O.K. I have open holes figured out. I even have a good drive for tight wooded holes when I am practicing in a field. The problem is transfering the practice onto the course. I am sick and tired of playing long holes of 500ft in par or better, but not being able to hit the fairway on a tree lined hole. It feels like if I try to throw with the appropriate spin needed I don't have a bit of accuracy, but if I focus and hit the "hole" of the fairway, I don't get enough speed and the disc goes short and left. Any tips or disc recommendations would be extremely helpful here.

I would say throw a midrange (Roc up the middle for instance). I have better accuracy with a midrange, probably due to the greater diameter and it is more likely to stay straight without fading at the end. Ask yourself, is it better to be short butin the fairway or play plinko through the trees on the second shot most of time?

Second, visualize your shot. See the line of your disc flight and then throw it.

Last, don't throw hard but do a short run-up and throw it at 75% power on your imaginary line. Midrangers float and go a considerable distance with the right snap but it's more in the wrist than arm. Work on a smooth release instead of power and you will be able to hit your spots better.

Anyway...that's my free advice. Hope it's worth it :D

-Max

my only advice on wooded holes is to learn to concentrate on strictly throwing through the hole. have it set in your head that you are gettin through the gap, and whatever you do don't worry about smacking a tree because then 9 out of 10 times it WILL happen.

A few suggestions:

Practice, practice, practice. :)

Especially practice in an open field. Take a bunch of soccer flags/cones/2L soda bottles filled with water/sand/etc. and use them to create a practice fairway. Work on keeping your disc in the fairway. Start with straight fairways and work up to hyzer and anhyzer fairways. Also, start with generous (wide) fairways and narrow them as you become more proficient.

Go to a soccer field and set up your practice fairway. Starting 150' from one soccer goal, throw all your discs at the goal. If 80% of your throws land in the goal and stay in the fairway the entire flight, back up 20' and repeat; if 80% land in the goal but go outside the fairway at some point in the flight, throw another set from that distance; if less than 80% land in the goal, move in 20'. Start with generous fairways and tighten them up as you become more proficient.

If you're fortunate enough to find a soccer goal (or, better yet, a lacrosse goal) without a net, set up a target 50' away on one side of the goal and throw through the goal from 50' on the other side, and work your way up to 300' total distance. (Don't always have the goal half way between your lie and the target. You're working on hitting a particular gap at a given distance in front of the teepad/ your lie.) As you become more proficient, start moving your lie left/right to simulate hitting the gap on a hyzer/anhyzer hole.

In terms of course management, instead of aiming at the "hole"/gap, visualize the line from the teepad/your lie through the hole to the basket, then pick a "window" on that line 1/4-1/3 of the way to the hole and aim for that window. (Depending on the shape of the fairway, there may be two or more windows to hit on the way to the basket.) If you can consistently hit your window(s) with sufficient speed and angle to get to the basket, the result will take care of itself (assuming you picked the right window. :D) I generally pick window 40-50' in front of the teepad/lie and can usually tell whether or not I've made a good throw before I've finished my follow-through.

Finally, practice on tight, wooded holes. Instead of playing an entire round every time you go to the course, pick one or two holes that give you trouble and throw them repeatedly. If you're paying attention, you'll quickly figure out what your problems are and what adjustments you need to make to correct them; conversely, when you make a good throw, you can take the time to analyze what you did and try to repeat it. If you simply play the hole and move on, how do you know whether your bad shot was a result of faulty mechanics, faulty timing, faulty aim, or a combination of the three, and how will you correct it?

If you already know how to throw for big distances, you probably also know all about hyser flips. These are your friends in the woods.

For wooded shots, you should probably use straighter discs with minimal fade. I prefer DX Teebirds, but if DX plastic doesn't work out for you, the Champion Leopard might be a good canidate. I haven't thrown Champion plastic since they recently made it better so I can't really comment on current Champion discs. Just make sure you use a disc with little fade so your hyser flips don't turn into huge hyser bombs.


Practice is key, and the ROC and XD are my main discs in the woods. I also just got a Champion Viking so we will see how that works out.

I I haven't thrown Champion plastic since they recently made it better



When was this?

Well basically I don't have any experience since they changed from proline to champion and the very early champion stuff. Current champion plastic is alot different and much, much better.

I just found a new Champ Viking with no contact info, so I guess I'll have to see how it works.

Ah, I see.

I agree with the ones that say throw a midrange and just keep it in the fairway.

Also always look at the place on the fairway that you want your disc to go. From personal experience if I look at a tree right before I throw, I tend to hit that tree.

I agree with discgraham. Classic Rocs and XDs seem to fly straight. A good JLS or QJ will fly straight also if you practice the shot. Try to stay with the midrange plastic and throw it 70%. Don't get too aggressive though. Most of all, PRACTICE!! /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Kingrat Tipz (http://www.geocities.com/kingrat6931/)

When I was just a little kid learning to ski in the trees, my step-mom gave me a piece of advice that also applies here. "Aim for the holes between the trees, not the trees."

The way I do it in the trees is to visualize the flight path of my disc, then I pick a spot that is in line with the release point of my throw and aim for that. This works with straight lines, hyzers and anhyzers. If it is a straight path to the pin, that is all I look at. If I need a hyzer fade at the end or a hyzer turn all the way through, I tend to pick a point past the first opening or "gateway" and use that to focus my release point with the proper adjustments made to my wrist to cause the proper flight path. The same goes for anhyzers.\

Basically, I've found that focusing on the flight I want rather than the trees gives me a lot of success. Remember, if you hit your flight path, you won't hit any trees.

