Roller Or Not To Roller...

[Donovan]

Which online video gives the best info on throwing Rollers, YALL?

 

[Donovan]

Copied over from the other thread. Part 1 starting at the bottom.

ROLLERS SUCK!


im glad someone said it. im proud to say ive never intentionally thrown a "roller" on a disc golf course. what makes this sport so enjoyable for me is watching a forehand with a perfect S-curve speed through a fairway cut into the trees, or a backhand that you know came out just right slice through the air and land 10 feet from the basket in about 5-10 seconds. the excitement of the sport dwindles dramatically when watching a disc roll on the ground skip over a root, nearly miss a stump, skip over another root, pick up "speed" as it rolls down a hill, then circles around itself a few times before coming to a stop, in all of say 10-20 seconds. i dont want to insult anyone that is a "roller" out there, and by all means if thats how you want to play go out and have a blast (or a roll) but these disc companies dont put all the effort into creating the most advanced flying plastic discs they can, only to have it rolled down the fairway. i dont think anyone out there will disagree that the flight of a thrown disc is a thing of beauty compared to the route(?) of a rolled disc.

oh and you cant ace a hole with a roll.

one last question, do any of you rollers throw bowling balls at the pins?

ROLLERS SUCK!

i feel the same way dude. I think that it is cheating as well. If you aren't strong enough to throw a backhand or a forehand than don't play this sport. It should only be used when it is needed. I completely agree....

I've never been a fan of intentional rollers... it always feels like cheating to me. I can understand the need for them, say there's heavy tree coverage. However, I've seen guys throw them on every hole and that just doesn't seem right.

 

[Donovan]

Copied over from the other thread. Part 2 starting at the bottom.

Anyone who says that rollers suck has clearly not seen them well executed by experienced players. I think the concept that they are cheating the game is ridiculous, if you can figure out both how to throw them well and consistently and if you can find good routes on courses, good for you, use that tool. In response to coolkid's comment about people who can't throw backhand or forehand because they don't have enough power, you Clearly haven't seen good roller players, some of the longest throws in disc golf come on rollers, many players who can throw 400 can roll discs 550' or 600' rollers with optimal conditions. Now, I will say, I don't throw rollers, I simply have respect for those who throw them well, they're much more than luck, when you can birdie a hole 100' out of your air driving range, that's pure skill.



Oh and on the topic of the thread, I've loved my switch to lighter drivers, they're easier to throw and I've gained some distance without losing and power. I throw 162-164 X avengers for most of my distance drives.

garublador-1
me-0
i spoke out of emotion, but i still stand by my view that discs are meant to fly not roll.

Well, except for the Roadrunner, but what does Dave Dunipace know about disc golf anyway? Most of the time I've seen the disc designers happy when one of their discs turns out to be a good roller. They all know the importance of that type of shot.

 

[Donovan]

Copied over from the other thread. Part 3 starting at the bottom.

Man, I was stuck in a thicket this morning, behind a tree. Threw a beautiful toss to get out, perfect arc. The wolf landed on edge and took off, rolling straight to the basket...and then past it...picked up speed...75' past the basket!

Arg, rollers.

Rollers Rock! I throw them all the time, on purpose. If you are a weenie-arm and see a nice, slightly downhill, freshly mowed fairway and you don't pull out some driver you beat like a red-headed step-child and make like Proud Mary, put on some lipstick and call yourself Brittney because you are just giving it away like a high school girl on Prom Night. I don't care what Steady Ed expected me to do when he came up with the game, the damn things roll better than Zig-Zags and I'm gonna roll 'em!

Seriously, I watched a guy throw a roller that had so much spin that when it hit a tree in the fairway it zipped 10 feet up the trunk of the tree before it fell down. When it hit the ground it was still spinning and went back up the tree a few feet before it finally lost steam. Awesome stuff. I was at an event one time where the final nine was a bunch of monster safari holes, and some really good pros like Ron Russell, "Crazy" John Brooks and George Smith just threw amazing roller after roller. It was one of the most entertaining rounds I ever saw.

