Reid's Journey to Backhand Mastery

[UhhNegative]

Thanks guys, I don't intend on using my LHFH except for shots under like 200' where I need to hit a very tight gap or when its the only scramble option so I'm never throwing this hard on the course. Also trying to force myself to throw RHBH more on shorter approaches to build more confidence in it, and so I don't have to rely on my forehand because I'll tend to lean on it when things get rough.

 

[UhhNegative]

I think the key difference in the rear leg is that forehand I'm facing the target so it just makes sense for me to use my rear leg like that. In backhand, you have to be facing backwards during the rear foot eversion and that's what is throwing me off I think.

 

[slowplastic]

I think the key difference in the rear leg is that forehand I'm facing the target so it just makes sense for me to use my rear leg like that. In backhand, you have to be facing backwards during the rear foot eversion and that's what is throwing me off I think.

I'm feeling more and more forward in BH shots, with the throw happening more in front of my body.

Try doing your LHFH motion back and forth with swing and backswing, with either a lever or nothing in your hand, so that you have a good weight shift feel. Then put your right arm/elbow out so that you feel like you are doing the RHBH at the same time or like the battering ram thing. This may help you feel when and how everything syncs up and how the BH pull is happening relative to your LHFH, with the same body fundamentals.

 

[UhhNegative]

I think I understand how it should feel as I was able to have decent rear foot in my LHBH, it's just a matter of habit for me that I balance on my heel when I balance on my left foot. And it makes a lot of sense when I think about, given some oddities about myself:

My left foot is pidgeon toed by a solid 20-30 degrees. You can check this by comparing the direction your knee is facing vs the direction your foot is facing when standing up. My left foot is pointing probably 20-30 degrees to the right of the direction my knee faces. This makes balancing (on the forefoot) harder than usual because forefoot is not in line with my knee, but rather inside of it. However, the heel is under the knee by default so subconciously I think I have always balanced on my left heel as it feels more stable. Fortunately, like my elbow oddity, this has not hindered my life in any meaningful way. And physiologically you can tell that I use my left heel more than my right because my right calf is bigger than my left. That means I'm using less plantar flexion in the left side.

All this not to say its an excuse, but I need to focus on staying balanced on my left forefoot through the x-step by using plantar flexion and then drive with that into the plant. From there my rear foot will do what it needs to do without thinking about it.

 

[UhhNegative]

My plan is to keep filming and focusing on simply keeping my left heel from ever touching the ground. That should force my rear leg to be at least somewhat better.

 

[UhhNegative]

I think I've made some more significant improvement on my putt. I thought about what I changed for backhand, and applied that to my putting. And that was: I was using my arm muscles too early! Now, the release is out my hand is a ton more consistent. I'm aiming more with my body with the arm more just guiding and the wrist feels like it just gets shot out on its own when I get it right. So the combination of getting my weight forward and better sequencing is going to do great things for my putting. I just wanted a consistent motion/stroke so I could actually practice putting instead of still "learning" how to putt although certainly it's by no means a finished product.

 

[slowplastic]

Yeah that definitely sounds right to me. The disc kind of shoots out and there is very little concern for getting finger flubs or having it kind of pull right or something odd. Don't need to worry about how loose or firm to have the wrist either, it just works.

Don't get lazy with the body setup though, I went through a short phase of that after really feeling the clean pop on putting release. Make sure you still get back hip to front hip and finish upright, it'll still help your consistency to make sure that body positioning is good. Not saying you are ignoring that...just that I did for a short bit and when I remembered to get body setup correct, then putt ejection, everything works together effortlessly. Then if I miss a normal range putt, I know it's a mental lapse or something like that.

 

[UhhNegative]

Two steps back today at tags.... Couldn't get anything going off the tee and was shaky on the green. +9 when my I shot +4 a couple weeks ago. But I really haven't put much time into it except for practice putting the last week. This game is brutal.

 

[UhhNegative]

Took a week and a half off from any disc golf. Coming back my putt is feeling better, a little more pop on the release but still a little shaky. Seems like the putting changes have started to take root and I can think more about making the putt and less about the mechanics/timing.

Played a round yesterday where I just focused on initiating the throw with the off-arm pushing my torso toward the plant and got some pretty surprising results. I was obviously opening the upper body too early as I was getting releases to the right but with similar or more power than before. I think initiating with the arm also helped with the rear leg action, but I'm not sure. Felt like I had to put a lot less effort so I ended up overthrowing some upshots. I'll try to get some video to see if the lower body/rear side looks any better.

 

[UhhNegative]

Some putter throws tonight. I only have like 200' so I have to throw as light as I could without it being a touch shot, but I was trying to keep the off arm in a little better. Thought it would help my rear leg better than it did. Seems I'm still late off the rear foot. Not sure if anything is better... But it feels a little better. Feels like no effort. I think I still need to engage the rear side earlier and turn back more. Of course, on shorter shots you're not going to be turning all the way back. My rear leg still wants to stiffen and stay straight! Argh!

