The Newest Greatest thing you just figured out

[VictorB]

Don't be infatuated with only getting results, strive to make an effort to achieve a good result, and things will start to improve with less frustration.

Realizing that I don't have nearly as much time to play as I used to, and that it's going to be difficult to actually get better until I get more free time.

 

[Widdershins]

How did I not think of this before?

Pant legs which are too wide or too long get in the way when golfing. I cut a couple nylon straps down to the correct length and tie them at the ankles. Problem solved.

 

[Widdershins]

A few years ago I became susceptible to poison ivy after decades of being immune. I learned important techniques from other golfers including paying close attention to its location and wiping off discs immediately and myself after rounds. This last summer I contracted one small rash one time, a huge improvement for me. I think that one technique really helped: changing towels frequently. I go through a few towels every round on a course where I see any of the evil weed and never reuse them until they are washed. I end up laundering a bunch of towels which don't even look dirty but the results are worth it.



Resale shops are the greatest places to find good deals on clothes. As all fat people know, clothes are designed to fit slender people, so finding something that actually fits is challenging for we of the rotund set. A new item which fits may shrink as it is washed and dried. Used clothes have already been washed and they are much cheaper.

 

[Widdershins]

I have started to wear jackets which are shorter, so they stop at just below the waist rather than go down over the hips. It seems shorter jackets are less restrictive, allowing easier twisting at the waist and greater freedom of movement. The jackets they make for snowboarding are just the opposite of this, going down to mid thigh. I also like deep pockets (so handwarmers don't fall out) and sleeves which are not tight.

 

[Monkeypaws]

I have found that for men like myself w Very small hands, it is very important for the pinky to be FIRMLY placed against the inner rim....I have always gripped a little weak due to the size of my hands and have never accustomed myself to power gripping....the pointy finger simply doesn't get under the rim and making this tiny change with my limits has paricularly helped my mid range game

Funny, I was just gripping discs last night (purely chaste, I assure you), and I suddenly realized it felt much better w/o the pinkie for me. I took some discs out on the practice field today, and sure enough, no griplock, better accuracy and extra distance from my previous sessions.

Different strokes i guess....

 

[Allsport1313]

Same for me on the no pinky. Recently tried the three finger because I have crazy small hands and can't get a good comfortable four-finger power grip. I was pretty shocked how good it felt. With three fingers I get this feeling that the disc rips out of my hand almost every time. Not sure if that's snap, or 'the hit', or what, but I like it! I know Blake T said that even small hands should be able to four-finger power grip just as well as three, but until I figure that out, the pinky just kind of gets in the way.

 

[iacas]

Same for me on the no pinky. Recently tried the three finger because I have crazy small hands and can't get a good comfortable four-finger power grip. I was pretty shocked how good it felt. With three fingers I get this feeling that the disc rips out of my hand almost every time. Not sure if that's snap, or 'the hit', or what, but I like it! I know Blake T said that even small hands should be able to four-finger power grip just as well as three, but until I figure that out, the pinky just kind of gets in the way.

I switched to a three-finger grip a few weeks ago. My pinky fingers are bent (see here) so sometimes it wants to "underlap" the ring finger when I try to use all four.

My "newest greatest thing" would have to be the feeling of keeping my hand on the outside of the disc as long as possible. This alone has helped with distance and consistency. Still learning, still improving, but that's been a good help.

 

[Star Shark]

I just figured out that Steve and Bamba know what they're doing when making discs. Go Legacy

 

[Qikly]

I'm a newbie, so my realizations are profound for me and old news for many others. I'm perfectly okay with that. In fact, that's what got me into this sport: the opportunity to undertake a new discipline.

I was a jazz musician for a time. During that time, I learned that there were different kinds of practice, including but not limited to mechanical repetition, gig simulation ("just playing"), and woodshedding. In woodshedding, you play until you practice - that is, you stumble upon things through playing that you then isolate, focus in on, and then leave in order to discover another chink in your armor, another hole in your game. I love to woodshed out on the disc golf course. I find it virtually impossible to play a round from 1 to 18 without rethrowing shots to see if I can get another line, the same line with a different disc, repeat a well thrown shot, etc etc. Again, it's the woodshedding that attracts me to disc golf.

