How long before you could throw a nice long drive?

[treethacker]

Here is my rant...
I can not get a good drive! It is the most infuriating,makes me want to cuss,stomp on my disc, part of my game.
I have been playing for a little over a year and had been trying to throw backhand. Well,If I am lucky I might go a little over 200 ft, on a good day maybe 230. A straight throw? once again if I am lucky. Sometimes I actually end up releasing the disc to late and it goes flying off to the right hand side for about half a mile.Its not just every once and a while but just about all the time.
It gets to the point where I dread teeing off. I have tried throwing it forehand and that seems to be some what of a straighter throw but once again it is only about 200ft or so and sometimes it goes flying off to the left when I release it.
All you people who can throw 300ft plus - I dream of that day! But I don't know if it will ever ever happen. Yesterday was the first time I actually thought about just giving the sport up cause I am so bad at it. How can you love a game so much but suck at it so bad
I have watched all the you tube people and how they causally throw the disc a quarter of a mile,I have tried to throw like they have but pretty much to no avail. If you ask five different people how they drive you will get five different answers!
Yes I practice..and practice...and practice....but I think I practice driving wrong..something must be wrong.
It is so frustrating to be on the tee and the basket is only 250ft away, some would have to be careful they didn't over shoot it,but not me!Its gonna take at least two shots just to get it there...that is if it doesn't go flying off into the woods off to the left of the tee.
So........is there anyone else that is having or had the same problem?
How long did it take before you had a decent drive (300ft or so)
I know I said I ask five different people how they throw a drive and got five different answer but I'll take a sixth
Yes,I know there are a lot worse things in this world and if thats my biggest problem than I have a pretty good life but....this is a disc golf forum after all.
......Boy! Do I feel better! I still suck at disc golf but I feel better

 

[sidewinding]

Get back to the fundamentals:

1. Weight transferr from your back to front leg is the main generator of power. Start by learning to shift your weight during the throw then learn the x-step.

2. Use a tight power grip with all four fingers. Let the disc rip out of your grip, don't open your hand when you want to release. This generates max spin on the disc which equates to extra distance and accuracy because the disc will travel farther before it starts to fade.

3. Keep your nose down. If the nose of the disc up, even a tiny bit, air gets under the disc and slows down the spin and velocity.

4. Don't throw as hard as you can. Try to throw about 80%. You will be much more consistent. As you develop good technique and muscle memory you will be able to throw 100% full power when you need to and still maintain pretty good accuracy.

Obviously there are many more things that will help also but these are just some of the basic fundamentals that new players should know.

 

[ERicJ]

Playing seriously, it was probably six months before I got to 300' with some regularity. After eight months now I'd say I'm probably consistently driving 300' with good drives hitting 350-375'.

One of the smarter things I did in my second month of playing was get a lesson. Actually two lessons, one from Dan Ginnelly and another from Neal Dambra. At the time I wasn't throwing very far, and was paranoid about developing bad habits. Those lessons didn't immediately change my game, but started me in the right direction and gave me insight into what not to do.

Also, the instructional reading over at https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles.shtml helped me a lot.

Good luck.

ERic

 

[Olorin]

I still can't... after 28 years!

My motto is "I'm glad you don't have to be good to enjoy disc golf."

 

[PhattD]

One thing that helped me with my distance was when I stopped trying to throw it far. It sounds stupid but I went to afield and instead of just throwing for distance ( and sky balling it and watching it fall off to the left at 220' , sound familiar?) I picked a target and paced off 100' and threw at that. Once I was getting close to it regularily I backed up 30' an did it again. Without realizing it I was dropping shots 10'-20' from my target from 260' and not even throwing that hard. This was when my average drive was 230'-250' and every once in a while I'd get one out to 270'. Now I am averaging 280'-290' with the occasional 330'. And my shortest drives are still the long open shots with nothing to aim at. Give me a 30' gap at 250' out and I will throw 300'.

 

[Marv Vega]

Get back to the fundamentals:

1. Weight transferr from your back to front leg is the main generator of power. Start by learning to shift your weight during the throw then learn the x-step.

