I've been playing for 2 months, and am interested in improving my driving distance. I've read that a strong grip allows you to throw further, so I bought a powerball and have been working on my grip strength. I've seen an increase in strength, but have realized recently that I'm not sure how this translates into more distance. Should I actually be gripping the disc as hard as I can at the point of release? If so, can someone explain how this increases distance, as it seems counterintuitive to me. Thanks.

-Kevin

Lots of things improve distance, and most of those things require a strong grip. But having a strong grip by itself doesn't improve distance. You have to do the other things.

Kevin, most of the grip strength necessary to throw far involves the index and middle finger flexors. Squeezing a rubber ball or using normal spring operated grip devices like the Jarvis' do would probably work best for the power grip. The other muscles that need strength are the finger and wrist extensors. You can hook a disc up to a bungee or specifically designed stretcher cord and go through the mechanical throwing motions while exagerating the forward wrist motion. Fred Salaz was marketing a device that would work for that. (I forget the name right now. Sorry Fred)Or you can go to a big field with 10 discs and throw 10 sets of 10 hard throws on a regular basis. This last method will allow you to improve everthing at once if you pay attention to the feedback you are getting from the feel of the disc in your hand, all of your body motions and rhythms, and the way the disc is flying. If you really want to get good. You are going to have to throw real throws, real hard, many times. How many times is up to you and how well you pay attention to the feedback you get when you throw.

The device for improving throwing strength/distance is called the Equalizer. Contact Fred Salaz at [email protected] if you are interested.

I disagree. There are two types of muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers are stronger and have more endurance, but they are slow. Fast twitch fibers are not as strong but they are fast. Everybody has both types...fast twitch for moving quickly and slow twitch for strength. Some people have more of one type than the other.

Throwing for distance requires fast twitch fibers. The equalizer and other strength training devices build slow twitch fibers. It will make your arm stronger but not necessarily the best for throwing distance because it doesn't train fast twitch fibers.

The best way to build fast twitch fibers is to throw more.

Morgan, you are RIGHT ON! Also, the Powerball helps. It strengthens your hand and forearm. Tighter grip = more spin = more distance!

Kevin, Dave may be able to lead you to a past dialogue revolving around form and distance. He has the uncanny ability to break down the disc golf shot in lay terms.

Morgan, what are you disagreeing with?

I used to practice throwing a disc with a COUPLE of pennies super glued to the bottom. I'm not sure if it was a good idea or bad.

Kid Roc, help me with where your going with tigher grip=more distance. I'd be wary of advising beginers to "squeeze the crap out of it" if that is what you meant.

tighter grip = more spin. the more spin you have, the more lift your disc can get, which keeps it in the air longer. that means it goes farther.

Danny, You are correct but I also think that you'd probably find that most of the big bombers would tell you their grip is firm not overbearing. Their are so many variables that go into a long drive. I see you live in Arlington. Nolan has one of the best forms I've ever seen. The only unorthodox part of his form is he bends his wrist slightly more than most in his back swing. The results are pretty good though.

kevin, there is a point where players can overgrip. i have seen cases where players grip too hard and cause full rigidity of their wrist, forearm, and sometimes even their upper arm. since the shoulders pull the arm in a whipping motion, the arm must be able to move freely in this motion and rigid muscles (beyond what is needed to keep the disc on a pull line, etc.) can slow this motion down. also related, if the wrist is too tight before the rip point, it may not give the bending-unbending-stop process that is the source of "snap."

the only time the wrist/grip needs to be very tight is at the release as increased grip strength will give a greater rebound force off the finger pads. this requires a lot of feel and timing.

blake t.
http://www.discgolfreview.com/

Thanks for all the responses guys. Blake basically hit on exactly what I was thinking.

