Do rollers involve a bit of voodoo?

[Qikly]

I'm a novice when it comes to rollers: I throw them occasionally, but only have a general sense of where they'll end up. So when I see a pro use them to the degree of accuracy as one would a forehand or backhand, it tends to blow me away.

With that in mind, do rollers entail a bit of voodoo/luck/whathaveyou to be used precisely on a regular basis? Or are they as accurate as a forehand or backhand given enough practice?

 

[DangeRuss]

They do if you throw them blindly.

I'd say that if you know the contours of the hole you are playing on well, rollers are just as predictable as an air shot if you know how to lay it down properly.

I'm sure if you threw 10 of the exact same roller shots on a soccer field that they would end up pretty close to each other.

 

[disctildeath]

I'm a novice when it comes to rollers: I throw them occasionally, but only have a general sense of where they'll end up. So when I see a pro use them to the degree of accuracy as one would a forehand or backhand, it tends to blow me away.

With that in mind, do rollers entail a bit of voodoo/luck/whathaveyou to be used precisely on a regular basis? Or are they as accurate as a forehand or backhand given enough practice?

It depends on the type of roller, some are much more consistent than others. I'd say it's somewhat risky using a big backhand distance roller off the tee, but forehand and thumb rollers aren't that hard to learn or control and can save you many strokes particularly on wooded courses, where low to the ground shots can often times take tree branches out of the equation or hit odd doglegs.

 

[eday1022]

I've been really working on my backhand rollers and I'm really starting to get the hang of them for accuracy. Most of the time I'm only throwing putters for this, I'm not talking about that 500+ foot bomb roller here. Also I have very little faith in my forehands so given the right terrain I will just drop a roller for any right turning holes with low ceilings.

Backhand - Less then 320 feet
Straight - Gateway Shaman
Right turning - Gateway Chief
- More then 320
Star Boss

Forehand
Buzzz for almost all shot
Chief or Shaman for really short out rollers
Occasionally a teebird or stalker - I find drivers risky and only do this if I have to save par.

 

[Nemmers]

Forehand
Buzzz for almost all shot
Chief or Shaman for really short out rollers
Occasionally a teebird or stalker - I find drivers risky and only do this if I have to save par.

A great forehand roller is the Thunderbird. Try it out.

 

[DavidSauls]

I don't think they're as accurate as air shots, if for no other reason than that the ground offers more obstacles that can affect the roll, than the air does affecting the flight. When people throw big backhand rollers, it's usually on a hole that doesn't require great precision; they can be further off to the left or right, a tradeoff for greater distance.

But with practice and mastery, they can be very effective. Especially shorter, get-out-of-trouble rollers.

 

[coupe]

Voodo? Nope. Never. Warlocks and Magics is how I roll.

 

[Moose33]

Yes, you must sacrifice a chicken before all successful rollers.

Seriously you just need to know the angles and make sure you have the right disc for it. I like a Prometheus or XCal for FH rollers and a Hu or Katana for BH.

 

[tistoude]

Rollers always require some voodoo. There is so much crap on the ground between you and your target that even though the mechanics of a roller can be perfected the result is always at least somewhat down to luck.

 

[Thumber]

Indeed, one of the dark arts

 

[Johnny Conservative]

I vote yes because no matter how hard I try...it wont work for me.

 

[roggenb3]

Rollers always require some voodoo. There is so much crap on the ground between you and your target that even though the mechanics of a roller can be perfected the result is always at least somewhat down to luck.

^Unless you are on an open hole on a well manicured course (e.g. Token Creek #20)

I spent all last year practicing backhand rollers off the tee and have gotten pretty good. If you roll a disc enough you will get a good feel for it and be able to be almost as accurate as a regular throw.

Favorite backhand roller discs:

Turn over - Unlace
Straight - Rogue
Max Distance - OLace

 

[keltik]

Get a mamba.

 

[Improbably]

Rollers are not valid golf shots.

Making them "illegal" would be a form of validation.

Rollers and their practitioners deserve no validation.

 

[Jay Dub]

Rollers are not valid golf shots.

Making them "illegal" would be a form of validation.

Rollers and their practitioners deserve no validation.

This is always said by golfers when they can't figure out how to throw a roller. Before I learned how to do it I thought it was cheating, once I learned how to throw one I saw it as a legitimate shot.

It's not the easiest shot and yes each time there is a little voodoo involved. You can get the perfect roller out of your hand but if it lands on a small twig you never saw, it gets all screwed up.

 

[HiFi]

Mambas, Sidewinders...

rollers = snake named discs

snakes = satan

satan = evil

therefore rollers = evil

I think that just about covers things.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Cobra and Moray early "snake" rollers.

 

[Improbably]

This is always said by golfers when they can't figure out how to throw a roller. Before I learned how to do it I thought it was cheating, once I learned how to throw one I saw it as a legitimate shot.

It's not the easiest shot and yes each time there is a little voodoo involved. You can get the perfect roller out of your hand but if it lands on a small twig you never saw, it gets all screwed up.

Rollers are not cheating at disc golf.

Rollers are simply not disc golf.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Interesting assertion not backed by facts.

 

[roggenb3]

Rollers are not cheating at disc golf.

Rollers are simply not disc golf.

Says the guy that can't throw rollers.