Mid vs Driver flight pattern RHFH

[Secret_Squirrel]

I am still new to this sport, been playing for about 5 weeks now. I started off throwing RHBH but have switched over to RHFH. Currently I am using a Discraft Flick for my drive which are ~220-240'. However I have recently wanted to take the advice that everyone has posted to myself and all other new comers as to use a mid range disc. My problem, is that I cannot throw any mid disc RHFH, they all seem to have some anhyzer to them and they become rollers, but my drivers "appear" to fly fine, just not as far as they could. Is this a sure sign that my form is really bad or does it just take time to learn to throw mids on a forehand. I have tried a shark and comet and they both just turn into rollers on my forehand.

My BH generally can get to ~150-170' with a mid, around 200' with a driver. I have a LONG ways to go still but I really want to develop my FH as it's much easier for me to throw, and I want to take the advice from others and use a Mid to learn from.

Thanks

 

[bradharris]

The Flick is very overstable and will mask form issues, always coming back hard to the right. The Comet and Shark are much less forgiving which is why they're turning and burning on you.

Don't try to throw them hard, just focus on smooth, clean release. It takes practice, but learning to throw the Sharks and Comets will benefit you in the long run.

 

[Halcón]

Your problem is a pretty classic one. You're rolling your wrist over when you throw FH, causing the disc to turn. The Flick is overstable and compensating for this roll, even though you may not notice it.

I'm sure someone will be along to post some videos of good FH form. You just need to work on throwing flatter, with a clean release. Good luck!

Edit: Brad beat me to it.

 

[Jax11]

Slow your arm down when you are throwing mids. They cannot handle the arm speed that your Flick can. Think about using all wrist.

To practice, tuck your elbow against your hip and just flick it with forearm and wrist. Start working in some upper arm a little at a time until you can tone down the speed enough. The mids should fly flat with a little fade right at the end with minimal flutter when you are practicing like this.

Also, a Flick (the disc) is very overstable, you can throw it hard, with bad form, and it will not turnover. While this is a predictable way to play, its not the best way to learn as it masks form flaws. I would find a slightly over stable fairway driver, like an Eagle, Teebird, or Stalker and learn to throw that cleanly.

 

[DiscinFiend]

Just keep practicing with throwing Mids & Putter forehand. Even if that mean starting out by throwing them for upshots for awhile until you get the hang of it. Mids & putter help to show you your flaws in your form. I'd also recommend dropping the Flick for now b/c OS drivers tend to hide form flaws & you will be better off in the long run. Also if you want to get a driver I'd say pick up a fairway driver like a River or Leopard b/c understable discs are great for helping beginners learn about flight characteristics.

 

[NOStheBOSS]

palm to the sky

 

[Secret_Squirrel]

Thanks for the replys everyone. I was afraid the flick was hiding form issues and I'm sure the Nuke SS and Krait that I've thrown are doing the same thing, masking problems.

Back to the drawing board. Guess my wife won't feel so bad on the course next time as my throws will look horrible now . Our friends will probably wonder why I'm putting myself through this pain as I was doing great (for our group) this last weekend.

 

[championlog22]

The Flick is definitely not beginner friendly. I'll suggest something slightly understable or stable. With the mids, if they keep turning over and rolling when you FH them, try to have the disc pointed at the ground when you throw, this way, when your wrists turn over, which it sounds like they do naturally, it will correct the plane of the disc. Another trick is to have your body lean towards your throwing arm as you release the disc. This will help keep your wrists from rolling. The Nuke SS should be understable enough.

 

[Secret_Squirrel]

I found the flick VERY friendly and easy. The nuke SS has taken a bit more to get it to fly better but I thought my form might be off so I tried some mids and had crash and burn which I will now work on.

 

[Fraser]

I agree with everything all the others have said, especially in regards to the Flick. I use a Flick as a utility driver and really not much else.

Keys to FH'ing mids and putters are making sure you have slow arm speed compared to how much spin you can generate on your wrist-close (the hit). Run-ups are really unnecessary.

For any disc, keep your elbow as tucked-in (not necessarily attached-at-the-hip, but close to your body) as you can. Make sure you have a good weight-shift from back-to-front at the release. Make sure you follow through with you palm to the sky. And, make sure to throw on an even plane. This takes out a lot of things that can cause OAT.

Just like backhand, starting out with slower speed, neutral-to-slightly over/understable discs will help you solidify your form faster than anything else. The high-speed and overstable discs will hide your form flaws and you will ingrain bad habits into your throw. I'm still working through some of my bad habits a year after I started cleaning up my FH. Don't be me and think you can throw well by flexing overstable discs. Being able to throw a long turnover with a FH is a great feeling.

I found the flick VERY friendly and easy. The nuke SS has taken a bit more to get it to fly better but I thought my form might be off so I tried some mids and had crash and burn which I will now work on.

