help a newish lefty out..

[jspector]

Hi all,
I've been playing for a few years now but mostly just goofing around with friends. This summer I've decided to try and actually improve since I've moved and mostly play alone. I'm a lefty and basically everything I see online is oriented towards right handers. I guess all I have to do is revers the words left and right and it should all make sense but it can get confusing when learning all the slang and specific vocab people use to describe their shots. I currently throw a pretty old beat up Discraft Eclipse. I love it because no matter how I throw it, it always flies in a straight line. I'd like to move on to learning to throw shots that turn over to get me more distance so can anyone recommend a good disc for a beginner lefty?
One more thing that has me a bit confused is fade vs. turn of a disc. As I understand it the turn has to do with if it were thrown straight it would naturally follow a curved flight path, like a car turning on the road, where as fade has to do with the way the disc "dives" to the right at the end of my throw, is this correct? meaning that a disc with a lot of fade for a lefty will need to be thrown such that when it turns over it becomes level rather than diving to the ground...is this somewhat correct?
thanks...
I'm open to any suggestions about references and resources for LEFTY DG'ers

 

[notapro]

Lefty, righty, doesnt matter at all. Just have to reverse everything, like you said. Check out the technique sticky in the technique sub-forum. It's a fantastic collection of resources.

 

[sidewinder22]

Now looka here son, the elcipse is a fairly decent beginner disc. May want to try a Cyclone or Comet.

Fade occurs when the disc loses spin and falls to the ground. Which way it fades depends on which way the disc is spining. RHBH fades left, LHBH fades right.

Turn or high speed stability(HSS), is the discs tendency to turn against the fade or turnover at cruising speed. You can beat up a stable disc enough so that it has more tendency to turnover. You also have to get the disc up to its cruising speed for it turn, so if you are throwing high speed discs its hard to turn it over.

 

[pspunch]

you're pretty close on turn and fade. turn is what the disc does at high speed. this is almost always a 0 or a negative number, the more negative, the more the disc will want to turn left (for you) when you throw the disc, the desire to turn will be there regardless of release angle, but will be affected by release angle.

the fade is when the disc is slowing down, the more fade, the more it'll go right at the end.

it'd be helpf ul if you included some distances for how far your throw. if your in the 200-300 range, a good turnover disc would be a 150 champion plastic valkyrie. i don't have any experience with sidewinders or roadrunners, but my 150 valk does everything i ask of it

 

[eaeastwood]

I'm a lefty. Agreed it shouldn't matter lefty vs. righty, just use the opposite. Based on your description, I would recommend a Valkyrie. I'd get it in Pro plastic to start, or maybe star plastic. If you like it, then I would get one in champion plastic later. I wouldn't get a DX one. I haven't had much luck with them in that plastic. Regardless of what you get, it will take some time to beat in (wear) so that it will flip/turn over. Pay attention to weight too. I've always thrown 170-175g but lighter weights will make it easier to turn over. It depends on your power level, you might want to get one at 165-170 grams. Another disc that will flip is the Beast, but it takes longer to wear in and more power to flip than the Valk IMO. One last recommendation, is the Teebird. It's a straight disc that will fade right at the end for you. If I carried only one driver in my bag, it would be a teebird.

 

[UncleSweat]

Whatever you do, don't let people call you a "cheater", from one southie to another.

 

[jspector]

Thanks for all the help.
Yeah I currently throw in the 200-300' range. I'm sure there are people who can throw the eclipse twice as far as that but I am surely not one of them and I think I need to learn to use the fade and turn of the disc to try and add some distance. I have a beat up Valkyrie but can't remember the plastic it is made of. I found it in the woods a few years ago. I've tried throwing it but it just hooks and dives off to the right immediately, I attribute that to me not throwing it properly so maybe I'll pick up a new one. I also have a T-bird (it has dimples on it, not sure if they make a difference) but haven't tried it much.
I'll try them out and get back to you all. Thanks for the help and advice and keep it coming!

 

[LhDave]

Whatever you do, don't let people call you a "cheater", from one southie to another.

Haha, the righties do hate sometimes. The best part is when they dont realize your left handed and criticize or make assumptions and comment on your throws. Disc does something entirely different and they say "wtf".