Another key is to not carry frustration from one shot to another. If you pound a tree three feet in front of the teepad, relax, don't be all frustrated on your next shot that is actually fifty feet behind where you started from. Play every shot for itself and you will have a lot better results than if you are thinking about your last sucky shot.

and as always, have fun! :cool:

My number one suggestion is to learn how to 'stand and deliver.' Line your heels up in the direction you want to throw and don't take a run-up. Either groove throwing accurately with this stance alignment, or if your natural release groove seems to be slightly left or right, then adjust your angle to a position that works for you. Practicing the stand and deliver will help you in several lies in addition to just throwing straighter in the woods. The longer you can learn to throw without a run-up, the more accurate you will become.

For more distance in the woods, I use slightly beat up discs that are already not too stable models like Valks or T-birds and throw them with a hyzer release toward the left side of the fairway. This 'reverese' S-shaped flight path seems easier to control than throwing the standard S-shaped route you get with a newer version of those discs thrown with a little anhyzer and hoping to control the hyzer out at the end.

Thankfully, unless the course designer is EVIL you will not have too many tight wooded holes over 350ft. And even those should be fairly open. (Long/Open, short/tight) if the design is opposite it is just not fun or fair.

Basically in the woods, I use a beat up Buzzz. Similar to a Roc, it is a straight disc that beats into a great turn over disc. At 80-100% power the disc for me turns right, 60-75% power it will go straight, and less then that it will fade left.

On top of it all, throw what you can control. Beat up midranges work best for me because they are the most versatile. In our wooded holes I just need the Buzzz and an Aviar. Unless you are playing at Shelby Neeman Forest in Memphis TN, then usually your fairways are much bigger then the disc, and trees are only the size of a disc. So the mathematics of the likelihood of your disc actually hitting a tree is really low. Think of that, and relax on the tee pad and visualize the disc going down the center of the fairway.

I agree with the beat up mid ranges..my go to disc for wooded holes is my beat to hell ROC depending on the hole I may use an older XS or Polaris LS. Everyone who says visualize the disc going through the openings not the trees is right. On open holes, I just pick a spot I want it to land, but i try that on wooded holes and smack at least one tree without fail.

Beat up discs are key...take a disc that is pretty straight and throw it a tree (full speed, and very close), when you find yourself in a tight spot you can throw it with extreme hyzer and know that it will still stand up. Most of the best golfers I have met have at least one disc in their bag that is beat beyond repair. Just my .02

EVIL course designers? No such thing!

All the above is good info.
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Too big a bite in the woods leads to choking :)

A good exercise is to play 3-disc worse shot in the woods, using midrange discs.
Comets and MSes are good midranges too in addition to Roc/wasp/buzz.
Drive with 3 midranges.
Do 3 midrange upshots from your worse lie.
Etc etc, until you hole out.
The idea is only attempt makeable throws.
That means executing a planned shot correctly 90% of the time.
Maybe that's only 150 feet for you. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Also means 5 seconds on the tee/lie, not 30 seconds trying for perfect shots.
Eventually you'll develop better strategy/scoring without max D.
Also means less frustration, better composure and etiquette.
Plus you're not looking like such an idiot.
Plus you're not slowing everybody down, hurting their scores too.
Bonus: clearer head means you'll putt better after throwing long exhausting wood hole.
Sure, rip a wood hole once in awhile if you're feeling it.
But that's the exception to the rule.

Good luck

I agree with discgraham. Classic Rocs and XDs seem to fly straight.



I didn't say anything about Classic Rocs but they are also great discs! Classic Rocs and XDs are very similar discs. Just use something straight like most midranges.

Also, Aviars make great discs for wooded shots. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Aviar and XD are putters. They can both be thrown well over 250' easily.

wood courses. rollers, rollers, rollers, and tomahawk backside kick flips, and don't forget to lay-up sometimes.

Low line drive thumbers can/will finish right for RHers (if executed correctly, of course! /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif).

Just learn to throw midranges low and straight. Everything(hyzer/ anhyzer, down/ uphill) else will come after you're mastered that. Also, you might want to think about rollers for longer wooded holes. They can sneak through the trees, and if they hit one they'll most likely stay there instead of bouncing 50ft away.

I currently have multiple driving styles. One that I learned before I played a lot on a wooded course, and still use for anything but tight wooded courses. The other style I learned because I needed more control. I only use it when I'm driving with a Midrange on a hole under 300'. It's kind of weird to have two very different driving styles, but that's what works for me. Don't be afraid to try out some new driving technuiqes, especially if you see a pro having a lot of success with then on a tight course.

I play a wooded course all the time, and I almost never see anyone(including myself) playing position golf when the hole is reachable. Say you have a 250ft hole that has an tight "S" shape. Almost everyone goes for the "S" shot because by the distance they can reach the hole. No one just lays up 125ft to the bend with a putter, then takes another 125ft shot to get to the pin. If you can approach really well this method may work for you. People may laugh at you at first for laying up to the halfway point on a short hole, but you'll have the last laugh when you total up the scores.

In my experience a good thumber is the best trick, as long as there is not a low ceiling of branches. It usually cuts through tight spots with no problems. Get used to throwing it first though, it is a little tricky to tune.