First form check!

[Brychanus]

Field Journal
I'll just edit this post each time.

Modified my plan slightly to balance learning value: did ~20-30 warmup shots, whatever number of 80%+ drives through a gap that didn't hurt me, then played a "round" focused on skills development where putts only count on pole hits at roughly basket height.

5.22.2024
Goals: rehearse "zigzag X," try to get more athletic on my feet, push 80-85% distance out, force myself to learn new lines with Comets.

Strategy:
All Comets except putts.
1. Hyzerflip warmups at 200, 225, 250+ feet.
2. Work up to a handful of 80-90% hyzerflip drives. Move "teepad" back 10'. Get loose and freewheeling. Toss roughly at 300-320' target then try to overshoot it with momentum instead of effort.
3. Cool down with "practice round" on 225-280' holes. I had fun making a "course" that used the sparse terrain to force me to attack the relatively open "targets" by throwing contested hyzerflips and anhyzers, move up and downhill, and change the apex and power of the shots. If I missed C1, I threw the same shot again until I made it.

Results & observations:
Form
-Balance, slow down, focus. Athletic but in control. I can tell my head still rushes to target sometimes even without video and when I cut that out, I always throw better. Trust.

Controlled power:
-Working on finding angle sweet spots, which accounts for 50' variances. Max wt. Comet distance line @ 80-85% nearly 350'. Zero effort. But I got tired right after that salvo. Pretty flippin' cool. I don't want to hit cars obviously but if I ever hit that road you'll hear about it lmao.
-Only had like 10 drives in me above 80%. They feel effortless but my plant leg tired out fastest this time. I was also still a little sore after last week even with 3 days' rest. So I called it off and switched to 225-280' "practice round," felt fine.

Practice round & Coursecraft:
C1 hits 11/18. Almost all misses were on anhyzer, no surprise. A lot to gain there.
C2 hits 17/18. One epically bad anhyzer just kept going and going...
Birdies (pole hits) 8/18. Decent conversion in C1 today but can I improve at all ranges.

-I now always have more juice at low effort. It's hard to not overshoot targets with Comets. Controlling tempo and hitting apex is very important.
-Anhyzer is very touchy on Comets but will probably teach me quickly as a result. The good ones were absolutely gorgeous, coasting, majestic beasts (nothing else flies like a Comet) and I was having a great time watching them. The bad ones were still hitting C2 but not pretty. I could tell whether it was going to be a good one right out of my hand every time at least.
-Putting - if I throw it with deadly intent right at the f@#$ing pole I actually hit it a lot square on target. Keeping that up. Will putt in basket indoors too.

Favorite shot
- I made a "hole" with a contested early right side and contested late left side that called for a shallow snaking hyzerflip going slightly uphill 250'+ and either landing flat or fading slightly. The "teepad" was sloped up northwest. I shanked the first two on unintended turnovers - my balance sucked. Third one I nailed it and it was very fun to watch. Motivated me to make up more tricky shots next time. I hope it helps my balance develop too.

Conclusions:
This was a lot more fun than blanket throwing and I will probably get a lot out of it for the next few weeks. One session per week is probably plenty for now and I can get a lot of volume in quickly without needing to truck all the way to a course.

Edit: one tweak I might make is adding a few 150' at the start of warmups to keep working on touch.

 

[Brychanus]

Practice round journal
Might as well put these back-to-back. I'm continuing to focus on turning my recent learning into practical golf.

TL;DR Comets are here to stay.

Local Comet-only round (including putts lol) with the baby as witness. They're so shapeable and responsive at every range that I can probably keep learning things with them for years. What I realized I underestimated about them is that with enough touch I can basically be giving soft stalling ace runs at most short targets and not really worry about rollaways etc. due to their kind of lofty fade at the end of the flight. I've thrown them so often now that I can kind of understand how to do it as soon as I line up the shot, then I just need to execute. Feeling and deflecting and flexing them and gripping them different ways is starting to feel very comfortable.

Goals:
-Form: Focus on "grabbing ground with toes" from Can Can/Double dragon. Had a huge effect on my balance control. Zigzag X and feel out the shots otherwise. Visualize Gibson's motion drills, find connection to my pendulum-style mechanics each shot (this was a big help). Specifically this one.

-Bag: restrict to 4 copies of one mold, swap stabilities and change my throws as appropriate.
-Learning: Try the most uncomfortable line I can think of on each hole (usually either flatter hyzer or anhyzer or use a side or height of the fairway I usually avoid)

Results:
Tied my PB again, which I was very happy with given the new challenges I gave myself. Player 2 is if I hit 100% unobstructed C1 putts- didn't do myself any favors on a couple holes. Subjectively I was throwing much better and more confidently than even a week ago overall.

Highlights:
-Lil' ace on 17! That was fun. Then I nearly aced 18 right after. Both were witnessed and not panicking was even more rewarding than the shots.
-Hole 2 is more like 370'. It's somewhat downhill, but to score it is either a natural flex FH (which I don't have) or a turnover for placement with OB long and left. If you go for it with the turnover, you want the disc to be staying closer to eye level, and turning over pretty late and either stall and land in the little bowl ahead of the basket, or crash toward the basket. This was the only hole where it mattered, but @sidewinder22's X-step tweaks and getting back to the field have definitely increased my power. I nearly got there with my 2nd flippiest Comet but clipped the damn last tree on the right. The thing came out like a f#$%ing rocket, was flying beautifully, and still had plenty of momentum into the turn when it hit the tree so I was happy with that. Shot felt AMAZING coming out of my hand.
-Hole 16 has this little tunnel to the left that is very tight, downhill, and has danger left, right, high, and low. I have never attempted it before because it was too touchy for my stock hyzerflip. This time I gave it a much more shallow "touch" hyzer and laced it, but gave it a little too much and got stuck behind a tree long. Still was happy.

