Advice on driving

[chives]

I have been playing disc golf recreationally for about a year. I have grown used to driving forehanded, but my drives are pretty inconsistant in flight characteristics and distance. I have just recently changed my drive by standing stationary and shifting my weight onto my back foot before twisting foreward to drive. (This came from the innova website chart on the forehand drive). I usually use a 174 Valkyrie or Firebird for my better drives.

Any suggestions on improving my drive?

[storm_king]

I'm definitely not the best forehand blaster in town, but since no one else has replied, I will offer some pointers that have helped me in the past.

sschmalzer said:

... my drives are pretty inconsistant in flight characteristics and distance...

Inconsistency can come from many factors, but there are subtle things you can do to stabilize the flight of your throws.

Number one thing for me was to learn not to roll my wrist. Symptoms of rolling the wrist would be dramatic variation in flight between similarly executed shots. One shot (assuming a right handed player) hyzers out right away to the right, then a similar shot flips over to the left. What you're doing physically is attempting to control the amount of hyzer with your wrist and not with your body/arm angle. When you release the disc, it's good to have the palm of your hand facing up, instead of turned over sideways or facing down.

For inconsistent distance, one thing to look at is angle of the flight compared to level ground. Try to keep from throwing too high, and you should get more distance. This is not always true, but is a basic rule of thumb when learning.

Secondly, two other factors to consider. Are you reaching back far enough on your "backswing"? It's good to stretch out a bit, but don't over extend or your accuracy will suffer. Also, keep your elbow in close to your abdomen. This tightens up your throw and decreases the leverage you have to apply to get that disc moving fast.

sschmalzer said:

I have just recently changed my drive by standing stationary and shifting my weight onto my back foot before twisting foreward to drive. (This came from the innova website chart on the forehand drive). I usually use a 174 Valkyrie or Firebird for my better drives.

Standing stationary is a great idea for awhile, at least until you feel more consistent. I feel it's smart even when first learning your backhand throws.

Disc selection is a toughie, but you'll never hear me criticize the Firebird for a sidearm! Depending on weight, I'd say a heavy Valkyrie (like what you have) maybe even Champion or Star plastic, is a good choice for sidearm anhyzers or long S-curves. Might even be good for holding a nice straight line. The Firebird should be a good disc for hyzer and short range helix shots.

Hopefully this all makes sense and helps out a bit! Maybe someone else will be able to clarify (or correct ) this more for you.

KC

[originalcracker]

Try spreading your two fingers out under the disc, one along the rim and the other out towards the center, you gotta try different grips till you find the one that works for you. I prefer having them spread out a little, it kinda stabalizes the disc and helps with anhyzers. Try taking a couple of steps instead of standing stationary, but don't forget how to throw that way for when you're throwing on wet or iced over tee pads. And ALWAYS REMEMBER, this throw is all about the snap of the wrist, your arm is more so for direction.

[666cruiser]

There are so many things that makeup a good throw. The hight of your elbow will make a huge change in how the disc will fly. If you keep your elbow in close to your body the disc will cut back to the right. (For right handed players). The higher you lift your elbow to the flat or 90, the flater the disc will fly. Past that point the disc will come out anhyzer. This throw with enough hight will give you an S flight.

[GaryC]

As a newer player with limited power behind my throw the fore hand throw is a challenge. I do know that, when i get a good throw off, it exceeds my best backhand throw. So far the disc that seems to work the best is a 174gram Beast. I wonder if I went with a lighter disc if my distance would increase. Thanks

[666cruiser]

You can go lighter with your disc. But I would suggest stay with your Beast. It is stable and has good glide. With sidearm you need to find a disc that works with your amount of snap and arm speed. The distance will be based on how much snap you have. Spin on the disc keeps it flat. When it runs out of spin and velocity it falls off.