suggestions for forehand (side arm)

[hangwind]

I want to make sure I get pretty far down this path before I get caught up in trying discs...

Maybe letting you guys know what I know will help, that way you can critique / educate me if I am far off.

Again, my aerodynamics come from study of gliding, I am an accomplished long time hang glider and paraglider pilot with time in sailplanes.

Thick airfoil = high lift at slow velocity
Thin airfoil = more efficient lift at higher velocity
Spin = stability

Light = downwind (for glide and float)
Heavy = upwind (penetration)

I know at release, my disc needs to be spinning and on a plane and not waver from that plane at release. The disc should be accelerating at a angle that is efficient to the power I give the disc so that the trajectory will maximize distance and glide as it decelerates. My vocabulary is not good with turns left and right but I do understand that the characteristics of different discs and the dynamics involved cause them to curve and or sine on a tangent.

I do know that the Valkryie and it's record distance throw does not seem to be in everyone's vocabulary here, I think I understand that. What I do whant to reference is, that record is recognized and that the Valkryie is NOT everyone's first choice because we are NOT like the person who achieved that record.

I understand that Innova has a gauge for flight characteristics that I can understand. There are discs that are rated for speed and I can see that in the profile, the Valkryie is rated lower than other discs but it is the RECORD disc. There are 20 or so Innova discs that are speed rated as fast or faster...

I enjoy it, use it and it works well for me but Innova does not suggest it as a side arm disc. As a matter of fact, what the manufacture recommends as a sidearm disc: Banshee - *Boss - Destroyer - *Firebird - FL - Groove - Max - Monster - Teebird - Teerex - Viper - Whippet - XCaliber are not all of your choices here.

Innova has experience and history, for me, sort of like PING that is already out there so I move with their discs because it is a known.

(I enjoy Innova discs, I'm sure other discs are just as good if not better but at this stage of my learning, I want to have a system to advance with that I understand, common knowledge that I can converse with others as I am here)

With that, I realize that the image in the mirror is often farther away that it appears...

That's where I am at so far, I purchased a 150 Banshee and I will use it this weekend at Vista del Camino where I will throw it at least a dozen times in play. A dozen times is not a lot but enough with my experience to know if it will work for me now. The profile of the disc looks like it is going to work for me. I am starting to see how the top part of the disc also comes into play, how the flight plate in conjunction with the entry and underside make a fast or lifty disc.

There are all kinds of glide, glide at speed and slow glide, slicing glides and arcing float paths.

What a cool sport.

Critique?

* Higly recomended

 

[hangwind]

BTW, thank you for these Innova suggestions...

I am in no way connected with or have any business with disc golf or this company.

If this thread progresses for me, I'll poll the discs and compare with my experiences. I can see some disc commonalities as well as technique.

Really very cool and I'm learning something from a forum *gasp*, thanks again.

Animage: TeeBird - Banshee

CwAlbino: Eagle - Firebird - Banshee - Beast - Orc

tbird888: TLs - TeeBird - Strikers - PDs

valkcro: Roc - Cro - Shark - Gator

ChaseTheAce: Teebird - Banshee - Firebird - Valkyrie - Orc - Wraith - Destroyer

splettimer: Beast - Monstor - FL

agent_peebody: Wraith - Boss

simpletwist:

chrishysell:

roadtripstuff: Gazelle - Leopard - Sidewinder - Valkyrie - Orc - Monarch - Roc - Cro - Rhyno

EL-KABONG: (humor is good)

Ben17: TeeBird

djjeremiahj: Max - Destoyer - Katana - Wraith - Orc - Rhyno

dobbins66: Destroyer - Max - XCaliber - Firebird - Teebirds - Banshee - Whippets - Cro - Monster

 

[agent_peebody]

i said wraith and pearly orc, i can't FH a boss

 

[simpletwist]

For my FH drives I use a Destroyer, Surge, Surge SS and Flick. On occasion I'll use a Beast. I have used an Orc with some success as well.

 

[hangwind]

My apologies if I got your suggestions wrong, please correct me. It was a bit difficult to do the "cut and paste" through the threads...

 

[agent_peebody]

it's all good, i just don't want it out there that a throw a boss :|

they're too wide rimmed and weird for me

 

[notapro]

I think you should be fine with the discs you have. I might have missed it, but what is the problem?

Or, what is the reason you feel the need to try out new discs?

 

[hangwind]

I think you should be fine with the discs you have. I might have missed it, but what is the problem?

Or, what is the reason you feel the need to try out new discs?

Not sure if that was rhetorical or if I was included???

At this point, the problem is: I have an insatiable desire to learn and enjoy the game.

My goals are:

1. Understand disc aerodynamics.
2. Understand the side arm throw while my back hand catches up.
3. To have fun...

If I did not have the desire to try new discs, I would have stayed with the one single disc I first purchased to play the game.

In the game of disc golf, I'm not interested in one disc play although it might be fun to try one of those "one disc" gatherings...

 

[hangwind]

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231

There is a lot of cool info in here...

