You Kansas guys are crazy

[TAFL]

Welcome to the Plains, where on some days one need not actually putt, but just loosen your grip on the disc and it will fly.

Not necessarily in the right direction.

It's an abusive, codependent relationship we have with the wind, yet we keep coming back for more.

 

[Nova P]

Sometimes I just think of the wind as Mr. W from this classic commercial:

 

[Casey 1988]

Welcome to the Plains, where on some days one need not actually putt, but just loosen your grip on the disc and it will fly.

Not necessarily in the right direction.

It's an abusive, codependent relationship we have with the wind, yet we keep coming back for more.

So true. Then the days you have to use a Gator like disc, some putter shape midrange that is OS for putting into the wind. I have with a Star or Pro Shark and before that with a Wasp as that was my only OS midrange. I know a guy who uses a Anchor in the ESP like plastic for very windy days his Maiden will not get the job done.

 

[GMcAtee]

I quickly played a 9-holer in Syracuse, KS on a recent road trip before a storm. That was no fun at all. The cheap portable baskets were all blown over also.

 

[Jugular]

What do you do when approaching/putting in such strong winds (25mph+)?
Do you just lay up until you're about 10' away?
Do you throw upside down from 50' in?

 

[TAFL]

What do you do when approaching/putting in such strong winds (25mph+)?
Do you just lay up until you're about 10' away?
Do you throw upside down from 50' in?

Generally, yes. A low overhand snap that puts the disc on the ground upside down and sliding works for a lot of approaches. Putting upside down is a very good thing in a strong headwind.

Being able to throw low, flat shots to keep the flight plate unexposed to wind is a virtue.

 

[Nova P]

What do you do when approaching/putting in such strong winds (25mph+)?
Do you just lay up until you're about 10' away?
Do you throw upside down from 50' in?

Plan approach shots so that the inside-the-circle putt is done with the wind at your back. A tailwind is the least-disastrous of the strong winds to putt in. Generally a tailwind just kills the putt, and puts it down hard and close by the basket if you miss. (And the tailwind presses the disc against the chains on a made putt, helping it to stay in.) Headwinds can loft the disc up and away on a miss (or blow it out of the chains and back at you on a hit), and a crosswind which gets a good hold of the underside of the disc will just YANK it way off the line, and probably leave you farther away than when you began.

 

[Casey 1988]

What do you do when approaching/putting in such strong winds (25mph+)?
Do you just lay up until you're about 10' away?
Do you throw upside down from 50' in?

Well Past 30 MPH is when I definitely get out my Shark discs for putting currently a Pro and Star at ~175 grams. I also used to use before the Shark discs my low profile #2 Upshot in Prostyle plastic at 166 grams probably now more like 163-162 grams as well as for really windy my Wasp discs. At 25 MPH to 30 MPH I will use my Proline max weight Titanic discs with backups as those will be more OS then my broken in Jawbreaker Magnets due in part to plastic as that plastic will be more OS as well as durable to keep its when new flight quicker.

 

[Casey 1988]

Plan approach shots so that the inside-the-circle putt is done with the wind at your back. A tailwind is the least-disastrous of the strong winds to putt in. Generally a tailwind just kills the putt, and puts it down hard and close by the basket if you miss. (And the tailwind presses the disc against the chains on a made putt, helping it to stay in.) Headwinds can loft the disc up and away on a miss (or blow it out of the chains and back at you on a hit), and a crosswind which gets a good hold of the underside of the disc will just YANK it way off the line, and probably leave you farther away than when you began.

Same for tailwind Shots but I aim a tad lower with main putters knowing the disc is pushed by the wind further. Anything else see my last post above.

 

[wolfhaley]

I played in winds gusting up to 20 or 25 mph today. My drives RHBH were pretty decent. My forehand abilities off the tee are awful so I throw BH annys on a couple holes at my home course. These were pretty much a disaster today. And putting? Oh boy. I'm bad enough when it's calm. I'll take cold, snow, rain, heat or humidity over wind any day.

 

[Jugular]

I remember when throwing an ultrastar through strong and gusty cross winds I'd always ensure I overpowered it and angle the flight so the top of the disc would only just face the wind. The glide of an Ultrastar and it's tendency to turn when overpowered would be countered by the winds force and sometime I felt I'd almost get more distance out of a big throw that way than without any wind. I know most DG discs don't have the sort of glide an Ultrastar does but do you attempt to throw with the same principles in mind with a strong cross wind.

I understand the principles of into the headwind and with tailwind in terms of the stability of the disc but what about crosswinds? Is it more about glide than over/under stability? Is there a turning effect of high winds hitting a disc oriented perfectly flat and flying orthogonal to the wind direction? It seems like there should be many potential upsides of throwing discs in high wind even after accounting for the effects of gusts.

Someone mentioned rollers earlier. I've seen many an ultrastar landing on it's edge be taken by the wind and start rolling with the wind direction with no sign of stopping. When you're in extreme wind conditions are there roller opportunities that aren't with the wind direction? Do drivers avoid some of the effects of wind by having a smaller volume under the wing?

 

[VictorB]

If you don't play in the plains when it's that windy, you don't get to play much at all

 

[Geneva]

I like to play in the wind, but only a few times a year.
I guess I would still often play if 20mph was the norm, but not as much.

