I was out playing the other day and I thought of what pimp was saying about accelerating through the motion. I concentrated on the motion right before release and added just a bit of curled wrist and focused on control. I put one out there with about 75% power and it seamed to go straighter for longer. This was on a fairly tight hole which focused more on a straight flight path with not much room to hyzer. To my amazement it followed straight down the fairway and cut left right before the pin. I ended up 20 feet to the left of the pin. I thought of this guy who stpped up at Lago Vista and barely threw his disc and parked a 420 foot hole. Is this the secret to his gracefull yet soaring throw? Mmmmm.......testing continues.

A spinning disc keeps more air underneath it and therefore will stay in the air longer with equal or less force applied to the forward vector.

And on most stable discs, the faster/longer it spins the longer it will stay straight. I tend to do this more with mid range approaches less than 300ft. I take out a straight disc, throw mainly with my forearm and wrist, generating a lot of spin and float the disc to the basket when I do not have the hyzer approach. It is similar to how you would throw an UltraStar.

PS, forgive me if I am a little bit off on my physics on disc areodynamics, it has been a while since my last physics class. 4 years to be exact.

If you ever have a chance watch Vinnie or Joel K throw they are great examples of what you are talking about. They both also have great disc control!! :D

Snap=Spin

snap is not a controlled spin. It is forcing the disc. I like the little lofty throw I am developing. I usually only used this throw on my qjls for those holes that are 250-300 and straight. Now I wanna concetrate more on the acceleration of the pull through and get them out there with more control and less force.

mike , practise throwing annies and s shots with more stable discs, throwing them flat!! you have to put more spin on your disc to achieve this!! :D

Like a flick? I dont even no if it is possible to make that disc stay in an anny. I am sure if you generate an incredable amount of off axis tourque it could happen, but you would have to have one hell of an arm to do it.

What kinda discs do you recomend?

A flick is pretty easy to throw anhyzer without off axis torque.

Is this the secret to his gracefull yet soaring throw?



secret = snap.

there are ways to manipulate spin but there isn't a lot of potential benefit from my experiences and the difference in flight is minimal at best unless you can say, double your RPM's or cut your RPM's in half, neither of which is an option for most people.

the easiest way to manipulate spin imo is to work with different grips. from my experiences, grips that have greater strength differences between the lock and rip will generate less spin than grips where the lock and rip strength is closer together.
example of low difference: power grip, index rip vs. 3 fingers lock.

example of high difference: fan grip, middle finger middle knuckle rip vs. pinkey lock.

there is one thing i should mention... these are working under the assumption that you get the same amount of snap with both grips, which is rarely true, especially since most grips have varying degrees of lock strength.

Gonna piggie back on this thread since I think it may be related.


How do I get more "glide" from the disc? I'm getting power to the disc but can't keep them in the air.
I've read to throw low and am getting better at that, but if my discs would glide better I'd get another 100 feet. (good throw for me is 250, I'm new gimme a break :D )

Gonna piggie back on this thread since I think it may be related.


How do I get more "glide" from the disc? I'm getting power to the disc but can't keep them in the air.
I've read to throw low and am getting better at that, but if my discs would glide better I'd get another 100 feet. (good throw for me is 250, I'm new gimme a break :D )



Thats all dependant on the disc...what are you throwing right now?

Gonna piggie back on this thread since I think it may be related.


How do I get more "glide" from the disc? I'm getting power to the disc but can't keep them in the air.
I've read to throw low and am getting better at that, but if my discs would glide better I'd get another 100 feet. (good throw for me is 250, I'm new gimme a break :D )



What discs are you using?

I found that to get the maximum glide out of a disc you need to throw it with the nose down enough and fast enough to reach it's "crusing speed" as Blake calls it. It's easy to get a putter to glide well because it doesn't require the nose to be down as much and it doesn't need to be thrown all that fast. Midrange discs fall into the same category. Once you get to the higher speed, widder rimmed drivers you need to have the technique to throw them fast and nose down or they won't ever glide.

You might want to search around in here for threads where people talk about their midrange discs going just as far as their drivers. There's a lot of good information about speed, glide and nose angle in there that might help.

How do I get more "glide" from the disc? I'm getting power to the disc but can't keep them in the air.
I've read to throw low and am getting better at that, but if my discs would glide better I'd get another 100 feet. (good throw for me is 250, I'm new gimme a break :D )



garu is correct in that it is a factor of nose angle and speed. it is also about height though.

there is a misconception that discs should be thrown very low that has arisen because most players struggle to get the nose down when throwing high. over the past year i have met a lot of players that pride themselves in having a low throw. personally, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me since it isn't a limbo contest :) in an area where most people throw low, i pride myself in learning the high route (e.g. knife hyzer 60' high that still goes 275').

something you'll learn over time is that an aviar/challenger/wizard won't go 350' on an 8' high line drive and that throw will have to be at least 20' high and probably higher. discs will always fall towards the ground, giving them the ability to carry a distance before they run out of gas is the key.

this is most noticeable with slower discs that do not have a wide rim.

I have had a very difficult time learning to throw nose-down AND get the 20-40' of height needed for a complete flight path.

Are there any good techniques or drills to help learn this?

From what I have gleaned, getting the disc 30' up in the air with a nose-down trajectory is all about a powerful pull and hit. The few times I have done this successfully was with a hyzer-flip line, because it naturally rises until it flattens.
However, this requires lots of room, and is not a good "line-drive" golf shot.

Whenever I actively try to throw high with nose-down, I end up air bouncing the disc like a clay pigeon. ("PULL...") :o

Thanks guys.