<snipped>and the amount of dome would effect that airspeed and move something called the "center of lift." As the center of lift moves closer to the nose, it effects the stability of the disc

Yes, time to go underground and read a little more, I'm going to find the answers to my questions without having to ask them.

I like that.

 

[EL-KABONG]

All humor aside....heavier Strikers kick ass for sidearm drives

 

[Oregon_Nole]

I'm FH dominant. Some of my staples:

Z Predator- great headwind/left to right disc. Like a longer Banshee, so if you enjoy the Banshee, maybe look into a Pred.
T-bird- straight with reliable fade.
Wildcat- like a longer, slightly more stable valk.
Sidewinder- great tailwind/hyzer-flip/right to left disc. I love to FH with understable discs because when you get it right, they just go forever....

 

[bpierce08]

im also sidearm dominate and i learned to throw sidearm with a star firebird it is my most consistant disc in my bag maybe not the farthest disc but you can always work your way up. another great disc would be the star xcalibur to help your sidearm

 

[MattMan]

I started throwing FH with an Orc, and have gone through many Orcs and made great progress with BH, but still throwing the Orc for FH when ever necessary. I always suggest Orcs to people that want to use FH.

 

[alien42]

i primarily throw FH and my regular driver disc history and thoughts on them goes something like this...

168 Champ Firebird - a very forgiving FH disc that has a big S curve, used this for quite a while
168 Star Destroyer - less forgiving than a Firebird and i lost it before getting to really know it
167 Champ Wraith - more distance than the above two but it isn't very forgiving if your throw is even a little off, still throw it a lot though
169 Champ Katana - similar to the Firebird but more distance, pretty forgiving with some anhyzer

and finally, i have had a 173 Surge in my bag since Xmas that has never been thrown and i decided to give it a shot last week. threw it on hole one and if weren't for the tree, it looked like it was going to be one of my furthest drives on that hole. drove hole 2 and it was my longest drive and closest to the basket ever on that hole, got the deuce. hole 3 was another great drive with the Surge, hole 4 is a roller and hole 5 i throw the Surge again and drop it close to the basket for another deuce. it looks like i am going to be driving the Surge in the near future and so far i love it.

 

[Raptor]

I throw a Star Wraith for most of my long FH drives. Thrown flat, it will fly perfectly straight for a while, then fade very predictably at the end. Thrown with some anny, it will carve out a great S-curve.

For shorter straight drives, I'll sometimes use an XL.

 

[hangwind]

I added in a Banshee to the bag, a 150 and it really helped my game. Today it was really hot (extreme heat advisory of 110+ degrees) with light and variable winds. The air is super thin when it is like this, glides have to be fast and even then they don't go all that well in comparison to a cooler more humid day... I was not throwing well with the Valkyrie and I don't have a light TeeBird so it was the Banshee and it goes good. I find it a lot like the TeeBird (I don't have a light TeeBird), not as far but straighter. It does fade a bit to the right at the end. If it were not for the Banshee, I would have done a lot worse than I did. I will be using it a bit more. I need a lighter TeeBird though.

Before I look at another disc, I'm going to purchase a couple of lighter class discs in the models I use.

Question: I primarily have Champion plastic discs. I like them, I think they are hardy. I don't like rock courses, I like grass as I play in surf trunks, a tee and flip flops. Champion plastic seems "stable" in that all the discs I look at on the racks, the flight plate is uniform and regular. Star plastic I really like. One observation, the 150 class discs in YELLOW often have deformed flight plates, it's like there is a warble in it, not flat, a depression on one side and a bit of a bubble on the other. I think when you throw these lighter discs, it is important to have a uniform shape as the warble will kill your limited speed (why you throw a light disc). Does anyone see this as well? Star seems to throw heavier than does Champion, even at the same weight. Just curious, do you guys see this?

Disc golf, great game, can't wait for the next round...

Thank you and any advice/help is appreciated.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

One thing you didn't mention in regards to flight was weight... heavier downhill can get you extra distance both with the weight and the extra stability it adds. If you find you're outgrowing the Valkryie... get one a few grams heavier. As far as discs go, you sound pretty setup. Get yourself a midrange backhand disc.. Comet, Buzzz, Roc, Element. Heavy on the Comet, a lot of folks love them for throw diagnosis, I throw them for 50% of my approaches.

As far as sidearm drivers etc go, toss in a vote for the Orc, flexible disc overhand, sidearm or backhand. Great flight characteristics and still true in lower weights, a great driver for so many reasons it's been overshadowed by Nukes and Bosses etc. but it's still fast enough for many old pros I play with, and more importantly accurate.

I don't know how heavy your putter is but generally I recommend 170g as a good starting weight, I got bogged down by 174g putters starting out and they just don't get up to cruising speed as easily.

Once you find discs you like stick with them, nothing will add distance except practice and correct form, line your discs all up in a field and see where they go and how hard it is to get them there, then you focus on throwing the discs that are easier to get there better.

 

[hangwind]

Great advice, goes along with what I understand...

Thank you.