Lowlights/work on:
-Form: lazy feet, pitching off northwest, some grip slop - all seem connected to each other. My plant knee feels pretty great when my balance is good. It does not when not.
-The "toes gripping ground"/plantar flexion came and went a bit. I cannot emphasize enough how much the "toes gripping ground" matters. Whenever I chatted with a local or something I got a little sloppier and rushed myself and felt the difference immediately. I still tend to pitch northwest in transition if I don't get the right action through my legs. Can Can/DD between shots kept helping me find it again so I'll keep that up.
-Juice: I kept swapping between X-step slowing down as much as possible (feeling fully in control of my pump is directly related to everything that happens afterward) and a slightly more open to target touch sandstill. Went pretty well but missing long was always the liability. Touch and stalling shots are already feeling way more intuitive now that I'm only throwing Comets, though. Just one day of intentional fieldwork already got me more in touch for when to swap between stabilities.
-Putting: I actually did alright today, but that was just kind of a good day. I liked @ChrisWoj's Calvin putting tip and that did seem to help me square several putts up better. Just need more practice & deadly intent.
-Touch/apex control came and went: Every missed C1 or spoiled birdie off the tee was basically either (1) a slight misfire out of my hand or (2) being just a few feet off of my intended apex, but it either led to clipping a tree or put me behind an obstruction. But I can live with that.
-Hole 12 is the hole even Simon Lizotte had trouble with. I ranged it and it's more like 305-310'. I can't really throw an anhyzer flex as well as him so I tried a more shallow Calvin-esque hyzerflip again. I have the power to reach the basket on a low Comet line now. I made the gap, but it was a little too low and it caught the last root a bit outside C1. But I realized I can theoretically make that shot all the way either in the air or a sliding finish with the Comet so I'll keep trying it.
-I think it's important for me to develop a shallower Comet hyzerflip/baby flex in general for touch shots. They're kind of intuitive already but need practice.
-I'm still a little sore in a couple spots so I think I'm sticking with 1 leg day, 1 field day, and 1 golf day per week on average for now.

Locals are generally very nice here, I'll aim to make my next tournament on this layout. I tend to score ~50 points better than I did at the last tournament where I went in blind.

 

[ChrisWoj]

Practice round journal
Might as well put these back-to-back. I'm continuing to focus on turning my recent learning into practical golf.

TL;DR Comets are here to stay.

Local Comet-only round (including putts lol) with the baby as witness. They're so shapeable and responsive at every range that I can probably keep learning things with them for years. What I realized I underestimated about them is that with enough touch I can basically be giving soft stalling ace runs at most short targets and not really worry about rollaways etc. due to their kind of lofty fade at the end of the flight. I've thrown them so often now that I can kind of understand how to do it as soon as I line up the shot, then I just need to execute. Feeling and deflecting and flexing them and gripping them different ways is starting to feel very comfortable.

Goals:
-Form: Focus on "grabbing ground with toes" from Can Can/Double dragon. Had a huge effect on my balance control. Zigzag X and feel out the shots otherwise. Visualize Gibson's motion drills, find connection to my pendulum-style mechanics each shot (this was a big help). Specifically this one.

-Bag: restrict to 4 copies of one mold, swap stabilities and change my throws as appropriate.
-Learning: Try the most uncomfortable line I can think of on each hole (usually either flatter hyzer or anhyzer or use a side or height of the fairway I usually avoid)

Results:
Tied my PB again, which I was very happy with given the new challenges I gave myself. Player 2 is if I hit 100% unobstructed C1 putts- didn't do myself any favors on a couple holes. Subjectively I was throwing much better and more confidently than even a week ago overall.
View attachment 340912
Highlights:
-Lil' ace on 17! That was fun. Then I nearly aced 18 right after. Both were witnessed and not panicking was even more rewarding than the shots.
-Hole 2 is more like 370'. It's somewhat downhill, but to score it is either a natural flex FH (which I don't have) or a turnover for placement with OB long and left. You want the disc to be turning over pretty late and either land in the little bowl ahead of the basket, or crash toward the basket. There was only one hole where it mattered, but @sidewinder22's X-step tweaks and getting back to the field have definitely increased my power. I nearly got there with my 2nd flippiest Comet but clipped the damn last tree on the right. The thing came out like a f#$%ing rocket, was flying beautifully, and still had plenty of momentum into the turn when it hit the tree so I was happy with that. Shot felt AMAZING coming out of my hand.
-Hole 16 has this little tunnel to the left that is very tight, downhill, and has danger left, right, high, and low. I have never attempted it before because it was too touchy for my stock hyzerflip. This time I gave it a much more shallow "touch" hyzer and laced it, but gave it a little too much and got stuck behind a tree long. Still was happy.

Lowlights/work on:
-Form: lazy feet, pitching off northwest, some grip slop - all seem connected to each other. My plant knee feels pretty great when my balance is good. It does not when not.
-The "toes gripping ground"/plantar flexion came and went a bit. I cannot emphasize enough how much the "toes gripping ground" matters. Whenever I chatted with a local or something I got a little sloppier and rushed myself and felt the difference immediately. I still tend to pitch northwest in transition if I don't get the right action through my legs. Can Can/DD between shots kept helping me find it again so I'll keep that up.
-Juice: I kept swapping between X-step slowing down as much as possible (feeling fully in control of my pump is directly related to everything that happens afterward) and a slightly more open to target touch sandstill. Went pretty well but missing long was always the liability. Touch and stalling shots are already feeling way more intuitive now that I'm only throwing Comets, though. Just one day of intentional fieldwork already got me more in touch for when to swap between stabilities.
-Putting: I actually did alright today, but that was just kind of a good day. I liked @ChrisWoj's Calvin putting tip and that did seem to help me square several putts up better. Just need more practice & deadly intent.
-Touch/apex control came and went: Every missed C1 or spoiled birdie off the tee was basically either (1) a slight misfire out of my hand or (2) being just a few feet off of my intended apex, but it either led to clipping a tree or put me behind an obstruction. But I can live with that.
-Hole 12 is the hole even Simon Lizotte had trouble with. I ranged it and it's more like 305-310'. I can't really throw an anhyzer flex as well as him so I tried a more shallow Calvin-esque hyzerflip again. I have the power to reach the basket on a low Comet line now. I made the gap, but it was a little too low and it caught the last root. But I realized I can theoretically make that shot all the way either in the air or a sliding finish with the Comet so I'll keep trying it.
-I think it's important for me to develop a shallower Comet hyzerflip in general for touch shots.
-I'm still a little sore in a couple spots so I think I'm sticking with 1 leg day, 1 field day, and 1 golf day per week on average for now.

