My wife has always enjoyed walking with me on the course, but until recently, has never had the desire to play. I've been playing quite a bit with one of my buddies whose wife plays also. My wife's competitive spirt overcame her and she set down the cooler and started throwing. Her first round she sank a 40 footer and all the guys cheered her on...she was hooked!!!

She has been using discs out of my bag (mainly 174 Valks and Leopards) but I don't know if they suit her throwing style. She's a southpaw and utilizes an s-curve to obtain her "distance". Does anybody have any tips to help improve her game? What is the best disc for a female beginner? Is a lighter disc more suitable for women? How long until you were comfortable playing in organized competition? I enjoy getting to spend time with her doing something I really enjoy...I want her to enjoy it as much as I do!!! Help me out!!!

150 class Cobras and Leopards. If she gets good power quickly she can move up to 162g and use those old ones for rollers!

My girl has found the Storm a very woman friendly disc. It is a long midrange that can be thrown off the tee. It's great for beginners because you get the acuracy and control of a midrange with the speed and glide of a driver. Plus, for her smaller hands, it is more comfortable to grip than a regular driver.

Why are lighter discs better? Does it allow them to get more spin? How do the 150's hold up in a headwind?

lighter disc will generate faster arm speed. thus farther D. Depending on which 150 class you throw they are similiar to there heavier counterparts. IE. light Extreme or stable will do fine.

The 150's are sensitive to the wind but they fly further with less snap. I use 160-170 some are heavier and some are lighter but they usually are in that range. I also find millenium discs, such as the polaris and the jls fit better in my hand. I see a lot of girls working the valkarys. It took awhile before I thought I was ready for organized competiton but once I started I couldn't get enough. The TD's and players have been really supportive of women lately and it is sure worth it to start playing. Slowly but surely the disc will go straight and you will be hooked forever. KEEP PLAYING!!!

[pimp mode on] Craig: You need to get her to sign up for States! (http://www.titledisc.com/Events/tsdgc03.php) /msgboard/images/clipart/proud.gif [pimp mode off] /msgboard/images/clipart/proud.gif

I've even started throwing 150 class DX discs again...they <U>are</U> more sensitive to wind, but I can throw them with more control and less effort. Valks and Leopards are probably good choices for her...and it's probably better to have her learn to throw just a couple of discs with control rather than to overwhelm her with having to make a lot of disc selection choices as she gets going...

Craig, bring out to the GDS event at Vet's next weekend, she plays for free and I'll make sure she gets some good plastic that might suit her better.

150-169g discs are all good for beginner women, it just depends on how hard they throw. When I started all I had to throw was max weight discs out of my boyfriend's bag. I soon got tons of discs from many different people and found what I felt was best for my game. As far as the tournaments go, I played my first tournament one month after I was out messing around on the course. Usually, at least when I started, when you play novice Women in a tourney, they paid out everyone in the division, so no matter how bad you did, you still won something. That was what encouraged me to play the most.

Jason...We will try to make it to the GDS. She plays the Vet with me all the time. We've only played casual rounds and I don't know if she is ready to play without me (giving her tips and helping her with the rules, etc). I'll see what she thinks and we'll try to play a few rounds "tournament style" between now and then. Will there be any 150 class discs for sale at the Wednesday / Sunday mini? No...wait, I'll just win some!!!

i have found that women like the dragon, and i feel that the dragon would be a good disc for the s-curve because it floats alot. just my opinion.

Craig, I agree with Jason about her coming to the GDS. This is probably the easiest environment for a "first time tournament." One of the main goals of the GDS Tour event at Vets is to introduce new players to a tournament environment. Since it is FREE, there will be a lot of women playing (I know most of them) and they are really nice.

My wife was working a stratus (regular weight - 170's) when she started. It is a good midrange/all-around disc for a beginner.

Also Craig I'll be mixing divisions the first round so she'll get to play with either an advanced woman or a pro woman that will be able to give her tips and advice. We all know that a woman can give advice to a woman better than a man can, there are alot of differences in even the basic mechanics for them. Hopefully Toolen will be placing an order soon and I told him to order some lighter weight discs. Really the best place to go and get a great selection for any kind of player is TX10!!

Craig,

Bring her out to Jason's event. Juli and I will be there. I will be more than happy to play a round with her and help out in anyway. When I started I threw 150 class as well. At that time I threw DX Leopards and DX Valks and just went from there as my strength and power grew. My bag now consists of 165-170 variety, with one 150 class JK Valk. Hope to see you guys there!

Mary McGough

I started with lighter weight discs because I couldn't handle what was in my husband's bag. I started with Stingrays. I have also used 165-170 Leopards and 150 class Eagles. I currently use Z Xpress and Z Wasp. I have always used Rocs for mid range and approach. For me it was just a matter of trying discs I got a tournaments. My husband guided me at first. Now I just try what I have and use it until I'm comfortable with how it performs. I started playing in tournaments the first season I started playing. It is a lot of fun! Just go throw!

I am still working on developing my "snap" and have worked my way into the upper 160's. But when I started, it was all about the lightest disc I could possibly find, and the straightest. I had a series of Gazelles and Cheetahs that were 148-155g that were great for learning. If you start with just a few discs and learn hyzer and turnover shots with it, you can easily move into discs that are slightly more tailored for certain shots (eg, Banshees, or XL's).
The best advice for women beginning I can think of is learn how to putt! Once you kick [*****] at putting, you'll feel more confident in your upshots, which trickles back down to your drives. Plus, there's nothing quite like making all the boys go "ooooooh" when you sink a great one!

My wife has shown little interest in learning to play disc golf, but yesterday she was willing to receive a little instruction and she got to the point where she was throwing decent line drives with a DX Roc and a Leopard. The tip that seemed to work for her was keeping her elbow up and concentrating on a good follow through.

After countless throws that went straight up and hyzered out, she started throwing some nice straight shots and I could see she was starting to get the disc golf bug. She has the day off today so I pulled out a stack of discs that should work well for her and I wouldn't be surprised if she's out in the field practicing at some point today. :D

I'm curious to hear other's experiences of trying to teach their wife/girlfriend how to play. Any success stories ?

Within the past few years it seems theres definatly more women out there playing rather than walkin around w/ her husband/bf.. Its AWESOME! When i was first starting out i was throwin Eagles and Leopards and i loved them!! I would definatly recommend the JLS too, I would start w/ 160 or so.. if she can already throw..For puttin same weight or heavier.. and Grab straight out for the pole when you release and dont push practice too much just go out for "fun" , enjoy the day.. and ask other women golfers on the course, many will be more than willin to offer help!! :D:D

And SO the seed is planted.
Texas Women's Championship will have the numbers proofing your statement.
I wish you were coming Valarie.
This is the beginning of something BIG

Hmm... something seems to have been graced over here. When I started I threw only a shark and a birdie. I soon ditched the birdie, but I didn't really pick up any other discs until I figured out how to control that shark, get it to do what I wanted it to, and to go a decent distance (at least 200-250 ft for a woman beginner, imo). After I messed around with mid-ranges, I decided to "graduate" myself to drivers, starting with a leopard and valk. Lighter discs seem to be more important in drivers than mid-ranges.

You can get a lot of written advice here, but the best thing is honestly to get her to meet more women golfers and watch and learn from them. That's what has helped me the most.

There is lots of good advice on this thread for beginning women. I hope lots of guys are reading this thread. I've met some beginner women at tourneys who are throwing heavy discs that their boyfriends gave them. They don't throw far, and are easily frustrated. I'll bet there are a lot of women who don't like the game, because they were given heavy discs to start with. Get ahold of the lighter plastic - it makes a difference. :D