i just cant figure this out, how do you do it, and what discs do you find work better.

I used to have moderate success with this, but from only a certain distance...then about a month later it stopped working at all, so i gave up on it

I do a different form of the turbo putt. It is called the twist. It is the same except the disc is upside down in your hand. The best way I can describe to execute the throw....

1) Put thumb in the middle of the disc (dead center)
2) Have the pads of your fingers hold the bottom edge (which ever side is down), have a light grip.
3) Here is the big one. Roll fingers down/toward the basket, snapping your wrist, you should finish the throw pointing at the basket.

The motion is a twist, and not a push. With the disc upside down, if you miss, you will not be far from the basket.

So is a regular turbo putt the same motion and grip as the twist of yours??

yes

Awesome. i was doing it completely wrong, dont even ask how wrong cause it was too messed up to explain,

Thanks

Juliana Korvers site used to show the grip and how to turbo putt, you could look there

A couple of other points to remember for the turbo twist:

- Keep the nose up, or the disc will dive quickly.

- I find that as the distance from the basket increases, I need to raise the right edge of the disc a bit (rhbh), as it corkscrews a bit.

- I don't find that I "twist" my hand that much - I really feel like I push with my index and middle fingers.

yeah rizbee,

I was concerned with the problem most people have with the turbo/twist. They will push with all four fingers. Actually if positioned correctly, the middle and index finger do actually push the disc, but to someone who is having trouble I found it was better to emphasis the twisting motion. It's like getting big D in driving. Start of with getting control and making it fly straight, then put some hummph behind it.

The motion and follow thru that I use is close to an overhead football throw

let's have someone explain for me and others, "what is a turbo putt?"

It's the overhand, artist-formerly-known-as 'pizza pie putt'... for throwing over things in your immediate forefront

One rotates/flicks their hand in a counterclockwise manner to impart the same spin onto the disc.

One rotates/flicks their hand in a counterclockwise manner to impart the same spin onto the disc.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

The best Turbo putter in these parts, Don Moore, turbos exclusively and is accurate out to 50', and HE rotates his arm <font color="red">clockwise</font>.



Only natural, considering he's a Lefty. :p

Nyuk, nyuk...left-handed...whew.

I had to break out the turbo twist today - I gacked a few normal putts inside 20ft. and started getting the yips.

That's when I break out the twist. It's very accurate in close, but has somewhat limited range.

I turbo almost exclusivly out to about 40-45 ft. Having been an overhand sports guy most of my life (football and baseball) I just find i'm more accurate that way.

I do push the disc with my middle and index finger with a slight twisting motion. I start my hand directly behind the disc and finish to the right side as I release and followthrough. Someone said it best when they said it's almost exactly like throwing a good spiral with a football.

The one bad thing about turbo putting is wind. It is VERY difficult to turbo in winds above about 15-20MPH as the disc tends to move around on your hand as the wind blows.

For turbos up to about 40-50ft I just use all wrist spin, very little arm movement. On longer turbos(I can throw them up to 100ft) it's a combo of arm movement and wrist spin.

Don't try to push them towards the basket with your arm moving back and forth. Start close to the basket and focus on using your wrist to spin the disc. Then start moving away and seeing how much arm movement is needed at each distance. Try to use the minimun amount of arm movement needed to get the disc accurately to the basket.

There are a couple of turbo threads already.
Search for "turbo" in the subject only.

As far as spin goes, I remember teaching turbos to a newbie in Texas. He was making most of his 20-footers immediately, and I congratulated him, but something was a little off, and I had to watch about 10-15 throws until I realized it: he was spinning his turbo the wrong way! I've tried a some "screwball" turbos and, man, it's hard to do! I just told the newbie that most people turbo spin the other way, but whatever works I guess.

Quick thoughts on turbo:
1. I think turbo originally meant pushing a disc upside down into the basket. The original technique was with both hands on the (upside-down) disc, then you pushed with your throwing hand, kinda like a free throw. This was back in the day when you putted with big, fat, hard-to-hold, Whamo 80-mold lids and into Mach I baskets.
2. Then real putters came out and better-catching baskets, and the term "turbo" morphed into the right-side-up, relatively horizontal throw we have today.
3. Grip. I think a majority of people have all 4 fingers outside of the rim, with people on the east US tending to have the middle two fingers inside of the rim. I personally have my ring finger only on the inside, although middle-finger inside the rim is also good. The best grip depends on the size-length-shape of your fingers and the fat-ness of your disc. I personally think that you should try to have at least one finger inside of the rim for ease of handling, especially in the wind.
4. What disc to use. I think your everyday putter should work fine for turbos. Longer putts tend to turn over too much for most people. At that point, it might be helpful to have a more overstable disc, like a gator. I personally use a fat disc like a rattler.
5. Stance. Most people have a regular sidearm/football stance when they turbo. The other option is to put the other foot forward and throw your turbo like a dart thrower. My suggestion is that you first practice turbos from 30ft and in with a straddle stance. That allows you more options when you are stuck in the crap and need to straddle out. Practice with arms way high to get over obstacles, normal height, and also from your knees.
6. Flight path. Most people naturally throw turbos with anhyzer and nose down. I suggest that you try to throw turbos pretty flat. That means that you will probably have to concentrate at first on getting your turbos nose up and hyzer (yes it CAN be done). If you really have trouble visualizing how to nose-up hyzer, you might start out on your knees and turboing into an uphill basket.
7. Accurate turbos. Obviously the more levers engaged in your turbo putt (knee hip shoulders elbow wrist) the harder it will be to turbo accurately. For shortist turbos I would recommend: (a) straddle (b) disc close-ish to your head [and/or above your head] during the throw (c) elbow stays at the same angle throughout the throw (d) wrist stays cocked throughout the throw. (e) Smooth throw and release, cut down on grunt/snapping/jerking/etc. This should take you out to 40-foot range maybe? Longer shots require more levers engaged. Keep track of your stance and mechanics. It's a good idea to write down the mechanics of your turbo (maybe on the back of your turbo putter). That's because most people use it so rarely that it's hard to remember your key mechanics and thoughts when you need to use it.

