I am one of those people who have made this transition and am now totally addicted to DG! I had another post asking for suggestions for what real disks I should get. The response was wonderful and very helpful! On that thread Pat Erley made the following post:

"I've given much thought to the Ultimate->Disc Golf transition, and I'm going to give some things I believe to be true (probably better suited for throwing tech., but oh well).

You already understand the finesse game, so keeping your bag simple will be an advantage. Once you learn your discs, trust them and your instinct. Ultimate Flying Disc(I dare not use the other F word) is an instinct and reflex driven sport. While reflexes aren't as important in disc golf (except maybe in swirling winds, and that's a BIG maybe), instincts are good. You've already learned how to follow and use your instincts in Ultimate, so no need to start over. When you address a shot and 'feel' what you need to do, and with what disc, don't question your instinct. I'm sure you learned lots of trick shots playing around during Ultimate, so try those with your different golf discs. They won't do the same things, but they might prove useful."

I found this post to be very telling. I have always called myself a "feel" player but couldn't really put what I meant to words. I thought I would put this up to see if others who have made the transition form Ultimate to Disc golf wanted to share what has worked for them.

Aaron

Of course, I'll start. The lightening U2 is a great upshot disk up to about 200'. I can throw it dead straight or turn it right or left. I just got mine and I am hoping it holds up better than the upshot #2 that I used to use. I play 3-4 times a week and they upshot looks like a topographic map after about 3 weeks.

I have recently upgraded my bad to real disks, but the U2 is kinda my teddy bear or pacifier. When I grow up as a DGer, I'll try to get rid of it.

try an aero. I think it behaves more like a lid than any other beveled edge disc.

i played ultimate from 1974 thru 2001 on various world champion teams but also played disc golf thru those years so my transition was more seamless. however, it was interesting to fondle lids on ultimate weekends and then switch to more overstable plastic on other weekends.

to this day my disc golf bag looks very different from most disc golfers. i carry a zephyr since gophers became hard to find. i'd rather throw a power shot with a little hyzer with a disc that feels like a lid than with a smaller diameter disc.

i also find greater success with discs that most disc golfers would consider understable, probably because my ultimate years resulted in muscle memory where i got used to releasing lids with more hyzer than i'd otherwise release with an overstable golf disc.

some discs i have had better results with include Comets, Avengers, Valkyries, Sidewinders, and soft rhynos. all of thse would be considered fairly understable by most golfer standards.

my main problem in the transition however is the mental game. in ultimate if i got p-o'd i'd just funnel the anger into beating my opponent into submission by running him into the ground until he choked. this thought process is my undoing in disc golf. remaining calm and not reaching back into my endorphin supply is counter-intuitive for me.

i stopped playing competitive ultimate 6 years ago and to this day i feel like an addict without my fix. disc golf is great - but it doesn't come close to providing me with the athletic rush i was used to on a weekly basis for 27 years.

dan doyle
warwick, ny
7 sages of the bamboo grove
rutgers ultimate frisbee

I pretty much agree with Dan here, although I think that the transitional love for understable plastic comes less from additional hyzer than it does from better understanding the correlation between arm-speed and wrist-snap. If you can pull 70+ yards in Ultimate, you understand how to throw a putter or a 150g disc in disc golf a really long way, as it is almost an identical idea with a slight alteration.

I agree with most of the guys here.
I've been playing Ultimate for 4 years now, and started Disc Golf last year.
First all my shots where going too much on the left (I'm a righty backhand player). Which is due to the fact that the ultimate disc is understable, so if you release it nose down, it will come up flat.
That doesn't work with disc golf discs. At least, it didn't work first.
So I re-learned how to throw. I started by forcing myself to release the disc flat.
I started with beast or valkyrie discs from innova.
As time came by, my technique improved and I now I have to release understable discs nose down, otherwise, it goes way too much on the right (kind of ironic, compared to my first throws...)
So if you're starting disc golf coming from ultimate, I would suggest to first use a Roc from innova or a MRV from discraft (which I found really helpfull as I find the grip similar to the one of a unltimate disc), even for long shots.
Then when you' re confident in your approach, you can use a driver for long distance shots, for example a Leopard from innova is very good (understable). A Rogue from DGA can also be a good choice for more distance.
Once the understable goes to the right, go for an Orc or a Teebird from innova (very predictable discs)

Concerning the "feeling" part, I try to rely on it at disc golf, but as you have time to think of your throw (much more than at ultimate), the feeling part is a little corrupted by your brain, which tries to think of how to release the disc.
I've seen players make the shot without any practice shot or pointing at the aim. Maybe "take your disc and throw" is what works best if you don't want your brain to interfere :)

Hope it helps !!

i stopped playing competitive ultimate 6 years ago and to this day i feel like an addict without my fix. disc golf is great - but it doesn't come close to providing me with the athletic rush i was used to on a weekly basis for 27 years.



Although I haven't played Ultimate as long (only since '97) or as competitively (mainly local leagues and some sectional comps) as Dan, I completely understand and share this sentiment. Too bad my body (more specifically my left leg/hip) disagrees with me.


Sometimes when throwing forehands I will fall into an Ultimate thought process and throw a backhand fake just to keep me in rhythm. It looks pretty funny when done in the middle of the fairway, I've been told.

Not understable, actaully more stable than most putters.....


soft rhynos