2. Use a tight power grip with all four fingers. Let the disc rip out of your grip, don't open your hand when you want to release. This generates max spin on the disc which equates to extra distance and accuracy because the disc will travel farther before it starts to fade.

3. Keep your nose down. If the nose of the disc up, even a tiny bit, air gets under the disc and slows down the spin and velocity.

4. Don't throw as hard as you can. Try to throw about 80%. You will be much more consistent. As you develop good technique and muscle memory you will be able to throw 100% full power when you need to and still maintain pretty good accuracy.

Obviously there are many more things that will help also but these are just some of the basic fundamentals that new players should know.

Great tips, another one would be to reach your arm back and pull it across your chest. Try to get the hips and core muscles involved as well.

I've been playing about 5-6 years now and started out throwing about the same distance as you. The most important thing is to go out to an open field and practice, practice, and practice-don't worry the distance will come. Start out basic with a good smooth release and initially aim for throwing straight drives, learn what works for you. Also don't be aftaid to try new things, you'll be amazed how by just changing something minor in your technique can add 30 feet plus. Try watching video of the pro's driving before you go out to get a picture of great driving form in your head, try and emulate a motion you see them do.

For me, I hit the 300' mark after about 2 years and I'm now finally approaching 400', I've changed my driving form drastically at least twice. Sometimes distance gains come 5 feet at a time and other times they'll be 20-30 feet, it's just important to keep learning, practicing and not to get discouraged.

 

[treethacker]

thanks guys! the advice is much appreciated and will be put to use.

 

[edge3281]

3. Keep your nose down. If the nose of the disc up, even a tiny bit, air gets under the disc and slows down the spin and velocity.

That is the most important thing for me when I drive. That and instead of pulling the disc around my body... pulling it straight across my body. I really stopped pulling them to the right when I did that.

 

[Olorin]

Distance Secrets

Check out the "Distance Secrets" by Dave Dunipace. (I was the editor who compiled it)

Also, Dave Dunipace's illustrated throwing charts might help.

 

[DGtourist]

Check out the "Distance Secrets" by Dave Dunipace. (I was the editor who compiled it)

Also, Dave Dunipace's illustrated throwing charts might help.

That's was a good read Olorin! Tell me, how did you get into the position of editing that?

 

[DGtourist]

This article put alot about distance into perspective for me. Shedding Distance Myths by Blake Takkunen Posted: 2-28-06. How far are people throwing, really.

 

[Olorin]

That's was a good read Olorin! Tell me, how did you get into the position of editing that?

I just took it on myself to do. I was active in the PDGA discussion at that time and so was Blake. In order to make sense of Dave's ideas for myself, and to see if it worked, I just started reorganizing all of the scattered thoughts into a coherent outline and editing the wording. I then got Dave D to read it and offer any corrections. Lastly, I offered it to Blake to post at DG Review.

(For my next project I'm thinking of editing and reorganizing the DGCR thread "Wanna hear something sad?". Either that one or the discussion of Higher Ground. )

 

[High Flyer]

Took me a year to break 300', with much help from the internet, this site and youtube in particular.

 

[Cool Daddio]

( and sky balling it and watching it fall off to the left at 220' , sound familiar?) I picked a target and paced off 100' and threw at that.

Yep I'm 48 and just back into disc golf after 20 plus years. Accepting that I was much better off throwing an accurate 200 ft shot than spending all my time and sore elbows on getting to a 300 + ft drive was the first ego battle I had to overcome. It is paying off well. I go to the park and set up a 150 and 200 ft mark then throw through the shelter which forces me to throw straight and low. There is nothing like knocking down your 200 target a couple times It'll turn into aces one day soon.

 

[garublador]

1. Weight transferr from your back to front leg is the main generator of power. Start by learning to shift your weight during the throw then learn the x-step.

I'll first point out that if this happens at the wrong time you'll get griplock like you described. Don't start your pull until right after you plant your foot. If you start it at the same time as you plant your foot you'll shoot off to the right and it will go a lot farther than normal.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr is where I learned to throw. I broke 300' after a few months but have broken my throw down and started over 3 or 4 times since then. What's really frustrating is when you are breaking 330' whenever you want, then stop for the winter and come back and can't break 250' no matter what you do. Starting over is about the only way to really fix stuff like this.

