Straddle putt - WOW

[krooster]

I've always struggled with getting any kind of power or consistency with an inline or slightly staggered putting stance. Out to 20' I'm pretty consistent, but 25' and further I basically may as well just lay up. It has always been extremely difficult to get the disc out to 25' with a putt, and 30' was basically out of the question unless I just get lucky. I understand the idea of a weight shift, but I just can't get the power with it.

Today I tried a straddle putt for the first time, and WOW. After less than an hour of practice, I was hitting 25' putts with a decent amount of confidence and even moved out to practicing 30' putts (which I never even really spent time on with a normal putting stance because it was just too far to even consider practicing). Even when I missed I was close, and I was getting the disc out there on a laser line. With a little jump, I could even get the disc to the basket from around 40' with ok accuracy.

I think the straddle stance works because I can bring the disc down near my ankles with a mostly straight arm, and there is a great amount of distance from there to the release point over which to accelerate the disc. I can still utilize somewhat of a weight shift by pushing off the ground at greater distances. With an inline/staggered putting stance, you can only bring the disc back to around your waist area, and then your waist gets in the way; there is much less distance over which to accelerate the disc.

Anyone else notice this?

This could just be because I am unusually light, barely over 130 LB, so maybe I simply don't have enough weight to make a weight shift all that significant.

 

[tylerc]

the problem with not being able to get the distance from a standard more inline putting stance just comes down to timing and that final snap of the wrist (for a spin putt mainly) I am 5' 6" and 140 after eating and I can do an inline putt with no jump up to 50ish feet I am not sure exactly how far but one of my friend's little brother is 5' 3" maybe and no more than 110 and he does inline standard stance putts up 35ish but it is definitely do able you just gotta get the timing right and the snap or pop with your wrist which is kinda hard to explain in text but essentially it is when your wrist goes from slightly cocked inward to straight adding spin to the disc, but if the straddle works good for you then do it hah what ever gets the disc in the basket I do get slightly more power from a straddle but I have little accuracy with it so I rarely use it but if it works for you then do it

 

[rynehester]

I had the same problem with putt longer 20 feet. Most people can use all arm to get 20 feet but after that your body and legs come into play. Practice is the main thing when it comes to putting. Eventually i just settled on spin putting and just practiced using my legs for extra power. Focus on the center of the poll and release your hand at the poll.

 

[5QU166Y]

Putt with your legs. Distance will come eventually.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

I straddle putt too. It works well for me. I start getting out of my comfort zone though at about 25 ft. out. Outside of that I'm throwing one of my rocs. Is that normal? should I be using my putter still? I just feel I have more control and accuracy with my rocs. More times than not I'm hitting the chains like that. I know it's a "whatever works for you" thing but I'm just curious how many of you use mids that close to the pin.

 

[tylerc]

not many people will putt with a mid.. I used to but that was more like 50 out or so and I used to throw really long putts like 100 ft with a beat dx leopard but I realized I never made any of them or got really close so I started just laying up lol now I think I might be able to run one with a putter on a long jump putt.. maybe.. not likely hah

 

[Qikly]

I had a similar increase in my putting comfort radius when I first switched to straddle putting; I too felt like the wide arm motion it afforded me helped me to generate power. I've since been trying out other techniques - still looking for what works best for me - but I can see why you'd feel that way. Good luck!

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

http://heavydisc.blogspot.com/2013/10/push-putt-straddle-edition.html

I wrote about this recently and I've been doing the 30 days of putting (today was day 15) using both a forward stance and the straddle.

For me - straddle is more consistent to 20-25' then it comes down to how well you can physically generate force. I am close to being as consistent with a forward stance < 25' - but I'm much better > 25' with forward than I am straddling.

I think it's simply that I can generate a bigger release force when I'm rocking from back to front and lifting that back leg while extending my arm forward. When I want more distance on a straddle I reach that disc way back between my legs and extend up on my toes and extend those fingers.

It's a fantastic putt style and one that I want to be as comfortable with as a forward putt. Being able to have options is fantastic and if you're playing a round and something is just OFF with one, move to the other.

 

[bsnone]

I am huge fan of straddle putts. I became so much more consistent from inside 25 ft and my miss became north south mainly. Rarely miss left or right. I can still straddle at 25-35 but it is tougher and I honestly jump putt from 35 and out. Ultimately it's good to know both. Right now I'm in the middle of a 30 day stretch of playing 2 rounds of 1025 per day, one all straddle with jump putts and one all inline no jump putts.