As far as driver discs I use regularly (in order) Z-Xpress(173), a KC Gazelle(174), DX Gazelle(170),Champion Eagle(172)(only use this for left dogleg shots).
I've been thinking of going lower weight (165) & trying a sidewinder.


"Once you get to the higher speed, widder rimmed drivers you need to have the technique to throw them fast and nose down or they won't ever glide."


Maybe I don't enough to throw the extra long stuff yet.
I've gotten the KC to glide but is sometimes unpredictable, the Z-xpress is awesome & will fly nice I straight and good distance, but I can't get it to hang in the air.
Practice practice :D

Thanks again for everyones help. We (at least I) really appreciate the time you guys put in to help us.

No Snap...........Curl your wrist more , outside the rim...............Pull all the way back.............release Flat.................Shaaaaaaazzzzzzzzaaaaaaammmmm mm !!!!! :eek:

Cruising speed is hard to judge. The easiest way to see if you are reaching cruising speed is if you get a tiny amount of right turn in the early 1/3 of the flight on a flat level throw. It would be most noticable on the X-Press, as eagles and gazelles will not give you much high speed right turn. (RHBH)

I am not sure about the Gazelle, but the others you listed need at least 20' of height or more for a full distance throw.

Cruising speed is hard to judge. The easiest way to see if you are reaching cruising speed is if you get a tiny amount of right turn in the early 1/3 of the flight on a flat level throw. It would be most noticable on the X-Press, and eagles and gazelles will not give you much right high speed turn.

I am not sure about the Gazelle, but the others you listed need at least 20' of height or more for a full distance throw.



Sounds good.............wonder if he is ready for that yet ? /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

As far as driver discs I use regularly (in order) Z-Xpress(173), a KC Gazelle(174), DX Gazelle(170),Champion Eagle(172)(only use this for left dogleg shots).
I've been thinking of going lower weight (165) & trying a sidewinder.



well... champ/z plastic really doesn't glide at all compared to d/dx/pro/x plastic. i would say that half of it is the plastic, the other half is the disc weight (i would definitely recommend going lighter).


I have had a very difficult time learning to throw nose-down AND get the 20-40' of height needed for a complete flight path.

Are there any good techniques or drills to help learn this?



well, first off, it is very hard to throw high, nose down, and flat. it is MUCH easier to get there committing to a hyzer/anhyzer. my advice is to "aim higher." pick a target point to throw through that is close and higher than you would normally throw. finish strong and try to throw through that point. the mechanics should happen on their own.

also, if executed cleanly, you can throw a hyzer-flip straight ahead and have it simply rise and flatten. this is more difficult to perform than pushing a hyzer flip out to the left though.

Thanks again.


well... champ/z plastic really doesn't glide at all compared to d/dx/pro/x plastic. i would say that half of it is the plastic, the other half is the disc weight (i would definitely recommend going lighter).


I don't wanna turn this into an 'equipment' thread but what would you (or anyone) suggest if not the sidewinder (according to Innova it's "super-glidy" and beginner friendly.
I know what's lacking in my throwing & that's wrist movement. When I concentrate on bending the wrist back & letting it snap forward is when I get my best drives.
But yes, none of my current discs do the highspeed right turn. Not even the express. It tends to stay nice & straight with little fade at the end.
The only disc I've thrown that did a high speed right turn for me well was a Cheetah. Unfortunatley, I've lost both I've owned.
And yes, I would also like to go down on disc weight until I get better.

Thanks as always.

(and thanks for the the help with the suggested height I should be getting, I'd say I don't throw them higher than 10-15 feet)

technique is often defined by equipment as equipment is often defined by technique.

my advice is to avoid higher end plastic and look at drivers in the 1990-1999 range. stable to understable drivers that will help build technique (in somewhat chronological order): raven, cyclone, gazelle, cheetah, polaris ls, voyager, XL, leopard, eagle, teebird.

discs on the cusp (came out in 2000): JLS, Valkyrie, XS.

i may be missing some.

technique is often defined by equipment as equipment is often defined by technique.

my advice is to avoid higher end plastic and look at drivers in the 1990-1999 range. stable to understable drivers that will help build technique (in somewhat chronological order): raven, cyclone, gazelle, cheetah, polaris ls, voyager, XL, leopard, eagle, teebird.

discs on the cusp (came out in 2000): JLS, Valkyrie, XS.

i may be missing some.



All good suggestions. You could try the Pro Teebird-L. The Pro plastic seems to glide really well and the Teebird-L is fairly understable and doesn't have much fade.

i second the notion for getting some innova pro line plastic if you're looking for more glide. i'm fairly new to the game, too, and don't throw too much farther than 300'... when i got some proline discs i noticed i could finally flip them and make them hold that line a lot longer before the low speed fade came. my discs were finally taking a similar flight path to all the locals that bomb 'em 350' to 450'. My drives were getting a little extra 5-10% more distance.
if the Teebird-L is too understable (which may happen once it's broken in) try an Orc or Starfire... they'll both get pretty darn understable once they get beat in. My pro Orc is much flippier than my champion sidewinder... it's all in the plastic!

yeah, too bad you can't get your hands on a special edition teebird

I got an old SE arch angel :D

I just found out today that my TL apparently is stupid understable. Makes it so I have a good gliding, understable driver that isn't especially fast.
I love it, but it isn't the same disc anymore. The trouble is, I forgot about how different it is from my CFR TL when I went to throw the CFR the other day. Whoops...that CFR is going on one year old and it still throws the same as the day I got it...

I had a nice cfr tl with a logo I came up with, and then I left it on a hole during a doubles tourny on my home course mind you and never heard a word about it. snif snif

Hmmmmmmmm...........Still enjoy , throwing my CE Red TL......... /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif