I'm a golf instructor, and I'm the Director of Instructor Development for 5 Simple Keys®.
What we've done with 5SK® is break down the true commonalities of the game's greatest players and called them keys. If you can achieve more keys, you'll improve as a golfer. All of the Keys are not only achievable (i.e. everyone can get better), but are measurable as well.
They are:
We can measure all of those things, and improving at them is achievable by all golfers of any skill level. The more "keys" you have, the more you have in common with the game's best players, and thus, the better you're likely to be.
These commonalities are pretty widely applied. The way we've defined things ("steady" being "relatively still" not "completely unmoving" and with wider allowances for drivers versus mid-irons), there are virtually no exceptions at the top levels of the game. None. If you can name more than a few exceptions to one of your Keys, it's not a true Key.
So that got me thinking: what are the "keys" or commonalities among the game's best in disc golf?
I'll start off. I think that "weight forward" is one of them. I haven't seen ANY pros throwing off their back foot. I don't have the pressure plate readings, but many seem to reach about 90% pressure under their front foot by the time the disc is near their pec and 100% pressure soon after. These numbers would vary slightly for stand-still throws, but does everyone agree "weight forward" is a "Key" to disc golf? Why or why not?
Borrowing from Key #4 and Key #5 in golf, I think "Nose Angle Control" and "Wing Angle Control" are two (though perhaps they could be condensed into one). The game's best players control the nose angle and wing angle to a very small degree for the selected throw.
Grip isn't a commonality. "Straight Line Delivery" isn't one (see Dan Beto's delivery path for the first exception that springs to mind) either.
So, what are the other "Keys"?
P.S. Forehands are likely different enough too that they might be excluded, as are thumbers and tomahawks.
P.P.S. Re-posted from the "other" place. I'm expecting much better posts here, to be honest.
What we've done with 5SK® is break down the true commonalities of the game's greatest players and called them keys. If you can achieve more keys, you'll improve as a golfer. All of the Keys are not only achievable (i.e. everyone can get better), but are measurable as well.
They are:
- Steady Head
- Weight Forward
- Flat Lead Wrist
- Diagonal Sweetspot Path
- Clubface Control
We can measure all of those things, and improving at them is achievable by all golfers of any skill level. The more "keys" you have, the more you have in common with the game's best players, and thus, the better you're likely to be.
These commonalities are pretty widely applied. The way we've defined things ("steady" being "relatively still" not "completely unmoving" and with wider allowances for drivers versus mid-irons), there are virtually no exceptions at the top levels of the game. None. If you can name more than a few exceptions to one of your Keys, it's not a true Key.
So that got me thinking: what are the "keys" or commonalities among the game's best in disc golf?
I'll start off. I think that "weight forward" is one of them. I haven't seen ANY pros throwing off their back foot. I don't have the pressure plate readings, but many seem to reach about 90% pressure under their front foot by the time the disc is near their pec and 100% pressure soon after. These numbers would vary slightly for stand-still throws, but does everyone agree "weight forward" is a "Key" to disc golf? Why or why not?
Borrowing from Key #4 and Key #5 in golf, I think "Nose Angle Control" and "Wing Angle Control" are two (though perhaps they could be condensed into one). The game's best players control the nose angle and wing angle to a very small degree for the selected throw.
Grip isn't a commonality. "Straight Line Delivery" isn't one (see Dan Beto's delivery path for the first exception that springs to mind) either.
So, what are the other "Keys"?
P.S. Forehands are likely different enough too that they might be excluded, as are thumbers and tomahawks.
P.P.S. Re-posted from the "other" place. I'm expecting much better posts here, to be honest.