[Innova] Forehand disc to compliment my Sexton or Star Firebird slot.

[autocrosscrx]

My forehand isn't the best. I'm 45, have a bum shoulder, and I'm basically learning/refining my forehand. I hammer on overstable stuff. Everything comes out anny. It wobbles. Distance? I don't know. Maybe 250. I step up to 280' and under holes, grab my '23 Sexton and expect a C1 putt. However, I love throwing it and I'm pretty consistent.

Right now, I pretty extensively throw Toro or Firebird when I want to throw forehand. They both fly pretty straight with a reliable finish. I sometimes mess around with a Big Jerm Thunderbird for a longer shot with less of a finish. I haven't messed around with throw distance drivers in probably 6-9 months.

What should I try that will give me the same flight and gap hitting ability as my Firebirds, but with MORE finish? I assume I should be looking at faster discs. Can my arm get a useful forward push out of something like an X-Caliber?

I throw a lot of Innova (for no other reason than factory store deals) and selected that as my prefix, but I'm totally open to brand.

 

[flatflip]

Sextons aren't the most os firebird. Find a flat champion one and try not to let the flare blind you.

As you get more confidence, you can start futzing with your nose angles to get different flights.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Sextons aren't the most os firebird. Find a flat champion one and try not to let the flare blind you.

As you get more confidence, you can start futzing with your nose angles to get different flights.

Thank you. I forgot to mention in my post that I have a stack of champs that I mess with for practice and occasionally stick in my bag. I basically land them in the same area as my Sextons and my Star in an open field, but find them useful for less shots on the course as they don't hold straight for as long.

 

[GripEnemy]

Xcal x1000

Pay for shipping and I'll send you one.

 

[Nick Pacific]

What should I try that will give me the same flight and gap hitting ability as my Firebirds, but with MORE finish? I assume I should be looking at faster discs. Can my arm get a useful forward push out of something like an X-Caliber?

A faster, more stable disc, but also one coming in flatter will finish and skip more. A super hyzer wants to dive and knife into the ground, while one coming in at a flatter angle will skip and finish farther out. In my experience discs with a little more dome
and heavier discs seem to do this a tad better than a flatter one or lighter one so for disc type I'd go faster, heavier, more dome and come in on a flatter angle of release.

Stokely has a great short video on how to do this. Most of the reasons why people tend to release with too much hyzer is the angle of release and the way people stand when they release. You want to have more of a stance that is facing the target than you previously thought, and you want more of an overhand baseball type throw/angle.

 

[@CD-]

Thank you. I forgot to mention in my post that I have a stack of champs that I mess with for practice and occasionally stick in my bag. I basically land them in the same area as my Sextons and my Star in an open field, but find them useful for less shots on the course as they don't hold straight for as long.

more 'finish' = more fade?
Harder to have more fade without also affecting the early part of the flight (the straight portion for stable discs) while using the same release angle.

Adding a more flat or hyzer release angle to a faster and straighter disc will get a bit more lateral movement (and maybe ground action/skips). I'm not sure you need to jump up to a XCal but an Orc/Invictus/Wraith might work ok. The distances you are currently throwing those Firebirds might not be able to get a Destroyer/XCal up to speed. Working on release angles with the Thunderbird might also get the flight you want.

Hammering anhyzer FHs with OS drivers can be really limiting to the flights you can achieve. Working on reducing the wobble and adding more spin to your FH releases will be really beneficial in driving a straight to fade shot.

 

[GripEnemy]

I was going for the "forget form have fun" method but yes ^that's true

 

[autocrosscrx]

Yeah. Definitely working on my shot and a recent grip change and mental queue made for massive improvements to both distance and consistency. And that was just the first small step.

What inspired the post and the thought is that there are several dogleg right holes that call for a shot that pushes forward about 200' and then the pin is maybe 150' to the right. If I throw a clean on target but safe shot with a firebird, I can get maybe 75'-150' out. I'd love to find something that might help me get to a spot where I have a real shot at a putt on those holes.

 

[gwsmallwood]

It depends. Do you want something that will give you more fade with your current form, or are you willing to work on your form to use a bit less anny?

I'll also share a secret I've rarely heard anyone talk about. If you want a disc to get further right on a forehand (without a skip shot), you actually want something only slightly stable and you want to give it enough height that it has more time to fade. Very OS discs don't really want to go right as they slow down, they want to get to the ground, and will often do so more quickly than you want on a longer dog leg. Something a bit less stable will still want to get right without trying to get to the ground quite so quickly. But this only works on flat or hyzer releases. If you use too much anny then things will burn over the other direction.

