Sidearm Question

[scottdeane]

I'm new to disc golf but started by throwing sidearm and am doing pretty good. I'm curious if the numbers on the disc referring to Turn and Fade are reversed since the disc is travelling the opposite direction than RHFH?

 

[roflsocks]

A disc thrown RHBH will turn to the right, and fade to the left. That same disc thrown RHFH will turn to the left, and fade to the right. The numbers however, don't change. So if a disc has 0 turn and 2 fade, it'll fly mostly straight on either FH or BH, and then fade at the end of its flight. The direction of fade will just match the direction of spin, as referenced above.

 

[JR]

While it is true that the shape of the disc thus the characteristics and numbers on the disc may not change it does not mean that backhand and forehand are equal. I have not verified the old rule of thumb of a sidearm having 25 % less spin than backhand. One may be able to do that from a video of Avery Jenkins throwing slo mo video that has both bh and fh but IIRC he threw farther bh than fh so it is not an apples to apples comparison. The video is on Youtube channel mfranssila.

Spin increases up to a point with added speed. At some point closing top power the fingers tend to be the limitin factor and even bh the disc starts to slip out and the spin does not increase with speed. As Erin Hemmings proved by installing a powerball core and a tail to an Eagle. One of the best if not the best sidearmer of the world Ville Piippo has freaky large index finger and middle finger and his discs do not seem to suffer from a lack of spin. In fact throwing my discs last spring and from what i saw at the European Championships this year his fh throws with a Zone fly so fast and spinny that i cannot match the lateness and lesser fade bh. So the spectrum is broad but like i said few can match Ville and many lack the physical capabilities he has. He has a short arm movement starting from the side which limits speed generation and injury potential and increases the spin/speed ratio. Unlike many American good sidearmers such as Ricky Wysocki who can reach back twice as far trying to throw far FH.

Less spin on the disc tends to turn the disc more and have it fade earlier and harder. If you want to see how amazingly little Ville's Zone fades you can see him throw one in the final of the European Championships 2014 as the approach to the final hole. He trusts the shot because on the left side of the fairway there is a steep and loooong drop off through nasty rough and the competition was tight. Ville won by a minimal margin and turning the disc on the approach or having it fade early to the guardian trees could easily have ricocheted the disc off to the left rough. Making winning hard and a matter of luck. The video is on Youtube channel lcgm8.

There is a human factor to the flight differences as well. Depending on the wrist control and power most have a larger margin of error back hand. I think it is mostly due to not being able to control faster speeds fh maintaining proper angles of each of the arm joint. If you clamped your elbow to a vice you can throw farther fh than bh but even though the wrist is naturally stronger for everyone fh than bh it does not mean that the arm is used properly or strong enough to counter the arm speed. Many struggle with the wrist angles on hard fh throws. Many roll their wrist counter clockwise on harder fh.

 

[diskdunn1]

Wow, great explanation. Thanks.