Locals are generally very nice here, I'll aim to make my next tournament on this layout. I tend to score ~50 points better than I did at the last tournament where I went in blind.

Is that the @Skamanda signal I see in the sky?

 

[Skamanda]

Practice round journal
Might as well put these back-to-back. I'm continuing to focus on turning my recent learning into practical golf.

TL;DR Comets are here to stay.

Local Comet-only round (including putts lol) with the baby as witness. They're so shapeable and responsive at every range that I can probably keep learning things with them for years. What I realized I underestimated about them is that with enough touch I can basically be giving soft stalling ace runs at most short targets and not really worry about rollaways etc. due to their kind of lofty fade at the end of the flight. I've thrown them so often now that I can kind of understand how to do it as soon as I line up the shot, then I just need to execute. Feeling and deflecting and flexing them and gripping them different ways is starting to feel very comfortable.

Goals:
-Form: Focus on "grabbing ground with toes" from Can Can/Double dragon. Had a huge effect on my balance control. Zigzag X and feel out the shots otherwise. Visualize Gibson's motion drills, find connection to my pendulum-style mechanics each shot (this was a big help). Specifically this one.

-Bag: restrict to 4 copies of one mold, swap stabilities and change my throws as appropriate.
-Learning: Try the most uncomfortable line I can think of on each hole (usually either flatter hyzer or anhyzer or use a side or height of the fairway I usually avoid)

Results:
Tied my PB again, which I was very happy with given the new challenges I gave myself. Player 2 is if I hit 100% unobstructed C1 putts- didn't do myself any favors on a couple holes. Subjectively I was throwing much better and more confidently than even a week ago overall.
View attachment 340912
Highlights:
-Lil' ace on 17! That was fun. Then I nearly aced 18 right after. Both were witnessed and not panicking was even more rewarding than the shots.
-Hole 2 is more like 370'. It's somewhat downhill, but to score it is either a natural flex FH (which I don't have) or a turnover for placement with OB long and left. If you go for it with the turnover, you want the disc to be staying closer to eye level, and turning over pretty late and either stall and land in the little bowl ahead of the basket, or crash toward the basket. This was the only hole where it mattered, but @sidewinder22's X-step tweaks and getting back to the field have definitely increased my power. I nearly got there with my 2nd flippiest Comet but clipped the damn last tree on the right. The thing came out like a f#$%ing rocket, was flying beautifully, and still had plenty of momentum into the turn when it hit the tree so I was happy with that. Shot felt AMAZING coming out of my hand.
-Hole 16 has this little tunnel to the left that is very tight, downhill, and has danger left, right, high, and low. I have never attempted it before because it was too touchy for my stock hyzerflip. This time I gave it a much more shallow "touch" hyzer and laced it, but gave it a little too much and got stuck behind a tree long. Still was happy.

Lowlights/work on:
-Form: lazy feet, pitching off northwest, some grip slop - all seem connected to each other. My plant knee feels pretty great when my balance is good. It does not when not.
-The "toes gripping ground"/plantar flexion came and went a bit. I cannot emphasize enough how much the "toes gripping ground" matters. Whenever I chatted with a local or something I got a little sloppier and rushed myself and felt the difference immediately. I still tend to pitch northwest in transition if I don't get the right action through my legs. Can Can/DD between shots kept helping me find it again so I'll keep that up.
-Juice: I kept swapping between X-step slowing down as much as possible (feeling fully in control of my pump is directly related to everything that happens afterward) and a slightly more open to target touch sandstill. Went pretty well but missing long was always the liability. Touch and stalling shots are already feeling way more intuitive now that I'm only throwing Comets, though. Just one day of intentional fieldwork already got me more in touch for when to swap between stabilities.
-Putting: I actually did alright today, but that was just kind of a good day. I liked @ChrisWoj's Calvin putting tip and that did seem to help me square several putts up better. Just need more practice & deadly intent.
-Touch/apex control came and went: Every missed C1 or spoiled birdie off the tee was basically either (1) a slight misfire out of my hand or (2) being just a few feet off of my intended apex, but it either led to clipping a tree or put me behind an obstruction. But I can live with that.
-Hole 12 is the hole even Simon Lizotte had trouble with. I ranged it and it's more like 305-310'. I can't really throw an anhyzer flex as well as him so I tried a more shallow Calvin-esque hyzerflip again. I have the power to reach the basket on a low Comet line now. I made the gap, but it was a little too low and it caught the last root a bit outside C1. But I realized I can theoretically make that shot all the way either in the air or a sliding finish with the Comet so I'll keep trying it.
-I think it's important for me to develop a shallower Comet hyzerflip/baby flex in general for touch shots. They're kind of intuitive already but need practice.
-I'm still a little sore in a couple spots so I think I'm sticking with 1 leg day, 1 field day, and 1 golf day per week on average for now.

Locals are generally very nice here, I'll aim to make my next tournament on this layout. I tend to score ~50 points better than I did at the last tournament where I went in blind.

Different grips, grip strengths, and manipulating the nose angle will turn the Comet into a formidable tool in your arsenal. The glide also makes it fantastic for longer shot shaping, as well. I just played an A tier at a big, championship woods course, and threw a Comet off the tee on every wooded hole, to great effect.

 

[419HondaGuy]

Practice round journal
Might as well put these back-to-back. I'm continuing to focus on turning my recent learning into practical golf.

TL;DR Comets are here to stay.

