Driver vs Mid flight

[jaboc83]

Hi, I've got a question about the difference in flight pattern from a midrange (let's say a Buzz or a Roc) to a driver (Let's call it an XL or a TeeBird). When I throw my mids with what I feel to be proper driving form the disc tends to come out relatively smooth and flat maybe 10-15' off the ground or so and continues out to say 275' as I would expect which I'm very happy with. But when I throw my drivers, using what I feel like is the exact same form, the discs more often (say 40% of the time) come out climbing. It's not anything crazy mind you, but they are certainly losing distance because of it and end up around the same 275' as the mids. My question: Is the climbing I experience with the drivers normal, or does it happen to all discs and my midrange discs are more forgiving of a poor release? Or maybe I'm convincing myself mentally that I'm throwing both discs the same but actually do something different when I throw a driver? I feel like, given the same throwing form, both discs should have similar flight as far as elevation goes, but maybe I'm making an irrational assumption about the discs...

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[jaboc83]

tl;dr = I notice that sometimes my drivers never flatten out during flight like my mids. Is this odd?

[Technohic]

Short version is: Mids fly flat, drivers climb higher.

Answer to your question is drivers are more nose angle sensitive than mids, and you are getting nose up.

[jaboc83]

Thanks for the quick response! So I basically need to make a conscious effort to keep the nose down on drivers, and leave my mid throwing style alone. I'll have to try to remember that.

[optidiscic]

Originally Posted by Technohic

Short version is: Mids fly flat, drivers climb higher.

Answer to your question is drivers are more nose angle sensitive than mids, and you are getting nose up.

hmmmm could also be the increased glide of many drivers over most mids but I would need to know exactly which discs you are throwing....the nose angle thing is probably the culprit....whats the distances you r getting from the exact discs....drivers should exceed your mids if thrown properly

[toothyfish]

You probably are throwing them the same, which isn't really what you want to do. I mean from a basic technique/power stand point it is, but what you describe sounds like a nose angle issue.

Mids can be thrown with a more neutral release angle and will tend to flatten out and glide the whole way, as you've described. Drivers, however (and it only gets worse as they get faster) need more nose down on the release. The up, up, and away stall is a result of a nose neutral or nose up release, which is why they climb quicly, run out of steam, and fade out hard even with, or even shorter than your mids. Keeping the nose down and applying a bit more power and snap should give the the additional 40-50ft you are looking for.

If you search this forum for Grip, Nose Angle, and a few other things, you'll find threads on the subject. Another good place to check is www.discgolfreview.com. There are a host of technical articles on that site that will cover this and other related subjects.

[Technohic]

Quick way of seeing if you have nose angle issue is, after you throw your driver, looke to see if you can see the top of the disc where the writing is as it flies. If you can see that, your nose is up.

[jaboc83]

Originally Posted by optidiscic

hmmmm could also be the increased glide of many drivers over most mids but I would need to know exactly which discs you are throwing....the nose angle thing is probably the culprit....whats the distances you r getting from the exact discs....drivers should exceed your mids if thrown properly

I throw Rocs for mids 99% of the time, and TeeBirds and XLs about 50/50 for drivers. The Rocs go about 250-275' and the drivers are both around 300' when they are thrown properly. My problem is that 40% of the time that the drivers are not being thrown properly. As mentioned, the more sensitive nose angle of the drivers could definitely be the culprit.

[garublador]

Originally Posted by Technohic

Answer to your question is drivers are more nose angle sensitive than mids, and you are getting nose up.

It sounds like this to me, too. The rule of thumb is that the faster as disc is, the more nose angle sensitive it is. Putters and mids work well nose neutral or nose up but most drivers require nose down to fly as intended.

[jaboc83]

Originally Posted by Technohic

Quick way of seeing if you have nose angle issue is, after you throw your driver, looke to see if you can see the top of the disc where the writing is as it flies. If you can see that, your nose is up.

Oh yeah, it's definitely a climbing motion, not a rising motion. The stalling out I notice quite a bit with the TeeBirds when it happens they fade off pretty hard.