Sometimes I like to power grip my putters and mids, am I a bad person?

[random guy]

I only power grip putters when I'm 70-80 ft out, but I find more often then not I power grip my mids.

I just can't seem to get that effortless spin that so many people get out of their fan grips.

Am I going to disc golf hell?

 

[Sewer bill]

Nope not at all. Try to learn all the grips that way you can suffer with wondering if you used the wrong one when you shank it into a tree.

 

[foxdawg10]

I only power grip putters when I'm 70-80 ft out, but I find more often then not I power grip my mids.

I just can't seem to get that effortless spin that so many people get out of their fan grips.

Am I going to disc golf hell?

I power grip my mids and putters on approaches.

Who are these folks who get effortless spin out of their fan grips? lol

 

[Getty]

I stick out my middle finger when I throw mids and putters, but that's me. It works well for me. I never power grip mids and putters. But that's me. YMMV.

 

[foxdawg10]

I stick out my middle finger when I throw mids and putters, but that's me. It works well for me. I never power grip mids and putters. But that's me. YMMV.

lol, your middle finger on the throwing hand I hope! (j/k)

I try not to think about it too much, I think I tend to play with my pinky and index finger more than the other fingers.

 

[discchess86]

I only power grip putters when I'm 70-80 ft out, but I find more often then not I power grip my mids.

I just can't seem to get that effortless spin that so many people get out of their fan grips.

Am I going to disc golf hell?

for me a power grip feels stable and powerful. It also makes the disc a bit harder to control so maybe use a three finger grip for more accuracy. No, using them on putters and mids is perfectly fine as long as it works.

 

[ChrisWoj]

I power grip my mids and putters on approaches.

Who are these folks who get effortless spin out of their fan grips? lol

*raises hand*
I am one of the rare weird players that, when I have it in my bag, will power grip or fan grip every single disc in my bag, depending on the flight path I want. A fan grip and a power grip differ, in my opinion, most on the way they influence the outcome in terms of the shape of the flight more so than the distance of the flight.

For me, the key to power on any grip is proper utilization of sheering forces to create grip. I'm not just clenching the disc, I'm also making sure that the pinch on my disc (in the case of my fan grip: this is where my thumb and middle finger apply pressure to each other through the flight plate). I'm applying some small pressure in the direction I would call 'forward' with my thumb, and pulling 'back' so to speak with the middle finger and to some extent all of the fingers under the plate (index finger is relatively inactive curled sliiiightly under the rim).

My thumb and index finger aren't just applying force together, there's a slight interaction with the friction of the disc because they're applying a bit of that sheering force, which really locks the disc in so the power can be transferred.

Very similar to:


But with my index finger curled under just a hair more, and my thumb is a bit more out over the flight plate to engage above the middle finger. My middle finger also has more of the pad pressing directly into the flight plate, and my middle overlaps my ring a tiny bit, which overlaps my pinky a tiny bit, creating a more solid singular platform.

I will use that grip for everything from a long-skipping Gold Line Stiletto shot under 275 to a straight Fuzion Judge with height to 370.

All that said - I am going to be reintegrating my putter and mid power grip with more practice time this year, its been almost 10 years since I had it in the bag, and it IS a slight distance advantage, I'd give it 20-25 ft. Worth practicing when you have time, but with diminishing returns in terms of time vs advantage on the course if you're not playing much.

for me a power grip feels stable and powerful. It also makes the disc a bit harder to control so maybe use a three finger grip for more accuracy. No, using them on putters and mids is perfectly fine as long as it works.

I truly believe that the most important thing is establishing a powerful grip that works for your own individual hands. Like I have a 3 minute video on YouTube discussing the power grip, and the thing is - it simply doesn't apply for some people who have hands that won't be able to establish a power grip on anything without the disc slipping. Or there are other people for whom a power grip won't feel right the way I describe it, because they'd feel like they're jamming their overlong fingers into the space mine occupy.

For example:


Watch some Tyler Horne throws, just as an example of a bomber with a crazy power grip on everything. Even on short throws - you can see that he angles the disc in his hands COMPLETELY different from how I'd teach most people, but for his hands he's found a ton of comfort with the hand way, as I'd describe it, 'over the top' of the disc. He's also a giant. So I can't possibly match holding the disc like that and getting any comfortable feel out of it (trust me, I've tried, watching him throw is literally awe-inspiring in the way it is watching most of the best touring pros, or at least it was when I last played with him).

 

[discchess86]

my hands are stupid small and I cannot get any power nor accuracy from a fan grip. I only use it to putt. It all depends on comfort.

 

[DannyS]

I will never forget seeing Tyler Horne play the Paw Paw courses in 2004 at the West Virginia Open. It was the first time I had ever seen someone with ELITE distance. My buddies and myself definitely noticed how he gripped the disc. It was like his hand was on top of the disc. Crazy!

 

[ChrisWoj]

I will never forget seeing Tyler Horne play the Paw Paw courses in 2004 at the West Virginia Open. It was the first time I had ever seen someone with ELITE distance. My buddies and myself definitely noticed how he gripped the disc. It was like his hand was on top of the disc. Crazy!

He was definitely the first person I saw throw with the kind of power you need to bring a disc up from like a 40 degree hyzer, get height, level out, and run to nearly 500 before fading into an ace run, disc winding up 20-25 deep left. The course is out of date on both UDisc and here, but on one of the layouts on UDisc I think the hole is measured as 546... I think thats generous. I think his entire shot was about 525-530, but just pure hyzer up to flat and then fade.

I'm almost entirely certain it was with an early run of Discraft Z or ESP Force, I'd put my guess on Z.

 

[GripEnemy]

I power grip my mids and putters on approaches.

Who are these folks who get effortless spin out of their fan grips? lol

I'm rusty on grip terms, I think I fork grip? But yeah, I never power grip mids or putters.

Pinky and index against rim, middle and ring extended toward the center of the flight plate.

 

[BuiltTooLong]

im pretty certain that mcbeth power grips every single shot regardless of disc

 

[EllEstar]

I power grip Polecats and I power grip Nukes. I've spent a looot of time messing with grips and the only thing thay's ever truly clicked for me is my slightly modified version of a controlled power grip.

I do have larger than average hands, but not gigantic by any means, I can comfortably throw max rim width discs, but probably would have issues if the max rim width was 2mm wider, or so.

That said, I radically changed my putting grip maybe a year or so in, on a hunch, and it felt awful to start but now I can't imagine using my old grip. I could probably get used to fan gripping if I thought it was superior.

 

[Countchunkula]

I'm rusty on grip terms, I think I fork grip? But yeah, I never power grip mids or putters.

Pinky and index against rim, middle and ring extended toward the center of the flight plate.

I think for Climo's fork* grip, you'd also have the middle and ring stacked on top of the pinky. What you're doing is more of a modified fan grip. I'm pretty similar, but I stack the ring finger on the pinky and have the middle extended under the flight plate. That's the birdie grip.

*He says that's the same way he grips a fork.