Tomahawk

[nygfaninva]

Is there any rule against Tomahawk throws from the Tee? I know you lose distance, but when faced with a corridor of trees on a par 3 from the tee, I often wonder if I'd be any better off Tomahawking the first throw to get out of the corridor and pick up with my midrange, rather than deal with my usual bouncing and pin balling off the tree corridor.

[cjlgarage]

no rule on tomahawking... it can be a useful throw ... you do lose distance but with a big arm you can hit 300-350ft depending on wind and disc type

[nosajeel99]

This is a little off topic, but what is the best way to throw a tomahawk? My arm really hurts when I do it, which to me means I am doing it wrong. Tips?

[djext1]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n7ZQbxrr1v8


Give this a watch, maybe it'll help out some. Personally I don't throw em cus they kill my arm as well, plus I just don't need it ever...occasionally to get out of some think tall stuff, but even then it's just to play it back out to the fairway..

[MattK]

Soreness doesn't necessarily mean you're doing it wrong. It can happen any time you work a muscle group in a way you're not used to working it.

Personally I'll throw it for nearly any 2nd shot that isn't within putting range, and occasionally throw it off the tee. The distance sucks, but in the absence of any serious wind I've found the tomahawk is the most precise shot I have. With any shot under 150' it can be used to park a disc for a sure putt most of the time.

[DannyM]

Personally I use a thumber shot myself, and yes, it is perfectly legal to throw off the tee pad. At my home course we have a hole <#11 Crooked Creek Park>, that is a "hallway of trees" marked by a mando. If you throw the thumber line drive<which will tail off right> I have parked the basket numerous times. Even if you catch a tree, branch, etc... chances are you are 2/3 down the fairway or more and it's a fairly easy par from there. There are also a lot of other holes that because of the tightness, that I will throw a thumber on the drive, or because the basket fades to the right, and there is just not a good line for a forehand shot.

[nosajeel99]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n7ZQbxrr1v8


Thanks for the link. Helpful. I guess I just need to practice them a little bit.

My pain isn't really soreness but actual hurting when I throw. I don't think my muscles are THAT weak... I guess I should just be careful when starting to throw them and not hurt myself too much.

[Disc Dog]

We have a guy here that was a pro baseball player and I have seen him throw tomahawks and thumbers over 400 feet. He gets some wild flights but is very accurate with them. He varies the throw by using different angles at the release. I have seen him throw the sweetest "S" curve.

So I think with practice achieving good distance can be done but it never has because it is not the norm. I never will, I have a spaghetti arm when throwing overhand.

[solomon.trenton]

the epics barrel rolls are amazing as well

[ronhoffman2]

I only use them to get out of trouble. What disc and how in God's name can one throw a tomahawk 350'? (btw: it's just a rhetorical question, i'm not looking for an answer)

[`cjc]

I've hit 350 ft with a 170g Flick one more than one occasion. It's my most accurate throw out of the box.

[flash86]

I prefer to throw thumbers instead of tomahawks. The biomechanics of throwing a tomahawk put a great deal of stress on the shoulder and especially the elbow. Tyr switching to a thumber and you should feel a lot less strain on your joints. FYI... My preferred disc for a thumber is 172g Star Firebird.

[Adaven]

put your body into it, don't let our arm be the only thing to throw the disc. Most people will experience a little pain when throwing this shot for the first couple of times until you build up some specific muscles. However, many people I have talked to explain to me that they continuously feel pain from it, when I see them throw it they are just trying to huck it with their arms and no body.

[mrstiggy]

I see people on my home course (Searight park, Austin, TX) huck em over 300 all the time and ask myself the same thing. I can throw a pretty good thumber, but it maxes out at about 150.

[TalbotTrojan]

It is a great shot to have the ability to throw and I know people that are way more accurate with that shot than they are with any other shot. I think this mostly stems from the fact that it is more like a baseball throw. Like all the throws though you will feel pain when throwing them for the first time or when your mechanics are just a little off or when you do it so much that it just wears out (see baseball pitchers and the reason a pitch count is used so frequently and why the have pitch count limitations in Little League). If you know how to throw them distance is not the issue, obviously guys can get them out as far as they need them and much further than I can throw a typical forehand or backhand drive. General knowledge seems to say that an overstable disc is what you want for these shots. Straight isn't a fact of the shot unless that is what you have learned to do with them.

[Countchunkula]

I have a bad shoulder and throw thumbers only when necessary. There was a hole at a local course that I couldn't see a way to the basket except over the top. I figured that if I loosened up my shoulder first and only did 1 or 2 overhands it couldn't be too bad right. In my experience this has been OK. And normally I can't really throw a baseball overhand or a football more than a couple times before it kills. So I've been throwing them for 3-4 months and can do 150' to 210' accuratelly and recently hit a long one that was 280'+.

-Stretch out shoulder before all overhands

-Follow through all the way

-Limit your number of throws if you do not do this shot regularly

-Crazy overstable discs flip slower and add D

-I think that following through straight to the ground the disc doesn't cut as hard at the end, while following through across the body = more fade

[craftsman]

Follow through! Like your trying to rob your left pocket with your right hand. I can throw a thumbed accurate and farther than any other style of drive but try to refrain from using it cause I think in the long run it will hold my game back.( and hurt my body)

[Traver]

Yeah, I'd put more time into overhand shots but from my experience they're horrendous in the wind so it seems like it'd be better just to keep working on my backhand.
I never played baseball, does anyone think that tossing a baseball back and forth with a buddy might help with form, and strengthen some unused muscles?
It'd be awesome if someone on this site made a quick little tutorial on how to bomb an overhand shot. I max out at like 200' and I can throw BH like 340' or so.

Does the disc rip out of your hand like a BH throw or are you releasing it?

[OcDiscGolf]

I was doing a little demo of the technique on this shot at the course today... I find the two finger grip more accurate than the thumber. It is money for me up to about 120 feet, but the key of this shot on the approach is its tendency to land upside down and stick.

I played with a guy for awhile that could drive it out to 350 easily with this shot. He normally used the Epic as well which puzzled me... This is also the best "get out of trouble" shot there is. I find the key is to definitely stretch the arm and go as straight "over the top" as you can. Kind of like your Little League coach used to tell you. :gross:

[wolito]

Back to the original question, I have played courses where and overhand shot is prohibited on some hole and where an overhead shot is mandatory on some holes. Such hole will specifically say so on the sign(or should at least).

[leppard]

I like to go around or over even if there is a slight chance of trouble trying to hit a gap. I've thrown thumbers but it hurts my shoulder probably because I don't practice it. I often throw a BH hyzer shot to get over trees.

[OcDiscGolf]

Back to the original question, I have played courses where and overhand shot is prohibited on some hole and where an overhead shot is mandatory on some holes. Such hole will specifically say so on the sign(or should at least).

That is one of the strangest things I have ever heard. Where is that course located? Mandating certain form seems to me the opposite of what success in sports is all about. The point is to stay within the rules, but maintain your own "style".

Imagine if they made you shoot with your Sand Wedge on a 400 yard hole on the PGA tour.

[zenbot]

That is one of the strangest things I have ever heard. Where is that course located? Mandating certain form seems to me the opposite of what success in sports is all about. The point is to stay within the rules, but maintain your own "style".

Imagine if they made you shoot with your Sand Wedge on a 400 yard hole on the PGA tour.
Ript DGC perhaps?