One other little bit to add to what Blake said is that your grip strength or pressure when the disc is popping or ripping from your grip, for the most part, determines how far your disc flies. In other words, a softer grip for shorter distances and a firmer grip for farther. This applies only to the grip pulse when your disc pops from your grip. All other grip pressure is only relevant to keeping the disc in your hand and oriented properly before the hit. The implications are: if your grip pulse pressure is mistimed or inadequate to transfer the power you generate (even if it is a lot), you can't throw far. If you are unable to generate a sufficient grip pulse, you will never be able to throw far. On the other hand, if you can generate a powerful grip pulse, and use it with proper mechanics, rhythm, and timing, you will be able to throw far even if you are small. Five foot four inch women can throw 350 ft. Five foot six inch men can throw 400 ft. Taller has a leverage advantage over shorter, but shorter can be quicker.

In ball golf, the usual wisdom is that you keep your grip as soft as possible and still have positive control of the club. This results in a more whipping release and greater clubhead speed, and a usually better frame of mind than the "grip it and rip it" thought. I've done this very soft grip naturally since I was a kid and have great ball golf distance (wish that would translate to disc golf http://www.pdga.com/discus/clipart/happy.gif).

HOWEVER, I noticed, after a summer of ball golf practicing, that my wrist and finger joints are getting ripped up. My theory is that this new damage is a combination of (1) loose grip (2) unnecessary torquing from bad technique, and (3) not enough muscle strength/mass to help support the tendons and ligaments involved.

My thinking is, does this theory translate over to disc golf? That perhaps the safest thing to tell amateurs to do is to (1) strengthen your wrist/hand/arm with powerballs and equalizers before throwing hard, (2) grip the disc strong and not much wrist **** and release, and (3) perhaps get the idea of throwing the disc more with the palm and knuckles, rather than the fingers. This can sacrifice distance, snap, and touch, but will save the joints until such time as the amateur golfer can build a good support structure for the critical ligaments and tendons. Then when the structure is built up better and his technique improves, the golfer can start working his focus more into his fingertips, with more wrist release and more snap. I think this is especially important for the young (under 16, bones not set) and the old (over 40, recuperative failings).

Or am I just talking out of my you-know-what? http://www.pdga.com/discus/clipart/happy.gif

I am not discounting your theory, but just want to note a critical difference between ball and disc golf, which might be pertinent here. The energy transfer in ball golf is at the club head. The energy transfer in disc golf is at the fingers.

I never use a power grip.

Kenny, how tight or loose do you hold the disc?

I don't use the power grip either, my fingers are flared out on the bottomside of the disc... but I'm hanging on to it just about as hard as I can (almost).

Or am I misunderstanding what a power grip is?
I thought it was curling your fingers under so that your fingernails are digging in.

Four finger pads/tips on the inside verticalwall of the rim.

I throw off of my index finger exclusively(backhand). My index and pinkie are on the vertical wall, but with just barely any pressure at all. My other two fingers flare toward the middle of the disc. It's a wonder I don't drop the disc more often. I used to use the power grip for rollers only, but I discovered the "control grip" to be superior (for me) for rollers as well. I'll take accuracy over distance just about any time.

Addendum: Look into Frank Jobe's exercises for the rotator cuff and perform upper back exercises (ex: rowing, lat pulls). These will increase strength and distance. Make sure the Jobe's are done extremely slow and correctly with minimal weight. Don't get macho or you will disrupt the natural balance of the 3 small muscles that make up the rotator cuff. Off to our weekly! Out...KL

We need MitchMac to extoll the merits of the pinch grip http://www.pdga.com/discus/clipart/happy.gif

The dude has raw, natural power.

Morgan Has It Right and You said it best "this requires a lot of feel and timing" That's what we call fast twitch musscle control, peronaly I use Power grip's on Groved Rim's such as found in Lightning Disk Products.

Try taking a bathroom towl and put it in a tub of water. Then you can go outside and act like you are popping one of your friends with it. IMO you grip shouldn't be any tighter than you would need to hold on to the water drenched towl. That last second "snap" you would use to "pop" the towl is the same last second "snap" you would use to throw a disc. Your grip shouldn't be tight except for the very end of your motion.