I turbo putt pretty well. It's a great short upshot, because it almost never goes far past if you miss.

There's plenty of good advice here already, but I'll chip in a couple thoughts:

I use more push than spin. This creates a very wobbly flight that tends to hold a straight line and drop quickly. I've found that with more spin, the disc flies better, and I increase the chance of blowing by the basket.

Aiming is all about feel. I only break out the turbo putt when I really feel it, i.e. when I step up to my lie and immediately think "turbo". Obviously, you can't learn the shot if you only practice it at times like these, so you'll have to break that rule for a while. Once you have it down, I find it's best not to overthink the turbo putt. Just step up and launch it.

So the PDGA Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/PDGA) leads off this morning with:

Morning #discgolf (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23discgolf) tip: They may seem strange, but at some point a turbo putt will come in handy.


Really? In fifteen years of playing both casual golf & tournament golf, and watching the best players in the world compete in National Tours, USDGCs & Pro Worlds, I have never seen a scenario where I thought a turbo putt was required, or even a favored technique in the situation. Yes, even when a player was confronted with chest high obstacles.

Please enlighten me. :confused:

So the PDGA Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/PDGA) leads off this morning with:



Really? In fifteen years of playing both casual golf & tournament golf, and watching the best players in the world compete in National Tours, USDGCs & Pro Worlds, I have never seen a scenario where I thought a turbo putt was required, or even a favored technique in the situation. Yes, even when a player was confronted with chest high obstacles.

Please enlighten me. :confused:

Standing in a group of bushes close to 6ft tall, approx 25ft from the basket, I ended up having to use a turbo putt. This has been the only time that I needed to use one. Most times I'll use an overhead or sidearm flick to get me out of these situations.

For those that know how to do it, an upside down (reverse?) turbo can be a safer shot in heavy wind. I just throw upside down backhand putts in those conditions. But guys like Tom Monroe, Mark Martin, Steve Slasor and maybe Gregg Hosfeld are some who you might see do it if only the cameras were on their divisions.

So the PDGA Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/PDGA) leads off this morning with:



Really? In fifteen years of playing both casual golf & tournament golf, and watching the best players in the world compete in National Tours, USDGCs & Pro Worlds, I have never seen a scenario where I thought a turbo putt was required, or even a favored technique in the situation. Yes, even when a player was confronted with chest high obstacles.

Please enlighten me. :confused:
The phrase "your mileage may vary" comes to mind. In my thirteen years of playing casual & tournament golf, including in NTs, USDGCs, and Worlds, I have found myself in many situations in which a turbo putt was my best option. And every time I was glad that I actually put some time into practicing it because I'm convinced that it has saved me strokes.

I'm not especially confident with my forehand putt, and I'm extremely awkward and uncoordinated when trying to throw a putt at chest height. The turbo affords me a much more comfortable attempt when I'm behind or within bushes that obstruct my low-swing, low-release style putt.

I think that tweet offers great advice. Not just about the turbo, but simply the concept of trying and occasionally practicing throws and styles that aren't particularly common. The more well-rounded one's skill-set is, the better off the player will be.

I think that tweet offers great advice. Not just about the turbo, but simply the concept of trying and occasionally practicing throws and styles that aren't particularly common. The more well-rounded one's skill-set is, the better off the player will be.

I'm 100% agreed on that part. And while everyone's mileage may vary, I think the number of actual occurrences where these other shots are needed dictate such. Forehand rollers, tomahawks, sidearms, scoobers, etc. are extremely valuable escape shots and can shave strokes off your game, and if you're like me, you'll need them at least once if not several times per round. :D

The turbo on the other hand is just something that I think is so entirely rare, and something that could typically be accomplished with other shots, that I struggle to see a need to practice it. To that point, I'm sure that at some point in my disc golf career I'm going to need to underhand toss a disc like a bowling ball. It's tough to imagine such a lie / stance / scenario, but I'm sure one will come up some day. However, I'm not about to go out and spend one half hour practicing the shot next time I'm warming up before a round.

I wouldn't waste my time practicing turbo putts either. If I put any extra time into my normal putt routine, I will practice around trees, uphills, downhills, while on knee, throw across by body using an anhyzer putt, or even several FH putts, but no extra time for a turbo.

So the PDGA Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/PDGA) leads off this morning with:



Really? In fifteen years of playing both casual golf & tournament golf, and watching the best players in the world compete in National Tours, USDGCs & Pro Worlds, I have never seen a scenario where I thought a turbo putt was required, or even a favored technique in the situation. Yes, even when a player was confronted with chest high obstacles.

Please enlighten me. :confused:

You should follow John E. McCray around sometime. The beauty of the 60-70 ft. turbo putt is that it is pretty much impossible to throw it more than about 10 ft. past the basket. He "runs" these putts, but never has a come-backer to worry about.