Nose up or what else?

[Meillo]

Hoi,

I realize that drivers don't give me much more distance than mids and putters.

On an open hole today:

- D P3: avg: 70m/230', max: 80m/260'
- ESP/BigZ Comet: avg: 85m/280', max: 90m/300'

- DX TB: avg: 80m/260', max: 85m/280'
- Star TB: avg: 80m/260', max: 85m/280'
- Ch TB: avg: 75m/250', max: 80m/260'
- Lucid Felon: avg: 75m/250', max: 80m/260'
- QJLS: avg: 85m/280', max: 90m/300'

(My fartherst shot ever was 100m/330' with a Prime Trespass, then several 90m/300' shots with QJLS, DX TB, Star Eagle-X, Comet.)

There was a slight left-tailwind. I think into a headwind, the putters and mids would have flown less far, compared to the drivers.

All thows were RHBH. About half of them from a stand-still (much more consistent) and half with a run-up (goes a tiny bit further if I get the variables right). I've just started to add a run-up for max D field training.

Most releases were flat. The more understable discs were thrown as slight hyzer-flips; the more overstable discs on slight flexlines.


My putter and mid distances are satisfying, but my drivers should fly farther in comparison. My first guess is that I throw nose-up, which I know I have problems with every now and then (or maybe all the time ;-) ). But my main question is: Are there other possible causes for drivers to not fly much farther than mids and putters? I.e. is working on nose-down the primary and only thing I should focus on, or are there other aspects I should have in mind?

 

[deyo7]

Been there. And, yes, it can be frustrating because you can concentrate on nose down all you want but if your body isn't in proper position during the throw, it won't matter.

Do you feel like you are shifting/transferring your lower spine from rear leg to front leg/post before throwing or throwing more off your rear leg? Once this concept is understood, and practiced a lot, it will help. I think SlowPlastic's post here from another thread is appropriate... at least as my speculation of what you're experiencing based upon my own experiences (and probably most ams).

I would focus on the one leg drill, and swinging something heavy. The throw isn't about getting your arm/disc moving real fast, and it isn't about forward momentum.

It's about getting your spine to your front leg so you can rotate in balance, and having some counterweight, as in your rear leg and rear arm, on the opposite side of your spine so that you can swing through THE HIT POINT with weight/leverage provided. It's about getting to that position on the front leg and being able to swing actively through the hit.

The one leg drill is pretty self correcting. You can't throw yourself forward past the foot, you can't push yourself overtop with your rear leg, and if you spin out like crazy without counterweight you'll feel like you're going to fall.

. . . .

 

[DG_player]

You sound like you're in the same boat as me as far as distance. The fact of the matter is, we just can't throw hard enough to get faster discs up to speed, even with optimal release angle. I personally have found that speed 7 is about the top for me, anything beyond that and I start to see no improvement or distance loss.

The best thing to do is work on form/etc. to add power. As you get incremental gains in power you may find that higher speed discs start to perform as intended.

 

[slowplastic]

At 280' average distance with a mid like a Comet, that means you don't torque on the discs and you're getting some pretty decent velocity...especially if you are touching 300'. I agree with DG player that speed 7ish fairways will likely be your sweet spot, with some 9ish speed understable drivers like a Sidewinder/Roadrunner being a good max distance candidate.

Now at 280' mid I would expect fairways to be 300' pretty easily and up to 320'. Seeing as they aren't going any farther, I definitely suspect nose up issues as well. The DX Teebird you have will be a good benchmark, same with the star TB if it isn't too overstable. If your Champ Teebird is quite beefy I would expect it to be in similar ranges to your Felon, as you have found so far, but with a different finish to the flight. I have never thrown a QJLS.

As deyo7 said, if you aren't controlling your spine/brace during the throw then it can be tricky since your swing plane will be tilting from reachback to release, making consistent angles challenging.

But number one is make sure the disc is aligned nose down of your forearm. Check out this article, and experiment with disc angle in the palm...as I said I like it actually a few degrees down of the forearm line. https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles/gripittoripit.shtml

 

[StevenSeagal]

Hoi,
My putter and mid distances are satisfying, but my drivers should fly farther in comparison. My first guess is that I throw nose-up, which I know I have problems with every now and then (or maybe all the time ;-) ). But my main question is: Are there other possible causes for drivers to not fly much farther than mids and putters? I.e. is working on nose-down the primary and only thing I should focus on, or are there other aspects I should have in mind?

I wouldn't worry to much about distance separation until you've developed a moderately advanced drive off the tee. All things being equal in the field or open hole you should be able to throw a mid about 80% of your max driver distance. Don't worry about upping your arm speed or distance right now. Instead focus on consistency.

Can you consistently throw six discs of similar speed and stability on the same line accurately? That's the kind of practice that will help you develop the touch needed to answer your own question.