After hurting my back in July I am still unable to play disc. I've started therapy and while it is getting better I am still unable to play. I have however figured out that places less stress on my back.

So after a round of two of experimenting I've learned that I have quite a bit of practice ahead of me in order to develope a usable forehand shot. So any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Get Scott Stokley's 2nd DVD (pretty sure that is the one on sidearm). He is great at teaching it.

Also, lift weights. The stronger your forearms, biceps and triceps are (even back too), the better your sidearm will be.

The stronger your forearms, biceps and triceps are (even back too), the better your sidearm will be.



proper technique is more important

The stronger your forearms, biceps and triceps are (even back too), the better your sidearm will be.



proper technique is more important



Did I say proper technique wasn't important? Building muscle will support your joints and reduce your chances of injury. It will also mean that you won't have to try as hard to throw the needed distance for a shot, thus improving accuracy.

But you are right, proper technique is #1. However, it isn't the only aspect to work on.

Get to know and watch and marvel at Bennett, aka disking. I'm sure you'll find him at flying saucer/cass crew (for sure)/a3/tadga events. best forehand player i've ever played with or have seen.

He might even be willing to teach you a thing or two.

Stretch you back b4 play. Forearm shots can put quite a strain on the back when you try to power up!
Also, eliminate any walk up you may have . Learn to do it standing still, it will help.

I am by no means the best sidearm thrower around, but I have learned the key to accuracy is getting enough spin on the disc relative to the forward speed. It's easy to not get enough spin on a sidearm throw by trying to overpower it with arm speed. There's a reason some people call this shot a "flick" as that's really all it needs to be.

"It's all in the wrist"

Couldn't agree more. I have been working on developing my forehand over the past year and while I can throw it for reasonable power, the way to be deadly accurate is very little arm and all wrist.

By focusing on this concept I have greatly improved its accuracy for all shots 300 and under. I can throw for more distance between 300 and 340ish with decent accuracy but find an anhyzer works better in that situation right now.

Throwing sidearm for accuracy and distance, at least for me, is completely different in terms of mechanics, but then again I don't really need a distance flick so I never worked on it.

I tried using a 3 step run up and found out right away that was a bad idea right now. I find I can get more power on the disc if I hold the disc almost verticle while I #$*&$! my arm back. However this seems to reduce consistency.

I am also having trouble throwing a flat level shot. Right now my shots hyzer almost the entire flight or come out of my hand anhyzer and may or may not flex back. Perhaps when I am trying to throw it flat I'm not getting the nose down enough?

I think one difficulty people have when forced to switch from BH to FH is the number of discs in the bag. Usually when people start playing they have a small handful of discs. Over time, the number of discs available to throw often grows. Learning one or two discs when a player first starts and then adding a new one every once in a while allows time to learn each one. If you have a big bag, you might have a very long FH learning curve. Trying to learn to throw forehand at the same time you're trying to learn how each disc flies forehand, is a lot.

Consider yourself blessed that you can play at all and be completely content to play using 4-5 discs :) And be nice to your back, it's a very delicate thing.

I know if I hadn't learned a flick with an Ultimate disc, I never would have been able to adapt it for disc golf. Might be worth trying to learn it with a regular frisbee. If you can throw one flat and straight, you've got the technique and just apply more spin and arm speed to a disc.

I think you are on the right track. However, you don't have to learn it with a lid. I have been practicing with putters and Rocs. That alone has helped a ton. Just a thought...

Well after some more practice today it has improved some.

I have another question relating to grip. On the Discraft forehand video Mark Ellis suggests gripping the disc so that the pad of your finger is against the rim. It feels more natural for me to grip the disc with the pad of my fingers facing upwards against the flight plate. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to either grip?

I think it is preference. I throw with pads up.

Pads up, three fingers for me.

One finger, against the rim and point as you throw.

One finger, against the rim and point as you throw.



I prefer 2 fingers, but 1 finger generates a lot of spin.
I use 1 finger for rollers! 2 fingers for air shots.

Two fingers, middle against the rim, index on the flight plate. My preferences, accurate to 350' with a 3-step run-up! Weird, huh?

One finger, against the rim and point as you throw.


With which hand? ;)

At the beginning of the year, I made the transition from backhand to forehand. At first, I had a lot of difficulty with my high-speed turn. The disc would never catch its low-speed fade. I found out that once I started releasing the disc flat with consistency, I could put more spin on it and get some great results. I also stand stationary when throwing. Can I incorporate an X-step as with a backhand throw into my forehand throw? Will it generate more distance if done correctly?

