Timeframe for improvement

[NC Trailrunner]

Howdee,

I know it is the internet, but I read comments from new players, like this: "It took a lot of practice over the first 2 months just to get it out there 350 feet." and think this person is an ass hat. But I could very well be wrong.That is a copy/paste quote.

If someone went to a field 3-4 times a week, and was an athletic person, is this possible?

I know it does not matter, but curious because I have read stuff like that a few times. Thanks,

 

[Putt for D'oh]

Some people are measuring based on flawed information and a few feet over 280' = 350'
Some people are just naturals (and by natural they are athletic and probably have a sports background that compliments)
I was corrected yesterday about a guy I thought was a switch hitter in college and had batting titles who threw near 350' on his first round back in ~'94 with probably something like a cyclone. He was a pitcher on that college team however and just freaky athletic. His buddy that was the switch hitter and had batting records got to over 350' rather quickly as well by most standards especially for 25 years ago.

there is probably every area of gray between not throwing 350 but think they do, and freaky athletic with a background to help.

 

[ray1970]

I play with several guys in their mid twenties. Pretty sure it didn't take them long to get out to 350. I know one of them played a lot of baseball so maybe people who are generally used to throwing things catch on quicker.

 

[BillFleming]

While there are some people who are natural athletes and some who put in a lot of practice; there are also some who things just 'click' for and make huge jumps in improvement. For example, a person might be starting off learning RHBH and it just doesn't seem to work well - then they watch a video and all of a sudden "that's what I should be doing"....then they go to the field or course and are immediately throwing farther and more accurate. For the rest of us (non-natural athletes, don't have lots of time to practice, and it just isn't "clicking" for us) we have to work at it and take improvements as they come.

I had a "click" moment for me, but it's taken over a year to get it. While watching a video, I realized the pro I was watching didn't put as much effort into the throw as I was doing, but his disc went farther. This Sunday, I intentionally started throwing with less force and my disc ended up getting more distance. But I'm not a natural athlete, I don't have lots of time to practice, and the majority of the time it doesn't just 'click' for me....I have to work at every bit of improvement and sometimes I take a step back before the improvement kicks in.

 

[DiscFifty]

Howdee,

I know it is the internet, but I read comments from new players, like this: "It took a lot of practice over the first 2 months just to get it out there 350 feet." and think this person is an ass hat. But I could very well be wrong.That is a copy/paste quote.

If someone went to a field 3-4 times a week, and was an athletic person, is this possible?

I know it does not matter, but curious because I have read stuff like that a few times. Thanks,

My son threw a disc 300ft the first time he picked up a disc. Crazy. I think for any healthy 16-30 year old, 90% has the chance to throw 300+ in 2 months assuming they put in the time. Others might be able to throw much further. Brute distance is one thing, controlling that distance is what takes much longer.

 

[Casey 1988]

I know my dad who was 44 almost 45 when he started it took him 3-6 months to get to almost 350 feet but then he was lifting for power and muscle since age 40, he stopped at age 55 with doing as much lifting for power and was lifting for running/endurance. Now he owns a Garden Center and lifts with an endurance lifting at the job. He can throw now 280-300 feet due mostly to age and his forehand is his longest throw now, at least was back in 2017 when he last played a round.

 

[Casey 1988]

My son threw a disc 300ft the first time he picked up a disc. Crazy. I think for any healthy 16-30 year old, 90% has the chance to throw 300+ in 2 months assuming they put in the time. Others might be able to throw much further. Brute distance is one thing, controlling that distance is what takes much longer.

Agreed, at one point I Could throw 300 feet consistently in 2000's when I played disc golf a bit more, and I found that I Could not throw acuratly that far but if I threw 250 feet I could be highly accurate. Now 275 feet is about max and I am more accurate at that then trying to force 300 feet again in my late 20's early 30's since starting up again in 2016 after stopping in 2009.

 

[AlphaFoxFL]

Thank you all for posting, because beginners like me are trying to learn as much as possible to try and get better.