Lately my big technical discovery has been left-to-right shots (RHBH). I'm starting to get a good enough sense of my Comet to control the gradation of turn/when it starts turning. Pretty darn gratifying when I hit it right. Like any other throw.

 

[Widdershins]

I'm a newbie, so my realizations are profound for me and old news for many others. I'm perfectly okay with that. In fact, that's what got me into this sport: the opportunity to undertake a new discipline.

I was a jazz musician for a time. During that time, I learned that there were different kinds of practice, including but not limited to mechanical repetition, gig simulation ("just playing"), and woodshedding. In woodshedding, you play until you practice - that is, you stumble upon things through playing that you then isolate, focus in on, and then leave in order to discover another chink in your armor, another hole in your game. I love to woodshed out on the disc golf course. I find it virtually impossible to play a round from 1 to 18 without rethrowing shots to see if I can get another line, the same line with a different disc, repeat a well thrown shot, etc etc. Again, it's the woodshedding that attracts me to disc golf.

Lately my big technical discovery has been left-to-right shots (RHBH). I'm starting to get a good enough sense of my Comet to control the gradation of turn/when it starts turning. Pretty darn gratifying when I hit it right. Like any other throw.

I'm not sure I understand woodshedding. If you "play until you practice", does this mean that in the middle of a round you come upon an interesting challenge-a particular shot- and abandon the game for a while to practice that shot over and over?

If so, this is sort of what I do to learn a course in preparation for a major tournament. I might come to a tricky hole and spend an hour playing it over and over. Anyway Good Luck learning anhyzers. They are infinitely challenging. When you think you have learned them, step up to rollers (which are just severe anhyzers) and find out how tough those shots are.

 

[Qikly]

I'm not sure I understand woodshedding. If you "play until you practice", does this mean that in the middle of a round you come upon an interesting challenge-a particular shot- and abandon the game for a while to practice that shot over and over?

Yeah, that's basically it: I start out playing, until I come upon a hole/shot/etc that is uncomfortable: maybe it's a tight shot between two trees, or an awkward shot at an awkward distance (too short to properly drive, too long to just lob it easily). When I stumble onto such a shot, I repeat it, like you said, trying out different lines, different discs, or just trying to get the same shot right. I basically do this until I feel comfortable with the shot, or until mental fatigue starts setting in and I can tell I'm losing focus. Then I'll return to simply playing, until I stumble upon another tough shot. Rinse and repeat.

Not a revolutionary concept by any means; I just happen to relate it to my experience as a musician, since that's the terminology I inherited. It's a nice way to go about things for me: I can just play a hole if I want to, but I'm able to break things down and practice when presented with the opportunity. Practicing specific lines is obviously much easier to do on a course than in the field. I do field work, too, but I focus on other things then.

Anyway Good Luck learning anhyzers. They are infinitely challenging. When you think you have learned them, step up to rollers (which are just severe anhyzers) and find out how tough those shots are.

Yeah, I can tell they're a mountain to climb, which is why they sucked me in. Right now it's simply about getting my Comets to turn over and my Cyclones to hold anhyzer lines. Haven't even touched rollers yet. Well, not on purpose, anyway. :lol:

 

[JR]

How did I not think of this before?

Pant legs which are too wide or too long get in the way when golfing. I cut a couple nylon straps down to the correct length and tie them at the ankles. Problem solved.

Rubber bands might be easier to use but i have no idea if that would be sufficient to hold the pant legs in place in the snow. At least in a layer cake of snow,ice,snow...

 

[JR]

I have started to wear jackets which are shorter, so they stop at just below the waist rather than go down over the hips. It seems shorter jackets are less restrictive, allowing easier twisting at the waist and greater freedom of movement. The jackets they make for snowboarding are just the opposite of this, going down to mid thigh. I also like deep pockets (so handwarmers don't fall out) and sleeves which are not tight.

