Advice From A Local Pro...

[tamahawk]

I had a new experience today that I thought I would share.

A friend of mine had met a "local pro" at a club meeting. This same guy recently put on a clinic to help newer and less experienced players with their form/technique after a local tourney. My friend had mentioned not being able to make the event, but would like to be able to get together and have him to critique his form sometime, and the local pro agreed.

I asked about tagging along, and got approval to do so. So today, Hamilton and I headed to Meade Olin and met up with him. Immediately, he was able to identify some key things for Hamilton and I both to work on, which should yield improvement in our game with a little practice. He was a super cool guy, very laid back, and very helpful to us.

I had never played with someone of this caliber before. It was so amazing to see someone play as well as he played. I've seen some tourney footage on DVD and such with players who could throw far and sink putts, but to actually be there and see a disc fly 450ft+ is unreal, not to mention draining pretty much every putt within 40-50ft of the basket, absolutely amazing!!! It was also really cool to see the lines that this guy could hit, being able to throw that far really opened up several lines that the average player could never hit, very cool.

This was very positive learning experience, and just thought I would share with the DGCR community.

 

[Hamilton]

i must agree...made almost 500 feet drives looks completely effortless...similar to when i'm throwing a putter 100 feet...except it almost always went where he intended, and mine often don't...but the results were very encouraging, i think we'll both be adding a good amount of D to our drives, and also should be able to make longer "accurate" throws...

 

[sumner420]

so... what pointers did you learn? (eagerly awaits chance to pick brains) do tell!

 

[Hamilton]

1. slow steps, don't rush the xstep, it will mess up your timing if you're a beginner
2. full reach back, i learned that i was only reaching back about halfway
3. level and straight pull through, i was raising the disc during the pull through, contributing to my high throwing
4. stand up straight, slouching really hurts overall form...

those are the ones that i can remember right now, but they were the most stressed items, the ones i need to practice the most...maybe tamahawk can chime in if he remembers more of what he told us...

 

[tamahawk]

The biggest thing for me was my "run" up. I have become comfortable with a semi-quick run up when I throw, so to me it seems normal, not fast. A slower "walk" up, if you will, and really focus on releasing the energy in the throw/release, not the run up. At first, it was very uncomfortable. but before we finished the round, it started to feel better. I actually parked 3 holes in a row on the back nine, 2 of which I've never even reached before. Did i see an instant 50ft of extra distance? No, but I did see a little. I went to the park where I field practice this afternoon and was throwing fairway drivers to the spot where I normally would throw a driver, so probably an extra 20ft or so, in one day.

The other advice was to focus on using the "core" of the body, really utilizing the rotation and "unwinding" of the hips and shoulders to help generate extra speed.

I think the big thing for me is this, by slowing down, and focusing on a quick release as opposed to trying to generate speed through a faster run up, it really helped with the "timing". Things seem more in sync and work better together. I am hopeful that with a little practice, I'll be throwing around 330 by the end of summer, that would be a 50ft improvement from where I started at this year.

 

[TalbotTrojan]

It really is fun to play with the pros and I am sure you got some great advice. It sounds good so far anyways. The real pros are so amazing at how their long throws literally look so effortless. I have even heard of one of the local guys from Innova comming and playing La Mirada near me. Apparently he isn't as much fun to play with though as he will complain that his disc was not made to be thrown like that.

 

[sumner420]

Thanks guys.
Recently I have stopped my run up altogether.
A slow focus on the whip of my arm, wrist down, back straight,ie. Beato's video, has me throwing harder and a bit longer, really tourqing discs (turning over is a new thing for me)
I am trying to get really accurate standing before I start to X step again.
Distance is just as good if not better with a nice "hit"- even with no legs, just a weight shift.
Am I cheating myself or is this wise?

 

[innova]

full reach back, i learned that i was only reaching back about halfway

Clearly the biggest hinderance to new players throwing far... that exists.

 

[innova]

Thanks guys.
Recently I have stopped my run up altogether.
A slow focus on the whip of my arm, wrist down, back straight,ie. Beato's video, has me throwing harder and a bit longer, really tourqing discs (turning over is a new thing for me)
I am trying to get really accurate standing before I start to X step again.
Distance is just as good if not better with a nice "hit"- even with no legs, just a weight shift.
Am I cheating myself or is this wise?

Yes, from my perspective you are.

Footwork is part of accuracy. imho.

