Ok Ladies, I need your help, please?! :confused:

My wife isn't very athletic. She can casually play about any sport (biking, tennis, DG), but doesn't reach a competitive physicality at any of these sports. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but blass her, she tries at everything. I picked up a 150g Pro Teebird, with a cool yellow & pink dye job on it for her to try DG.

She throws the Pro TeeBird, but only about 20-40 feet. She gets very frustrated and doesn't necessarily enjoy being out with me on the course. I'm sure she gets frustrated seeing me throw well, but all I want is for her to be able to improve & enjoy DG, you know? She asks me about what she's doing wrong out of courtesy, but I think she really doesn't listen, and it gets frustrating for both of us at that point.

I tried giving her my Innova XD putt & approach, but she hyzers any disc really badly and gets frustrated. Do you have any suggestions for helping her out? I just don't know where to start, but want DG to be in our lives together. She genuinely does too, because she wants to have it be a family activity...

I just don't know where to begin... Buy her a pink Champion Coyote? Just keep trying to teach her in frustration?

Thanks SO much... I hope someone can put a "woman's touch" on me helping my wife so that this is something that can last and help us grow as a family, etc...

HELP! :confused:

I'm no lady but willing to chime in.
You say she hyzers everything badly. Is she throwing the disc nose up with that hyzer? If so that would result in the short throw.
Teach her how to hold the disc properly with the wrist bent down. Concentrate on a flat release & that should instantly increase the distance.
Other than that just show her the basics......grip, run-up, pull back & release. It should all fall into place after that.
I wouldn't worry about trying any new discs yet. The TeeBird (even though I've never thrown one) should be OK, but it may help to get a fairway driver or a multi-purpose disc. (in fact, now I think about it, a new disc may be a good idea).
Good luck.

Teaching a girlfriend/wife/fiancee how to play your favorite sport is a supreme challenge. I think I have lost at least two girlfriends from trying to teach them how to ski.

I personally think the best thing to do is to try and find some local ladies at the course who might be willing to help out. I know this is probably going to be pretty tough, but I seriously think that women know how to deal with women a whole lot better than men do.

YMMV

Diana got more excited about the game, and got a lot better, when she spent some time watching the top pro women play, and one of them gave her a lesson.

This is what I'd do if I were you: send her down to Peoria on the weekend of Womens' Nationals at the end of September to watch the pro women play. If she does not want to go alone, go with her. Have her follow one pro group around all round and at the end of the round ask the nicest person in the group to help her out a little. They are all nice people. Every one of them will spend fifteen minutes with a new player at the end of the day.

Do this on Saturday because on Sunday everyone needs to hit the road.

Women learn disc golf better from women. When Diana did this she was not shy about it and she got lesson time from Al Shack, Sue Stevens, Juliana Korver and even Dave Dunnipace. ["Do you know who that was?" I asked. "Just some nice man who was helping that little girl. I think he said his name was Dave." It was Dave Dunnipace giving distance lessons to Nikki Ross!]

Diana got more excited about the game, and got a lot better, when she spent some time watching the top pro women play, and one of them gave her a lesson.

This is what I'd do if I were you: send her down to Peoria on the weekend of Womens' Nationals at the end of September to watch the pro women play. If she does not want to go alone, go with her. Have her follow one pro group around all round and at the end of the round ask the nicest person in the group to help her out a little. They are all nice people. Every one of them will spend fifteen minutes with a new player at the end of the day.

Do this on Saturday because on Sunday everyone needs to hit the road.

Women learn disc golf better from women. When Diana did this she was not shy about it and she got lesson time from Al Shack, Sue Stevens, Juliana Korver and even Dave Dunnipace. ["Do you know who that was?" I asked. "Just some nice man who was helping that little girl. I think he said his name is Dave." It was Dave Dunnipace giving distance lessons to Nikki Ross!]

She wants to play, so you've already got a step in the right direction.

Not sure if the teebird was the best choice for her first disc. When I first started, everyone would tell me to stay away from drivers until I got comfortable with throwing and could throw a midrange well. I'd suggest trying a 150 shark.

