How does a 450 feet+ backhand drive feel like?

[Thediscgolferguy]

Hello, I'm curious how the backhand throw feels like for people that have learned to throw it relatively far. What are you aware of in your body while throwing, anything you focus on? Would be nice to get some shares from some people, also if anything feels different from when you threw shorter, what was that difference?

So I'm not interested in any technique pointings, more of the felt sense of the throw, it could be how it feels like to coil, how the run-up feels like, weight-shift, what muscles are tensing up and which feel lose if you are aware of that or whatever you are giving attention to in the throw.

 

[Thomashasfun]

For me it feels like two full drives.

 

[DRBDiscGolf]

My longest is 430' but in Denver so I think at sea level it would have gone 450'.

Nothing feels tense. The run up felt balanced and loose. The reach back felt long but not overextended. It all felt effortless except during the smash where it felt like that satisfying pop of a beer bottle where there was just enough tension to hold in the power but enough proper technique and balance that allowed it to fly right over them mountains.

 

[sidewinder22]

Effortless.

 

[Twmccoy]

My longest is 430' but in Denver so I think at sea level it would have gone 450'.

Nothing feels tense. The run up felt balanced and loose. The reach back felt long but not overextended. It all felt effortless except during the smash where it felt like that satisfying pop of a beer bottle where there was just enough tension to hold in the power but enough proper technique and balance that allowed it to fly right over them mountains.

I agree that it's harder to throw in Denver for sheer distance. I was at sea level last year, and everything seemed less stable and had more glide.

The biggest thing I notice on a 450' drive is a perfect snap/pop at release. You feel and hear the disc leave your hand, and it's a bit dramatic. On my really hard rips I can even hear the disc hiss through the air after release.

I can't hit 450' every time, but I can do it somewhat regularly.

The only thing I'll say that is technique related is that when I struggle it usually has to do with poor grip. If I grip the disc too loosely I get a lot of bad releases and lose spin and distance.

Also, you have to throw the disc in such a way that it stays turned for the majority of the flight without turning over entirely. If your drives aren't turning upon release you'll never get near 450'.

 

[OJnBasquits]

quick and clean. Quick enough to get high speed quality plastic to have action, and clean enough to not lose power in an unintended direction / angle.

There's an awful lot of plastic out there that just isn't intended for 450, and even more too overstable or unstable in most wind scenarios.

Xstep never crosses the mind, much more of AtoB back to front of the box body transition. Could care less if there's distraction during the run-up/throw, just don't not on the back of the box lining up. all about efficiency and a lil daddysnap.

 

[EllEstar]

You know that feel when you're lifting in the gym and grind out just an absolute maximal rep on the deadlift or squat?

Like the exact opposite of that.

 

[Rastnav]

I'm talking out of my ass here, because I've never approached 450, and my swing is nothing like approaching good form. But, I have the feeling that the idea of "effortless" is not quite right. Perhaps this might be considered in retrospect, rather than what it feels like to execute. But retrospect is what guides us as we change our swings. I only say this because, at least for me, chasing what I perceive to be effortless has yet to work for me.

An example is the idea that it is commonly said that the disc will feel "heavy" when you are throwing correctly, with the proper timing. I've definitely felt this when things are syncing up and I'm getting more distance, or at least consistent distance. And I certainly could describe the overall swing execution as "effortless". Except … after the throw is all done, it feels like things happened. Work was done. Effort happened. Parts of my body definitely get tired and stressed the more throws like that I execute.

Another example, on the opposite end of the spectrum, you'll frequently hear some pros grunt as they execute max distance shots. The exact kind of grunt that happens involuntarily when you are trying to get that last little bit out of a muscle movement.

3rd example, the pro I've worked with is Phillip Bartholomew who finished 5th in distance at 2021 Worlds with a throw of 637. His description of it is that once you get to a certain point in a swing, then you can/should "throw the hell out of it".

But, you can't get there unless you feel like it is effortless.

I'm sure there are some here, people who have proven track records of giving good advice, who may think I'm constantly saying the wrong thing, perhaps find what I'm saying to be annoying. Take what I say with that caveat in mind. I just know that I have spent literally countless hours following the standard advice and it hasn't seemed to ever really come together and I've had to improve by dint of luck and grind. Perhaps (for whatever reason) I'm just on the tail end of the standard distribution of what works. An odd duck, if you will.

 

[dmoore1998]

It feels loose. If I'm consciously working on form, I'm topping out 50 feet below my max. If I'm thinking about anything, it's about my start...I'm thinking about starting with the disc in the center of my chest, and how hard I'm gripping the disc, and making sure the first step is on my toes. After that, if I'm thinking about anything it's not going to go my max distance.

