Tomahawks and Thumbers?

[Stankyjahnke]

I find light r pro bosses are my goto overhand disc. Except if there's a good amount of wind. Then it's the xxx or fb. Tomahawks hurt my shoulder but thumbers don't.

 

[sloppydisc]

Lots of good stuff above. I throw a lot of thumbers , and the only things I'd add are to train your arm like a young pitcher in Spring training. Don't go out and try to throw 50 max effort thumbers day 1. Warm up, throw some and then rest your arm for a few days. Slowly build up to the point that you can throw a bunch of max effort throws in a day. And every once in a while take a week or two and throw no thumbers. Give your body time to rest and heal, even if you don't think you need it.

And follow through with your arm. If you've played some baseball that should come pretty easy. Other than that, don't underestimate the thumb pressure and wrist snap on the release. A well thrown thumber has more spin than one just thrown with all arm strength. I think I finally understood this watching a video of one of the Scandinavian guys throwing thumbers. He had great wrist action.

 

[pfpro]

As a primary thumber thrower, here's my thoughts:
1) don't listen to the naysayers - if you can best make your shot with an OH shot - take it.
2) learn your discs. When I got my first Firebird, it was a domey 12x champ. It changed my game. The FBs turn the slowest. I am planning on working in some xXxs and predators this summer, but for distance, flat firebirds are king. I carry 6 (beat champ 165ish and beat star - what I throw in tight tunnels when I don't care if I hit a tree square, a light and heavy 11x, a glow and another champ that was a birthday present). I threw 4 in the round I played today. They all have slightly different flight paths, different holes require different shots. That being said I have a thumber beast and call that I throw for anhyzer dogleg holes (or if I want to throw an upshot, where I need the turn to be quick.
3) learn your arm slots - I throw anywhere from vertical to horizontal depending on the shot.
4) don't blow your arm out
:thmbup:

 

[`cjc]

..get a flat xxx, firebird, or a flick.

..or all 3.

 

[B3NDER]

The only disc i throw OH is a max weight pre Kenny star wraith, and I wouldn't change that out for ANYTHING else. Gotta be star plastic and pre signature. :thmbup:

 

[birdman101]

I use a XXX, or teebird for most if not all overhand shots. Faster discs just dont feel right in my hand when i try to throw them for thumbers.

Generally speaking:
Overstable discs will get you more distance, but generally need more left to right room to work.
Understable discs flip faster so they get less distance but can work in tighter lines.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

What geoblime said. I was a HS baseball guy who could throw Whippets through the air like Tie Fighters back in the '90s. Got my first ace that way...Grand Woods Park #16 (Lansing, MI) in 1996.

These days, I can gut one out if I need to throw over a tree, but not for distance.

 

[Phantom Discs]

I have been throwing thumbers with Champion flat top firebirds around 300ft and champion Teebirds for shot around 260. The new Brinster Tour Series Teebirds are awesome. One of my favorite shots to throw. Just comes natural.

 

[primal dg]

on my home course there are two holes i use for thumbers. 4 and 7. they are both under 250 feet. i throw my pro starfire 168g. i can easily over throw them but dont throw full power. ive never thrown thumbers for distance. but to me its a very constistent shot that you must have a disc you can do it with. i think any driver will work. just learn it

 

[gvdg jake]

my thumbers suck with a flat top firebird but i LOVE using that disc for tommys. My shoulder hurts like hell after a try a thumber so i try my hardest to stay away from those.

 

[depster]

I myself only use an OH shot to get out of trouble never off the tee unless its just a ridiculous fairway that needs a placement shot or a ridiculously short hole that I don't want to over throw. That being said, I have a buddy that uses a dx gazelle off the tee for thumbers and he can crank that shot out over 350 with a friggin gazelle. Anytime he tries a faster or more over stable disc it just doesn't work out I have no clue why. Cool part about it is when he beats that gazelle up way too much he gives it to me and I then have the best rollers I've ever had. I can roll them from any release angle depending on how far out I want it to land and take off, my average with one of these is like 400 but I got one out to 550 once which was actually my longest shot ever.