Local Comet-only round (including putts lol) with the baby as witness. They're so shapeable and responsive at every range that I can probably keep learning things with them for years. What I realized I underestimated about them is that with enough touch I can basically be giving soft stalling ace runs at most short targets and not really worry about rollaways etc. due to their kind of lofty fade at the end of the flight. I've thrown them so often now that I can kind of understand how to do it as soon as I line up the shot, then I just need to execute. Feeling and deflecting and flexing them and gripping them different ways is starting to feel very comfortable.

Goals:
-Form: Focus on "grabbing ground with toes" from Can Can/Double dragon. Had a huge effect on my balance control. Zigzag X and feel out the shots otherwise. Visualize Gibson's motion drills, find connection to my pendulum-style mechanics each shot (this was a big help). Specifically this one.

-Bag: restrict to 4 copies of one mold, swap stabilities and change my throws as appropriate.
-Learning: Try the most uncomfortable line I can think of on each hole (usually either flatter hyzer or anhyzer or use a side or height of the fairway I usually avoid)

Results:
Tied my PB again, which I was very happy with given the new challenges I gave myself. Player 2 is if I hit 100% unobstructed C1 putts- didn't do myself any favors on a couple holes. Subjectively I was throwing much better and more confidently than even a week ago overall.
View attachment 340912
Highlights:
-Lil' ace on 17! That was fun. Then I nearly aced 18 right after. Both were witnessed and not panicking was even more rewarding than the shots.
-Hole 2 is more like 370'. It's somewhat downhill, but to score it is either a natural flex FH (which I don't have) or a turnover for placement with OB long and left. If you go for it with the turnover, you want the disc to be staying closer to eye level, and turning over pretty late and either stall and land in the little bowl ahead of the basket, or crash toward the basket. This was the only hole where it mattered, but @sidewinder22's X-step tweaks and getting back to the field have definitely increased my power. I nearly got there with my 2nd flippiest Comet but clipped the damn last tree on the right. The thing came out like a f#$%ing rocket, was flying beautifully, and still had plenty of momentum into the turn when it hit the tree so I was happy with that. Shot felt AMAZING coming out of my hand.
-Hole 16 has this little tunnel to the left that is very tight, downhill, and has danger left, right, high, and low. I have never attempted it before because it was too touchy for my stock hyzerflip. This time I gave it a much more shallow "touch" hyzer and laced it, but gave it a little too much and got stuck behind a tree long. Still was happy.

Lowlights/work on:
-Form: lazy feet, pitching off northwest, some grip slop - all seem connected to each other. My plant knee feels pretty great when my balance is good. It does not when not.
-The "toes gripping ground"/plantar flexion came and went a bit. I cannot emphasize enough how much the "toes gripping ground" matters. Whenever I chatted with a local or something I got a little sloppier and rushed myself and felt the difference immediately. I still tend to pitch northwest in transition if I don't get the right action through my legs. Can Can/DD between shots kept helping me find it again so I'll keep that up.
-Juice: I kept swapping between X-step slowing down as much as possible (feeling fully in control of my pump is directly related to everything that happens afterward) and a slightly more open to target touch sandstill. Went pretty well but missing long was always the liability. Touch and stalling shots are already feeling way more intuitive now that I'm only throwing Comets, though. Just one day of intentional fieldwork already got me more in touch for when to swap between stabilities.
-Putting: I actually did alright today, but that was just kind of a good day. I liked @ChrisWoj's Calvin putting tip and that did seem to help me square several putts up better. Just need more practice & deadly intent.
-Touch/apex control came and went: Every missed C1 or spoiled birdie off the tee was basically either (1) a slight misfire out of my hand or (2) being just a few feet off of my intended apex, but it either led to clipping a tree or put me behind an obstruction. But I can live with that.
-Hole 12 is the hole even Simon Lizotte had trouble with. I ranged it and it's more like 305-310'. I can't really throw an anhyzer flex as well as him so I tried a more shallow Calvin-esque hyzerflip again. I have the power to reach the basket on a low Comet line now. I made the gap, but it was a little too low and it caught the last root a bit outside C1. But I realized I can theoretically make that shot all the way either in the air or a sliding finish with the Comet so I'll keep trying it.
-I think it's important for me to develop a shallower Comet hyzerflip/baby flex in general for touch shots. They're kind of intuitive already but need practice.
-I'm still a little sore in a couple spots so I think I'm sticking with 1 leg day, 1 field day, and 1 golf day per week on average for now.

Locals are generally very nice here, I'll aim to make my next tournament on this layout. I tend to score ~50 points better than I did at the last tournament where I went in blind.

The way you utilizing the comet sounds a lot like myself, and throwing K9 Supersonics/Superstars
Everything you are describing and feeling just mirrors everything I'm experiencing .
Just recently returned to the course, and have been doing similar things with my supersonics and superstars.
ask Cwoj, I was never known for finesse and touch, rather straight raw power/distance years back when I was active in dg. It has translated over to golf discs 100 %, my preference is changing to wanting to use more understable-stable discs versus overstable-stable.

 

[ChrisWoj]

The way you utilizing the comet sounds a lot like myself, and throwing K9 Supersonics/Superstars
Everything you are describing and feeling just mirrors everything I'm experiencing .
Just recently returned to the course, and have been doing similar things with my supersonics and superstars.
ask Cwoj, I was never known for finesse and touch, rather straight raw power/distance years back when I was active in dg. It has translated over to golf discs 100 %, my preference is changing to wanting to use more understable-stable discs versus overstable-stable.

You were known for throwing DX Teebirds 600' in the wrong direction, aside from the 5% of the time you threw them 600' in the right direction.

 

[Brychanus]

Is that the @Skamanda signal I see in the sky?

It turns out it was inevitable!

Different grips, grip strengths, and manipulating the nose angle will turn the Comet into a formidable tool in your arsenal. The glide also makes it fantastic for longer shot shaping, as well. I just played an A tier at a big, championship woods course, and threw a Comet off the tee on every wooded hole, to great effect.

I am no longer going to pretend I like other midranges anywhere as much as I like Comets. It's almost all woods right around me anyway, so Comet fest it is!!!