 

[tamahawk]

The run up can definitely complicate things, but can also add a lot when done correctly. I've seen some people who can throw farther from a stand-still than I can with an X-Step though. It's all about form and technique.

 

[cc0049]

Thanks guys.
Recently I have stopped my run up altogether.
A slow focus on the whip of my arm, wrist down, back straight,ie. Beato's video, has me throwing harder and a bit longer, really tourqing discs (turning over is a new thing for me)
I am trying to get really accurate standing before I start to X step again.
Distance is just as good if not better with a nice "hit"- even with no legs, just a weight shift.
Am I cheating myself or is this wise?

I took a very similar approach recently. I didn't take out the x-step, but I did take out my run up for several weeks. I am just now slowly starting to work a run-up back in. It's not really a "run"-up though. It is more like a walk up like hamilton and tamahawk are talking about. I needed some time just to work on accelerating into the hit better. I feel like my form and accuracy has greatly improved and I am much more confident in my throws now.
I think what you are doing is wise, but personally I would keep at least the x-step, because that has so much to do with your rhythm. Just make sure you stay standing up straight like you would if you were just standing and throwing. I have learned from personal experience to slow down even my x-step.

 

[tamahawk]

I needed some time just to work on accelerating into the hit better. I feel like my form and accuracy has greatly improved and I am much more confident in my throws now.

Exactly! Accelerating into the hit is what he was talking about, and that is the way he threw as well, except when he threw it went a VERY, VERY long way...

I've even started to feel and hear the "snap". I haven't worked on this enough to really increase my arm speed, but I seem to be getting more spin, which is helping the disc to maintain a steady flight just a little longer. I'm so stoked, I want to go throw, wait a minute, it's 11:30pm, guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow?!...

 

[cc0049]

I'm so stoked, I want to go throw, wait a minute, it's 11:30pm, guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow?!...

That's why they make lights to put on your disc my friend!

 

[sumner420]

I stayed late at HCC tonight, the lights from the campus light up a few holes pretty well.
I am curious about late night play there...

 

[AdamE]

The other advice was to focus on using the "core" of the body, really utilizing the rotation and "unwinding" of the hips and shoulders to help generate extra speed.

This is also an important thing that some people don't pick up on right away. You don't want to reach around your body. Rotate your shoulders and hips as you reach back and then unwind. It can sometimes be difficult to see if you're reaching around so it can't hurt to ask someone to watch your form as you throw.

 

[innova]

You don't want to reach around your body. Rotate your shoulders and hips as you reach back and then unwind.

Well stated. Perfect.

That is the key to power. Let the force be with you Luuuuuuuke.

 

[tamahawk]

That's why they make lights to put on your disc my friend!

Yeah, I may have to pick up some of those. I think it would pretty cool to watch them fly at night. Something I've wanted to try, just haven't done it yet.

This is also an important thing that some people don't pick up on right away. You don't want to reach around your body. Rotate your shoulders and hips as you reach back and then unwind. It can sometimes be difficult to see if you're reaching around so it can't hurt to ask someone to watch your form as you throw.

I feel like the rotation back is okay, but probably use more of my arm in the release as opposed to utilizing a full unwinding of the core from the ground up. If I had to guess, trying to unwind the core will probably lead to a loss of accuracy until I get the hang of it. I would imagine I'll be spraying drives all over the place.

 

[Lewis]

I've had a different experience trying to slow down my X-step: slowing it down takes some of the springiness out of my back, and costs me as much as the last 50 feet on my drives. I throw with much more power by skipping into my X-Step and keeping the tempo up. But maybe that's just me. I don't use a run-up per se, but it helps me to get my feet off the ground when I'm entering the X-Step, so I add a skip to the beginning when space allows. If I ever get a video camera, I'll post my form for your comments. I'd bet the biggest flaw in my form now is my posture. I'm fairly certain I release the disc around hip height with a rounded back, rather than shoulder-height with a straight back. I'm pretty flexible, but I've always had horrible posture.

 

[solomon.trenton]

Luuuuuuuke.

i am you fajja

 

[tamahawk]

I've had a different experience trying to slow down my X-step: slowing it down takes some of the springiness out of my back, and costs me as much as the last 50 feet on my drives.

I haven't lost any distance from walking into my throw, but my throw feels much, much better this way. I still need to get more torque and work on unwinding from the ground up, but I think that this will really help my game with a little work.