Hanging my head in shame.

[StymieDidIt]

Just went out to the local soccer fields, which are now empty, and thought I would practice my drives . No wind at all. Perfect conditions to see just how far I can throw consistently, using all of my drivers. I measured the field, which is perfectly flat, and it "wheeled out" at 318'. Backhand or forehand didn't matter much. Was a little better at forehand by maybe 30' if I got the nice "S" pattern. Bottom line is, I have a weenie arm. On average, most of my shots were between 265 & 280'. My longest drives, with perfect conditions and a flat field, were only 290', and I only had a handfull of them out of maybe 70 throws. I really need to see some of these big arms throw. I know I'm not in the geatest shape, but I also know I don't have a rag arm. It was really disappointing. I thought for sure I would be able to improve on my distance after several months of playing. At home, I've thrown a number of times 300-320', but it must have been wind aided or the irregularities of the terrain. Are there that many people really thowing 325-350' or more consistently, or... are they ballparking the numbers and over-estimating themselves?

 

[Roc1Time]

I throw 350-375 consistanly D wise and pretty consistant in the fairway as well. I have been playing for ahile though too. I dont know what to say except keep praticing. I know alot of people that cant drive 350 that are good golfers, just practice on staying on the fairway and hitting your spots.

 

[Lewis]

I think most people give ballpark numbers that aren't exactly accurate. Throwing downhill adds a surprising amount of distance. Just a 10' drop can add 40 or 50 feet to your driving distance, and a tailwind does the same. I often wonder how many of us actually go out to a flat field and measure carefully.

But yeah, not everybody can throw 350 consistently, much less 400. Distance helps your game a lot, but if you're consistently accurate and know how to manage a course, that helps your game even more. It's something I'm only beginning to learn.

 

[danhyzer]

drive for show, putt for dough.

I don't have a "BIG ARM", yet I hold my ground and normally take the $$ from the players who can throw a country mile, but have little else in thier bag.

Learn how to handle the presure around the basket and you'll never be ashamed of yourself on a DGC again.

 

[SomeChump]

I have measured mine just like you and I throw similar distances. A really great throw might get me to 310 or 320, but that's pretty much it. But you know what? I shot a -7 yesterday. 7 birdies, no bogeys. On most of the holes out there if you can throw 250-300 accurately, that's good enough. There are only 2 holes on my home course I haven't yet birdied, at least from the short tees. One is 340 and the other is 375. Adding 50 feet to my drives would allow me more shots at those two, but that's about it. You'll shave a lot more strokes off by practicing putting and learning to throw different lines with your drivers and midranges than trying to max out your open field distance throws.

I've noticed at most of the minis I'm at that most people don't throw any further than I do, many of them less. And all my friends that play casually think my drives are amazing. Go figure.

 

[coast2coast]

I think it's important to remember that technique is more important than power when throwing off the tee. It's not about throwing the disc hard, but making it spin fast. The faster and longer a disc rotates in flight, the farther it will go. Use a combination of wrist, arm and body momentum to maximize distance, and don't forget to follow through completely on every shot. It just takes time and practice!

 

[bazillion]

No shame at all, pal.

I've been playing for years and my D is pretty much exactly the same as yours - I figure when they were handing out arms, they gave me spaghetti.

No big deal though - the object of the game is to have fun and even though I can't throw worth a d@mn I've still aced - twice - and broken par on more than one course.

Persevere, it'll come. Like a dawg! And then you won't be able to get rid of it! It'll slobber all over you and hump your leg and ... oh wait, this is a DG forum, isn't it

 

[DiscJunkie]

Distance is not as impoertant as consistency and predictability.
Learn how to throw first, then work on distance.
Get you fundamentals straight, then work on distance.
In-between, work on your putting.

 

[solomon.trenton]

practice and playing with different discs is all it takes.

 

[billnchristy]

Dude yesterday I would've been lucky if any of my drives went 200' but my putting was immaculate...we were playing short tees for my wife but I only ended up a couple over...its all about the finish.

 

[Roc1Time]

And the short game

 

[80playedin10states]

accuracy is more important(imho)

 

[Woodpecker]

Looks to me like you're doing great!

Along with myself, many disc golfers suffer from what I call ground shrinkage! I think I've cranked a good one out to about 320' but upon measuring it, it's more like 290'. I don't believe I've met one disc golfer in person yet who has measured their throws on a marked flat field besides myself.

Believe me, I'll take accuracy over distance anyday. Just keeping a drive in the fairway will cut at least 8-10 strokes off a round if you can get it out around 250' consistantly.