The way you utilizing the comet sounds a lot like myself, and throwing K9 Supersonics/Superstars
Everything you are describing and feeling just mirrors everything I'm experiencing .
Just recently returned to the course, and have been doing similar things with my supersonics and superstars.
ask Cwoj, I was never known for finesse and touch, rather straight raw power/distance years back when I was active in dg. It has translated over to golf discs 100 %, my preference is changing to wanting to use more understable-stable discs versus overstable-stable.

This is interesting/validating.

One of the best things I did recently was just play long toss Ultrastar catch with my brother in law. Almost instantly helped my Comets working on longer drives. Sounds like you're saying you're less active now & just back, but can you say more about the transfer over/are you using those discs in a power game at all?

I guess one thing that is still surprising me about Comets specifically is I can still give them a pretty good whack and as long as I'm not a torque monkey they just seem to turn more and more and eat more and more air. There's still enough stability variability across runs that they can cover a lot of scenarios. So I'm just going to see how far I can take them in my short game & distance development as well at this point without worrying so much about other things for a while.

You were known for throwing DX Teebirds 600' in the wrong direction, aside from the 5% of the time you threw them 600' in the right direction.

Looks like I'm in the presence of a couple crushers here. Give me your 600' - give it to me now and I will try to turn it into Comet controlled powah.

 

[ChrisWoj]

Looks like I'm in the presence of a couple crushers here. Give me your 600' - give it to me now and I will try to turn it into Comet controlled powah.

It kinda sucks, in a way... I didn't peak power-wise until well after I stopped playing a lot of events. Like around age 31-32 is where I really was hitting it. I would go out to a flat open field by a local course (Parmelee Park) with a set of 10 Lat 64 Gold Blitzes, and according to UDisc I was hitting 585 +/- the error margin regular (I always tried to get +/- 13 on both the start and finish spot, so really any of them coulda been from 560-610, I'd bet on the shorter).

By age 36 in 2021 I was really only getting about 530 in the open field with regularity. This year its been about 500 flat. Though - I have NOT thrown in a flat field, its a tiny bit of uphill where I've thrown this year (from the street out past hole 1 at Ottawa Park here in Toledo). If I could push it past about 515 I could start getting some nice exaggerations though lol, it starts to run downhill about there. So if I can push it a lil further I can get some sneaky extra feet and feel better about myself!

Nick (AreaCodeCarDude) is a freak though. He's one of those guys that was/is kinda like Tristan Tanner. It looks like he's doing almost nothing, and the disc just explodes from his hand. I was doing it putting my all into it. Even on those turn and rides at 25' up, that was still an absolute maximum reach back, full extension. Nick didn't seem to put much into it at all.

 

[419HondaGuy]

You were known for throwing DX Teebirds 600' in the wrong direction, aside from the 5% of the time you threw them 600' in the right direction.

 

[Brychanus]

It kinda sucks, in a way... I didn't peak power-wise until well after I stopped playing a lot of events. Like around age 31-32 is where I really was hitting it. I would go out to a flat open field by a local course (Parmelee Park) with a set of 10 Lat 64 Gold Blitzes, and according to UDisc I was hitting 585 +/- the error margin regular (I always tried to get +/- 13 on both the start and finish spot, so really any of them coulda been from 560-610, I'd bet on the shorter).

By age 36 in 2021 I was really only getting about 530 in the open field with regularity. This year its been about 500 flat. Though - I have NOT thrown in a flat field, its a tiny bit of uphill where I've thrown this year (from the street out past hole 1 at Ottawa Park here in Toledo). If I could push it past about 515 I could start getting some nice exaggerations though lol, it starts to run downhill about there. So if I can push it a lil further I can get some sneaky extra feet and feel better about myself!

Nick (AreaCodeCarDude) is a freak though. He's one of those guys that was/is kinda like Tristan Tanner. It looks like he's doing almost nothing, and the disc just explodes from his hand. I was doing it putting my all into it. Even on those turn and rides at 25' up, that was still an absolute maximum reach back, full extension. Nick didn't seem to put much into it at all.

Hmm. On the main forum Weissman is speculating about brain feedback loops as we age - body protecting itself. He seems to suggest that you can counteract that effect, though I'm not seeing how he thinks about that yet. I'll be curious about your own take on that. What do you think?

Insofar as throwing discs is like other athletic activities, it seems normative from any data I've ever encountered that most people (excluding the exceptional body types) become less nimble, less plastic, less elastic, and less quick with noticeable effects across the body by around 40. I've heard a lot of people who crush say they lost maybe 50'+ at around 40.

So if I knew nothing but that, my own case would be trying to tack on what I can exactly when my body is beginning that slow decline phase. But you never know unless you try. I also thought it was interesting above about body recovery - letting inflammatory processes happen and resolve naturally, doing my sports medicine prescribed therapy, and building on what I've got all seem like tried and true things people do in other sports for longevity and performance gains. Deep down I just wish I could put 1000 shots through my body every week and I just... can't lmao.

What are your and Nick's body types if you don't mind me asking? Athletic, long limbed, lightweight bodies? Quick twitch kind of people? Something else?

 

[419HondaGuy]

It turns out it was inevitable!


I am no longer going to pretend I like other midranges anywhere as much as I like Comets. It's almost all woods right around me anyway, so Comet fest it is!!!


This is interesting/validating.

One of the best things I did recently was just play long toss Ultrastar catch with my brother in law. Almost instantly helped my Comets working on longer drives. Sounds like you're saying you're less active now & just back, but can you say more about the transfer over/are you using those discs in a power game at all?

I guess one thing that is still surprising me about Comets specifically is I can still give them a pretty good whack and as long as I'm not a torque monkey they just seem to turn more and more and eat more and more air. There's still enough stability variability across runs that they can cover a lot of scenarios. So I'm just going to see how far I can take them in my short game & distance development as well at this point without worrying so much about other things for a while.


Looks like I'm in the presence of a couple crushers here. Give me your 600' - give it to me now and I will try to turn it into Comet controlled powah.

