On my follow though I pivot on the ball of my foot. Besides discpimp/rookiemullet who else pivots on their heel and what is the benefit?

Often times my foot "rolls" and I end up on the edge or the the blade of my foot.

http://a133.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_a7f0dcd7548e60a1f88daafb37a3f714.jpg

But my weight transfers to me heel on the follow through, I guess you could call that a pivot.

I have noticed that both Barry and Kenny both plant on the ball of their foot and then transfer pressure to the heel and then the pivot on the heel throught the follow through.

I also PLANT on the ball then you PIVOT threw on the heel because its much easier to transfer energy this way..........I only say this because I was wanting to increase my distance and Dave Feldburg said hey man you have to PIVOT threw on your HEEL not the ball of your foot...........And if you watch most players they may plant on the ball of their foot but most PIVOT on their heel.

I just don't see how you can get more D by pivoting on your heel. The disc is already in the air by the time you get to your heel.
One thing that I don't do is watch other players that closely. I may have to scrutinize some of the better players that I play with. I'll ask Dave about it when I see him at St. Patty's. I thought it had something to do with "him". :D

Often times my foot "rolls" and I end up on the edge or the the blade of my foot.

http://a133.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_a7f0dcd7548e60a1f88daafb37a3f714.jpg

But my weight transfers to me heel on the follow through, I guess you could call that a pivot.



dude, dont pull a muscle or somethin, is that your wrist growing out of your neck, dude, that looks painful... no seriously, your obviously flexible, and form looks good, I would say focus on smoooth power, yah!!

Pivot on the heel. Pivot on the heel. I think i pivot on the ball when I do anything intentionally and am always looking for another thing to do to get more D. [Not because it would make me a better player, but because the chicks dig D.] I wonder if Dave Dunnipace has an opinion on this. When I'm over the ear infection from Hell, I'll have to see what I do. If I can remember. Pivot on the heel...

I've always pivoted on the ball of my foot, it is very apparent when I am wearing cleats.

I think it comes from years of sliding around the dance floor on the balls of my feet.

Yeah, the chicks dig that too.

3 out of 3 chicks interviewed told me you could lose the backward hat! :D

dude, dont pull a muscle or somethin, is that your wrist growing out of your neck, dude, that looks painful... no seriously, your obviously flexible, and form looks good, I would say focus on smoooth power, yah!!



Thanks for the tip, I'm glad you approve of my technique. I'm sure that if anyone took a photo of their follow through it would look like that, or close to it. :)

Just curious, what do you mean by smooth power? I'm not a very big guy (tall, yet skinny) and I rely on speed and efficient transfer of weight to help gain distance - my motion is very streamlined, not jerky, how do you define smooth?

As far as pivoting on the heel - it allows the thrower to "lean" the shoulder into the throw and remain some what balanced. Try simulating your pull through motion while pivoting on your heel, and then on the ball of your foot - it seems to me like I can increase my lean/body torque from my heel. On my ball, I feel more upright and that less mass is being transfered. I tend to use that type of pivot on my approach shots where power is not an issue.

ron_the_whip your body type is what i think of when i think of what a good prototypical bodytype for discgolf.... tall long and skinny, you dont need alot of mass since you are moving a light object.

dude, dont pull a muscle or somethin, is that your wrist growing out of your neck, dude, that looks painful... no seriously, your obviously flexible, and form looks good, I would say focus on smoooth power, yah!!



Thanks for the tip, I'm glad you approve of my technique. I'm sure that if anyone took a photo of their follow through it would look like that, or close to it. :)

Just curious, what do you mean by smooth power? I'm not a very big guy (tall, yet skinny) and I rely on speed and efficient transfer of weight to help gain distance - my motion is very streamlined, not jerky, how do you define smooth?

As far as pivoting on the heel - it allows the thrower to "lean" the shoulder into the throw and remain some what balanced. Try simulating your pull through motion while pivoting on your heel, and then on the ball of your foot - it seems to me like I can increase my lean/body torque from my heel. On my ball, I feel more upright and that less mass is being transfered. I tend to use that type of pivot on my approach shots where power is not an issue.



If it makes you feel better I come over on my foot like you do too. :D

dude, dont pull a muscle or somethin, is that your wrist growing out of your neck, dude, that looks painful... no seriously, your obviously flexible, and form looks good, I would say focus on smoooth power, yah!!



