Trouble Moving up to Fairway Driver . . .

[bridgebeck]

Hey everyone, here's a novel for a first post! I finally got into this wonderful sport one-and-a-half months ago and have loved every second of it (and these forums have been super helpful, thanks for that)! There is a nine hole course about five minutes from my house that I'll play through once a week, and I've been putting in about three hours a week of field work (putters and mids only) . . . which is really more satisfying than playing the course at this point because I've gone from not being able to throw with much distance or accuracy to throwing some precise shots which have just been a joy to watch fly!

Now, with that said, here's where I'm at. I can routinely get my slightly beat 169g DX Cobra out to about 280' on a straight, hyzer, or anhyzer line. That disc is by far my favorite in terms of comfort in the hand as well as reliability (it goes where I want it to nearly every throw). I also picked up a 165g Shark and a 169g Roc and have had lesser results with either (about 260' max and less reliable line shaping). Inspired by my success with the Cobra I picked up a 171g Pro Leopard and have been totally unable to throw it.

Now I understand the concept of throwing something that is too high a speed for my arm - a friend gave me a speed 13 driver, which of course bombs to the left (RHBH) almost immediately (I don't even bother attempting it anymore). The trouble is, the speed 6 Leopard is nearly the same unless I put some serious anhyzer on it, but even then I cannot get the same distance I get out of my Cobra. It's got a -2 turn rating, but you wouldn't know it coming out of my hand. I know that without being able to see me throw there's little advice to be given on my form, but I've read that consistently getting mids out to about 250' is a good sign for moving up to a fairway driver, and no fairway driver comes more highly recommended to a beginner than a Leopard. What could I be doing wrong to where mids (especially the Cobra) are flying fairly well and the fairway driver is a total non-starter?

TL;DR: Beginner can accurately throw mids between 250' and 280' but speed 6 driver bombs left every time (RHBH).

 

[MarkDSM]

Is the driver 'ripping out' of your hand or are you 'letting go'? ... are you sure? Stick with low ceiling line drive launching throws for Leo practice without grunting. Find spin.

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

Are your throws all slowing down and falling left, or carrying forward and left? You may have the nose up too much. Fresh pro Leo's still can be pretty stable for your distance.

 

[Keller]

If you can throw a Cobra 280ft (also depends on which mold Cobra, Ontario or WWW), You should be able to throw a Leopard. My guess is you're throwing with the nose up and it's just stalling out and probably dumping.

And Cobras go pretty far for mids, I can throw them farther than a newer Roc too, but not being able to judge distance with them is why I stopped throwing them. Still a great disc.

If you like the Cobra, the next step up that would probably work better than the Leopard is a DX Cheetah.

Oh, and welcome to the game!!!

And take a read through this thread
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32790

 

[Rumpled]

Since you are a new player, people will assume that it's the archer not the arrow, but sometimes it's the arrow. Your Leopard may be more over stable than intended. Every manufacturer struggles for consistency, but they all fail regularly. If you have a friend whose more experienced, perhaps they could throw your Leopard and offer an opinion as to its stability.

 

[bridgebeck]

Is the driver 'ripping out' of your hand or are you 'letting go'? ... are you sure? Stick with low ceiling line drive launching throws for Leo practice without grunting. Find spin.

This evening is a field work evening, so I'll consider how the disc is leaving my hand. By a "low ceiling line drive" are you referring to a straight shot keeping the nose down?

Are your throws all slowing down and falling left, or carrying forward and left? You may have the nose up too much. Fresh pro Leo's still can be pretty stable for your distance.

They do kinda slow down before the inevitable left turn, but now that you mention it I was also struggling to keep the nose down on my throws with that disc. That's something I notice with the Shark and the Roc too . . . I wonder if the Cobra lets me get away with dodgier form, or if the shape of the Cobra leads to a more confident release from my hand at this point . . .

If you can throw a Cobra 280ft (also depends on which mold Cobra, Ontario or WWW), You should be able to throw a Leopard. My guess is you're throwing with the nose up and it's just stalling out and probably dumping.

. . .