Entertaining enough that I went home and learned to throw rollers!

In Columbia, MO they have a "Roller Doubles" event every year. I forget the exact rules, I think it is mando rollers off the tee. Anyway, they have had that event for years in celebration of the roller!

To you guys saying rollers suck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfaEXqkJoQE

Ken Climo is a cheater by your definition...unbelievable. Although I don't throw rollers personally, I have nothing but respect for those that do and more power to them.

 

[Donovan]

Copied over from the other thread. Part 4.

I might have misspoke, and I have no ill respect for the rollers... I'm just not a huge fan. I love watching my disc tear throw the air and floating up and down and then gliding to a beautiful landing. However, if I'm in a spot that I can't toss, I'm not ashamed to roll, it's just not my first choice for a solution.

Course after hearing these arguments for rollers, I might start incorporating it into my game play more.

 

[Donovan]

I hope no one minds the cut-and-paste move to a new thread, but I really thought it deserved it's own thread.

I do not throw a roller and this discussion is really interesting to me. On the first post I asked about a video on throwing a roller, but really any write-up would be useful too.

I do think I understand that the seam on the side of the disc should be somewhere in the middle of the edge of a disc to make it a good roller. And I am also guessing that the thicker and heavier the lip(edge) of the disc, the better also. Anyone?

 

[Doktor John]

THe only rollers I've thrown are by accident! I don't quite know how to do it and I lean toward the "flying" thought of disc golf...but I can see the strategic aspect of a roller and discs are designed to roll, so it's all fair game...maybe someday I'll take the time to learn.

 

[Shank]

I can throw rollers forehand or backhand. For me at least I just throw with an over exagerated anhyzer (angle). They seem to be predictable as far as where they will land and start to roll. This is why I don't really ever do them. I guess on a hole where it was really just sloped one way in the right direction it could be good. I just really don't have any courses around me where there are holes like that. They slope multiple directions which for me means I have no idea where it is going to go. I just prefer to throw a higher percentage shot and work it from there.

In a pinch say behind some bushes (vegatation) where I can not really throw backhand or forehand I will throw a roller. I do this with a tomahawk just enough to get over the obsticle and at least make some progress towards the goal. If you do the tomahawk way you have to just angle it enough to where it will turn just right to land on it's side.



As far as what makes a good roller disc I am a little confused. I guess my thinking orginally was like Donovan's, a thicker lip would make a better roller. Doesn't seem to be the case. A putter would seem like the best but they don't roll worth a crap. A coyote will take off on you with a thinner lip. Then you have a kite which will really go and it has driver type lip. Then you do it with a driver and get next to nothing. ???? Maybe I just don't throw them enough to fully understand.

 

[ZMan44]

I can say I have never thrown a roller off the tee...but I use it to get out of trouble in low canopy situations or situations where I am just a few feet off of the fairway and my lie makes it difficult to throw traditionally (ie. under a tree) in these cases, knowing how to throw one is quite helpful and I don't feel like a weenie about it...if it shaves a stroke off, I may feel like a winner.

 

[High Flyer]

I don't know so much about technique, but I do have a couple discs that pretty much do the work for me when I throw them side arm with a lot of spin. I have an old Raven that has become pretty unstable, and typically goes from a flat release to a roller in under 100 feet.

Unfortunately I can't use my Raven in competition because of the chip on the side. My friend was throwing rollers with it last night, and we think that little chip might be helping the disc "dig in" and accelerate when it hits the ground.

All in all though, an intentional roll seems like a sacrifice to me. It will get you out of a pinch under the pine trees, but you never know where it is going to end up. Sure beats trying an elevator shot and then climbing 30 feet up the pine tree to get your disc back though.

 

[gcoghill]

To each his own, but to me disc golf is a flying disc sport. I also think that learning how to float a disc from a difficult spot, where one might be tempted to roll a disc, only serves to improve my skills of controlling a flying disc.