As for technique, try starting to get her throwing nose down, and pulling across her chest. Try to think of what people told you when you first started -- things aren't very different just because she's female! And I do agree with these guys -- try to find some local women and get them to help her out. We love seeing new women with an eagerness to learn!

When you want a little more, discgolfreview.com has some great helpful hints (for men and women!)

Best of luck!

There are quite a few women who play in Des Moines. I used to give women's lessons when I lived there along with Becky Z, and I believe Becky Z is still doing them. Also Angela Tschiggfrie is a Pro Women player from DM.

I would suggest going to their website at: http://dsmdiscgolf.org and go to their forum page and post information about your wife there. I'm sure you will get some form of a response.

Best of luck. I could offer you some advise, but I think you would get better results contact the women from the DM Disc Golf Club as stated above.

I haven't been doing the official lessons this year - just a few times I've given pointers here and there.

I'll be glad to spend some time with your wife. If you don't have plans on Labor Day, come out to Walnut Ridge at about noon. We're having our end of league season party and awards and I can introduce her to all the gals who play in league and to pro player Angela who got 11th at Pro Worlds this year. Besides Angela, we have rec., int. and adv. gals who all played in league this summer and everyone is really nice. Send me a PM if you can go and maybe we can meet at Walnut a little earlier that day. You can go off and play and I'll spend some time with your wife giving her a few tips. I'll also donate one of my beat up 150 Eagles or Valks to her and it won't hyzer as much on her.

If you can't make it Monday, another idea is I can call Shawna Neifert and ask her if she can go out with your wife once or twice. She is a long time advanced woman player who lives in Norwalk with her husband Jason and two young children. She is the school nurse at the Norwalk grade school. Jason is a Pro, was one of our Worlds TDs and part of the Group of 7 Worlds Team. Shawna is very nice and I'm sure if I asked, she would go out with her.

Once your wife gets some tips on techniques from women, I'm sure she will throw farther. New guys can immediately go out and throw farther because of their arms and upper body strength. Women have to coordinate everything. I always say that as women, we have hips and we have to use them when we throw!!

--- Thanks Barb for noticing they live in Norwalk!

my wife will play with me once in a great while. Her back hand throws are very weak. I worked with her a little on a side arm and she enjoys it much more. She said it seems easier to get more power on the disc. At least it helped her and now she goes with me more often.

I have seen a lot of new players men and women gain much more distance and control with a side arm then a back hand.
It keeps them interested and then they can work on a back hand.

Beck, thanks! The problem is, if I say that I lined up some women from the area to help her she'll be insulted... LOL But seriously, I was thinking that maybe the club could do another clinic next spring, and invite men & women? I could always use to learn more from Jay, Walsh & the gang, but I need to be delicate with how this happens.

I heard someone mention a Shark, is this type of disc the best option fo rher right now? I guess I started throwing with an AVIAR, so I guess that might really mean something. Like pick up a pink ch. coyote or something for her? I hear they're pretty consistent, flat, & reliable...

Anyway, I'll send u a msg about Monday if that can happen, however I doubt it. I would love to, however we're not on the same page that way...

I would show up at the end of season thing just to meet people- at least she could meet the other woman, and you'd be suprised where the conversation can go- she might ask them for pointers without you even suggestioning it. You know your wife best though. Good luck!

My wife enjoys disc golf, and she could only throw 20 ft at first.

We always go to a course with "girl's tees", and we usually play best-throw. That way, there's no competition. Also, while she might throw a disc into the woods, she doesn't have to throw it out. With her throwing from the short tees, hers is the best drive often enough that she feels she's contributing. Get your approach shots really close to the hole (even if you need to take an extra stroke to do it) so she'll usually be able to make the putt. She'll fell like she has one part of the game down.

Be patient. My wife has been playing for 6 years, and can just now sometimes get it to go 100 ft. About a year ago, she tried her first throw with a side-step. The first five years were all stand-and-deliver.

Avoid having an audience. No tournaments or crowded tees.

She always says "that was fun" afterwards - as if it surprised her. It doesn't matter is she gets "good" if you can go out together and have fun.

