Distance Discouraged

[Darkness07]

Hello all,

Well, I decided to pick up a disc for the first time a week ago after reading about the fun that this game brings. Turns out it's a lot harder than it looks and I've found myself embarassed! :\

Of course not enough to stop me from pressing on! I went out and continued today and found my throws to go ~150' fairly reliably (at least the ones that didn't go hunting for gophers or into the clouds :doh. That distance was consistent no matter how I threw it (backhand, forehand, overhead) with rare flukes stretching to 200'.

These distances seem REALLY low considering how far I see everyone else throwing and I'm not exactly a wimp. I'm asking because I've had difficulty finding a lot of info on 100% new player distances. Am I doomed to be a lame duck? How far did you throw your first time and how far do you throw now?

 

[tomte]

Relax. Time will give you distance. Make sure you don't use fast drivers and just have fun. Sometimes two controlled drives of 150feet is better than one uncontrolled with 300feet.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Welcome! Tomte's right: control... good. Uncontrolled distance... bad.

You'll make bigger strides earlier if you really focus on getting the most out of your mids (which are more forgiving of form flaws than drivers) until your technique is fairly cleaned up, before working drivers into your game... especially wider rimmed drivers. Don't read something and feel like "that's the disc that will change my game," 'cause it won't, and you'll just spend a lot of money searching for the magic arrow when it's really all about the archer (or more accurately, the archer's technique). Check out the numerous other threads in the Newbie section of the forum because there's a lot of solid advice on what to do starting out and enjoy!

 

[sidewinder22]

Haha Darkness, what did the five finger say to the face? Are you letting go of the disc? Decent grip and mechanics will get most average people to 350' with some practice. Video of your throw will reveal flaws easily. I started BH around the same 150-200' and now throw 450'+. FH started throwing 300'+, now throw 400'+. I don't throw OH often.
Start with these:
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26165

 

[TrustYourRubber]

I've always been told to throw mid-ranges and slower fairways first... distance driver, particularly high-speed drivers, are less than optimal for beginner players.

 

[Curtis_Valk]

Don't worry Darkness07. I started out the same way. I was using arm only and also rounding my throws. I didn't have the nose-up issue as bad as some new players, but it was there off and on. These things (among a few others) are the first things a new player has to watch for and "weed out".

Playing a little over a year now, distance is slowing coming to me. One thing satisfying about learning this game is the ability to see your progress as each "piece of the puzzle" is discovered and incorporated.

Read a lot on here and watch the videos linked in form critique posts. You will be doing well in no time.

 

[Qikly]

As someone who picked up the game only a year and a half ago, my main comment is, don't get discouraged. With any semblance of regular practice, you'll see vast strides in your first couple months. In my time playing I've gotten out to the course 1-3 times a week, depending on my schedule, along with additional practice throwing in a field or putting on a practice basket. I got to throwing 250'-275' controllable drives within six months of playing, climbed steadily to ~300' for the following 6-9 months, plateaued a bit, and recently have seen a jump up to 350', with throws up to 375'-400' not being anomalous. So, the whole growth process moves at its own irregular rate, but will indeed take place if you put any kind of time in.

Building a solid base is key. Even now, I see guys out on the course who score better than me, but can't get a low, straight 350' drive with any kind of consistency. Their game has a ceiling that mine doesn't. As long as I keep playing, it's not a matter of if I improve beyond them, but when.

I enjoy the ride. I enjoy the form tweaking and learning what the right grip and right snap feels like. It can be frustrating, but if you do your research and put some time in, you'll get better, no doubt.

So, keep at it!

 

[Hampstead]

In addition to what others have said, when you are sitting around the house pick up a towel and practice snapping it. If you have a smooth, clean snap then you are getting closer to finding a smooth, clean release for the disc.

 

[superium]

Plain and simple, some people thrive off of frustration while others avoid it. Some things don't come naturally especially disc golf. Unless you had some prior knowledge on the sport and how/what to throw, your distances are about what a novice player would throw. Disc golf takes time and practice. You can shorten your learning curve by reading articles, watch videos, researching discs, etc. but either way it takes time and practice.

 

[DiscinFiend]

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26165

:thmbup: Check out the links in the Technique Sticky, they're full of good information.

