Destroyer VS wraith and sidearm

[JonNoName]

Hey Guys,

This is my first post. This summer I have gotten really into this sport and have been going A TON! maybe a little too much..

Anyways, I currently have a wraith and a destroyer, and was wondering what exactly the difference is between them?

I typically throw side arm, and counted today how far I can throw it. On a good drive i throw almost exactly 300 feet. One of my main questions is, is this a good distance for a side armed throw?

So basically I am wondering the difference between the wraith and destroyer, and if 300 feet is a good distance for a side armed throw and what tips you have for me to get a little further than that.

Thanks guys!

Jon

 

[DigIt]

All I know is if you just got into this sport this summer you say? Then 300ft is very good.

According to this flight guide I am looking at the Destroyer is slightly more Overstable and Slightly more fast than the Wraith.

Sorry I didn't help at all!

 

[worthdan]

300ft is pretty good if you just started, but if i where you i would disc down to something like a champion valkyrie. I bet you could get that over 300ft.

 

[Dogma1]

I throw about the same distance forehand as you do. Try an ESP Surge in a low 170's weight. Flies a great line, is really consistent, and will give plenty of room to grow as I've seen people flick them over 450 feet. I like them better than Valks (understable and less consistent for flicks) and Wraiths (overstable and I just didn't like them). The Destroyer I had was more overstable than my Wraith. I used it for overstable duty till I replaced it with an Xcaliber.

 

[JR]

For long term health and development of throwing technique and distance throwing something slower and less overstable is better. Health is a major concern for sidearm throwers. Backhand is slower and difficult to learn to most but will eventually yield more distance for most throwers with lesser likelihood of arm and shoulder injuries.

 

[disctribution]

I throw about the same distance forehand as you do. Try an ESP Surge in a low 170's weight. Flies a great line, is really consistent, and will give plenty of room to grow as I've seen people flick them over 450 feet. I like them better than Valks (understable and less consistent for flicks) and Wraiths (overstable and I just didn't like them). The Destroyer I had was more overstable than my Wraith. I used it for overstable duty till I replaced it with an Xcaliber.

I agree with both Dogma and JR both. Health is a considerable factor when throwing sidearm. Bad technique can cause cronic pain. One thing I can say is work towards using your entire arm and shoulder span instead of concentrating from the elbow to the wrist. Once you have a good arm swing, focus on what your elbow and wrist is doing. This should build healthy sidearm structure. The only thing I can recommend is watching a pro who throws consistantly well with a sidearm. If you don't have a local pro to watch, look up some pro's on youtube or on discgolftv.com. Avery Jenkins has a great sidearm. I can't think of anyone else off hand, but there are plenty.

As far as throwing a wraith or destroyer, I don't think you should be throwing those yet. UNLESS you naturally flip a wraith over. What this means is that if you throw a wraith perfectly flat and it starts turning against the natural fade before it starts fading. If you're doing this with a wraith that's great, if you're flipping a destroyer then you've already got all the snap you need. The only thing to work on then would be your approach and your throw structure.

I started with a FLX Surge at 169g. This disc was beautiful. It flips a little, glides looong, and won't skip huge at the end. In fact, I still use my same FLX surge, and only go to other more fast/stable discs when I can't afford to flip off my line.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[love2dg]

I do forehand with wraith and destroyer but do them both different ways. Using wraith in fairway or 50-100ft open until crowded trees gives me great distance. I couldn't do it with destroyer like wraith did but gives me the best anyhzer shots.

Orc can be best learning disc to use. I started with Orc the first time I started playing DG last summer greatly improved before using other disc.

After using orc, I was bombing wraith with max weight over 380 ft. If you have big arms then go for the max weight.

 

[garublador1]

Anyways, I currently have a wraith and a destroyer, and was wondering what exactly the difference is between them?

The differences between really fast distance drivers won't be all that apparent until you're throwing them quite a bit farther.

As for how good throwing 300' is, it depends on what skill level you're talking about. Regardless of how you throw, 300' is really good for someone just getting into the sport. Overall, regardless of experience it's pretty decent for a sidearm throw assuming you throw mainly backhand. However, it's marginal if you're throwing primarily sidarm. I wouldn't expect anyone who's either just getting into the sport or just starting to take it more seriously to throw any farther.

FWIW, throwing backhand will have more distance potential for nearly every person. It's just the way people are built. There are some very good players who throw primarily sidearm, though.

To learn to gain distance you'll have to pick slower drivers. Learning with super fast drivers will breed bad habits that you'll have to unlearn to gain distance. Focus on throwing stable putters, mids and fairway drivers. It will be a bit slow going at first, but it will clean up your throw a lot.

Personally, I'd be happy with a 300' sidearm with a Wraith or Destroyer, but I wouldn't expect to gain any distance beyond that. To put it in perspective right now I'm throwing fairway drivers in the 350' range backhand.

 

[Decoy]

I use the same discs to flick, But I would suggest going with something slightly less stable if you aren't getting over 350. Maybe lower weights in the same discs would help.

I throw my 169 destroyer much more often than my wraith, and I find that it gets much better flight. I honestly think the destroyer is more under-stable than the wraith, although the chart would disagree (could be due to 6 grams lower weight, I have yet to toss a star destroyer @ 175). I have a little trouble getting the wraith to turn at high speeds, whereas my destroyer turns extremely well.

I think the biggest problem with throwing sidearm dominant is you are extremely limited by the flight pattern. In order to get over 350-400, its going to be an S curve (unless you have the anny mastered, which will require quite a bit of height and some nice open area on your throwing side), which I've found many courses don't allow for. I've seen a guy throw a elite z buzz backhand over 425 feet- completely strait, which was enough to convince me that backhand has more potential in both total distance and the flight patterns you can take to get that distance.

Take the time to learn backhand, but don't abandon sidearm completely. I think sidearm is still an extremely useful shot to have in your bag, but an awesome backhand dominates an awesome sidearm thrower most of the time.

 

[seanzerelli]

I used to throw flicks decent til I came across a former minor league pitcher LAUNCHING tommys and flicks. After seeing that I was magically permitted into the 400+ zone. Maybe it was just seeing his arm motion, or the fact that I was just thinking about throwing the disc as fast as I would throw a baseball. If you do that you're going to get the distance. I sprained my ankle however, now I don't try to throw them harder than 300 for fear of dragging my back foot too hard and spraining it again.

 

[love2dg]

I don't know why you say be careful of health if you focus taking care of our arm. I have good balance of how much I play and using sidearm motion that doesn't affect stress in my arm. The most important is how you throw it with perfect snap of the disc. I can do it easy on my arm 250ft using champ firebird.

Firebird has impressed me for two weeks helping me get into better scores I wished for.

I guess who ever started forehand push themselves hard gets hurt.

 

[JR]

I don't know why you say be careful of health if you focus taking care of our arm. I have good balance of how much I play and using sidearm motion that doesn't affect stress in my arm. The most important is how you throw it with perfect snap of the disc. I can do it easy on my arm 250ft using champ firebird.

Firebird has impressed me for two weeks helping me get into better scores I wished for.

I guess who ever started forehand push themselves hard gets hurt.

250' ain't 300' or backhand distance that most are able to achieve with practice. Pushing forehand gets dangerous. Poor form to 250' forehand is hazardous. One really needs to be even better warmed up for forearm than backhand throws.