"Finger Push" and Disc Pivot

[Rockch4lk]

Well this is an interesting post. I'm old and not intrinsically athletic. My max D on flat ground is about 390. Usually it's more like 340-360. Those are consistent and under control and I've been happy with it. I wonder if I should revisit form improvement or if doing so will mess with my accuracy.

How long have you been playing, and how long did it take you to reach those kind of numbers? I ask because I am 26, pretty athletic, and have been at it a year and I am just now extending a few good drives to 300'. Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

 

[sidewinder22]

Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

That's fairly typical.

 

[The Hammer]

How long have you been playing, and how long did it take you to reach those kind of numbers? I ask because I am 26, pretty athletic, and have been at it a year and I am just now extending a few good drives to 300'. Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

Sidewinder would know better than I, but I can say that it is different for everyone. I was fortunate enough to just kinda figure it out at the start, and was able to hit 400' in the first month of picking up the sport.

 

[DougCrawford]

How long have you been playing, and how long did it take you to reach those kind of numbers? I ask because I am 26, pretty athletic, and have been at it a year and I am just now extending a few good drives to 300'. Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

My gains happen in two ways- like yours, small increments- but are easily repeated, or huge massive changes that I cant repeat. Release angles and things like that I can usually make small adjustments and keep it consistent. Timing and acceleration I have problems repeating since it happens so fast. Had a long throw about a week ago that was about 120 feet longer than my usual long drives- couldnt come close in the past 4 times I have been to the field.

 

[DiscFifty]

"Had a long throw about a week ago that was about 120 feet longer than my usual long drives- couldnt come close in the past 4 times I have been to the field."

In this stage....I tell my local peeps "you're on the verge". Which means your game is about to change for the better. You could be on the verge a few days or a few weeks or longer. But ultimately it means you're capable of throwing much further but you haven't dialed in the form consistency yet. Just keep doing what you're doing, it'll happen.

 

[Rockch4lk]

That's fairly typical.

That's good to know. It is one of the first things I have not been able to pickup quickly. I seem to go to the field with the intention of focusing on one issue, but when I get out there I end up thinking about everything I have read or heard and try to change everything at once, that approach doesn't really work.

Sidewinder would know better than I, but I can say that it is different for everyone. I was fortunate enough to just kinda figure it out at the start, and was able to hit 400' in the first month of picking up the sport.

A little jealous. In my first month I was throwing a good around 180', lol. I will be able to enjoy the courses in my area so much more once I reach 350'.

In this stage....I tell my local peeps "you're on the verge". Which means your game is about to change for the better. You could be on the verge a few days or a few weeks or longer. But ultimately it means you're capable of throwing much further but you haven't dialed in the form consistency yet. Just keep doing what you're doing, it'll happen.

That is funny because I had one throw in the field about 6 months ago go around 425'. I have not been able to throw over 310' since.

 

[slowplastic]

How long have you been playing, and how long did it take you to reach those kind of numbers? I ask because I am 26, pretty athletic, and have been at it a year and I am just now extending a few good drives to 300'. Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

Yeah I too originally thought that "something" would make a 30' gain, and then something else would make another 30' gain, etc. It wasn't like that at all for me. I throw ~400' now, but the first week I played I hit 300' a few times. But that was from strong arming and fighting the disc/nose up a lot. It took a few months to throw 300' more easily, and then a major form revision to get some snap happening gave me similar distances but with more proper disc flights. I have never seen more than 20' in addition in a single session...often it's just growing by 10' over the course of a few weeks like you said...then eventually you realize you're throwing further.

For me, I had to take the approach that if a form change either gave me a bit more distance or the same distance with less effort or better flights, it was a good thing. Then keep doing that over the next few sessions and rounds until it's the natural throw/muscle memory, and then you just improve on that form and see the distance gains slowly. Then after those few sessions you'll realize you're throwing 20-30' further than your previous top distance. Then you have to find out what is limiting you again...

 

[rhatton1]

How long have you been playing, and how long did it take you to reach those kind of numbers? I ask because I am 26, pretty athletic, and have been at it a year and I am just now extending a few good drives to 300'. Is it just a process of practice and research and small gains? I have been hoping for one fix to provide a large boost in distance, but I have only seen increases of 8-10' per month.

The other thing is with each form change try out different discs again.

As an example - did you use to throw high speed wide rimmed drivers and get the best distance out of them but now they go straight and fade heavily at the end for less distance than before the form change where before they would turn a bit and then come back on a line (but be horribly inconsistent in the wind)?

You've probably improved your release and got your drive more on plane reducing OAT (or OAIT or whatever you want to call it) suddenly that lighter stable to understable disc you could only ever turn and burn before comes into it's own and you can throw it with little effort for the same path you used to have to crank your high speed drivers on.

Possibly you're now taking more speed into the hit and are unable to hang on to your wide rimmed drivers so they slip out early but you can pull something like a Teebird right through the pivot.

With each form change you should experiment again with discs that didn't work for you before.

 

[TruthHurts]

LOL...I'm betting clard beats them next time. opcorn:

Heh, that tickled me. I suppose he'll be whooping on Moser, too?

 

[DiscFifty]

That is funny because I had one throw in the field about 6 months ago go around 425'. I have not been able to throw over 310' since.

lol.. I've had those moments as well in the past. It's usually tied to parameters such as slightly down hill shot, perfect wind, etc. Very hard to duplicate because you probably weren't aware of the circumstances that caused that one throw to go much further. Either that...or you simply measured the distance wrong. lol.. Usually when peeps are on the verge, 1 out of every 10 or so throws might go anywhere from 20-50ft further than the rest. And the furthest throws are probably the ones you're not "strong arming" it. Best tool when you're on the verge is accurate markers for distance and a camera recording your session. That way it's easy to go back and see the throw(s) that went further and better understand what's going on.

 

[clard]

Heh, that tickled me. I suppose he'll be whooping on Moser, too?

He beat me last time we played together.

Who are you? I must know. I'm betting we've played together before, and I need to put a face with these posts.

 

[DiscJunkie]

lol.. I've had those moments as well in the past. It's usually tied to parameters such as slightly down hill shot, perfect wind, etc. Very hard to duplicate because you probably weren't aware of the circumstances that caused that one throw to go much further. Either that...or you simply measured the distance wrong. lol.. Usually when peeps are on the verge, 1 out of every 10 or so throws might go anywhere from 20-50ft further than the rest. And the furthest throws are probably the ones you're not "strong arming" it. That way it's easy to go back and see the throw(s) that went further and better understand what's going on.

QFT.
This has been my experience as well.
"Best tool when you're on the verge is accurate markers for distance and a camera recording your session."
Excellent advice.

 

[sidewinder22]

Heh, that tickled me. I suppose he'll be whooping on Moser, too?

The truth hurts doesn't it?

 

[Mocheez]

I was messing around with my putting grip last night and noticed greater speed and spin when I increased the amount of forward thumb pressure on the flight plate. The finger spring sensation was also a lot more noticeable. I have been applying forward thumb pressure in my power grip for the last couple of years but never thought about translating into my putting grip.