Sounds like you're taking the right steps. Try to find other women to play with. When you're first starting out, iIt can be frustrating and embarrassing to play with a bunch of guys who throw 200 feet further than you. Playing best shot doubles with her can be fun. Another fun game that my husband and I play is the "switching drives" game. We'll each tee-off and then take the other person's drive. It'd be a good challenge for you and not as frustrating for her!

Wow, I REALLY dig the "best shot doubles" game, as well as the ideas from Steve West!!! Thanks! I can't wait to try that out next week... That will make her feel like she's screwing me over with her shots - which shld make her laugh, etc... I'm pretty solid with approach shots, so the idea of having her putt is a great idea too. We're building a new house, and she agreed to get me a portable basket for the new house as a housewarming gift, I can't wait!! once her putting gets good, can have her just keep on adding distance across the yard, too!

Wow, great ideas, thanks again!

my wife will play with me once in a great while. Her back hand throws are very weak. I worked with her a little on a side arm and she enjoys it much more. She said it seems easier to get more power on the disc. At least it helped her and now she goes with me more often.



I have seen a lot of new players men and women gain much more distance and control with a side arm then a back hand.
It keeps them interested and then they can work on a back hand.



I COMPLETELY agree, Wise!

I started playing about a year ago and always got frustrated with my back hand drives. One day my boyfriend showed me the two finger side arm, and I ripped the heck out of it. I can get so much more distance, and it seems so much easier. So, for a long time, no matter where the line was, I would only drive with a side arm. People say you don't have as good of accuracy with a side arm throw, but I would rather get twice the distance and be off the fairway a little.

By the way, you gotta have a pretty stable disc to get it to fly right. My favorite is my 150 Talon --- THANKS BARB!!!

People say you don't have as good of accuracy with a side arm throw, but I would rather get twice the distance and be off the fairway a little.



Know what kind of people say that? The ones who can't throw a good sidearm.

Think about it. If you're trying to shoot a watermelon with a gun, do you:

A) Look at the melon, turn around and fire backwards over your shoulder?

OR

B) Stand facing your target, point, and shoot?

If sidearm is working for you, screw what other people say. Keep throwing it, keep experimenting, and don't settle for "off the fairway a little."

Want to get accurate? Learn to flick mids and putters. Use those for shorter drives and approaches. Even better, use them for entire rounds. When you mix your drivers in again, you'll have more distance and control.

...

Ok, sorry about the rant.

Good luck with your sidearm!

My wife can't throw over 40 feet either so I got her an Aerobie ring. She can throw that 300 feet. Anyone can throw those things a long way. It makes her competitive and allows her to enjoy playing with me.

Will, that really seems like a cool idea, as unofficial or illegal in the PDGA's eyes as it is... My wife has never been a jock, or the type to master anything into muscle memory, so that's one hell of an idea... LOL!

My wife was a little concerned about whether it was legal (she's always been a follow-the-rules-type). But I told her it was approved for non-tournament use by the RDGA and that put her mind at ease.

It's the only way she could ever enjoy the game because she just can't throw. But she has fun playing with the Aerobie. And the people we run into on the course are fascinated by the thing so it also gives her something to talk about.

150 Cobra or even a 150 Polecat would be good to try. If she can whip an Aerobie down the fairway, then she is doing something right. The light midrange and putter listed above have excellent "float" and glide. They will fly farther for someone with low arm-speed than any driver will.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that a Valkyrie is an understable disc. It's only understable if you have good armspeed, and armspeed comes from technique. A 150 DX Valk flies like a max-weight RAM for a beginner with low arm speed. Any other modern driver will be the same, as they are designed to fly really fast.

Try the Cobra and Polecat. Once the Cobra starts flying decent, try adding a 150g Stingray. Then your wife can have the whole driver/midrange/putter kit. Half the fun is gearing up. :)

If you are a Discraft kind of family, substitute with Stratus/Hawk/Rattler.

We tried a 150 class Dragon, she can't throw that either. I did buy her an Aerobie Sprint ring to go with the bigger one she has. She uses the Sprint in the woods.

A Dragon is still a "modern driver" and still requires a goodly amount of arm speed to get going.

Seriously, a 150 Cobra is an awesome first disc. Get her to play a whole round or two with it before giving up on golf discs.

