5amro0#t=1m14s

 

[ChrisBirke]

So today I did not incorporate anything new but went to the field. Goal was to replicate what I do on my terrace. I had problems with this in the past.

Mentally I think I'm doing the same thing as on my terrace but the results look to me a lot more unbalanced. My stance / stride seems wider and I'm dragging the disc and tipping over and throwing nose up. Any idea what's causing this? I'd like to sort this out before working on other things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hndGKh3UAXc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGeg89feFOs

 

[sidewinder22]

1. Look forward toward the target/disc. It looks like your pump is opening up and going over toward the right tee side across your shoulder, instead of staying pumped out in front of closed shoulder toward left tee side.

2. Start stiffening/straightening rear knee to shift to rear leg before backswing so rear knee stays braced inside ankle and starts sending the rear hip forward from behind like a shifty running back sticking the foot into the ground to change direction quick/sudden.

 

[ChrisBirke]

I worked on and off on my form and improved my distance a bit last year. But over the last months it took quite a dip so I went back to the drawing board.

Here's a couple of throws one-step and slow x-step:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqwL8y2Riq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KR9uz68KVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcZp-k-XyoU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqFaNG-zuwI

I see some of the old issues again but please let me know what you think!

 

[sidewinder22]

Looks pretty good, but falling over or extending over toward left tee too much, instead of sitting deeper toward right tee during stride into plant.

 

[ChrisBirke]

I've worked on shifting more towards the target and I think that's going into the right direction. But I seem to have quite an issue with rounding or turning back too far and/or collapsing arm? The disc should be more in the position I marked in the picture, right?

https://imgur.com/a/w49BHfJ

I've always had this issue but I thought it would be a byproduct of something else. I've tried different things in this session like switching between pendulum or working around the disc, wide reachback etc but seem to end up more or less in the same position.

One-Step (back&side):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBUJhGvbQmw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mdxWq74qOM

Walkup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrGhR8vVHUc

With an approach shot it seems OK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8N1V5ZqYpo

Thanks for any pointers!

 

[sidewinder22]

You are setup too perpendicular on rear leg and having to rush turning back and everything gets quick in transition instead of elongating it and smooth transition.

Turn rear foot back about 45 degrees, and preset the booty or butt to slightly face the target. Note how my body is not really twisted or tensioned, everything is more relaxed and turned back together from rear foot.