Yeah after I graduated college ( went later so graduated at like 27 or 28)
I stopped playing and training for disc , would here and there . So in the last 10 years I maybe threw in a field or at course a dozen times at most.
Long story short - my dog got my love for disc back, it was organic too. He loved it, then discovered actual k9 approved safe competition disc, then learned there was a whole sport, and had weekly leagues year around where you compete against clubs all over the world . The guy that runs the club told me about the different distance events from organizations.

This started summer of 22, and by winter of 23 I was back obsessing and training, both myself. And my dog.
I had to rebuild my swing for this discs, so it's been a journey . My dog and I specialize in long distance toss and fetch. 100 yard throw and catch is equivalent to like 500+ controlled distance in dg if I had to scale it.
I had a session with Seabass and video call - and after working on what he said , and the drills . Month later it seemed like things were falling in place. As we all know then randomly, 2 steps back then 3 steps forward again . As I returned to the disc , and went back to studying swing mechanics like most of us here, I started wonder how I threw as far as I did with my suboptimal form. I literally took 1.5 steps basically, rear leg spun out sumo style. I adjusted angles with my arm and wrist pretty much.
I could throw the big sweeping spike hyzers with the best of them, I was confident putting it high in the air like lawn dart up to like 450ft.

So I was taught by Marty Peters, and taught me by walking backwards and swinging through. But I install was throwing 450-500 in our first session. Then over time added more with same style, then adjusted to the control 1.5 step swing , small step with left foot as I reached back and strided into plant .
But those big hyzers I still used that walking backwards style, but I was pretty accurate lining up left but check to apex, arm was already limp but held up chest high with elbow bent to a 90 fingers barley holding the disc. Left foot back , reaching back further using elbow , right foot forward , I would keep reaching back as my body went forward , leading with my elbow ( like when you train back doing rows or pulldowns you pull with the elbows not the hands to engage the lats) I did that then I could feel in my hands when to accelerate, got heavy tugging on my fingers , wanting to rip out , grip tighter and tighter and visualized n my hand and disc going through like punching bag.
I think I might have old footage from 11 or 12.
What taught me late acceleration was, I would stand there and just reach back eith my elbow , pull through with my elbow , then when disc got near right chest , I would accelerate through . it felt effortless and I could literally throw 400 just doing that standing there . But from reading on DGR back in day , I though that what was leading with elbow meant . I used to bodybuilding and powerlift, so back training is all leading with elbow almost . But also remember last and upper back muscles are responsible for huge % of power source too.

Sorry for the rambling nonsense guys, having a Moscow mule after successful day at work, and haven't drank in a while. lol

I just want to paint the picture as accurate I can. But with K9 discs things slowly started to feel so familiar to me. I kept wondering how I threw so far when I was doing some things not optimal- like weight shift , not using dynamic posture .
So I addressed all of that , and then when I went back to my old style, modified and corrected weight shift / the move/ swim move/ posture / balance .
Then I finally felt the power of the disc coming out of my hand like again , I was like that's it! That's what my swing felt like. Prior to that I was still throwing my dog discs 100 yards plus . But then I was clearing end zone to end zone of football field with ease with my super sonic 215 and halo super star.

When I'm throwing golf discs now, only thing that changes is my posture and release angles pretty much. Bc for throwing k9 discs for distance I'm using 45 -90 degree of hyzer depending on disc , wind, and how my dog is looking . But now im confident throwing understable discs to headwinds, where previously im reaching for predator or my talon.Other difference is you can hit it much harder yet still be pure and oat free.

Forgot to mention , I'm now 38, 6'1" 235lbs .
Lift/cardio regularly along with dynamic stretching . Slowly making a comeback, my dog and I have some national/world titles to win first this season. lol

 

[419HondaGuy]

Hmm. On the main forum Weissman is speculating about brain feedback loops as we age - body protecting itself. He seems to suggest that you can counteract that effect, though I'm not seeing how he thinks about that yet. I'll be curious about your own take on that. What do you think?

Insofar as throwing discs is like other athletic activities, it seems normative from any data I've ever encountered that most people (excluding the exceptional body types) become less nimble, less plastic, less elastic, and less quick with noticeable effects across the body by around 40. I've heard a lot of people who crush say they lost maybe 50'+ at around 40.

So if I knew nothing but that, my own case would be trying to tack on what I can exactly when my body is beginning that slow decline phase. But you never know unless you try. I also thought it was interesting above about body recovery - letting inflammatory processes happen and resolve naturally, doing my sports medicine prescribed therapy, and building on what I've got all seem like tried and true things people do in other sports for longevity and performance gains. Deep down I just wish I could put 1000 shots through my body every week and I just... can't lmao.

What are your and Nick's body types if you don't mind me asking? Athletic, long limbed, lightweight bodies? Quick twitch kind of people? Something else?

I'm 6'1 235lbs - I have a thicker muscular built, not far off from you . I'm still above any athletics, played Hs basketball, offers to play d3, but got into bodybuilding and powerlifting after HS. Still played bball in men's league . I think from our age group, a lot athleticism can be genetic for most part, but when I started lifting hard in HS, I became much faster, and could grab run /dunk small bball from my vertical jump. Guys on my team that were 6'3-6'4" couldn't, they need to run up. I could still do that about 3-4 years ago.
I got out of shape for a while due to work, then thank god for muscle memory for back to grind when we started disc with my dog. Built a full gym in my garage, even my dog had his training equipment- vest/ drag bags/ resistance bands / parachute. lol

Right now, I'm working on getting down to a more athletic 220 lbs.

But regarding athleicism, a lot of it I developed as a kid playing every sport , running the neighborhoods, doing stupid stuff and we Justi naturally knew how to move our bodies .
I think as time goes on, I feel like we will see less of those natural athletes that come out of nowhere . Kids specialize so early in a sport , and that natural play we all did as kids, almost doesn't exist anymore .
I cue myself often to go into my kid mode, move naturally, be curious , and release all the tension , and just " play" . Flow is ultimate goal.