This is where jackets with adjustable diameter help a lot. It is better to have adjustment around mid height and not just the bottom of the jacket too so that you can have the lower half of the jacket be tight enough to fit well but allow free twisting of the hips to the right and the upper half is loose enough to throw well while having some air inside for keeping you drier. From having the air moving inside the jacket from your movements. It helps to keep you from becoming sweaty.

Sweat can easily condense inside the jacket after which the outside air can cool you down 20-60 times quicker in different conditions than being dry. Not being sweaty means that you can get by with less clothing thus less restriction and distance loss. Optimizing for the temperature takes experience and it is best to carry spare layers of clothing.

 

[Widdershins]

I tape my middle finger to prevent a callus from forming (and the resulting cycle of building up until it drys out and tears off, leaving a bloody gash until it heals and rebuilds the callus, etc.). I tried different tapes until I settled on a Paper Tape made by 3M. This tape has no break in period. It feels natural immediately and gives good grip. The down side is that it is difficult to remove when the round is over. Then my local store started carrying a different brand of Paper Tape. This stuff is all right but feels more plasticy, a bit more slippery, and needs a few minutes of using it to break in. But the up side is it comes off easy after the round.

So I searched out a source for the 3M tape which I preferred. But I had some of the other stuff around so I started using both. The more slippery stuff as a base and the papery stuff as the outer layer. My new approach has the immediate good grip and then comes off easily at the end.

The total thickness of tape on my finger is now greater but has not bothered me. Actually in wet conditions the tape slowly absorbs water and the more tape there is the less often I need to replace it.

 

[JHern]

Mark, I've just learned that I'm left-eye dominant, but I'm right-handed. I think this is important, especially for putting, but I haven't figured out how to use the knowledge to my benefit.

 

[VictorB]

Last night I just learned how to tuck my pinky against the inner rim of a disc to make a proper fork grip. I don't know why I even tried it, but it worked. I always threw with a modified fan grip for my midranges and putters, but when I did that it felt very natural and it seemed like my power and accuracy went up.

 

[BradC]

Mark, I've just learned that I'm left-eye dominant, but I'm right-handed. I think this is important, especially for putting, but I haven't figured out how to use the knowledge to my benefit.

I am as well, and I can't see it making a difference. Shooting, yes. Putting, no.

You're not aligning anything up visually when putting, rather you are using binocular vision to pick a reference point, and letting your brain figure out the bio-mechanics to get there.

 

[JHern]

Mark, I've just learned that I'm left-eye dominant, but I'm right-handed. I think this is important, especially for putting, but I haven't figured out how to use the knowledge to my benefit.

I am as well, and I can't see it making a difference. Shooting, yes. Putting, no.

You're not aligning anything up visually when putting, rather you are using binocular vision to pick a reference point, and letting your brain figure out the bio-mechanics to get there.

Not sure I agree. See, for example, http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/deadeye.html

I have a persistent problem of missing right, and I think it is because my stance and alignment are set for right eye dominance rather than left eye. If you look at the parallax (dual image) of your hand and disc while focusing on the basket further in the distance, and try to aim with your right eye, it means using the left ot the two images. But your brain will make an auto-correction for the left eye if you are indeed left eye dominant. I think this causes my wrist to involuntarily open further than it should, making me miss right (aligned instead where the left eye-dominant parallax would open straight).

This is difficult to explain in words, so I took my camera out into my rainy backyard to try and illustrate this better...

When your eyes are focused on the basket, there are actually dual images presented to your brain from everything in the foreground. It looks like a mess if you include all the data, which is why your brain automatically filters one of them out, and you have a tendency to use just one of your eyes as the dominant perspective to sort everything out in the foreground.

The above are 2 combined images showing what my binocular vision sees when I line up my putt with my right eye. There is a near field image on the left and the right, corresponding to right eye and left eye, respectively. This alignment/stance would work great if I were right eye dominant. But since I'm left eye dominant, my brain is used to working with the near field image on the right, instead of the one on the left. My unconscious tendency then causes me to miss to the right (toward the red charcoal grill), instead of going right at the pole.

 

[JHern]

Update: I've been putting around in the rain with my right eye closed, and I am no longer missing left/right at all!

 

[Disc Golf Live1]

Too bad it doesn't rain more often.