Form Analysis for Goddy

[Goddy]

Good evening, everyone. I have read through this forum off and on since I started playing and I have finally decided to create a form analysis thread. I understand the body mechanics and sequence of a proper drive, but I am struggling to translate certain aspects into my own drive.

This first video was from last week, driving a putter 330-340ft. I had recorded this video in slow-mo for myself and I am not sure how to link a video with a faster playback speed selected. I have always tried to keep the disc in place during my backswing, and after watching this I realized I was doing so way too early. I believe this caused an intermittent nose-up issue I have with distance drivers.



I went out this afternoon to try and delay my backswing. I did not succeed, though it felt like I was waiting until all my weight was on my back foot before the plant. This was a distance driver shot from today, measured out to about 440. I recorded four other drives that unfortunately looked the same, but all five were within fifteen feet of each other.



Finally, and this may all be connected, when I mess around and throw the Feldberg-style in the field (backswing in an arc vs. bent elbow) it is very easy for me to feel the lag of the disc when throwing hyzer and put serious power behind my shot, but I cannot for the life of me recreate that lag-feeling with my normal bent-elbow backswing.

Thank you all for taking the time to read through this and provide any insight that you may have.

 

[sidewinder22]

Second vid definitely looks better than first. You are tipping or pushing your body over top your front leg, instead of shifting the lower body forward underneath the upper body to brace up on front leg in dynamic balance and repel the disc away from your center. Your center is moving/drifting forward over the front leg the same direction as the disc so it's not getting the same catapult effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xfv9jPqZs#t=5m43s

Shifting mass vs shifting weight pressure.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137244

 

[Goddy]

Thank you, SW, for the quick response. I watched each of those videos this morning, then took off to the field for practice. The hip movement and brace from the golf videos made sense and I could tell a difference when I practiced swinging one of my clubs here at home, but... I struggled HARD today with my discs. I was wildly inaccurate during field work and I was focused on really bracing into my right leg to the point where my foot wasn't opening, putting a decent amount of pressure onto my knee.

In the Pressure Shift vs Weight Shift video, the two guys talk about moving your weight opposite of your pressure and making the pendulum motion with your body, like in an A-shape. I can feel tension build up when I do a practice swing, but can't recreate that in my actual throw. I believe I'm starting my swing with my upper body when I actually throw.

Anyways, here are two videos from today. I am still not behind my brace enough.





Should I be aiming to keep my leg straighter as I plant versus landing bent-kneed and then pushing off?

 

[Goddy]

I don't think I can still edit my most recent post, but I went out into my driveway and did my x-step and swing while holding a baseball bat with just my right arm. My "throw" felt very different since the bat has some weight. I could definitely feel my plant before I swung, and my hips were clearing sooner. Before I start my round tomorrow I think I will warm up by swinging my bat this way to try and capture that feeling.

 

[sidewinder22]

Got to relax the x-step, and turn your rear leg/knee/foot out into the x-step and glide forward pivoting balanced like ballerina into backswing. Your rear foot is planting way too forward or sideways and restricting everything from turning back and causing you to have to rush forward and tip over into the plant. You need to change your tilt/balance dynamically upright to the front leg instead of the upper body falling over the front leg/hip collapsing.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137173

This is probably going to feel very weird, less powerful - effortless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1pkfJtVq-8#t=4m5s

 

[Goddy]

Dude! I don't know why, but I thought I needed to be keeping my left foot closed off/rotated clockwise during the x-step and not 30 minutes ago I was joking with my wife that my thighs were getting in the way for me to moving my foot properly. My german shepherd has a Lat64 Bite to play catch with, I just went out and kept my foot more like a plié and my hips were much more free to move. It actually feels kind of graceful and like a dance. I'll check out the other videos now.

 

[Goddy]

So, I've had multiple field work sessions where things just were not clicking. I needed a break from the frustration and decided to play some rounds just focusing on my feet, specifically during the x-step. My hips feel much more free on powerful drives compared to before, but until today I was still struggling with beginning my backswing too early and ultimately being inconsistent.

Today, during our round, my wife suggested only worrying about my left foot. I had to throw slowly and I initially watched my disc to make sure I anchored it in the right spot, but it seems to have worked. My arm feels more like a sling shot and I can feel my right heel landing before my upper body moves. On one specific hole today, I threw 4 drives that Google Maps put around 460, all 20ft from each other. Less effort and more accurate.

I forgot to record during the round, so I had her film me throwing a Bite to my dog. This throw isn't a drive, but it does show much better backswing timing. I'll try to record a proper drive that I really need to brace into tomorrow.

 

[sidewinder22]

Get your right shoulder pulled further back under your chin and behind left shoulder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvGudQYfjD8#t=62s

 

[Goddy]

I'll start off this post with a throw from 30 minutes ago:



I spent a decent amount of time doing the hershyzer drill, swivel stairs and going through my throw with a hammer and 2 1/2 lb weight. I don't know why, but I just cannot for the life of me get into the brace position that Paige is in from your first response. The golf videos I think really have helped my golf swing, but are doing nothing for my disc golf swing. Thanks again for your time.

 

[sidewinder22]

Note how Eagle's rear foot is airborne and shoulder/arm/disc are still lagged back behind everything shifted forward dynamically to front foot.

Rear foot <---
Arm/disc lag --->

Front foot pushes --->
Arm/disc swings <---

Your rear foot is stuck back on the ground and pushing your shoulder/arm/disc ahead of the foot/mass, instead of all your weight pulling the shoulder/arm/disc.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133319

 

[Goddy]

I've noticed the same thing. I actually used the shoulder cross drill mentioned in the thread you linked for my forehand. I can get my rear foot up nice when practicing my throw with something that has weight, but I am having a disconnect when throwing a disc since I feel no weight or lag in the backswing.

I get off my next shift Thursday morning and will record one-step and on-leg throws. Those and stand-stills I typically have no issue with, even when thrown full power. Because of that, I have been thinking that my early backswing is the root cause of the timing issue when when I use an x-step.

 

[sidewinder22]

Make your arm heavy/lag without a disc. Toss your arm out to the target.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134415