 

[Rockwell]

That force you have would be a good overhand disc if you want it to be. Really, you can throw anything overhand...I'll even use putters for a half-turn shot to get out of trouble.

I've never understood why most players prefer thumbers over tomahawks, because the tommy always felt more like a baseball throw to me, and I prefer it. I use my forehand grip (middle and index finger stacked) and it's easy to control and throw far.

Practice throwing them softly as well as hard. I use orcs for anything less than 300'.

Good luck, it's a type of shot that will save you strokes.

 

[Bamm]

I use gl xxx's and gl flows. Xxx for good distance and the flow for any tight tunnel shot.

 

[primal dg]

That force you have would be a good overhand disc if you want it to be. Really, you can throw anything overhand...I'll even use putters for a half-turn shot to get out of trouble.

I've never understood why most players prefer thumbers over tomahawks, because the tommy always felt more like a baseball throw to me, and I prefer it. I use my forehand grip (middle and index finger stacked) and it's easy to control and throw far.

Practice throwing them softly as well as hard. I use orcs for anything less than 300'.

Good luck, it's a type of shot that will save you strokes.

i prefer thumbers because grip feels more comfortable and it seems like a tighter turn. threw tomahawks and mine would always hit and rolls 30-40 feet from where it hit(which im sure is my fault). my thumbers dont do that. it just clicked better

 

[KGB84]

I use a Nuke OS for all my OH needs. I have them ranging from very beat to show room quality depending on the shot. I can control my distance by the release angle as well. Bottom line is any disc can work for ya. Just get out and practice it. Happy hucking!!

 

[zenbot]

zenbot's OH Rant: Copy and Pasted for your perusal.

There is conventional wisdom that can help you with disc selection. I don't subscribe to the theory that you should only use overstable discs.


Overstable discs will complete their turn more slowly. This increases the amount of time the disc is parallel to the ground which keeps it in the air longer.

Less stable discs complete their turn more quickly. Less distance but I find them to be more accurate as the disc starts falling to the ground quicker and is less influenced by wind and variances in your release angle.


One other note is that if you're throwing an understable thumber you need to aim slightly more left of the target than you would with an overstable disc. (Assuming you're throwing RH)

To get you started the Firebird is a very popular disc for overhand. I use my for distance thumbers and a Teebird for shorter shots. Keep in mind that overhand shots are rough on discs. I recommend premium plastic.

To read more about thumbers and tomahawks here's some other threads you might enjoy...but you don't have to take my word for it.

Why overstable for OH?
Thumber disc poll
OH distance
overhand plastic
Thumber Tips
Whats your favorite overhand disc?
Tomahawk vs. Thumber
Overhand Throws: Does discing down still apply?
What was your overhand disc of 2010?
Thumber disc?
Thumber/tohahawk thing...
Disc Selection for Overhand Shots
best tomahawk/ overhand driver?
thumbers - good discs to buy
Overhand disc
What is the best overhand disc?
Favorite Tomahawk Disc?
Trying to incorporate the Tomahawk into my game.
Help: Overhand throws.
Thomahawk and Thumber
Overhead Discs
mid or putter thumbers?

 

[TalbotTrojan]

I throw a lot of OH shots. And I play with a lot of people that like to throw them. It really depends on how you throw them and what kind of shape you want from your shot. My reccomendation is to start throwing them with what you have. See what they do. If you like, keep throwing them with that disc, if not, find other discs to throw them with. There are plenty of suggestions in this thread and others for discs you might want to try.

 

[Rastaman]

I thumb a 165 flick around 270ft and a 167 leopard around 200ft. Best thumber combo out there! I do not throw tomahawks just cant flip the disc. My toms are like huge reverse hyzers that land weird therefore I dont use it. Get a 160s flick and a 160s leopard, thats my vote. Oh yea loosen up the above poster wasnt lying, this is key. I always act like I am throwing a thumber with a disc in my hand but I drop it right before I half power throw forward. Do this a few times and your ready to go. One more bit of advice- snap your thumbers from 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock.

 

[Chained Evil]

I like using a ESP Avenger for my tomahawk shots. Mine is 171g and i can get good enough distance out of it to do its work. I like the avenger for headwind shots and get out of trouble shots, or the tomahawk.