 

[sidewinder22]

Stance/stride is staggered too closed. Stride right foot to the right/inside of your left foot.

 

[UhhNegative]

Am I getting forward enough onto the front hip? I don't feel like I'm jamming up, but I know my rear knee should be coming in more, maybe the straighter stride and plant would help that. I think I'm closer but not there yet.

 

[sidewinder22]

Am I getting forward enough onto the front hip? I don't feel like I'm jamming up, but I know my rear knee should be coming in more, maybe the straighter stride and plant would help that. I think I'm closer but not there yet.

Yeah you are getting closer, it doesn't really look like a jam, but not able to get upright enough on front hip because you are losing so much hip depth.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133543

 

[UhhNegative]

What hip depth mean? I haven't heard that before. I'm assuming something related to my stride stance/plant stance.

 

[sidewinder22]

What hip depth mean? I haven't heard that before. I'm assuming something related to my stride stance/plant stance.

Aka buttwipe pressure, see first vid in link "clearing the hips".

 

[UhhNegative]

Some recent notes on putting for myself, and what to fix when its not working:

1) Putt THROUGH the basket. I know this one, but sometimes I forget to visualize that and I'm more throwing "at" the basket. This is probably #1 in priority of things to remember.

2) Keep firm hand pressure on the disc throughout the backswing. I sometimes tend to let the disc go loose in the backswing and then I get inconsistent releases.

3) Kick back leg out for balance. This one I still need to work on quite a bit. It's not seeming to matter for inside 20', but it really does add effortless power and balance. This isn't quite engrained yet for me.

4) Let the disc weight release itself from my hand at the basket. Opening up the hand early = hitting the bottom of the pole. Need to trust that the wrist release will happen late and basically passive. This isn't too crucial for me inside the circle, but really helps add spin and distance at longer distances.

5) Keep my head from rising up and keep it approximately over top of the front foot. I think of my head as the height "governor" for my putt. Inside the circle there's no need for the head to move upwards and when I get lazy about this I start missing high.

When I do all these things, I'm banging chains!

 

[UhhNegative]

And another question about grip.... Grip seems so critical to a good throw. I get an extra 25-50' all else being equal when I focus on gripping hard at release. I've got small hands and never had amazing grip strength even when lifting heavy so maybe its more important just for me.

My question is how much of the pressure should be applied by the thumb vs the fingers under the rim? I know they aren't really independent of each other but what makes me ask this is watching some of the recent Jomez coverage. Seems like a lot of pros have the thumb just kind of resting on top and not really pressing down on the flight plate much during the run-up. And I remember a random video this year of Paul talking about how he could almost throw without using his thumb. And it's making me think about my own grip and I think I'm probably focusing more on thumb pressure than finger pressure under the rim. So does something like 70% fingers 30% thumb sound about right?

 

[sidewinder22]

Try Robbie Bratten's 2 finger. I like how Dave D describes the thumb trapping the disc.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3440757&postcount=4

 

[RandyC]

And another question about grip.... Grip seems so critical to a good throw. I get an extra 25-50' all else being equal when I focus on gripping hard at release. I've got small hands and never had amazing grip strength even when lifting heavy so maybe its more important just for me.

My question is how much of the pressure should be applied by the thumb vs the fingers under the rim? I know they aren't really independent of each other but what makes me ask this is watching some of the recent Jomez coverage. Seems like a lot of pros have the thumb just kind of resting on top and not really pressing down on the flight plate much during the run-up. And I remember a random video this year of Paul talking about how he could almost throw without using his thumb. And it's making me think about my own grip and I think I'm probably focusing more on thumb pressure than finger pressure under the rim. So does something like 70% fingers 30% thumb sound about right?

Grip is such a tough topic. When it´s warm outside I would reply that pretty much any grip will do, now that it´s cold all grips suck . I personally know a lot of professional disc golfers who can crush the disc over 550+ and they have almost nothing in common with their grips. SW22 is probably going to chime in soon and suggest robbies two finger grip which never really clicked on me.

Mainly we grip things with our fingers clamping against our thumb muscle and that´s how I am trying to grip the disc atleast in the winter. Pretty much every single "finger-grip" kills my fingers during the cold seasons.
I think the the right question to ask would be what we are trying to achive with the grip, what is the right task? I don´t have an answer to that. That would be an intresting topic to discuss.

 

[UhhNegative]

Interesting, it seems like how Dunipace is describing it is how I think about it. It just seems counter to seeing Eagle and other players putting the thumb more towards the center. I can't imagine how I would be able to grip the disc hard and allow it to pivot with the thumb that far inside. It must be moving back towards the rim at release or something.

Also my favorite video of Dunipace is him casually hitting two standstill 50' putts in a row. Never knew he had that level of skill.