If you like the Cobra, the next step up that would probably work better than the Leopard is a DX Cheetah.

Oh, and welcome to the game!!!

And take a read through this thread
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32790

It's an Ontario . . . I've yet to learn the difference but I did run into that thread on here a while back. The nose up thing sounds like a serious contender for the issue at hand now that y'all mention it.

I'll look into a Cheetah! Also, I read that post (and Blake Takkunen's articles) a while back, but apparently didn't take it all to heart. Thanks for putting it back on my radar. My goal (which may be ill-advised at this point) is to carry very few molds and thoroughly learn them . . . the concept of carrying fewer discs but getting the most out of them makes good sense to me (and may save my wallet just a bit . . . maybe ).

Since you are a new player, people will assume that it's the archer not the arrow, but sometimes it's the arrow. Your Leopard may be more over stable than intended. Every manufacturer struggles for consistency, but they all fail regularly. If you have a friend whose more experienced, perhaps they could throw your Leopard and offer an opinion as to its stability.

Sounds like a good excuse to hit up some friends for a round! Can do!


I'll let y'all know how I fare at this evening's field work trying to keep the nose down and the disc lower. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[GoobyPls]

This evening is a field work evening, so I'll consider how the disc is leaving my hand. By a "low ceiling line drive" are you referring to a straight shot keeping the nose down?

For a low ceiling line drive, the disc generally shouldn't get more that 15 feet in the air at its highest point.

280 is very good with a Cobra BTW, so I'd guess it's a nose-orientation issue with your Leopard. Fix that and I'd be very surprised if you don't get 310 or more with it easily.

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

Might have something to do with your grip on the slightly wider rim as well. I know if I get lazy with my grip I throw nose up and distance suffers.

 

[Buiscutboy]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I do have one pop top Pro Leopard that's more overstable than any of my other leopards. Maybe you got something similar.

 

[zontar]

I agree that the angle of your Leopard may be the issue. with a Leopard and a Cobra you can rule the world!

 

[bridgebeck]

Haha, so I learned a couple of things when I was out this evening:

1. The baseball diamond that I was throwing at has inaccurate distance markers on the back fence . . . I made a measuring rope with a mark every ten feet just to be sure I wasn't overestimating my distances (which were calculated based on the markers on the ballpark fence). I can only get the Cobra out to about 250' it seems. I'm not a strong guy, and I'm a disc golfing neophyte trying to learn technique exclusively through forums and YouTube, so I'm still pretty happy with that distance! A mild blow to the old ego, but as much as I'm loving this journey I really don't mind.

2. Y'all were on the money in terms of keeping the nose down . . . turns out that's a huge struggle at the moment! When I had a good throw with the nose down the Shark and the Roc were getting much closer to the Cobra's distance, though my lines were a total mess because of the change in release. On a lot of throws I over corrected and ate dirt! When I could pull off a good low release with the Leopard (and keeping MarkDSM's "find spin" comment in mind) it would outpace the rest by about 30' and not lose too much steam before the hard fade . . . I think it's definitely too overstable for me to play with right now, but I'm learning a lot by bringing it to practice.

I think the driving portion of my next few practices will be with putters only so I can focus on form and keeping the nose down instead of chasing distance (though with a low throw I got my Wizard out to 210', which was definitely a personal record).

I really appreciate everyone chiming in with such helpful advice! Y'all are fantastic!

 

[tone4]

I think you should use a neutral fairway driver if trying to fix nose up issues.

 

[wadpe]

Cobra being understable would explain why it flies better than a roc if you are nose-upping. Getting the disc to turn makes it to glide downwards slightly rather than stalling out early.

I had huge problems with noseupping when I began throwing fairways and still have slight issue with pulling arm, but not with wrist. The arm can be accidentally lined upwards when throwing backhand even if the wrist angle is right.

I have many innova drivers and they all felt rather stiff or more overstable when brand new, but it will quickly be allright when thrown. Especially with a teebird, but it might have been pretty beefy when I began to throw it as under 300feet beginner and it is infact very stable disc anyways. But good luck with the leopard!