Building Distance

[Midnightbiker]

I have been playing for a year now, and the longest I have ever thrown is about 280'. I normaly throw about 250'. I have tried everything, and I don't know what to do. I hear about new guys throwing 300' and complaining about it. I would be happy just throwing 300'. Please help. For the record I am a RHBH thrower. I have tried throwing sidearm and I just can't do it.

 

[djext1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAV8kKURKaw

Saw this in another thread so sorry if you've already seen it. I've been playing off and on for 12+ years, and only recently become serious about it. I was sort of in the same boat you were...I was out a bit further, but still couldn't get more on my throws no matter what or how hard I tried. Then I watched this...and all these years I have been holding my own shots back. I watched this explanation from Climo and I finally understood the power grip. The very next day I went on to add about 30-60ft on my backhand drive.

Hope it helps!

 

[maniak]

I'm a newer player I've only been at it for a few months. I'm lucky in that I've picked up the distance thing pretty quickly, I had one throw last night at around 380 - 400 feet, I'm just trying to get more control. I think the two biggest things with distance for me are getting as much spin on the disc as possible, and getting a lot of disc speed as I come across my chest with it. When I throw the disc, my thought process is 1) keep the disc flight as flat as possible, 2) Cock my wrist so I can spin the disc as much as possible and 3) Generate power with my entire upper body as I turn and not just my arm. After I pull the disc back, I almost feel like things start with my shoulder as I accelerate it through to the release. Oh yeah and just go to a field and practice!!

You've been playing longer than I have, so my may have heard all these things before. I hope they can help at least a little bit though.

 

[PhattD]

One thing to remember is that for most people if they threw a disc 375 one time with a tail wind that becomes their average drive. Don't get frustrated about not breaking 300' when it seems like everyone posting on forums is. My league has an elite division, Pro in other words. One of the long bombers from that division was practicing drives in the field waiting for all the groups to get in. Everyone watching was calling out his drives as being 450' -500', some were even saying 550'. I was skeptical and went back the next day with a laser range finder and his drives were more like 375'-425'. I have recently increased my average from about 260' to around 280' I get some over 300' but not many. You can also try different lines I find that my best distance comes off a lighter disc that I can flip to Annie and have it hold the whole way, accuracy sucks but if its a wide open shot some times it don't matter.

 

[tomjulio]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAV8kKURKaw

Saw this in another thread so sorry if you've already seen it. I've been playing off and on for 12+ years, and only recently become serious about it. I was sort of in the same boat you were...I was out a bit further, but still couldn't get more on my throws no matter what or how hard I tried. Then I watched this...and all these years I have been holding my own shots back. I watched this explanation from Climo and I finally understood the power grip. The very next day I went on to add about 30-60ft on my backhand drive.

Hope it helps!

Thank you, thank you. Great vid series.
I thought I have had the power grip down since I started. BUT lately after marking my discs with big black perm marker lines to help see the spin I realize I am not getting enough spin. This vid helps out so much. Have only been playing for three months and am averaging 290 on my drives. I think the grip correction is going to help.

 

[djext1]

Something else I might add, and this is just MY personal opinion:

Driving far ISN'T the be all end all...For some people, on the right course (wide open), sure it makes a difference. That being said, consider this situation:

My friend and I come to hole 9, a 450ft line.
I tee up, and drive out to around 320.
My friend tees up, and shoots one out about 250.
My friend gets to his disc, lines up and throws another shot for 200ft up to the pin.
I reach my disc, and throw my second shot up to the pin as well.
We both reach the pin, make our putts, and both get par.

Moral of the story: I outdrove him by a good amount, but we both made it to the pin in 3 for par.

Do you understand what I mean? I have a real life friend that gets frustrated at times because we out drive him off the tee. But he still keeps his score around ours, mainly because he has a really tight short-mid game. So we tell him "what's the difference really?".

That's not to say a good, strong and long drive isn't good to be able to do...just saying it's not always that important. Control and accuracy in my opinion are more important. Distance and power comes in time, but control and accuracy will always win the day

 

[Donovan]

Something else I might add, and this is just MY personal opinion:

Driving far ISN'T the be all end all...For some people, on the right course (wide open), sure it makes a difference. That being said, consider this situation:

My friend and I come to hole 9, a 450ft line.
I tee up, and drive out to around 320.
My friend tees up, and shoots one out about 250.
My friend gets to his disc, lines up and throws another shot for 200ft up to the pin.
I reach my disc, and throw my second shot up to the pin as well.
We both reach the pin, make our putts, and both get par.