 

[coolkid32901]

rollers suck...

i think that if your going to roll it when it is needed, and there isnt any other shot you can perform than thats fine, but ive seen people who use a roll on almost every drive and that is just BS to me. Frisbee's were made to fly through the air, not roll on the ground. And in response to the Ken Climo comment how he rolls, i can bet that he only uses the roller when he has to. I'll end with a quote from WIKI.... "Flying discs (commonly called Frisbees) are disc-shaped objects, which are generally plastic and roughly 200 to 250 centimeters (8–10 inches) in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating" doesn't seem to say anything about rolling a frisbee does it??? look it up in the dictionary...

 

[mike_riewer]

Wow, anyone who uses the roller isnt getting any love lately. I am not a roller myself, but I dont see anything wrong with them at all. Its part of the game.

Anything that has so many haters has to be doing something right. If you can put a roller under the pin - why not.

 

[ZMan44]

People that disrespect rollers are typically people who cannot control them. If disc golf were all about flying, then logically, you would throw from the spot where your disc first hits the ground. That takes away skip shots, rollers, or mistakes. You throw from the point where the disc comes to rest. A few years back in ball golf, Tiger Woods won the US Open by nearly 15 strokes. It was too windy for traditional "driving", so he was hitting a stinger 2-iron off the tee, keeping it under the wind and letting it roll. No other player made the adjustment. Again, I am not a rolling player, but if there was a tournament held in certain conditions that favor a roller, then you had better have the shot in your arsenal...also Innova themselves in their descriptions often state for understable discs that they are "great for beginners. But will be a good turnover disc or a roller for the more advanced players." Things that are round will roll...that premise is basic physics. A vast majority of the elite level pros have the ability to roll, and most use them as often as they use tomahawks or thumbers. Like I said, rolling is not my personal preference, but I have never seen anyone bash the method, if they can perform it effectively. The people that bash rollers are usually people who have been spanked by someone who throws a strong roller.

 

[ZMan44]

PS...lets keep wikipedia off of this site...it is rarely accurate and not recognized as a source of accuracy for anything. I could go over their right now and change the definition...

 

[coolkid32901]

PS...lets keep wikipedia off of this site...it is rarely accurate and not recognized as a source of accuracy for anything. I could go over their right now and change the definition...

no actually you couldn't, they check everything that gets updated, so no, you couldn't go change it. and i also i said i only hate rollers when people do it almost every throw. i cant speak for anyone else that has played rollers before, i just know that i have witnessed someone throw a roller on every hole, and it wasn't good shots, and it just made me laugh. The beauty of disc golf comes from a soaring golf disc through the air...not the disc rolling on the ground...

 

[coolkid32901]

To each his own, but to me disc golf is a flying disc sport. I also think that learning how to float a disc from a difficult spot, where one might be tempted to roll a disc, only serves to improve my skills of controlling a flying disc.

totally agree....

 

[coolkid32901]

A few years back in ball golf, Tiger Woods won the US Open by nearly 15 strokes. It was too windy for traditional "driving", so he was hitting a stinger 2-iron off the tee, keeping it under the wind and letting it roll. No other player made the adjustment.

if you would have read what i said before you closely, than i dont disagree with what tiger did because that is a special situation, in special weather...not on almost every shot. I think it should be in a persons arsenal but should only be used if you have to. Thats what tiger did, he would have never played like that unless he absolutely HAD to...

 

[ERicJ]

A "Roller" is a perfectly legal shot per all current PDGA rules. If you choose not to use rollers you are only limiting the potential of your own game.

 

[garublador]

I also think that learning how to float a disc from a difficult spot, where one might be tempted to roll a disc, only serves to improve my skills of controlling a flying disc.

Optimally you'll have the skills to choose either a flying or rolling shot and the experience to know which one to use.

If I got upset every time I saw someone throwing the wrong disc or shot I'd go insane. People throwing to many rollers is the least common problem I've seen. More than likely it's someone throwing an ultra fast disc on a hole where you should be throwing a mid or putter or someone throwing a midrange for a open, 100' approach.

Also, "Wikipedia doesn't say round things roll so they must not," is the funniest argument I've seen in a long time.