I have a friend of mine who is ripping shots 350ft, and he only started playing this summer. Meanwhile I've been playing for what's going on about two-weeks now and I'm sure I look comedic when throwing getting hardly anywhere near that distance. For age comparison, my friend just turn 18, and I am 16. He has a background in marching band and I believe soccer, whereas I have a background in exhibition drill (Google it and it'll make sense), rifle shooting, soccer, golf, and other things.

One reason I doubt I'll be at his level in the next month or so is that I was never a great thrower. The only thing that could've supported my throwing ability is exhibition drill, but even that is more tossing/spinning than throwing.

Something I've noticed is that a lot of people are putting how long it took them to throw a certain distance, but there's two things they're not mentioning: 1.) With what kind of disc? and 2.) What did they do to get to that point (have someone coach them, just go out and throw a lot, practice exercises, etc.)?

For me, someone who is very new to the sport, knowing how people got to where they are so I can see what I myself should be looking at would be great. I know that my technique is horrible, but trying to learn from Internet sources is confusing to say the least. If you guys have any resources that teach proper technique well, please send them my way.

Thanks again for your posts...!

 

[RoDeO]

Thank you all for posting, because beginners like me are trying to learn as much as possible to try and get better.

I have a friend of mine who is ripping shots 350ft, and he only started playing this summer. Meanwhile I've been playing for what's going on about two-weeks now and I'm sure I look comedic when throwing getting hardly anywhere near that distance. For age comparison, my friend just turn 18, and I am 16. He has a background in marching band and I believe soccer, whereas I have a background in exhibition drill (Google it and it'll make sense), rifle shooting, soccer, golf, and other things.

One reason I doubt I'll be at his level in the next month or so is that I was never a great thrower. The only thing that could've supported my throwing ability is exhibition drill, but even that is more tossing/spinning than throwing.

Something I've noticed is that a lot of people are putting how long it took them to throw a certain distance, but there's two things they're not mentioning: 1.) With what kind of disc? and 2.) What did they do to get to that point (have someone coach them, just go out and throw a lot, practice exercises, etc.)?

For me, someone who is very new to the sport, knowing how people got to where they are so I can see what I myself should be looking at would be great. I know that my technique is horrible, but trying to learn from Internet sources is confusing to say the least. If you guys have any resources that teach proper technique well, please send them my way.

Thanks again for your posts...!

I began playing around the first week in June of this year. My distance that first weekend was between 130-175 on average with a max throw of 230. Over the course of the next three weeks my distance increased up to around 200 feet on average with a max throw around 260. Then I had an extended play weekend where I just overplayed and got an overuse injury in my forearm and had to stop. I took a week off and it was too sore to throw and so I taught myself to throw left handed. That was just over a month ago. My average drive starting out was between 175-200 with a max of about 220. I practiced my form and distance drives a lot and now my average drive is in the 250-270 feet range with a max of 325 feet.

I can drive all of my discs over 200 feet. I get my max distances with the higher speed drivers like my Sidewinder and Heat and Mamba. My go to driver is my River which I use mostly for drives. I can throw it occasionally over 300 feet too.

For reference, I'm 47 years old and throw both lhbh and rhbh. My left hand back hand is way better than my right hand back hand. Better form, better spin, better release. I'm right arm dominant in life which is strange.

 

[WeatherWimp]

You forgot all the they throw their putter that 350-400 feet comments.

Part of it is bravado, trying to impress internet strangers for some odd reason. Another part is just different outlooks on what it means to throw X distance.

Person A says they throw their Leopard 350, when what they mean is they hit a 350 foot shot down hill with a tailwind yesterday so that is of coruse what they throw.

Person B says they throw their Leopard 250, when what they mean that is their average golf distance on a course teeing off with it. In a field or in the right conditions they get it out to 325 every now and then, but that isn't their typical throw.

 

[Jugular]

Proprioception plays a big part. The drive in Disc Golf is a fairly complex action and those with better proprioception can more easily tweak their form. You'll know if you have good proprioception if when you look at a video of your drive you recognise what your body is doing. If you have poor proprioception you'll look at different things happening in your drive and think "does my body really do that?!"
I believe it can all be overcome with muscle memory and directed practice, but if you don't need to put as much effort in you'll get there quicker.