 

[treethacker]

The "griplock" as you call it has really been a problem lately. Often I will hang on to long and my fingers will hang on to the rim of the disc and off it will go to the right. Pretty bad when you have to yell "fore" and its not for the people down the fairway but the people off to your right.

 

[ZMan44]

I am not an expert, but I have been playing for about 5 years which means 2 things. First, I love the sport and have gotten better. And second, I remember all of my early mistakes. Here are a few tips that helped me that I picked up from friends, local pros, message boards, etc. (PS...my typical drive is about 340, so I am really no long range bomber myself)

1) Trajectory - it took me forever to realize that I had to throw level to get distance. I used to throw an unintended spike hyzer. Up high, hooking left (I am RHBH), and straight back down. I really focused on keeping the disc under 12 feet off the ground. You may throw some worm burners but this actually helped me develop skip shots that I use a lot now.

2) Disc angle - Unless I am throwing a hyzer-flip, or a huge hyzer, I throw my drives with an anhyzer tilt. I am no physicist but it seems that the longer amount of time that the the disc is traveling straight before the fade, the farther it will go. The tilt helped me understand how to use an S-Curve to gain distance. Building on points, keeping a low trajectory and learning s-curves that way will allow you to understand the higher S-curves when you have developed the distance.

3) Disc selection - this is where I know I went wrong and a lot of newbies i have seen go wrong. I thought that since I was trying to gain distance, I should buy the max distance driver, throw it hard, and it would automatically go 400+. A local saw me at a course and told me to try a Polaris LS. It changed my life. I went from throwing about 150 to about 200 immediately. It was something that I could control. Always choose a disc that YOU can control rather than a disc that you see other guys crushing on the course. Not every max distance driver is good for every player. Discs in the 165-170 weight range are great for beginners.

Like I said...these are some basics that really helped me out. I used to be in the exact same spot. I still throw fairway drivers mainly because I am in the habit of low line-drives, but there are worse habits to have. I would suggest two discs...a Polaris LS and (if you can find one) a slightly beaten SE Teebird (TL). The SE TL is my "go-to" disc if I am unsure of what to throw off the tee. Both discs will go straoght with very little fade if thrown on a line. The TL will go farther than the LS.

 

[Quench]

Loving it

I was only introduced to DG a little over a month and a half ago and totally became obsessed with it. I am throwing drives around 250-300 and it totally disgust's the guys who introduced me to the sport who have been playing 5 or so years. The day after the first took me i got home and ordered some disc and a basket online. I have literally been trying to play a course or even set up my basket in a field and throw at that 5 times a week.

Alot of help came from the Scott Stokely videos and watching some of the different videos on youtube. I watched the x-step over and over and got out and practiced it over and over and in getting that down has really helped me get the distance. I am thankful that I was introduced to this great game and look forward to only getting better and playing so much more!!

 

[sidewinding]

Alot of help came from the Scott Stokely videos...

I started playing again in February 2008 on Superbowl Sunday (before the game of course). I became obsessed with the game and by April I was throwing 270' (90 yards on a local football field) max with a beast. I found a wraith that I could not throw because it would curve hard left. My wife got me the Scott Stokely distance video and a 175G Champion Destroyer for my birthday on May 9. I watched the video, went to the football field and threw 330' (110 yards). The Scott Stokely technique added 60 feet instantly!

Now I've been playing for 6 months and I can consistently throw 360' straight (375' with a run up). Most people I play with that have been playing for years can't throw that far. If I was in better shape and younger I'd probably be over 400' by now.

 

[treethacker]

Well,just an update. I have started throwing forehand and seem to get lots more distance than I ever had on my backhand. Plus I seem to have more control this way. I am still working on my backhand but this "x" step is really hard to get down right.
Thanks for all the tips and keep'em coming.I got a feeling that I'm not the only one who is having these problems.