Moved to CO and lost significant distance

[bobmcnelly]

I agree. I live in Colorado at 5000ft and my family lives in Missouri at 500ft. To be honest, I don't see much difference when I go back home. However, I've played a course at 7,800ft several times, and I definitely notice a difference there.

Well I usually play at 7000' and quite a few closer to 9000'.

 

[bobmcnelly]

^^^ whoops wrong quote.

 

[threevok]

Comparing disc flight in high/low elevation here's some speculation on my part:
Fast discs won't stay in the air as long but they will fly faster.
Slower discs won't be affected by air drag as much.
The distance gap between putters and distance drivers is less.
OAT will have less effect.
Discs like Katanas will have less turn and less fade. (Or they hit the ground before much of the fade happens).

Additionally - In calm conditions I get my longest distance with low line drives using domey lighter weight drivers like Bolt/Havoc/Flow/Katana/Nuke SS.

 

[orion487]

Hey, is that you in your avatar? If so... I KNOW YOU!

Yep, that's me! That pic is from a few years ago, and I have to say my form has definitely improved, haha. Where do I know you from?

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I wonder how much of the bickering about flight ratings comes from people playing at completely different elevations.

I wonder if this is why manufacturers use a relative (vs. an absolute) scale for their numbers?

I think Vibram used to have a scale that tied turn and fade directly to a a discs travelling at a certain percentage of its intended speed, but have sinced revised it to describe turn and fade differently. I wonder if their new scheme was meant to be more universal?

 

[DoOgSauce]

I learned to play in Flagstaff, az and could not understand why teebirds were supposed to be soooo goooood. They were overstable pigs for a newbie at 7000'

 

[discgolfman]

I just moved to Denver a little over a week ago from North Dakota, and interestingly enough, I have not encountered this issue. However, I believe this is mainly due to form improvement, as I practiced my form for hours upon hours in the house this past winter and am now getting a lot more distance.

In fact, just yesterday during field work, I had my farthest toss ever and was consistently driving an extra 75 to 100 feet further over last year.

@threevok - I have tomorrow free, is your bag tag night at springvale open to anyone? Id love to get out and throw with some folks!

 

[tampabay]

I wonder if this is why manufacturers use a relative (vs. an absolute) scale for their numbers?

I think Vibram used to have a scale that tied turn and fade directly to a a discs travelling at a certain percentage of its intended speed, but have sinced revised it to describe turn and fade differently. I wonder if their new scheme was meant to be more universal?

I would imagine. Because a relative scale can adapt to players with more power and players in different climates. I think the people at 7000' and the people at 48' would both agree that a firebird is more overstable than a leopard. So I think a relative scale makes sense. But I do think if you have a torque monkey saying "it's a flippy piece of garbage", maybe it would be helpful to know he's at sea level and he throws 275 with all biceps.

 

[UCF_Knight]

Don't be afraid to go lightweight and maybe even really lightweight. I live and play at <10 ft above sea level and usually 90%+ humidity. I went out to Denver last July and played the Denver Classic and I actually had a very noticeable increase in distance. I found out when I got back home that this was thanks to the Air Trespass I had picked up the day before I left. The first time I threw it was in Denver and it was instantly my go to distance driver and I was absolutely crushing it, my average drive was probably 375 at that time and the Air Trespass was flying 400+ on command. I was so excited to go back home and play with my new found distance, that was not the case. In real thick air you have to fly the disc and utilize the glide, in thin disc speed is huge because the disc is not creating as much lift so you just have to get it there as fast as possible before it comes back down. Light discs will give you that extra speed you need. Ironically, I'm actually typing this while on a flight to Denver, sadly no time for dg on this trip, this one is all about snow. Enjoy CO I hope to make it out there again to play, and maybe eventually stay.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Yep, that's me! That pic is from a few years ago, and I have to say my form has definitely improved, haha. Where do I know you from?

I'm Jason - I played a round w/ you and Kyle at CHU a few weeks back.

 

[seehad]

Comparing disc flight in high/low elevation here's some speculation on my part:
Fast discs won't stay in the air as long but they will fly faster.
Slower discs won't be affected by air drag as much.
The distance gap between putters and distance drivers is less.
OAT will have less effect.
Discs like Katanas will have less turn and less fade. (Or they hit the ground before much of the fade happens).

Additionally - In calm conditions I get my longest distance with low line drives using domey lighter weight drivers like Bolt/Havoc/Flow/Katana/Nuke SS.

That was exactly my experience moving to Denver from Phoenix. I lost max distance on my fast drivers but gained distance on my putters.

 

[threevok]

I just moved to Denver a little over a week ago from North Dakota, and interestingly enough, I have not encountered this issue. However, I believe this is mainly due to form improvement, as I practiced my form for hours upon hours in the house this past winter and am now getting a lot more distance.

In fact, just yesterday during field work, I had my farthest toss ever and was consistently driving an extra 75 to 100 feet further over last year.

@threevok - I have tomorrow free, is your bag tag night at springvale open to anyone? Id love to get out and throw with some folks!

Come on down. 5:00, but it will probably start late. I'm the large cross-dresser with tag # I♥U; you can't miss me.

 

[Usher]

Springvale tags tonight at 5! I have extra tags if you need to buy one.

On the related note, yes everything here is more on the OS side. When I went to Kansas last year I was turning everything over. My Destroyer was the most stable disc in my bag. Even when I play in the mountains I notice a big difference. To get more distance, you need to throw more under stable discs to let them work.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Springvale tags tonight at 5! I have extra tags if you need to buy one.

On the related note, yes everything here is more on the OS side. When I went to Kansas last year I was turning everything over. My Destroyer was the most stable disc in my bag. Even when I play in the mountains I notice a big difference. To get more distance, you need to throw more under stable discs to let them work.

You mean PACO tags is tonight!