Moral of the story: I outdrove him by a good amount, but we both made it to the pin in 3 for par.

Do you understand what I mean? I have a real life friend that gets frustrated at times because we out drive him off the tee. But he still keeps his score around ours, mainly because he has a really tight short-mid game. So we tell him "what's the difference really?".

That's not to say a good, strong and long drive isn't good to be able to do...just saying it's not always that important. Control and accuracy in my opinion are more important. Distance and power comes in time, but control and accuracy will always win the day

I do understand what you are saying. However, if the hole was 600 feet, you are there in 2 and he still has a long throw just to get close. I would rather have 50 feet for my 3rd shot verses 150. It may not seem like much to you, but that kind of advantage can be huge over the course for a round.

 

[Midnightbiker]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I need to take my time a practice.

 

[Marv Vega]

For only playing a year that's pretty good distance. My advice, and what has worked for me, is to go to an open field and measure out either by pacing or by a measuring wheel and mark certain distances with cones. Place cones every 25 feet or so starting at around 200 feet or so, up to 300 feet if you average around 250. Then just practice your drives trying to throw each driver as long and straight as possible. I usually watch a couple of video clips on driving before I go out just to get the picture of someone driving really well in my head. Also make sure you're throwing discs designed for your distance range, something along the lines of a Leopard, Valkyrie, Viking, XL, Polaris LS, lighter weights will generally be easier to throw. Good Luck.

 

[garublador]

I do understand what you are saying. However, if the hole was 600 feet, you are there in 2 and he still has a long throw just to get close. I would rather have 50 feet for my 3rd shot verses 150. It may not seem like much to you, but that kind of advantage can be huge over the course for a round.

What about a 280' hole where a one guy can throw an easy mid shot for a drop in and another has to throw an awesome driver shot for a 20' putt? Situations like that are where throwing far are actually much more benefitial.

Many times when you reach a plateu you have to break your whole form down and start from scratch to improve. It really is one step back, two steps forward. If you aren't playing as well as you like then your current philosphy and methodolgy obviously isn't working. Doing more of or trying harder at what you're currently doing won't work.

 

[MoPhunk]

For the longest time i was only throwing 250-280ft. What i did was slow down my x-step and reach back slowly before exploding into my drive. I've been consistently anywhere from 325 to 390 since i slowed things down. And yesterday i had my first drive over 400ft!! Try putting a little anhyzer on the disc so if flys from left to right and then dumps left at the end. It's been working well for me.

 

[jedwards]

Great advice -- that has worked for me as well.

 

[ptsawyer]

Up until this year, I was never able to throw more than 230 feet. I have been playing for about 5 years, 3 years regularly. My approach game is great, which is the only reason I was able to score with my friends. Two of them have HUGE arms and throw over 425, only adding to my inferiority complex. I was able to extend my drives this year to 300' in a matter of a few weeks, and I am very proud of it. Here is the short version of how I did it.

1. Instead of going to the course, go to the range. How many full power blast drives do you throw in a round? 15 max maybe? Go find a big open field and throw bombs for an hour or two. You can get 30-50 drives in a practice session, that alone will make a difference vs just playing rounds.

2. The key things that I worked on to improve my distance were grip and footwork, footwork being the most important. There are many resources for this on the internet.

Another key thing is try a more understable disc, like a Sidewinder, Avenger SS, Valkyrie, etc. A lot of people swear by Wraiths and Destroyers, but I cant throw them. They fade much to quickly for me. Once I switch to a sidewinder, that helped also. Dont make the mistake of getting too caught up in disc selection though, technique far outweighs disc choice when it comes to distance.

 

[adam423]

2) Cock my wrist so I can spin the disc as much as possible

When you say, cock your wrist, what exactly does that mean? I know you cock the wrist down, like you're shaking someones hand, but do you also bend it in towards your body? Then snap it out as you extend your elbow. I think it makes sense to try to snap it out to get more spin, but I thought I read somewhere not to do that...

 

[Midnightbiker]

Up until this year, I was never able to throw more than 230 feet. I have been playing for about 5 years, 3 years regularly. My approach game is great, which is the only reason I was able to score with my friends. Two of them have HUGE arms and throw over 425, only adding to my inferiority complex. I was able to extend my drives this year to 300' in a matter of a few weeks, and I am very proud of it. Here is the short version of how I did it.