At the beginning of the year, I made the transition from backhand to forehand. At first, I had a lot of difficulty with my high-speed turn. The disc would never catch its low-speed fade. I found out that once I started releasing the disc flat with consistency, I could put more spin on it and get some great results. I also stand stationary when throwing. Can I incorporate an X-step as with a backhand throw into my forehand throw? Will it generate more distance if done correctly?



I wouldn't say an X-step would really describe a run-up for forehand. I would watch the video on discraft.com to see the forehand clinic for tips on guys who run up. I do stationary and run-up depending on the situation. Stationary stances can deliver a bit more control though.

I can forehand about 400 if I really crank it. The key is developing that clean release though. Once your release is clean, you can forehand anything from a tracker to a predator with good distance. My learning of the technique was all from reading the tips on discgolfreview.com.

I cannot stress the clean release enough though. Once it's clean, you can even do near-vertical spike hyzer forehands and all kinds of other crazy shots too.

There is no X-step but you sure can increase D with a longer wind up and pulling back real far. Standing still is nice but you can use some legwork of like, throwing while you are walking a little, and launching once you put your left foot down, makes much bigger D. And stretch that arm back real far before you throw. Like a baseball pitcher does.

Once your release is clean, you can forehand anything from a tracker to a predator with good distance.



Trackers and Predators are both drivers....A true clean release allows you to throw everything from Putt'rs to Breezes and Buzzes turned over and have them still come back.

I throw mainly backhand, but I won a C-tier a couple of weeks ago at a really strange course throwing mostly forehand. For me, I never do a run up for sidearm. I can get 85% of my max D standing still, and it is more accurate than my backhand for shots 250 and in. If I run up I over-torque it almost every time, if I stand still I get a clean release. With sidearm, the run up is very over-rated because 95% of your power is acheived with the snap of your wrist.

No way. Snapping the wrist causes the disc to spin, not to go forward. Just try standing still, don't move your arm or elbow or anything, and just snap your wrist only, with your elbow glued to one spot. The disc goes 4 feet.

I would say the harder you throw the more you have to snap your wrist, to counter the harder throw, but none of the forward velocity comes from snapping your wrist.

You're right, I was misusing the term wrist snap. What I was really refering to was a single quick sling motion with your shoulders in line with your target.

If you want to get good at throwing sidearm, you'll need to learn how to make chip shots with it first. Standing stationary (throwing right handed) point both feet right in a stradle position. Hold your arm up high enough where your elbow and hip are at the same height. The disc should rest in your hand and be held flat and level. While holding the disc flat begin to move just your forearm straight back. Once you have reached your forearm's limitation to pull back further, your elbow and hip synchronized together should finish your back swing. When applying your mechanics to follow through on your shot, you want to lead with your hip and elbow. This type of setup will teach you how to make controlled short and accurate sidearm shots. This setup also focuses on getting your elbow and hips moving at the same time and synchronized. This is very crucial b/c the most common mistake a sidearm thrower commits is having their hip collapse in and their shot wank hard right and up. :( Practice this method with shorter range sidearm discs like a Viper, Whippet, Banshee.

Once you have the method mentioned in the paragraph above quasi perfected, you can learn how to apply this to driving. If you want to drive with a sidearm your foot work is no different than back handed. The three or four X-step method applies just the same when you throw sidearm. If you use four steps start out with your right foot(right,left,right cross step behind you, left plant foot). These shots should be attempted with a Max, Monster, or Firebird. :D

mmmm chip shots


In our league we have a few forehand players and we all played sports that involved a forehand drive. One plays tennis, one played softball and I played baseball and threw side arm.

We all throw with our elbows cocked since if you threw it with your arms straight you'de eventually blow out your arm.

The guy who plays tennis throws alot of drives "chip and flip" style with understable discs like sidewinders and stingrays.(like he's hitting a tennis ball underhanded)

I can easily chip shot a monster 100 ft and land it within 5 feet of the basket.( I have to be able to boast about something)

As for legs, if I'm driving I'll do a walk up just so I'll line up right and get my body turned the right way. Anything 100-175 ft I'll just line up and make sure my planting foot will land behind my mini and do one step up to the line. This will give me just enough turn in my body so I get a clean release without too much power.
As for understable discs I use them when I either dont want any fade at the end or I need to make a long right to left turn.
The key to forehanding them is to back off on your forward speed and get a ton of spin on them so they will flip up and hold the turn.

Anything under 100 feet I just backhand it.