Some courses seem better suited for lefties because designers want to add challenge for the majority of players.

 

[Triflusal]

Valkyries are pretty fast to start out with. Go with the cyclone or comet like sidewinder said, excellent discs for new people

 

[weeman]

As others have mentioned, try a Comet or I'd recommend a Stingray. They have similar characteristics. What also may help is getting lighter weight plastic.

 

[biodarwin]

Whatever you do, don't let people call you a "cheater", from one southie to another.

or devilhand as I a commonly referred to on the course

 

[simpletwist]

150g Champion Leopard. Although the Cyclone isn't a bad choice either. I know a lot of folks like the Comet. So do I. Its a great disc to help teach proper technique. It isn't very forgiving. The Leopard is very forgiving and versatile.

 

[BENFTS]

just slow down your pace of play and really look at what you want to do and how your going to make that happen. this will shave strokes in the first round. don't freak out for a good shot or a bad one for that matter unless your just having fun, make sure you just play shot to shot golf. think how do i place this shot as close as i can and if i can't then where can i place it to get the putt. just remember to SLOW DOWN.

 

[medicinalfunk]

Hi all,
I've been playing for a few years now but mostly just goofing around with friends. This summer I've decided to try and actually improve since I've moved and mostly play alone. I'm a lefty and basically everything I see online is oriented towards right handers. I guess all I have to do is revers the words left and right and it should all make sense but it can get confusing when learning all the slang and specific vocab people use to describe their shots. I currently throw a pretty old beat up Discraft Eclipse. I love it because no matter how I throw it, it always flies in a straight line. I'd like to move on to learning to throw shots that turn over to get me more distance so can anyone recommend a good disc for a beginner lefty?
One more thing that has me a bit confused is fade vs. turn of a disc. As I understand it the turn has to do with if it were thrown straight it would naturally follow a curved flight path, like a car turning on the road, where as fade has to do with the way the disc "dives" to the right at the end of my throw, is this correct? meaning that a disc with a lot of fade for a lefty will need to be thrown such that when it turns over it becomes level rather than diving to the ground...is this somewhat correct?
thanks...
I'm open to any suggestions about references and resources for LEFTY DG'ers

get the DVD of MSDGC 2004. watch birdie skins, there are two very strong lefties on the card with two different styles: Keith Warren and Dr. Doug Ertman. warren could have won the tournament if he didn't fall apart off the teepad in the home stretch. Keith is a big bomber with a lot of body motion to his throws and putts, and Dr. Doug is a smooth southpaw who is economical with his body motion and gets a lot out of a little. you will only see him x-step on a couple holes when he REALLY needs to air it out.

make sure to watch the top 25 putts, too. Keith hits some nasty ones, and The Doc hits a huge one on a really fast green

 

[UncleSweat]

or devilhand as I a commonly referred to on the course

Love it. I just get called Cheatin' Lefty B@st@rd.

 

[scarwig]

you don't LOOK newish

 

[scarwig]

For the record, Lefties make AWESOME dubz partners. I am a fan.

 

[jeverett]

I throw LHBH exclusively as well, and finding discs for left-turning holes has been a challenge. Here's what I've found so far that work really well:

Mids: Champion Stingray - absolutely incredible disc for a slow turnover shot that won't ever come out of the turn. Don't put any anyhyzer on it at all, though.. throw it flat or even with a tiny amount of hyzer, and watch it gently turn to the left and hold that left turn for all ~300ft.

Fairway Drivers: Champion Leopard - holds an anhyzer really well, for longer drives with little fade back to the right. The leopard is also great for line shaping, as a tiny change to the release angle will produce a great variety of line shapes.

Drivers: Champion Roadrunner - for the huge anhyzer shots, when you really need a strong and long turn to the left.

 

[Chiefstang]

Whatever you do, don't let people call you a "cheater", from one southie to another.

Well... Quit cheating.

Love it. I just get called Cheatin' Lefty B@st@rd.

You were cheating. I just don't trust you people.

 

[billnchristy]

You wanna really eff 'em up? Learn forehand and backhand with both hands. I cannot forehand righthanded but have a decent approach shot with my right and can drive pretty well fh and bh with my left.

Even though it sucked, being forced to throw righty for 6mo while my shoulder healed was very good for the game.