You can do a bunch of funny lines in the wind. With a big sidewind (e.g. from the right for RHBH), you can throw a straight disc on a big Anhyzer. And the wind will make it drift to the left like a drunk man.

 

[b-mart]

I actually enjoy playing in the wind. Mostly because we seldom get it in Washington state and it's a valuable skill to have the opportunity to work on. I just aim to shoot below double bogey on every hole .

 

[TAFL]

I understand the principles of into the headwind and with tailwind in terms of the stability of the disc but what about crosswinds? Is it more about glide than over/under stability? Is there a turning effect of high winds hitting a disc oriented perfectly flat and flying orthogonal to the wind direction? It seems like there should be many potential upsides of throwing discs in high wind even after accounting for the effects of gusts.

In the Long Ago, I got a chance to play a round with one of the local pros. I asked him how he adjusts his throw to the wind. He said he didn't. He wasn't given much to conversation, so I didn't pursue the questioning. I spent the round watching what he did.

He threw the disc flat and fairly low. I started to do the same and found my shots were much better-controlled.

He didn't try to "ride the wind" or any other such adjustment. He did aim with the wind in mind as to how it would affect his disc when it faded and the flight plate got exposed one way or the other. If the wind were right to left (RHBH), he'd aim a bit further to the right so the extra bit the disc would fade was accounted for. If it were a left to right wind, he'd aim a bit more direct at the pin because the disc would drop a bit more quickly during the fade.

I can't say that the low flights weren't an adjustment to the wind; he seemed to regularly throw lower than a lot of other players at the time, so I don't think it was. He adjusted his aim, not his throws.

I wish I'd done this before playing in an event with 55 mph+ gusts. That was painful.

 

[ray1970]

Well, pretty steady winds about 23 mph right now and it looks like I'm heading out to play shortly.

Wish me luck.

 

[Jacobpaul81]

Back in "the day" we didn't get many Kansas guys at tournament in St. Louis (there was a weird St. Louis/Kansas City thing) but we used to get the Oklahoma guys. We used to run a C tier weekend Jefferson Barracks on Saturday/Sioux Passage on Sunday and the OK guys would spend all Saturday cursing the trees at JB and looking like non-factors for the weekend. Then we would get out to the wide-open spaces at Sioux on Sunday and they would just crush bombs. The windier the better; they had bags full of Whippets, Vipers and Rams and they could torque monkey the living crap out of those things. They would tear us up on our own course.

It was simple to understand; when it got windy we went and played our wooded courses. Nobody went to Sioux if it was windy unless there was an event and they had to. Those OK guys didn't have a choice, they threw wide-open course in the wind or they didn't throw. If they caught us out at Sioux on a windy day, it was all over.

This is so true. On the windy days, the St. Louis locals will pack it in at JB or Endicott - somewhere with lots of trees. Those are the days you'll find this Kansas transplant out at ICC or New Melle on an empty course all by my lonesome throwing -10.

 

[ChrisWoj]

Just went and played a little nine hole course in the wind. Probably 25 mph steady with plenty of gusts up to probably 45 or 50 mph.

Keeping your balance on the tee pad was sketchy and the wind would almost yank the disc out of your hand just standing there.

Only threw the beefiest discs I carry and I was surprised to see some of them go dead straight or even turn over and not come back.

About five holes in I just pretty much gave up on any kind of driver all together and just stuck to using my MD5 for everything.

I was putting exclusively with the disc upside down and even had a couple of those putts picked up and throw far from the basket.

I don't know how you guys in the wind blown states even enjoy playing.

I did manage to set a personal record. +18 after nine holes. We opted to not play around again for a full eighteen holes.

I love these conditions. They're all about angle control. Obviously gusts (especially gusts coming from in front of you) are out of your control but I have a definite strength off the tee - angle control. I might miss a degree or five right or left more often than I should, but my disc is going to come out on the right angle and without wobble on both forehand and backhand. If I can show the wind the top of my disc and keep it on top of my disc, I can control my disc well enough in those giant gusts to get high rated rounds or league round wins. The luck factor isn't gonna go away but you can sift out a lot of the unlucky stuff relative to the field with the right kind of play.

And going out on my own? Honestly? Trying random ass stuff in those conditions gets some of the most memorable "You're gonna love this ****..." stories to tell when you're waiting on the tee of that hole the next time you play with your buddies.

It was simple to understand; when it got windy we went and played our wooded courses. Nobody went to Sioux if it was windy unless there was an event and they had to. Those OK guys didn't have a choice, they threw wide-open course in the wind or they didn't throw. If they caught us out at Sioux on a windy day, it was all over.

This sounds like the Toledo locals... our wind isn't like your wind, but everybody heads to our short wooded stuff as soon as it gets windy. I love going out to our biggest most open course specifically in those conditions.

 

[oldmandiscer]

I play very well in the wind. I love it if the wind is blowing as my competitors are going to struggle. I can shoot around the same or close to my normal in a 15-20 mph wind. Knowing my discs really well, controlling the angles and power. I also carry about 30-32 discs usually so I have a nice blend for any shot or distance. Yeah I carry 7 putters, so what. lol

I just saw Rickys video from today and he has 6 Pigs in his bag plus like 6 more Aviars. that's getting up there.