I'll be 60 yrs. old later this year and I don't have the strength I had just 10 years ago. Most of my drives are in the 280-320' range so I really work hard on accuracy.

You've got nothing to be ashamed of, believe me!

Now, if I can just learn to putt! LOL

Woodpecker

 

[StymieDidIt]

Looks to me like you're doing great!

Along with myself, many disc golfers suffer from what I call ground shrinkage! I think I've cranked a good one out to about 320' but upon measuring it, it's more like 290'. I don't believe I've met one disc golfer in person yet who has measured their throws on a marked flat field besides myself.

Believe me, I'll take accuracy over distance anyday. Just keeping a drive in the fairway will cut at least 8-10 strokes off a round if you can get it out around 250' consistantly.

I'll be 60 yrs. old later this year and I don't have the strength I had just 10 years ago. Most of my drives are in the 280-320' range so I really work hard on accuracy.

You've got nothing to be ashamed of, believe me!

Now, if I can just learn to putt! LOL

Woodpecker

This is exactly what I speak of. I get a couple great throws that have a lot of speed and great trajectory; they fly what seems to be well over 300', yet when I measure it, they're only around 290'. Like I said earlier, I'm not in the greatest of shape, but my strength is still prettty good. I have a feeling that I'm not using my upper body, aside from my arm, and not following through with enough wrist snap. I think maybe I'm short arming the disc and releasing at 3/4 when I try to snap it.

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice and words of encouragement.

 

[Neophyte]

Keep on chucking them brother. Practice and technique are much more important than arm strength. Take it from a guy who has arm strength and little else. I keep myself in decent shape but don't have the big drives of some of the guys many years older than me. As was said earlier, drive for show and putt for dough.

 

[billnchristy]

300 to 290 feet? Dude, its 10 feet...take that off your short game and it won't make a difference.

Now if it was 350-290 that would be a big difference.

let's see- (fictional course)

hole 1 310' a 290' drive gets you 20' to the pin. Practice 20' putts
hole 2 255' you should bird this every time right?
hole 3 442' 290' drive, 150' approach, tap in
hole 4 189' don't over throw!!
hole 5 682' 290' drive, 290' drive, 100' approach, tap in

Tell me where this 10' matters?

 

[swellerdiscgolf]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, not much "D" in the field, but on the course I seem to throw further, and a lot more accurate. Maybe it has something to do with the mental part of the game.

 

[StymieDidIt]

300 to 290 feet? Dude, its 10 feet...take that off your short game and it won't make a difference.

Now if it was 350-290 that would be a big difference.

let's see- (fictional course)

hole 1 310' a 290' drive gets you 20' to the pin. Practice 20' putts
hole 2 255' you should bird this every time right?
hole 3 442' 290' drive, 150' approach, tap in
hole 4 189' don't over throw!!
hole 5 682' 290' drive, 290' drive, 100' approach, tap in

Tell me where this 10' matters?

I appreciate your attempt to minimize my scenario,but I'm not throwing 290'. I'm throwing 265-280' consistently, with a pretty tight pattern, but 290' is few and far between. I'd like to add 50' to that 265-280', not because I can't work around it, but because physically, I think I'm capable of doing it and it can only help my game. I've done the math, and there was a recent thread about "big arms" vs "weenie arms", and where the benefit of a big arm kicks in. It seems that most of the time an average arm can compete on the average course if you're accurate. There are plenty of times, that while playing with my friends, I out drive them to the hole, but I'm kinda left in "no man's land" and end up laying-up anyway, and finish with the same amount of shots as them.

 

[billnchristy]

Oh well...either way I wouldn't worry about it.

While I **can** drive 320' or so my most likely is 250-270 and maybe a 290 sprinkled in for good measure.

It really is all about that second throw.

 

[CincyRocs]

300 to 290 feet? Dude, its 10 feet...take that off your short game and it won't make a difference.

Now if it was 350-290 that would be a big difference.

let's see- (fictional course)

hole 1 310' a 290' drive gets you 20' to the pin. Practice 20' putts
hole 2 255' you should bird this every time right?
hole 3 442' 290' drive, 150' approach, tap in
hole 4 189' don't over throw!!
hole 5 682' 290' drive, 290' drive, 100' approach, tap in

Tell me where this 10' matters?

Well let's say someone adds 10' to their drives in 2 weeks practice time. Now he is throwing 300'.

Two more weeks of practice and he is throwing 310'.

Four more weeks of practice and he is throwing 325'.

X more weeks of practice and he just broke X Feet.

While it is only 10' now. If you can practice consistently and slowly gain ground on your drives, it will add up in the long run.