Women and Distance

[AshleyH]

I have done much research on how far women throw, where they plateau,etc. From what I have read, Women plateau at 175,240,275,325 and 360.

Based on playing for nearly 10 years, and seeing many girls at different levels, I have seen many girls struggle to even get to 175.

When I started, my first two discs were a 175 teebird, and a 174 beast. I wish that someone would've stepped in and slapped my hand and said NO! very firmly. But I was very stubborn from the get go, so I played on.

If you are trying to get your girlfriend/wife/sister interested or keep her interested, I would tell you to just get one disc. A flippy to superflippy mid. My personal favorite for this is a 168 beat up Core.

Once she can drive past 175 on a pretty clean line,or is at least getting close to that, I would add in some fairway drivers(150 class).

Personal favorites are
Cyclone
Gazelle
Cheetah

As she progresses closer to 240 I would add in more fairways,such as
Teebird
TL
Eagle-L

At this point, you could add in some light 160 discs.

Once she reaches 275 I feel like she will have a good idea of what she likes and will be a fairly competitive player in Advanced.

I learned how to throw 300 fairly quickly. However, I was using all the wrong stuff, and had to unlearn quite a bit. I first hit 300 by throwing a 160 Orc with a wrist roll, and the stability brought it back.

I have spent the last few years cleaning up my form and can now throw my TL's out to 300, and occasionally flirt with longer distances.

I realize that my post is heavy on Innova, but that's what I mostly learned with, so I stuck with what I know.

I thought I would put this all together in a post,hopefully to help others avoid what I did.

I am always looking to help out other women enjoy the sport that I love, so feel free to post away or pm me with any questions. I certainly don't think I have the answer to everything,but I do feel like I have a lot of experience with the frustrations of starting out with no one to answer my questions.

The guys around here have always been great, and helped me out a lot but sometimes it just clicks better when another girl explains it.

And remember ladies, it's all in the hips!!

 

[cfair]

HI ASHLEY! My wife and I have been playing a while and I love talking about this stuff. Whenever I'm teaching any of our female friends I always bring along a TP Comet for them to use. It is so flippy and glidy they can usually throw 200' by the end of the course. Which on someone's first game can be really encouraging. I usually let guys use a DX Roc that I may be breaking in.

But We've come to the conclusion that weight doesn't matter that much until they want to take it seriously. The lighter weights don't really mean more distance, they certainly help some but it isn't as much as you would think. Lighter weight usually means that you will see the flight path better at shorter distances, but you will still get around the same distance.

Discraft's XL is also a really great disc to move up to. It is really easy to throw, get up to speed, and has a great flight path for beginners. And as you get better it will turn into a great roller and turnover disc.

I feel like good discs starting out for women are good discs starting out for men as well. Stuff that is understable, low speed, and glides.

 

[mashnut]

I think it's interesting that you talk about "stepping up" to 160s drivers. My girlfriend has had much better luck just sticking with 150 fairway drivers and distance drivers, and at this point she's throwing around 300'. It seems like a lot of people look at disc weight as an indicator of skill, as though 150 discs are only for beginners and once you get a little better you have to start upping the weight.

 

[cfair]

^^

Yeah, I've personally found lighter discs harder to throw. But light putters are the shizzz.

 

[mashnut]

That wasn't exactly my point, but it is true that it takes a lot of effort for those of us who started with max weight overstable plastic to throw a 150 neutral disc and not burn it into the ground. Once you've mastered 150 discs though, if that's where you get the best distance and control it's odd to think that you need to start working your way back up.

 

[jtencer]

That's true, but the benefit of a lighter driver is that it's easier to get up to speed. Less weight at the end of your arm means you can accelerate it faster.

There is a law of diminishing returns. You're never going to move your arm with a disc faster than you move it without one at all. For people with heavier or stronger arms the point at which further decreases in weight become negligible can sometimes be closer to 160 or even higher.

Also, lighter discs tend to get blown around by the wind more and they lose speed into a headwind quicker because of drag (Less penetration).