I am rehabbing from recent knee surgery and will be unable to backhand for a number of months. My sidearm is of legendary weakness. Even in good health I have only been able to get about 200'. I had a good rocket sidearm in my "Ultimate" playing years, but even then I only used it for throws of 60-100'. I play with guys who have really good sidearms but have not been able to find anything that can advance my distance. I could care less if it was inaccurate distance. I can't believe that I am that much weaker than my friends who throw 350-400' with their sidearms, but that it must be technique. Anyway, I have read all these posts and will try a couple of the things that have been suggested. Thanks for the suggestions. Oh, to be able to get 300' out of my sidearm.

Throw Sidewinders till you can throw them straight without turning them over.

I had a neck/back problem just before I started disc golf about 2 years ago. I'm the softball guy from Drew32's comments. I've tried the backhand approach but have MAJOR issues with it so I'm about as one-dimensional as they get. There are a few sidearmers in Central KY and each seems to have a slightly different technique. I use no run-up and throw using arm/wrist and push off from rear(right) leg. I can throw about 320-340ft with the Star Wraith and am content with doing that and having decent control. The Disc I learned how to control my sidearm with was a 11x KC T-Bird. I still throw T-Birds alot and would recommend them to anyone learning a sidearm. Keep the disc level at release when starting and after working on arm speed and release then begin working with release angle and other factors. The fewer factors to contend with initially the quicker you learn and are able to build on what works.

At the beginning of the year, I made the transition from backhand to forehand. At first, I had a lot of difficulty with my high-speed turn. The disc would never catch its low-speed fade. I found out that once I started releasing the disc flat with consistency, I could put more spin on it and get some great results. I also stand stationary when throwing. Can I incorporate an X-step as with a backhand throw into my forehand throw? Will it generate more distance if done correctly?



I wouldn't say an X-step would really describe a run-up for forehand. I would watch the video on discraft.com to see the forehand clinic for tips on guys who run up. I do stationary and run-up depending on the situation. Stationary stances can deliver a bit more control though.

I can forehand about 400 if I really crank it. The key is developing that clean release though. Once your release is clean, you can forehand anything from a tracker to a predator with good distance. My learning of the technique was all from reading the tips on discgolfreview.com.

I cannot stress the clean release enough though. Once it's clean, you can even do near-vertical spike hyzer forehands and all kinds of other crazy shots too.



These videos and reviews will help me a lot. Thanks!

okay so what is the right-way to throw a forehand w/o killing ur arm for the rest of your life?

learn a solid turnover.
therfore throw less forehands.
just dont throw forehands for max distance until youve had a chance to play with an expierienced forehand thrower and had some good technique coaching.
start with short upshots for controlled forehands they can save strokes on a game

If you throw a forehand properly it puts much less stress on your arm and body than a backhand throw does.

If your current forehand motion causes pain, that pain is your bodies way of telling you that you are doing it wrong. So where does it hurt?

it's mainly hurting in the forearm and the shoulder areas. it might be because i'm stretching out my arm to get an anyhyzer on it. i should probably keep my arm in.

Everyone is different and probably no one form is right for everyone but keeping my elbow close to my body does bad things to my elbow. Generally my forearm and shoulder are not bothered even if I throw every day all day.

I would like to see what your form looks like because your description doesn't agree with my experience. In the meantime, ice whatever hurts. Ice is magic.




it's mainly hurting in the forearm and the shoulder areas. it might be because i'm stretching out my arm to get an anyhyzer on it. i should probably keep my arm in.

it's mainly hurting in the forearm and the shoulder areas. it might be because i'm stretching out my arm to get an anyhyzer on it. i should probably keep my arm in.

Typically, elbow problems are related to a slipping grip. You can think about it like throwing a tennis ball when you're used to throwing a baseball. Not enough force on the fingers and it goes into your elbow.

Shoulder problems are usually related to straining to get the disc from behind you to in front of you where the main acceleration occurs. Three ways to help this are to delay acceleration until the disc is passing your body (the best way imo), use a lighter disc (counter productive for the elbow possibly), and as you said, keep the disc closer to your body as it moves into acceleration position. This last way helps to keep the strain down when you accelerate too early.

The other advice was good too. Mark Ellis has an excellent sidearm, but it might be not be right for most forks, as he developed it from a previous career in racquetball. Unless your timing is excellent like Mark, you could put a lot of strain on your shoulder.

Since it hasn't been posted yet, you can see Mr. Ellis's great forehand throw in this very informative video.

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If you haven't watched all of the Discraft clinics yet, I would recommend it. They drastically improved my game and my understanding of how discs fly. Also, Acerunners have some great HD videos on youtube.

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my forearm has gotten much better.