Long distance push putt

[Nussbuss]

Hello fellow disc golfers,

I have recently been reevaluating my putting form, and making it a more consistent push putt. I am becoming quite comfortable inside the circle. However, once I get outside of that, my putts tend to fall short. This may have to do with my current wrist strength and technique, however I would like to develop a strategy for shots outside of my putting range. In Dave Feldberg's push putting YouTube video, he talks a little bit about putting outside the circle. He describes it as a putt with a walking motion as his follow through. Does anyone have any additional resources or advice for extending my push putt range, or another effective and consistent outside the circle putting strategy?
Thanks!

 

[ZTay13]

It's all in the legs. I like to think of it like a basketball jump shot; square up to the target, bend your legs, and hold the follow through. The farther out you are the more legs you need to put into it. Just like shooting threes.

 

[Beener]

I have been working on this, too. I modify my normal stagger stance to an open stance, digging in my back foot (toe) kinda like Paul McBeth. Crouch a little bit lower, then after the reach back (reach down, really) explode forward off the back foot like coming out of a track starting block as the arm moves forward.

I'm able to get a lot more distance with just a little bit of forward momentum, but getting the arm swing / finger spring timing down takes much practice. Also finding the release angle and height to be more critical; more hyzer is required to get a straighter line >50 ft. with my Warden's...

 

[BrotherDave]

I just jump-putt everything outside the circle. I'm actually way better just outside the circle than just inside b/c the jump-putt allows me to shift my weight into the putt and punch the disc towards the basket (the shake hands with the pole thing). The farther out I get I have to play the natural fade and aim a bit left but it works.

 

[Smigles]

and making it a more consistent push putt... This may have to do with my current wrist strength...

If your wrist is a factor, then you are not properly push putting.

Dave talks about it in his video. You cant really push putt outside of 40-50 feet, and Dave uses his walktrough putt from that range. After that you have to spin putt like everybody else. Dave also said that his walktrough putt is allready a spin putt, no longer a push.

 

[fusan]

Well the way I see it there is no push putter that doesent use some kind of
extra power at 25 to 30 ft. Either you have to do a quick underarm rotation or/and spring it with a little wrist. Theres no way to putt from 29 ft with straight arm and have power to get to the basket without a huge lob.
I have allways push putted and struggled with this issue at 30+ ft.

A few years back, all the top pro was here playing Copenhagen Open and I had my high speed camera with me to record them during practice putts. Surely I asked if I could video them and no one said no.
Anyway, Nikko, when getting out to and above 30 ft is actually rotating his elbow outwards with the arm slightly bend and then create a quick underarm rotation. This movement is so quick that its hard to notice when watching him live, but it this gives him more speed to reach putts 30+ ft.
Feldberg and Ricki use a different approach by bending the wrist a little and then eject the disc with a lot of fingerspring. Feldberg even has his arm slightly bend and get even more power from stretching it out. Ricky uses a little more wrist and fingerspring to eject the disc.

So in my opinion theres no magic technique when you're 30 ft out and use a push putt. It get a lot worse when theres wind from the left (RHBH) that push the disc down when you hyzerputt. You have to get some more power from somewere, either the wrist plus fingerspring or underarmrotation plus fingerspring... or even both.

 

[GLong]

give it a little more height and aim a little more to the right (assuming rhbh). once you get outside of 30 feet, how does your aiming change? what are you looking at inside 30' versus out?

i found that to get the right height, it helped me to use mid-range visual aiming once i get to 40'ish. for example - if i'm at 50' i am aiming at a spot about 6' off the ground and about 20' in front on me. the disc reaches its highest point there and drops the rest of the way to the baskehas t. assuming no wind/elevation and a safe green, this 40/60 percent method been working well for me.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Well the way I see it there is no push putter that doesent use some kind of
extra power at 25 to 30 ft. Either you have to do a quick underarm rotation or/and spring it with a little wrist. Theres no way to putt from 29 ft with straight arm and have power to get to the basket without a huge lob.
I have allways push putted and struggled with this issue at 30+ ft.

A few years back, all the top pro was here playing Copenhagen Open and I had my high speed camera with me to record them during practice putts. Surely I asked if I could video them and no one said no.
Anyway, Nikko, when getting out to and above 30 ft is actually rotating his elbow outwards with the arm slightly bend and then create a quick underarm rotation. This movement is so quick that its hard to notice when watching him live, but it this gives him more speed to reach putts 30+ ft.
Feldberg and Ricki use a different approach by bending the wrist a little and then eject the disc with a lot of fingerspring. Feldberg even has his arm slightly bend and get even more power from stretching it out. Ricky uses a little more wrist and fingerspring to eject the disc.

So in my opinion theres no magic technique when you're 30 ft out and use a push putt. It get a lot worse when theres wind from the left (RHBH) that push the disc down when you hyzerputt. You have to get some more power from somewere, either the wrist plus fingerspring or underarmrotation plus fingerspring... or even both.

Thank you, that's fantastic insight. It's hard to tell what exactly is going on with those guys because it happens so fast, but I always suspected that they were getting their extra pop on the disc somewhere in there.

 

[fusan]

I found a clip of Feldberg and Nikko in slow motion were its a little easier to see their motion.
Feldberg has, like I mentioned, his arm a little bend. Even though hes not that far out, hes still uses the ekstra power from stretching out the arm and the slitghtly bend wrist.
In the second putt, Nikko goes a little back and if you watch closely hes arm bends a little in the foreward motion, the elbow goes a little out and then he snaps it with the quick underarm rotation.

Here is the clip... its arround 31:38

 

[Nussbuss]

I found a clip of Feldberg and Nikko in slow motion were its a little easier to see their motion.
Feldberg has, like I mentioned, his arm a little bend. Even though hes not that far out, hes still uses the ekstra power from stretching out the arm and the slitghtly bend wrist.
In the second putt, Nikko goes a little back and if you watch closely hes arm bends a little in the foreward motion, the elbow goes a little out and then he snaps it with the quick underarm rotation.

Here is the clip... its arround 31:38

Nice find! I noticed myself picking up some of that wrist/elbow technique by testing my putting range. It sort of came naturally without realizing it. It's more of a "spush" putt. I also think feldberg's step through will help add more distance. Thanks!

 

[chrishysell]

the main reason people don't putt far is because they do not use their hips and pelvis. I spent last winter at indoor putting contests and noticed that so many people fear following through so they don't generate forward power. If you bend at the waist and thrust your hips upward you can sling the disc foward with ease and never need to follow through past your lie.

 

[Mike C]

Good point. Just like driving, the power for a putt should come from your legs up.