After learning the basics of disc golf and then kinda forgettin about it for a few years, I've been playing seriously for a few months. I finally decided to learn to throw forehand and have had pretty good results with a chamion firebird (171g). My problem is I can't seem to throw any mid-range discs well forehand and don't have the control to throw shorter shots with the firebird. Thanks for your help.

p.s the midrange discs I have tried are dx shark, dx roc, kc pro roc, kc pro aviar.

You may want to try using less arm motion and conecntrating on flicking your wrist more. Also experiment with nose angles. I find my midrange discs and putters fly better when I try and throw them more nose up (but still relatively flat) when throwing forehand.

I'm finding that a short forehand shot (<200') with a putter is extremely useful and can be super accurate.

I can't put any power into my forehands at all, so the only time I can realluse a forehand is on a mid or approach. For me the best disc is a dx roc with more snap than arm

I second what has already been said. Use a lot less arm speed/motion - when throwing a putter you want a short controlled motion and a clean snap. Also, you will want to release the disc slightly higher up than you would with a driver. The best way to practice this is actually to get about 40 or 50 feet from the basket and practice throwing short distances. Try releasing the disc at different angles - a slight bit of anhyzer is best for me. Any putter will work for this kind of shot, but I recommend something stable like a challenger (soft or pro d) or maybe an aviar.

This will take practice, but is an extremely useful shot to have. It is excellent for tight gaps, navigating trees or if you have off balance footing.

Just like everyone else has mentioned, use less arm and concentrate on a "smooth" snap of the wrist. Conrad Damon is one of the best sidearm throwers I have ever seen and could throw a Classic Roc about 375-400 feet sidearm, and with very little actuall arm swing.

if you're just starting to learn a forehand i would suggest staying away from your firebird... it'll help you develop a lot of bad habbits, which is probably why you can't throw midranges forehand.

when you learn to throw your midranges forehand, your form will be a lot cleaner... so work at it till you can! maybe something inbetween a midrange and your firebird, like an understable driver (valkryie...whatever), would help you transition.

when i throw gentle forehands with midranges it's all in the hips and wrist... no (well, very little) arm swing. just use a touch of hip rotation, flick your wrist, and find a good height for your arm to be when you release it.

learn it! it'll help you out a bunch and open up a new world of shots!

I, too, agree with what has been said. I also say if you learn the throw a smooth, controlled, sidearm shot with a midrange, when you come back to your firebird and drivers, your sidearm will be much smoother.

I love that I can flick a Roc about 200 feet or more accurately (sp), helps alot and I feel total confidence in that shot....

These shorter 'touch shots' work better for me using just my index finger on the inner rim instead of the 2-finger grip. I've found 1) Rocs to have great glide, 2) Rhynos quite accurate for shorter drop shots, & 3) Spiders for longer shots that need some extra hyzer at the fade.

Putters are very challenging for me to control...perhaps too challenging.
.02

i struggled with sidearm for a long, long time in disc golf, then i started playing ultimate where you really need a good sidearm. in ultimate they call it a "flick" shot, and for good a reason--it's all in the flick of the wrist. practice throwing a neutral disc like a comet, or an xd, and just use yor wrist. if you don't have the wrist flick down, any extra arm, elbow or hip movement is just going to make your throws worse. once you are throwing consistent shots using only your wrist, you can add your hips, elbow, and arm to the motion in that order. keep your motion smooth and slow, otherwise you will probably wind up just hucking it. also, like someone else said, experiment with different angles of release. i find that when i am "flicking" a neutral disc i actually use a bit of hyzer to get a flat, straight shot. enjoy.

Z xtreme or Demon, both are great for approaches & mid ranges, they let you use more power to achieve the shorter flights..... use 1 finger not 2, takes gett\ing used to but the results can be worth the practice.

I have thrown forehand dominate for the past 9 years; ever since my right knee blew out and I couldn't throw backhand like real golfers do. I used to think that forehand mid-range shots were darn near impossible to control. Well, ok, all forehand shots were darn near impossible to control. For years I only carried putters and drivers-no mid-range discs at all. Then for years I carried a Roc and virtually never used it.

Now I carry three candy midranges ( a Holiday Buzzz, a flat top candy Buzzz and a flat top candy Wasp-all superb Roc knock-offs) and throw them whenever they are called for.

The key to all forehand trick shots is practice. Long, dedicated practice.

I can make a driver land in the same spot that a mid-range will, but I cannot control the skip of a driver. Sometimes a driver skips 40 feet, sometimes it hits a little clump of dirt and stops immediately. A mid-range disc's skip variable is less. So I spent years of practice to learn the mid-range touch.

Personally, I think the fastest way to learn a shot is by playing catch, but what do I know! It took me years to learn it even using the short cut.

Some of other forehanders who have responded talked about arm speed and snap and other things. I don't think about any of that. For me it is all just feel and distance. I imagine playing catch with the basket and make a guess how far away the basket is.

Mark Ellis

I learned how to play disc golf exclusively forehanded because of shoulder instability problems (and bad form) with my backhand. Of course, my form is crap because the first disc i went out and bought was a champion monster So now, I too am trying to learn to forehand a midrange, and you're right. It's very tough.

Take a look at the forehand examples on Blake's site. The first thing I did was switch my grip from two-fingers fanned out (middle on the rim, pointer towards the middle of the disc), to two fingers together (still with the middle on the rim, but now with the pointer "bracing" it). This farked my drive all to hell, but made snapping the midranges out much easier. I've had the most luck with my pro rhyno. Still working on the roc.

I have real good luck in the 100-150 foot range with a z buzzz doing that little snap. maybe a third of an arm swing, possibly less. A TON of snap though like doing a quick dump in ultimate. The disk flys straight until it hits something(usually the basket, sometimes a car or a sheep). This is using the 2 fingers on the rim grip.

Crystal Challenger- takes a lot of snap and still fades at the ned.

I just added a mid-range forehand this year. What helped me develop it is throwing a ultimate disc forehand. If you can throw an Ultrastar 150' with accoracy then you'll have no problem throwing a putter the same way.

I won a Z-Hawk up in Boyne City yesterday and tried throwing it a few dozen times. I noticed that if I released it on a hyzer, it didn't snap up for me like I expected a 0 stability disc to. Released flat, I could litely turn it over. This lead me to the realization that it was perfect for my side arm. I went out with a friend and did a 1 disc round with it and threw a lot of side arm approaches. That disc just went straight with my side arm. I nailed basket or chain on 6 shots outside of 100 feet. I still got too much snap with the side arm and spun it off the chains once, but generally, just skipped off of the edge. Either way, the hawk was great for side arm mid range.

I had the same problem for a while, and now I am re-fine-tuning my forehand. I tried a new glow Candy Firebird, and it's so overstable that it completely threw off my forehand accuracy. I may still use it for extreme shots, but I'm back to the original candy (not glow!) Firebird for most shots, and for a midrange, I use a Candy Viper (like a Z-extreme, but won't fly as far) for big hyzer skips, and I've been using a Candy Gator for pretty straight, big torque sidearm shots. I've been learning my glow candy Roc for straight to anhyzer forehands, and I've gotten much more accurate. I'd suggest any of those discs for the respective shot needed.