Thanks for the tip, I'm glad you approve of my technique. I'm sure that if anyone took a photo of their follow through it would look like that, or close to it. :)

Just curious, what do you mean by smooth power? I'm not a very big guy (tall, yet skinny) and I rely on speed and efficient transfer of weight to help gain distance - <font color="red"> </font> , how do you define smooth?

As far as pivoting on the heel - it allows the thrower to "lean" the shoulder into the throw and remain some what balanced. Try simulating your pull through motion while pivoting on your heel, and then on the ball of your foot - it seems to me like I can increase my lean/body torque from my heel. On my ball, I feel more upright and that less mass is being transfered. I tend to use that type of pivot on my approach shots where power is not an issue.



Being able to maintain the same smooth form you have when you throw 80 percent as when you throw with 100 percent power. That is how I define smooth, It is a matter of not "losing your form" when you go for the max power because you have muscle memory in place that maintains it.

As far as rotating on your heel, I always thought this was riskier for you right knee integrity in the long run. I have a freind who could throw very well by rotating on his heel and his knee gave way. Obviously this could be individual. I always kinda refer to Climo's form, He is obviously the most consistently great golfer, what are his techniques, yet maybe his dont work for everyone.

ron_the_whip your body type is what i think of when i think of what a good prototypical bodytype for discgolf.... tall long and skinny, you dont need alot of mass since you are moving a light object.



I agree that long/skinny has its advantages, but greater mass in the long run means more force behind my throw. Its not about the ratio of my mass to the disc, its about using as much of my weight as possible to back up my throwing motion. The same is true for punching - I punch very fast and somewhat hard, but if I weighed thirty more pounds and retained my speed, I could hit with much more power and force. In other words - when David Wiggins Jr. matures and develops body mass and size, he will be able to throw farther, granted that he retains his already heightened attributes of speed, snap, etc...

Here is a quick video I posted on discgolfRus - poor quality, but you can clearly see the pivot on the heel and all the business. Its from 06, not too much has changed I guess, but I haven't seen recent video of me.

http://discgolfer.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1809917%3AVideo%3A6703

I highly question the assertion that most good players rotate on their heel. Many good players get their weight forward as they complete their swing, as evidenced by their non-pivot leg finishing almost a stride's length in front of their pivot. I don't think one can translate their weight forward in this manner without transfering weight from the heel to the ball.

...or plants on the ball of the foot, then to the heel for the pivot...and then back to the ball of the foot for big follow-through.

Yeah, that is probably a more accurate description. I guess I just think it is misleading or telling only half the story to say "one should rotate on the heel." If you want or need to transfer your weight forward, it is an awkward task without eventually transferring weight to your ball.

all of my disc shoes have a bald spot at the ball of the foot,and all still have a great amount of sole at the heel.
my plant foot shoes have consistantly about half the life span of my following leg

From the videos that I've seen of Ken Climo, he does not plant on the balls of his feet. He plants on his heal. It looks to me that his body is behind his foot when he plants so it makes sense that he would plant on his heal. If you want to see lots of videos of the top players check out this site:

http://www.discgolfreview.com/resources/videos/

I've looked at this pretty closely since I pivot completely on the ball of my foot. Almost all the pros I've looked at pivot on their heels and then rotate onto the balls of their feet. Some, like Markus Kallastrom, seem to pivot on their heel and their body motion doesn't move them forward, so they don't move to the ball of their foot.

From the discussions I've had, you're able (somehow) to harness more power by having the initial pivot on the heel. I've had trouble pivoting on the heel, yet staying over the disc. Plus, I have issues pivoting on the heel in grass (probably in my head since I don't believe there is any more resistance than on the ball of my foot).

The more I research, the more I'm inclined to believe that a heel pivot is the result of a strong hip/shoulder torque/twist and a lean forward at the disc comes across your pivot leg. The weight moves forward and pulls you over the pivot point and onto the ball of your foot and beyond.

If you have less hip/shoulder rotation and spin, then you're more apt to rotate on the ball of your foot. This implies that you push off with your back leg over your pivot foot and you have a more upright stance at the release/rip.

For the folks that pivot on their heel, they are keep both feet on the ground when they pivot and lean forward at the hip to get "over" the pivot leg and keep the nose down. Their rear leg comes off the ground as their weight transfers and their momentum pulls them toward the target and their rotation turns them around.

I believe that some sports sort of teach these mechanics, not exactly, but the concept, so transferring them to disc golf is fairly natural. Meanwhile, some folks in different sports which don't do this, learn to throw differently.