The tough part is, if I videotape myself throwing that far, my form really looks terrible. I can throw with good(ish) form, but I think too much about it and my body gets too rigid.

I know I probably SHOULD be thinking "just be smooth and the distance will come" but realistically if I'm thinking "i'm just gonna rip my arm of my socket I'm throwing this so hard" my body just relaxes and whips the disc out there.

One thing I have figured out pretty well is that my body will adjust to the room I have on the teepad. The further back/off a teepad I start...the more my body stretches out to get to the end. The more I start a little closer to the end, the more my body takes smaller steps (which is what I need, my X-step starts getting enormous otherwise). My long throws don't feel as "lung-ey" as my shorter ones did. They feel like I'm baby-stepping.

 

[blayed]

I threw a 460ft drive at a B tier a few weeks ago with my 2021 GG Emperor. Before my drive I just told myself to relax and slow down. It felt pretty effortless. Just a clean, snappy drive.

I haven't thrown at a course that requires that kind of distance off the tee since then but it's the same feeling throwing a mid 350+ft or a teebird in the 400s.

 

[seedlings]

IDK. My effortless 450' drives hit trees.

 

[bsammons]

If I have a group of my preferred drivers, flat ground, no wind, I'm averaging 460-475 or so pretty comfortably. I've reached 650+ with the right wind/hill combination, and I've gone 550 on flat ground full rip, but I would average 460-475 if you gave me five beaten in octanes or pop top star wraiths.

It feels like nothing to the lower body, just like a nice warm up jump/quick fast jog burst/nice and easy warm up squat for leg day. Not that same muscle usage, but the same feeling.

Upper body feels like it's slinging the disc for a really, really long time and unwinding all of the potential energy built up from body positioning and recentering posture.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Feels like... I'm watching someone else.

 

[hawgdriver]

What are you aware of in your body while throwing, anything you focus on?

Hey there!

I just leveled up this year and 450' is sort of my new normal. I'm a 6'0" 75" wingspan athletic dude, that's the main thing. I played a ton of raquetball (I could crush a backhand shot, it's the same kinetic pattern from the shoulder to wrist) and so on, just always been into athletic type things, and happen to be pretty strong too. Tbh, that's probably the reason for results, combined with the drive to improve.

After obsessing over how it *feels* to throw far, I have something to say.

I am aware of the tension in my body, and realize that I need to eliminate it.

That's it. To get to that point, it takes a lot of reps to build that feeling of timing and non-tension.

Good luck!

 

[crushboi]

When I throw that far it feels smooth and clean.

 

[crushboi]

My longest is 430' but in Denver so I think at sea level it would have gone 450'.

Nothing feels tense. The run up felt balanced and loose. The reach back felt long but not overextended. It all felt effortless except during the smash where it felt like that satisfying pop of a beer bottle where there was just enough tension to hold in the power but enough proper technique and balance that allowed it to fly right over them mountains.

Yea I live a mile high too so hitting 450 and over is really great when you know that instead of throwing a hades (the really flippy 450) or a super straight dd1 you could be throwing a dd3 for both of those. And I think I read something that says that discs fly 20% farther at sea level.

 

[Kennets]

The few times I've hit 450 with a BH, it felt like I didn't even try, but I could still feel the momentum going in to the arm/hand.

Throwing 450 + with a FH is a completely different story (at least for me) - that felt like I were on the verge of ripping my arm off. Much more demanding on the body in general in my opinion..

 

[Skamanda]

The difference between 380 and 450 to me (back when 450 was a decent golf shot, and my max was somewhere over 477) was, both need to be smooth and somewhat effortless, but the 400+ foot throws, I was more conscious of the speed to which I was accelerating my throw. So much of what gets you above 400 feet is smooth, clean form, good timing, and angle control. When you get out that far, it really does become just minor adjustments to already decent form, rather than say, a massive hunk of power. That extra speed I mentioned was more just... kicking it up from say...70% to 80-90% power and disc speed. Don't 100% it - that's where timing falls apart, and damage is done to your body...

 

[drk_evns]

It's actually surprising how easy it feels. If you're exerting yourself, reassess.

Side note: I always feel like discs fly further when I'm in Colorado. Locals tend to argue the opposite.

 

[dndelli]

I would describe my furthest drives as all feeling extremely fluid. While I don't think my form looks anything like his, if my drive feels to me like a Matty O drive looks, I know it is going to go far. I think lot of it has to do with timing through the hit, how tight my left arm is to my body, but most importantly how my follow through feels.

What helped me in the long run, was slowing everything down, and just making subtle changes over time. To this day, I still have a slow run up compared to most of the people I play with.