How high are your long drives??

[zud00]

Every so often I go out to an open field and rip my discs out for distance. I have hit 350 a few times...most of these flights are around 20-30 feet high in the air at some point in the flight.

Just a few days ago I threw my destroyer on a hole at a course 330 and the disc probably never went about 12-15 feet high. It was a pretty flight and I was surprised at the distance.

I've seen a video on youtube of this guy launching a disc under the lights at a football field or something and it soared like 40-50 feet high in the air.

What kind of height do your discs glide above the ground on your longest drives?

 

[discflinger]

I keep mine pretty low, but if you are throwing an S-curve, you want enough height to let the disc work back and gain its' full flight. When the disc does finally hyzer out, it will get a bit of natural loft, just from the air under the disc.

 

[treethacker]

I have always heard that you want to keep your disc about 10 ft or so off the ground when driving,reason being is that your disc waste half its energy climbing if you have it at 20 or more feet where as that energy could be spent instead giving you more distance.

 

[REDARMY]

between 10 and 15 feet i guess.

anything higher than that for me usually turns too far left. (since i still can't manage to flatten my wrist).

 

[Geoffro]

For me, it depends on the disc. The more glide a disc has, the more tendency it will have to fall apart if it gets too high. Speedier discs tend to do okay with a bit more height if thrown with adequate power. I try to keep all my drives relatively low (no higher than 25'), but with these factors in mind.

 

[discinator]

Most of the courses I play really don't have much opportunity to throw too high. I try to keep them around 10 feet sometimes even lower. Keep in mind that long drive distance and course distance are usually two different things. I try to practice like I play the course so I can't really comment on the best long distance height.

 

[garublador]

It depends on the disc. Slower discs genreally need more height to get more distance and the really fast discs tend to work better being thrown low to keep the nose down.

For example, if you keep to throwng 10' high, you'll have a hard time hitting 300' with a Roc or 350' with a Teebird, but those aren't that difficult to hit with 20' or so of height. You'll need more like 30' if you want a putter to go 300', a mid 350' and a fairway driver 400'. The general rule of thumb is that if the disc didn't fade before it hit the ground, more height would have given you more distance.

My longest drive with a DX Teebird was over 400' (past the opposite end-zone of a football field into the parking lot...freak shot) and probably got 30' high. I've measured out a couple 430' throws with a Pro Orc at 20'-30'. I've also measured out some 400'-420' shots with a Star Valk and Inferno that were "only" about 20' high. All together that's probably only 8 or so throws.

Generally, if I'm throwing a Teebird or Gazelle far I'll shoot for about 20' high and get to 350'-380'. If I "get a hold of it" the disc rises higher and goes farther. I use my faster drivers for lower ceilings, so they rarely get above 10'-15' and land again at 350'-380'.

With Rocs I'll shoot for 20' high for stuff near 300' and lower or with more hyzer if I need to go shorter. With putters I do the same thing but hovering more around the 250' mark.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I think this guy got it right:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4tk9XvAxlA

 

[Midnightbiker]

It seems like my longest throws have been no more than 20 feet off the ground.

 

[sidewinding]

My farthest throws are always < 5'. When I need max D I always focus on keeping it low because I know it will get me extra distance plus a good skip at the end. Nothing feels better than ripping a perfect low drive that just keeps going.

 

[swarren1977]

I would say about ten to twenty feet off the ground sounds about right. Anything more and I start to fade hard left (RHBH thrower) gobbling up valuable distance.

 

[zud00]

My farthest throws are always < 5'. When I need max D I always focus on keeping it low because I know it will get me extra distance plus a good skip at the end. Nothing feels better than ripping a perfect low drive that just keeps going.

Wow, less than 5 feet? I release my discs probably just under 5 feet off of the ground. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of distances are you getting from drives that low off the ground?

I think that it makes sense to keep higher speed discs lower for maximum distance and lower speed discs higher. Also, it seems that an understable disc will get the most distance from a higher flight.

 

[discflinger]

Dustin, look back on garublador's post. He has it exactly right...usually does.

 

[zud00]

Thanks Jon, garublador's post is very informative and I will keep this in mind next time I'm out throwing discs.

 

[discflinger]

Thanks Jon, garublador's post is very informative and I will keep this in mind next time I'm out throwing discs.

What movie ya watchin'?

 

[zud00]

MNF at the moment. Go Browns!!!!

 

[valkyriefb11]

MNF at the moment. Go Browns!!!!

Yea!!
I hope Brady Quinn matures into a great QB for Cleveland ... Ive liked him since his ND days

 

[discflinger]

MNF at the moment. Go Browns!!!!

LMFAO!! GO SHOE!!!

 

[garublador]

Dustin, look back on garublador's post. He has it exactly right...usually does.

Thanks! I'll reiterate that a vast majority of stuff I say I got from Blake at DGR. I found nearly everything he says when it comes to disc golf is true. You'd be surprised at how rare that is.

For my next trick I'll predict the next question and give the answer to that, too.

The trick to getting distance out of a higher throw is to keep the nose down with respect to the trajectory. The easiest way to throw high and nose down is to not throw flat. It's much easier to throw high and nose down on a hyzer or anhyzer than it is on a flat throw. Hyser flips throw with power tend to rise on their own as well. It's also much easier to throw high and nose down with discs that are less nose angle sensitive, i.e. slower, discs.

I'd start with putters, mids and kinda beat slow (nothing faster than a Cyclone or Gazelle...the S Sabre is actually really good for this) fairway drivers. Just aim a bit higher than you normally would. As you get the hang of getting good flights out of those throws, start aiming higher.

Be aware that fast discs (> speed 9 or 10 on Innova's scale) start getting difficult to throw high and nose down unless they're beat up. I actually use these discs for shots where I need distance but not height. If I have the room to throw higher I find a slower disc thrown higher is easier to control.