Lyle O Ross
Mar 25 2009, 12:48 PM
I was perusing the PDGA video library and came across and DGTV interview with Dave Feldberg where he talks about a modified power grip.
He tells you that the modification gives more accuracy with equal power. If you haven't watched this piece you should. It does a couple of important things for you that Dave doesn't mention. First, it actually gives you a more powerful grip (Dave doesn't play it this way in his description). The reason is that the focus is on the Middle and ring fingers instead of the forefinger. Grip strength between those two fingers and the palm is inherently more powerful than between the forefinger and any position on the thumb - tip to base. The beauty is that you don't remove the ability to grip between the forefinger and the thumb, you simply add to it by changing the emphasis of the grip. Dave still plays his conversation as if the primary point is the forefinger thumb grip, but if you listen to his description, he is building the grip in the way I've discussed it here.
An interesting way to go about this grip is to begin by griping the disc with your middle, ring and pinky fingers. Then bring in your thumb and forefinger. You will notice that by default that your thumb and forefinger come in on the rim. In this configuration, I wind up with my forefinger tip slightly off the plate but the emphasis is on the edge of the rim.
Dave tells us that several of the top Pros use this grip and I can tell you why. A straight up power grip where you place all four tips on the plate is very difficult to accomplish if you have short to medium length fingers and are using one of the wider discs. This grip allows you to get a better hold on Destroyers etc. I'm betting that this grip was how the top Pros accommodated the newer wide winged discs.
Regardless, watch the Feldberg video, it is 20 or so minutes into this piece and try this modification, For me it was a crucial addition to my game.
http://www.pdga.com/videos/disc-golf
More importantly, this grip modifies the position of the disc in your hand. It tends to lower the front of the disc so that as you pull it through, it is on a flatter plane. This means that on your pull through, you have to work less hard at getting the nose down.
He tells you that the modification gives more accuracy with equal power. If you haven't watched this piece you should. It does a couple of important things for you that Dave doesn't mention. First, it actually gives you a more powerful grip (Dave doesn't play it this way in his description). The reason is that the focus is on the Middle and ring fingers instead of the forefinger. Grip strength between those two fingers and the palm is inherently more powerful than between the forefinger and any position on the thumb - tip to base. The beauty is that you don't remove the ability to grip between the forefinger and the thumb, you simply add to it by changing the emphasis of the grip. Dave still plays his conversation as if the primary point is the forefinger thumb grip, but if you listen to his description, he is building the grip in the way I've discussed it here.
An interesting way to go about this grip is to begin by griping the disc with your middle, ring and pinky fingers. Then bring in your thumb and forefinger. You will notice that by default that your thumb and forefinger come in on the rim. In this configuration, I wind up with my forefinger tip slightly off the plate but the emphasis is on the edge of the rim.
Dave tells us that several of the top Pros use this grip and I can tell you why. A straight up power grip where you place all four tips on the plate is very difficult to accomplish if you have short to medium length fingers and are using one of the wider discs. This grip allows you to get a better hold on Destroyers etc. I'm betting that this grip was how the top Pros accommodated the newer wide winged discs.
Regardless, watch the Feldberg video, it is 20 or so minutes into this piece and try this modification, For me it was a crucial addition to my game.
http://www.pdga.com/videos/disc-golf
More importantly, this grip modifies the position of the disc in your hand. It tends to lower the front of the disc so that as you pull it through, it is on a flatter plane. This means that on your pull through, you have to work less hard at getting the nose down.