Heres a link to some instructional articles on DGR. I especially recommend you check out the ones by Blake T.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles.shtml

Heres some videos that can help you gain some good info on a variety of aspects of disc golf. Remember that there are many different styles when it comes to backhand, sidearm, putting etc. Choose what works best for you & stick with it.






















Discraft has some old but good videos. There's more videos than just the ones I linked to. Heres a link to all of the Discraft videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/sportdisc/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=1

 

[Darkness07]

Thanks for all of the info so far!

 

[Smigles]

Thanks for all of the info so far!

It's completely normal that developing distance takes time. For me it took around a year ( very intense year where i played every day all summer ) to get from 200 to 400. And I have an extensive ultimate background (even though I dont know if that is actually helping for distance. For finesse shots sure, but distance mechanics are quite different.)

Its completely normal for your throws to go high up, then left hard ( assuming right handed backhand ). You will not be able to flip a disc, no matter how understable it claims to be.

Now what I did, and what is probably the wrong approach, is I went crazy over distance and cared for control only after I got some distance. You should probably work on it step by step and build up a good form from scratch. But I didnt know that when I started. So I torqued the **** out of my discs and went wild just to get further, and now that I am learning control I lose distance again ^^ Long story short, it's probably better to start with putters and mids and learn control first.

 

[jongoff09]

Don't worry about only being able to get those distances starting out. It was a little while before I could get any more than 225'.

For scores, it took me fewer holes to get a birdie in golf than it took for me to just get a par in disc golf (18th hole of golf was my first birdie, 36th hole of disc golf was my first par).

 

[Nemmers]

Welcome aboard, brother! The mechanics of throwing a disc properly are a little awkward at first, but once you get over the wonky-ness of it and settle into a rhythm, guaranteed you're off the chain.

NYC Visitor: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"

Beatnick: "Practice, man....practice."

 

[ohtobediscing]

Welcome! You'll really like this place for info, stories and general foolishness.
I've been throwing Frisbees since '66, so the days when I couldn't throw a good distance are so far in my past that I don't remember them, but I think it took me about 2 years to get decently accurate.
I still have that crappy green 79 gm Regular Frisbee from '66, too.

 

[banknwank]

Same soup, different spoon......I don't know why my beginner pack had a putter,fairway and a mid, when they all spike hyzer at 150 ft. Give it a chance and you will be hooked like the rest of us. Find shorter courses in your area to give par a chance. You'll be looking for longer courses in no time.

 

[ReTread]

Find yourself an XD (or similar), and find a soccer field. Focus on straight shots while mindful of reaching back enough to develop some power. As suggested, avoid the over stable stuff for a while. Once your throwing that XD 200'-225', and can hyzer or anhyzer, you will have learned control and power. There have been some solid suggestions so far, check the videos, they help. Learn the control, the power will come. Also I still use the XD drills to this day to maintain touch.

 

[steinkecm]

Don't be discouraged. Everything takes time. Over the past couple of seasons, I've increased by drives by a couple hundred feet.

Don't forget that a lot of what you read here is internet distance. Most people don't know how far 400' really is, nor have they ever thrown a disc over 500'.

What disc did you pick up?

 

[Darkness07]

What disc did you pick up?

I grabbed a few... I seem to have a problem with getting overexcited about new hobbies. Even though I have no use for them, I still have the urge to get more!

Thus far:
Valkyrie, Leopard, Buzzz, Stingray, and Aviar Putt & Approach. Also a few for the wife.

 

[Questatement]

One way to get your discs to give you better feedback is to avoid speeds to high for you to power up, extremely overstable/understable discs and, especially the combination of OS and too fast of a speed.

Using Joe's GTGT guide -

http://www.gottagogottathrow.com/discgolf/pdf/JoesFlightChart1.pdf

You're max speed/distance disc(s) should be in the 2/3 'power requirement' (PR) and to simplify, let's say the distance range of each PR is overstable on the low end and understable on the high end. You'll probably want your overstable disc(s) in the 2 PR and your understable in the 3 PR for now. Avoid extremely OS or US discs until you have been playing for a good year.

Just as soon as you are hitting the proper (full speed) distance of your max D disc on a consistent basis, step up a notch. You'll get to where you want to be one way or another but in my experience, this will get you there faster.