 

[419HondaGuy]

But reason now in hindsight, looking back with what I know and feel now.- my distance with less than optimal form I believe was due to using ground forces, leverage, and swing timing / late acceleration, and maybe grip or tendon strength? Not sure though

But it makes me think although the form wasn't ideal, but obviously many things were done right , are there other things that could be advantageous that DG form dogma tell us otherwise ?

 

[Brychanus]

Forgot to mention , I'm now 38, 6'1" 235lbs .
Lift/cardio regularly along with dynamic stretching . Slowly making a comeback, my dog and I have some national/world titles to win first this season. lol

I'm drinking some wine, with ya bud.

Thank you for sharing all that context, I feel like I don't hear enough of these stories and I like them. I'm visualizing what you are describing and I think your connection to momentum and the time in the gym makes a lot of intuitive sense to me. I didn't get the lower body stuff but the upper body stuff is connecting for me.

Lol yeah we are the same age, height, and almost the same weight. I am just shaped like a water buffalo and still working hard on shoring up my legs making up for lost time. I've shed a bit of fat and upper body mass but added leg mass and the net effect is... being exactly the same weight and splitting two pairs of jeans squatting down LOL. I probably felt my best around 230-235 so I'm targeting that.

In your case as D3 athlete etc. my guess is you had a lot more of the "right" athleticism for throwing with a lot more of that athleticism overall in your life. I never ran much as a kid - I was inside and overweight. I literally had a 10" vertical. I haven't measured it but it's probably higher than it has ever been after the last few months' conditioning. Tried football but was so out of shape I couldn't make it one time around the field and quit. When I "ran" in high school I was literally the slowest mile in class - by a lot. I compensated by becoming a slow twitch lifter whose legs never quite caught up and pretty decent martial artist despite that and here I am 20 years later trying to change. What is your lifting routine these days?

Form dogma: I personally am now of the view that committing momentum and forces and tempo and coordination and getting round forces and stopping/redirecting momentum and getting loose and quick and limber and whatever else people who are D3/2/1 athletes and jumping to dunk at 6'1'' etc. counts for a lot.

You can run up completely backwards and yank a disc pretty fast if you've got enough going on going into the plant as long as you get a lot of it into a disc. In some ways, just making my body access some of the stuff you're talking about is a big part of getting a move on the disc. I won't point out anyone in particular but I can think of a few people who realized "oh, it's like, an athletic throwing move?" and then just kind of throw faster and farther in not too long. Those are not usually the people who spend over 1,000 posts on DGCR.

My favorite current "dilemma" is some of the forms coming out of Europe like Kuoksa and what they imply - there are some differences in extremes and exaggerations. They are having all kinds of injuries in young peoples' lower backs and pelvises trying to copy that guy. They all underestimate how goddamn fit he is. Anyway, tell me anything you think on the subject since it will distract me from the fact that I am not currently throwing lmao.

Dogs and frisbees: FRISBEE ROB?!?!?

 

[419HondaGuy]

I'm drinking some wine, with ya bud.

Thank you for sharing all that context, I feel like I don't hear enough of these stories and I like them. I'm visualizing what you are describing and I think your connection to momentum and the time in the gym makes a lot of intuitive sense to me. I didn't get the lower body stuff but the upper body stuff is connecting for me.

Lol yeah we are the same age, height, and almost the same weight. I am just shaped like a water buffalo and still working hard on shoring up my legs making up for lost time. I've shed a bit of fat and upper body mass but added leg mass and the net effect is... being exactly the same weight and splitting two pairs of jeans squatting down LOL. I probably felt my best around 230-235 so I'm targeting that.

In your case as D3 athlete etc. my guess is you had a lot more of the "right" athleticism for throwing with a lot more of that athleticism overall in your life. I never ran much as a kid - I was inside and overweight. I literally had a 10" vertical. I haven't measured it but it's probably higher than it has ever been after the last few months' conditioning. Tried football but was so out of shape I couldn't make it one time around the field and quit. When I "ran" in high school I was literally the slowest mile in class - by a lot. I compensated by becoming a slow twitch lifter whose legs never quite caught up and pretty decent martial artist despite that and here I am 20 years later trying to change. What is your lifting routine these days?

Form dogma: I personally am now of the view that committing momentum and forces and tempo and coordination and getting round forces and stopping/redirecting momentum and getting loose and quick and limber and whatever else people who are D3/2/1 athletes and jumping to dunk at 6'1'' etc. counts for a lot.

You can run up completely backwards and yank a disc pretty fast if you've got enough going on going into the plant as long as you get a lot of it into a disc. In some ways, just making my body access some of the stuff you're talking about is a big part of getting a move on the disc. I won't point out anyone in particular but I can think of a few people who realized "oh, it's like, an athletic throwing move?" and then just kind of throw faster and farther in not too long. Those are not usually the people who spend over 1,000 posts on DGCR.

My favorite current "dilemma" is some of the forms coming out of Europe like Kuoksa and what they imply - there are some differences in extremes and exaggerations. They are having all kinds of injuries in young peoples' lower backs and pelvises trying to copy that guy. They all underestimate how goddamn fit he is. Anyway, tell me anything you think on the subject since it will distract me from the fact that I am not currently throwing lmao.

Dogs and frisbees: FRISBEE ROB?!?!?

Sorry I just wrote out a long novel that I somehow I deleted !!
I will be back shortly , I'm so mad right now! lol

 

[ChrisWoj]

What are your and Nick's body types if you don't mind me asking? Athletic, long limbed, lightweight bodies? Quick twitch kind of people? Something else?

I'm not quick twitch, I'll tell you that much. lol

I'm 5'10 (generously, though a home life insurance physical right after I rolled out of bed one time measured me at 5'11 even lol) / 165 with a 6'3 wingspan. I've never been very naturally coordinated - just a reps-on-reps person. But even then - only *some* things really ever *clicked* without clear *deep* instruction. I got good hands on instruction with disc golf, not so much with some other things (I started running distance at age 5, but had to rebuild my form around age 27-29, because the YouTube era gave me a ton of info I never got, I ran pretty good placements in a weak D3 college conference with absolute shit form).