But of course this is just my opinion.

I subscribe to a different method when it comes to grip pressure. Essentially, I set the pressure with my thumb and forefinger on the tee pad and hold it throughout the throw. There is a corresponding psi for the distance I wish to throw. Typically, the farther, the tighter. This seems to be more consistent for me - I'm not trying to time a squeeze with the moment of release. My wrist could be traveling as fast as 45mph and trying to time such a thing perfectly causes me to miss.

I think many people probably grip too tightly and do not consider grip pressure when practicing. Furthermore, it's very important to keep the whole arm tense, in conjunction with the grip, to form a stiff (yet flexible) "club/bullwhip". I see a lot of throwers that are too loose. The symptons are early release, loss of distance, labored drives, and nose-up hyzers.

You can't pop a piece of yarn like a wet towel because there is no stiffness. Rigidity allows you to store potenial energy in your arm and wrist. You are simulating the whip of a golf club with your arm.

Lastly, throw the whole arm-assembly with the shoulders and pull close to the body. Do not use tricepts muscles to throw.

peace

Powerball!

It's impossible to extend your arm if you don't use your triceps!

The idea is to use centrifugal force to open your arm with a uniform acceleration generated by your torso spin. It's difficult to do by timing your tricepts, and causes left and right missess. If you aren't pulling the arms around with the shoulders then you may be manually opening your arm with speed for long distance. The problem then becomes that the throw is initiated with more than one set of muscle groups which may or may not be accelerating properly (ie. legs and arm). Timing is difficult. The throw should start with a push against the ground by the rear leg.

The technique allows you to slow down your entire throw quite significantly and thus add accuracy. Only the wrist needs to be traveling at "launch velocity" at the moment of release.

A braided, leather bull-whip does not bend, it flexes. So should your arm.

Good Times

Just for grins about a month ago, as I was practicing my distance, I tried throwing with the Bonopane grip. I was amazed to see that I was throwing up to 30ft farther with it. It also has an advantage when throwing in a tailwind because the grip actually forces the disc to be thrown with a greater leading edge down, which allows the disc to catch the tailwind.

I can't think of a "stronger" grip than that one. My accuracy is a little bit less, and, for me, it puts a slight anhyzer tendency to the release angle, but I can sure feel the "rip" when I use it.

I have been using the bonopane grip for a while now because it forces the nose down. I laughed when I first saw that grip but tried it a few times and found that it worked for me. But I'm hardly a big arm--not much of an endorsement. It does tend to generate comments and odd looks, though.

what is the Bonopane grip?

Your index-finger is curled over 'and' on top of your thumb which is on top of the flightplate.

That's right, but I have a hard time visualizing it by reading it that way. For the rest of you impaired ones, how about this def:

Make a fist, placing your thumb between your index and middle finger, with the thumbtip up against the webbing between those 2 fingers. The disc would then be between your thumb and the middle finger.

Some people who use it a lot need to tape the middle finger up, because of the bottom of the disc "scraping" against it.

Good description--definitely hard to visualize that grip without seeing it in person. I guess I throw a modified-bonopane--my index finger is curled on top of the flight plate, but is not under the thumb.

OK...so that "thumb crushing" grip, is called the Bonopane grip?

I know the grip in question, but found it highly difficult to adapt to, so went back to my 2 finger power grip.

I have read people talk about they got mroe distance, by switching to 4 fingers...

I started with 4, then went to 3, and picked up distance, then to 2 fingers, and picked up even more distance....

Than again, we all know I'm weird.... :cool:

I'll give it a try

The bonopane, and one or two finger grip sound promising, I have to get the soccer field to try them out

Gotta say, gave the Bonopane grip a try when I was practicing a couple days ago...very firm grip. Surprising how much more "firm" my shots felt...nice distance boost too (my 220' shot (personal best) was with this grip)... I may work with it some more...

Are there any pictures online just to make sure I'm doing it correctly?