1. Instead of going to the course, go to the range. How many full power blast drives do you throw in a round? 15 max maybe? Go find a big open field and throw bombs for an hour or two. You can get 30-50 drives in a practice session, that alone will make a difference vs just playing rounds.

2. The key things that I worked on to improve my distance were grip and footwork, footwork being the most important. There are many resources for this on the Internet.

Another key thing is try a more understable disc, like a Sidewinder, Avenger SS, Valkyrie, etc. A lot of people swear by Wraiths and Destroyers, but I cant throw them. They fade much to quickly for me. Once I switch to a sidewinder, that helped also. Don't make the mistake of getting too caught up in disc selection though, technique far outweighs disc choice when it comes to distance.

I do practice at a field, and I do find I get the most distance out of my Avenger SS and my Champ Valk. I do need to work on my foot work. I did notice when I went to a power grip, I gained about 30-40 feet. I just need to practice my drives more.

 

[agentdozzer]

I found that video very helpful i was doing the power grip all wrong there for it wasnt effective. Tried the right way today, not sure it added that much to my throw. I dont know how far i can throw because i can duece a 360 with ten foot putts constintly yet a 350 on the same course takes a good shot from 100 out to set up par. To say you can drive 400 should mean you can do it on a flat field with no wind. I would bet i have thrown one or two 400 down hill the key for me is getting that 350 up hill. To me elevation change is the best part of a disc golf hole. Distance is just a number.

 

[maniak]

When you say, cock your wrist, what exactly does that mean? I know you cock the wrist down, like you're shaking someones hand, but do you also bend it in towards your body? Then snap it out as you extend your elbow. I think it makes sense to try to snap it out to get more spin, but I thought I read somewhere not to do that...

Sorry, this might be hard to explain, but what I mean by that is I hold the disc, four fingers curled under the lip, and thumb on top then if I'm holding the disc flat, directly in front of me, bend my wrist back, towards my body so the edge of my disc is resting against my forearm or close to. Then when I throw I just snap my wrist and usually get a nice audible snap. Some people say they can't throw a Wraith because it fades too much, but this method has allowed me to put a really nice S curve on mine. Before this I was really having problems controlling it. I was practicing really throwing it hard like this the other day, and I had problems where it really turned over and didn't come back. When I first started doing this I found it tough to control but I found my form and this has been working pretty consistently for me lately when out on the course.

If you're still not sure what I mean, I could post a picture...I personally have a hard time conceptualizing when people are explaining technique through text.

 

[ERicJ]

I have been playing for a year now, and the longest I have ever thrown is about 280'. I normaly throw about 250'. I have tried everything, and I don't know what to do. I hear about new guys throwing 300' and complaining about it. I would be happy just throwing 300'. Please help. For the record I am a RHBH thrower. I have tried throwing sidearm and I just can't do it.

Several good ideas in this thread. My best advice is get out of Texas! I'm throwing ~300' regularly here with really good drives getting up near 400'. But I just got back from Denver where my first drive (Badlands #1, big downhill) was a 540' monster! The thin air was awesome for driving, I was getting birds on 366' and 416' holes (at Westminster).

But seriously: wrist snap. Don't think about trying to throw hard, think about trying to throw right.

ERic

 

[Midnightbiker]

Several good ideas in this thread. My best advice is get out of Texas! I'm throwing ~300' regularly here with really good drives getting up near 400'. But I just got back from Denver where my first drive (Badlands #1, big downhill) was a 540' monster! The thin air was awesome for driving, I was getting birds on 366' and 416' holes (at Westminster).

But seriously: wrist snap. Don't think about trying to throw hard, think about trying to throw right.

ERic

Yea, I think I am trying to overpower the disc and not looking as much as throwing right. I remember that day that you and I were playing in the Mini, and I was very impressed with your drives. I will be happy when I break 300. The field where I practice at , its 270ft from the sidewalk to a tree line, so I can't wait till I pass the trees.

 

[tomingh]

I agree with the power grip.... I just found that the other day went to the course today, practiced it and ended up with a personal best on the course. I found out that you can only use it on your long shots. Anyone have any suggestions or sites for a better grip on longer mid-range shots???