That's just the thing, the Flick isn't a beginner friendly disc. All it really does for newer players is teach them bad habits. The Nuke SS is definitely more neutral (hence why it's harder to throw compared to the Flick) but is still too much of a high-speed driver that requires a lot of speed and spin. Smaller rim widths don't require as much speed but still like spin so they are better to work with while you are trying to learn how to generate more spin with a FH throw. It's really easy to throw any disc "fast" with a FH but without the required spin, they will just act more overstable and will fade early. Watch Big Jerm (Jeremy Koling), he's got such an effortless FH that generates a ton of spin compared to how fast his arm is moving.

 

[Secret_Squirrel]

That's just the thing, the Flick isn't a beginner friendly disc. All it really does for newer players is teach them bad habits

Ahhhhhhh, gotcha. That makes sense. I was reading as it was wasn't easy for the beginner to throw well, not that it masks problems.

 

[Jax11]

Ahhhhhhh, gotcha. That makes sense. I was reading as it was wasn't easy for the beginner to throw well, not that it masks problems.

The only aspect of the Flick that is beginner friendly is that it flies consistently, no matter how hard you torque it, it flies and eventually crashes to the right. It allows your form to be inconsistent, which for a beginner is good for immediate results, but it doesn't give you the feedback you need to improve your game over time.

With some of the discs we are suggesting, if your form is bad your shot will reflect that. Thus, you have immediate feedback on whether that throw was good or not.

With that said, if you are playing for money or bragging rights, you can use the Flick if it is consistent and accurate for you. Though you may win that round with your Flick, you will learn more about your form and the "correct" flight of a disc throwing something less overstable.

Also, its not referred to as beginner friendly because it has no glide and it takes a lot of power to get it to fly the type of distance it was designed for. I am just spouting this out, but I would estimate that it was designed to fly 300-350ft. Other speed 10 drivers can hit 400' easily, but the Flick doesn't get that type of distance because of the lack of glide.

 

[Stardoggy]

I'd add that the mids and putters I throw RHFH tend to need to be released at a slight hyzer angle to keep them flat and straight.

If you're looking for a decent RHFH distance disc...I use my Star Orc and Star Destroyer most of the time.

The Flick is more of a specialty shot disc. I had a 150g that was awesome for controlled FH S-Curves, but sadly got lost in a myriad of leaves last fall. I now use a beat Firebird for those shots.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I'd add that the mids and putters I throw RHFH tend to need to be released at a slight hyzer angle to keep them flat and straight.

I disagree. They should hold a line exactly as they do backhand. Mids aren't meant to be released quite so nose down as drivers, but that's different from hyzer.

Last week I was complaining that my stratus wouldn't turn over on my forehands.

 

[Tiny]

"Smooth is Far" My favorite quote.

 

[tylerc]

forehanding mids and putters is very helpful and I do this quite a lot even off the tee and in basically any situation.. sometimes too much.. the comet is my favorite mid to forehand just learn the hyzer amounts u need to put on it and u can get it on hyzer anny or straight lines out to 300ish

 

[Druid]

I'm not disagreeing with everyone who says to use Leopards etc. to learn forehand, but guys like Ricky Wysocki and Avery Jenkins use discs like the Firebird and Max (similar to a Z Flick) an awful lot for forehand. I highly doubt you'll ever see them pull out a Leopard.

If you want a mid that you can throw forehand without spending countless hours perfecting your form. Try a Gateway Demon or a Trident by Latitude 64. If not, good luck trying to FH that Comet.

 

[Tiny]

I'm not disagreeing with everyone who says to use Leopards etc. to learn forehand, but guys like Ricky Wysocki and Avery Jenkins use discs like the Firebird and Max (similar to a Z Flick) an awful lot for forehand. I highly doubt you'll ever see them pull out a Leopard.

If you want a mid that you can throw forehand without spending countless hours perfecting your form. Try a Gateway Demon or a Trident by Latitude 64. If not, good luck trying to FH that Comet.

They also already know how to forehand, comparing people to pros is a bit weird. As they are already great at the game.

 

[KGroff25]

Overall my forehand got a lot better from learning to flick putters, mids, catch discs, my river, etc. I find putters and mids extremely helpful from 100ft and in because they won't skip, slide, etc. After that I stick to teebirds and rivers for touch shots because I can trust that I won't flip them.

But when it comes to a power shot I still rely on Firebirds, Destroyers, etc. to cover for the fact that I'm likely to get overzealous and put some accidental OAT on the throw.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I'm not disagreeing with everyone who says to use Leopards etc. to learn forehand, but guys like Ricky Wysocki and Avery Jenkins use discs like the Firebird and Max (similar to a Z Flick) an awful lot for forehand. I highly doubt you'll ever see them pull out a Leopard.

If you want a mid that you can throw forehand without spending countless hours perfecting your form. Try a Gateway Demon or a Trident by Latitude 64. If not, good luck trying to FH that Comet.

Why would you forehand a leopard when you could backhand a firebird?

I bet Ricky can forehand a Comet 400'.