 

[flatflip]

+1 on the above. My preference is to slap a stable-ish roadrunner or EL on nose-up hyzer for maximum carry. More of an arc on the lateral plane instead of a hook.

Otherwise yeah a skip shot with a faster disc is the ticket. Ballista pro surprisingly serviceable for such a purpose.

 

[ILUVSMGS18]

So in the similar speed vein but more OS, there's the Captain's Raptor, Tilt, Xenon, regular FB, Enemy, Fireball, Splice, Scepter and probably some others.

Going faster the XCal, Force, PD2, Enforcer, Flick, Slab, Recoil, Conquerer are all similarly OS but faster in the speed 12ish range.

 

[autocrosscrx]

It depends. Do you want something that will give you more fade with your current form, or are you willing to work on your form to use a bit less anny?

Honestly? Current form. Or an ever improving version of my current form. It is the angle that I can throw "for distance" without pain or onset soreness. And yes, I've been working with a specialist and a PT for a year.

 

[Biggie_Robs]

Try a Rask. If you gel with the feel, it will go straight before turning right with a big flare skip.

Not everyone likes the extra rim on the underside of the Rask though.

 

[RahvinKing526]

What should I try that will give me the same flight and gap hitting ability as my Firebirds, but with MORE finish? I assume I should be looking at faster discs. Can my arm get a useful forward push out of something like an X-Caliber?

What inspired the post and the thought is that there are several dogleg right holes that call for a shot that pushes forward about 200' and then the pin is maybe 150' to the right. If I throw a clean on target but safe shot with a firebird, I can get maybe 75'-150' out. I'd love to find something that might help me get to a spot where I have a real shot at a putt on those holes.

For the disc I'd go with a faster mold that has similar LSF to a Firebird but that's less HSS.
That said, the shot could probably be done with a fairway that fades less than a Firebird, since that's what will drop you short, but more likely is that these are holes that need a BH anhyzer or turnover shot.

 

[autocrosscrx]

The problem with the turnover is that these holes I have in mind have some combination a low ceiling and limited room to work to the left. On more open holes of similar shape, I'll backhand my Stratus or super beat up Hatchet.

 

[RahvinKing526]

The problem with the turnover is that these holes I have in mind have some combination a low ceiling and limited room to work to the left. On more open holes of similar shape, I'll backhand my Stratus or super beat up Hatchet.

Hmm, makes sense. Yeah, I'd definitely suggest a stable distance driver with a flat release, trying for a slight S-shaped flight, or a neutral-understable fairway on a hyzerflip, both aimed to "cut" the corner (basically trying to get the disc to be drifting left as it makes the corner and pushing the backside of the fairway before fading out).

Either way you're going to want a mold with less fade but that's just one amateur's advice

 

[gwsmallwood]

Honestly? Current form. Or an ever improving version of my current form. It is the angle that I can throw "for distance" without pain or onset soreness. And yes, I've been working with a specialist and a PT for a year.

If you're stuck on anhyzer releases and your distance is maxing out at 250, then you don't need more than a 9 speed. The faster you go the harder it becomes to control the nose angle, and on an anhyzer flex, the more likely you are to burn them into the dirt. I haven't thrown the 23 Sexton, but my 21 is super straight. It's only slightly overstable. If I throw it flat, it's going dead straight with a mild finish from 250-300 feet. If the 23 is similar, then you probably want a 9 speed that has more stability for the shot you described. Something like a Captain's Raptor or a Fireball. The Splice could work too, but mine is stupidly overstable, nearly a Tilt, which may be more than you need as it will cut off distance.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Messed around with a bunch of discs in a field the other day. As mentioned, I probably hadn't thrown a distance driver forehand in almost a year.

My '22 and '23 Sextons as a baseline and then a couple of different Destroyers, a Raider, a Zeus, a Boss, an Ape, a Wraith. The Zeus and the Wraith give me a pretty big distance bump over my Sextons but need some room left to right, so I'm not sure I'd ever look for that shot in a round. The Ape (beat up and spent an unknown amount of time in a pond) goes about as far as the Firebird, but with a lot more finish. I might put it in my bag and try it on some of these shots.