When I started playing, the cyclone was my favorite driver. I also started backwards on my run up for a long time. It took awhile to figure out the cross step. I got some good distance starting backwards, and it wasn't nearly as difficult to figure out as my current run up. Whatever she is doing, just make sure that she is enjoying it, and keep her coming out.

Im tryin to do this with my little brother but it doesn't seem to click with him.

When I started playing, the cyclone was my favorite driver. I also started backwards on my run up for a long time. It took awhile to figure out the cross step. I got some good distance starting backwards, and it wasn't nearly as difficult to figure out as my current run up. Whatever she is doing, just make sure that she is enjoying it, and keep her coming out.



My girlfriend has been playing with me for 8 or 9 months now and still stands backwards. I taught her the X step when she first started but standing with her back to the target and taking one step delivery is working better for her for now. She has a big tendancy to turn her wrist under and throw with LOTS of anhyzer so I taught her a rolller about 2 weeks ago and she loves it! She throws them now even when she shouldn't (tall grass, ect) Pulling across and getting some snap finally clicked with her the last time we played so I'm hoping she's about to take a really big step forward. The one bad thing she picked up from me is turbo putting.

The one bad thing she picked up from me is turbo putting.



I hope it's not too bad - my wife and little girl are both turbo putting like me :) The only sucky thing is I'd swear my wife makes more 25 footers than I do ;)

A Dragon is still a "modern driver" and still requires a goodly amount of arm speed to get going.

Seriously, a 150 Cobra is an awesome first disc. Get her to play a whole round or two with it before giving up on golf discs.


That, or a light DX Shark... excellent first disc.

Don't do what I did last night.

I broke a basement window while putting in the backyard, :( But I did make more putts than my one miss from that specific location /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

There goes this months discfund

She loves her Aerobie ring man. She broke par with it the other day for the first time. She was excited :-)

And all I care about is that she has fun playing with me.

My wife refused to even come out and try it. Then one day, we were driving to the store, and I noticed that she was drooling on herself while looking at this young man riding by on his bicycle. I told her that she was drooling on herself and she should put her eyeballs back in. she appologized, and said that guy was just beautiful. and I said, I know that guy, I play disc golf with him about once a week. :p

My wife refused to even come out and try it. Then one day, we were driving to the store, and I noticed that she was drooling on herself while looking at this young man riding by on his bicycle. I told her that she was drooling on herself and she should put her eyeballs back in. she appologized, and said that guy was just beautiful. and I said, I know that guy, I play disc golf with him about once a week. :p


Smile, man. I bet you got lucky that night! :)

My wife and I have been playing for 3 to 4 years. At first I tried to give her instruction but she just got upset, so I just let her play her own game and kept my mouth shut which has probably saved our marrige. Last week a buddy who got me started in discgolf came into town from North Carolina and we all three played a round at our home course. Nothing was said about her throwing the entire round but afterwards my buddy told her to go home and for a few days in the living room or where ever practice the pull and follow thru keeping the arm flat. No disc in hand or step, just pull back and follow thru. Then go to an open field (scoccer or football) and just throw, no sep run up. Don't concentrate on aim at first. Well she done this every night for 30 to 45minutes for about 3 days. Then she done the same thing for a few more days with a disc but not throwing it just working on form. Then we went to a field throwing 10 to 15 different discs and weights and throwing them back to the shot where thrown from. Well the first day she went from throwing 100 ft avg to 160ft average with some flying over 180ft. At this time we were able to find what flew the best and eliminate what discs she wanted to throw and what she didnt. I also lost some of my discs to her ie Star Stingray, Pro Starfire, and Champ Sidewinder. By the end of the practice she incorporated the X- step with no run-up and it was great. Well her putting has always been great 25ft no problem and even from 35ft to 40ft can hit 5 out of 10 which is better than me. Well this comming weekend will be her 2nd PDGA tournament and she is very excited. She is even helping me plan what tournaments we will hit together. She has made a list of goals to achieve not to hard.

That's awesome! I am the same way about taking advice from my hubby, so don't take personally! Glad to hear that she is showing more interest.
I have to opposite problem now, I want to play more than my hubby, but with a little one it is SO hard for me to get to tournaments. (No family in the area...at least none that I can depend on)