Personally, the times that I tried 150 class discs they flew pretty much the same distance as my normal 165-175g discs.

I'm not saying that there isn't an advantage to having new players start light. I'm just saying that lighter isn't always better and that for a lot of players heavier might be a "step up" even if it isn't a universal truth.

 

[AshleyH]

I think it's interesting that you talk about "stepping up" to 160s drivers. My girlfriend has had much better luck just sticking with 150 fairway drivers and distance drivers, and at this point she's throwing around 300'. It seems like a lot of people look at disc weight as an indicator of skill, as though 150 discs are only for beginners and once you get a little better you have to start upping the weight.

No, you definitely don't have to step up to 160's. However, I personally prefer low 160's. 150's will get pushed around in the wind more. I actually think that it's a good idea for a lot of players to keep lighter discs in their bag. If you are throwing 300+ with 150 discs, you have to have pretty clean form.

I do like that the blizzard discs are coming out in 135-150's because they seem to be slowly breaking that mind set that 150 discs are girly discs.

I think any beginner would benefit from learning with them at least.(light weight discs, not blizzards)

 

[Snore]

looks like I will have to look into getting a cheap beat up core for the gf...shes always down for experimenting with new discs might help her get some more D

 

[slicemaster]

My wife has had a lot of success recently with the DGA SuperDrive XL. They are super grippy and all 150g class.

 

[the_pwnerator]

^^

Yeah, I've personally found lighter discs harder to throw. But light putters are the shizzz.

And I'm exact opposite.

Throw what you like. Not what others think you should like.

 

[AshleyH]

looks like I will have to look into getting a cheap beat up core for the gf...shes always down for experimenting with new discs might help her get some more D

How far does she throw? I picked up a beat up Buzz for my daughter also, but the Core is her favorite disc. She's getting it out around 140 on her good throws, and it seems to be very forgiving on technique. She probably gets the Buzz the next farthest.

 

[Snore]

I would say she throws a Super Stingray around 125ish....

 

[AshleyH]

Yes, the Core sounds like it could do her some good,as long as you find a nice beat up one. How long has she been playing? Women will never harness their distance potential until they realize the hips are where they are getting the power. I feel like this is the most overlooked part of women getting distance.

 

[Snore]

started playing around when I did but just started playing more within the past year...on the sleepy scale which number would you recommend?

 

[Widdershins]

Commenting more generally on the topic, I think that the greater distance you put between yourself and women, the safer.

 

[AshleyH]

started playing around when I did but just started playing more within the past year...on the sleepy scale which number would you recommend?

4-5/10. Or you could try a fuse that is 6-7/10

 

[lavon_andy]

DX stingrays are nice for a beginner mid as well.

For fairways the diamond (tm is flippy, opto is bit more closer to stable) and leopards are great as well

From what my Mom and Fiancé throw. Mom throws around 200 with a Leo and Fiancé is in the 250-275 range with a TM diamond.

Just more discs to add to your list ^^ not necessarily women only discs either, I like those discs when I was newer as well (still toss a Leo).

 

[Snore]

thanks looks like I will put up a WANTED in the marketplace

 

[Dookville]

My daughters 11 & 13, are using the Lat64 Diamonds in low 150's with really good success. Youngest is getting out to 200+. Westside also came out with some light weight Warship mids that are dead nuts straight. The limit with their mids seems to bearound 150', it's heighth issue and they keep working at.

 

[AshleyH]

DX stingrays are nice for a beginner mid as well.

For fairways the diamond (tm is flippy, opto is bit more closer to stable) and leopards are great as well

From what my Mom and Fiancé throw. Mom throws around 200 with a Leo and Fiancé is in the 250-275 range with a TM diamond.

Just more discs to add to your list ^^ not necessarily women only discs either, I like those discs when I was newer as well (still toss a Leo).

Thanks, the list certainly wasn't meant to be all inclusive. I can't believe I forgot the Leopard. One of my favorites.

Diamond seems to have a similar flight rating to a Cheetah. Frankly I think the name was genius. It's cool to see them marketing it to women.