Nick mentioned Marty Peters above (aka Scott Stokely's skateboarding buddy, a giant with long arms) - he was also crucial for me, especially with getting my feet in position with the cross step, though I used a lot of resources. DGR having slow motion RealVideo format videos of top pros throwing in slow motion was super beneficial when I started, the grip page on DGR was super beneficial too.

Anyway... You talked about athletic decline and said Weissman apparently talks about it - so I am curious about that. My personal experience has been that my own failings in terms of technique, in terms of lack of coordination, has led to maintaining a lot of physical 'performances' as I've got older, by virtue of slowly figuring things out and compensating for age. Its been a real slow build because I just don't have a real strong natural mind-body connection.

One thing is for sure - the YouTube era has been a big benefit for me as I've got older.

 

[Kennets]

All i know is - i had to order a Comet. I expect fireworks and aces every time i throw.. lol

 

[419HondaGuy]

Yes, yeah I met frisbee Rob last year competing in Indy. Timing wasnt right or ideal form wise for me though, still working through my form, and my goal last year was getting my dog used to the big stage events, and dealing with everything.
I should add, Rob throws to a lady in dogs, first was Davey the whippet he broke Guniess with, now that dog in video is Sailor, whippet/border collie mix.
Rob and Jeff Sheetz ( disc dog guy runs the quad/ works for company that does online course l) they added a long distance video with Rob for disc dog university. I bought it to see if it would exceed my expectations, but it was a like an outdated early dg video - this how you x step, pull it like mower ect type of video . Avg age of disc dog player is going to be older then dg, I definitely believe vertical brace using gravity shifting under/behind would be more advantageous for most players in that realm for safety reasons.
I do hope and pray and get to compete against Rob this season though.

Asked about my current lifting routine , right now during the season my routine :
Hybrid - power building
Upper - high weight / low rep/ compound movement
lower- like above - but leg rep ranges will be higher than upper body.
Rest
Upper: start each body part with speed work with compound movement
Then more hypertrophic training reps 6-12
Lower: like above : speed work
Rep for legs are higher than upper with 12-20reps

using land mine for many things since they are great for rotational athletes in a lot of the movements.

I always change /alter routine into different phases. But like when winter hits .
I might do something like above
Power - upper and lower days
But hypertrophy days -
Chest/shoulders/ triceps or chest /back
Back/bi or shoulders /arms
* abs/core & calves alternated eod *

Cardio - if not running with my dog, I have spin bike , treadmill, and normal exercise bike ( schwinn ) in my garage gym
My dog and I both will run sprints wtih our parachutes on as well.

 

[419HondaGuy]

I will also add, throwing didn't come easy or natural for me, but it was rather my will not be outworked mindset like cwoj expressed.

you mentioned players getting injured trying to mimic Kusoka ? Curious to hear more about this . I thought his video about Janni was cringe- definitely was not understanding the context of video or other things i felt like.

From what I have seen it seems like overall their training and preparation over there are ahead of the curve.

I want your thoughts on this, I already mentioned I would pontificate about how I threw as far as I did with my OG form .
So I never seen anyone throw big spike sweeping Hyzer like myself . Then when I played with more pros like when Marty took me to Jim kenners private course with much of Discraft players, I first realized how much farther my Hyzerbombs were.

The way Marty Peters taught me this shot, stand tall upright , I would drop my arm down to low slot , disc supinated in my backswing ( other shots typically more pronated ) pull from low to apex .
but now when I walk through and do this I realized my final set up looks like I'm set up in one leg still .

I think I mentioned in my post yesterday walking through my swing step by step . When I continued reaching back , stretching those tendons , as my body went forward - I believe this is the "rubber band" " tendon bounce " we reference with Simon /AB/eagle . Feels very automatic, like the arm can't help to behave like sling shot or trebuchet.


You mentioned Toe grabbing plantar flexion — that clicked for me bc as I started to feeling familiar things to my old form , like ground forces, I realized each step my feet act like claws or suctions leveraging the ground. Things I didn't realize back in the day .
One thing I personally would like more discussion on is utilizing OAT intentionally to shape lines like distance shots.
Just from field work I naturally developed the pronation into supination at swing.
Then Marty Peters taught me some what he called old school tricks - if I didn't want something to flip or throwing something flippy not wanting to turn over - he taught me to pronate into the release for example.
Some parts are like body English in pool ( cwoj - still into ?)
Like starting swing on pure Hyzer , then right after the release rolling wrist over in downwards motion . To help get nose down through apex into the turn.
Really haven't been any video or high level discussions that I am aware of these type of advanced things.

I think when we get out of shape due to sedentary lifestyle /work, it can take type to get feel for athleticism back . What clicked for me I was dribbling basketball doing figure 8s then it hit me, when I handle the ball , I not only control it with my hands, but the real trick is using your center of mass such as when I'm doing a cross over like Ai, that's how I could stay in control when arm/ball are far from your body like a cross over .

Listening to just fly podcast , people are talking about this new form of athleticism . Basically , they are referring to fascia slings / stretching of the body used in athletic movements like rotational sports .
I think this is big part of the X factor in a dg swing.

 

[419HondaGuy]

Something I forgot to mention, just popped into my head as I'm warming & stretching at the field right now .
Another big breakthrough was when I started doing 1-leg drills .
I realized omg that is so familiar , it's what OG swing felt like from backswing to release.

Then it made it easier for me to draw parallels and correlations into my rebuild of my swing.

I never previously used an X step when I started throwing far, so it felt foreign, and at first it was difficult to get my timing down , was either too early or too late.
Seabass pointed out in my video, I was leaning in backswing , and staying on back leg too long . Naturally, felt so rushed at first trying to correct it.
But then I started realizing drawing on my past experiences, it's all just a fancy walk at the end of the day.

Still tying to figure out what's most optimal for me, do I use x step , or more Tartar/robinson shuffle crow hop?