 

[Saramike]

Beginner to beginner

Hi all. I picked up my first disc almost four months ago. Still struggling with distance, but then again I am a 59 year old rookie! In any case the best advice I have received so far:

1. learn your discs. Do not go crazy buying discs as a beginner, just keep practicing with what you have. Not until you can reliably count on what each disc can do, should you consider buying. This is the hardest because it is FUN to buy new discs!

2. Throw/practice with your putter. I was told you will learn good habits if you work on everything: distance, direction and form with your putter. Once you get good with your putter you can start translating to other discs. This too is hard to stick with.

I have about 10 discs right now and am trying really hard to just stick with them until I get better. I did take a few days and just brought my putter, but I soon went back to trying to throw the long ones! But it definitely helped.

One last thing. I started out watching all the DG teaching videos, which are somewhat helpful. But if you are going to watch videos, I found watching the Disc Golf pro tourney replays way more helpful! Watching pros in action has really helped my game.

Cheers, see you out there banging some chains! Mike

 

[mojorooks]

For reference, I am 45 and have been playing Forehand dominant for 2 years. Last year I could get 280 using a Nuke SS (13 speed). I recently threw a Starfire (10 speed) about 320. But I also haven't stood in a field and tried throwing for distance for over a year. Sometimes its seems I take a step forward, sometimes backward. I think I'm better than I used to be although my score seems to have gone up. But I also don't take mulligans like I used to...

I play once a week, twice if I'm lucky. Frequency of play seems to make a big difference. Putt practice also seems to make a world of difference.

A guy I've played with the past 2 weeks in league has an absolute missile of a forehand shot. I need to pay a lot closer attention to his form and see where he is getting that power.

 

[disco40]

I think the way to go when thinking about potential is not what that potential might be, but how that potential can be reached and how far you want to go to reach it. You can put a number on it like "350" but that number doesn't throw practice shots or make good habits or take advice. That said, there are some people who thrive by orienting their efforts toward goals in that way, and if they get good results doing that, then that's probably what they should be doing. Others do better by periodically finding out where they stand, and basing short term goals on whatever represents the next level to them from wherever they stand at a particular time. Regardless of the goal, the work remains, and that's the whole important part of it.

All that said, generally speaking, 350 is a reasonable goal on average for people who are under 40, can play 3x a week, are serviceably athletic, and who are willing to do a little practice.

 

[Casey 1988]

You forgot all the they throw their putter that 350-400 feet comments.

Part of it is bravado, trying to impress internet strangers for some odd reason. Another part is just different outlooks on what it means to throw X distance.

Person A says they throw their Leopard 350, when what they mean is they hit a 350 foot shot down hill with a tailwind yesterday so that is of coruse what they throw.

Person B says they throw their Leopard 250, when what they mean that is their average golf distance on a course teeing off with it. In a field or in the right conditions they get it out to 325 every now and then, but that isn't their typical throw.

I am B but usually say I average 250 feet with my midrange like fairway discs both models.

 

[RoDeO]

An update-
It's now been almost 2 months since I learned to throw left handed. This weekend I practiced some distance and my average drive is now at 300 feet. On Saturday I threw one maxed out to 367. That is really rare. This morning throwing I hit 348, 354 with no wind on flat ground. Most of my throws were in the 290-320 range. I am finding that most of my understable drivers now turn a lot. I went and bought a Latitude 64 Sapphire and love it. That was the disc I threw 348 this morning.

It wasn't but just 6 weeks ago that I thought 300 was almost an impossible goal. I've battled through lots of pain to get to 300. As a 47 year old who never played high school sports the bumps and bruises along the way are all part of the change of getting a middle aged body into a semi athletic one. I developed one bruise on my tricep by my shoulder after I yanked one too hard the very first week I started. My knee also went through a funky sorenesscphase as did the middle and lower part of my back. I also strained my neck a bit after one throw. My ankle also suffered for about 3 weeks getting used to throwing. I just kept battling though and now I feel loose and strong. I still get fatigued and sore in my joints when I throw too much but it's worth it to see positive results.

My new goal is to throw 325 for average with a max of 375-400 before snow flies.