Ha arunner3,

I have been playing for about 5 months now. So I am pretty new too !!
When I first started throwing I thought I was really humming it at about 200 ft. Then I joined and played with some club Members here at my local town !! I was totally shocked when the two club members I played with literally threw it twice as long as me. And they were 165lbs and 155 lbs respectively . It was quite the humbling experience. Anyway, I have NOT giving up and now avg. about 320ft. on my drives. Just thru playing and learning a little technique I have improved by this much. ( the x-step and learning to snap my wrist at the end of release like a wet towell)

Honestly you can throw 325 to 350 ft and be competitve with just about anyone if your Putting and Upshots are sharp. I played with a guy named Dr. Rick Voakes last month and was amazed at how he could score so low hitting 320ft drives. His Putting is just so awesome that he can beat most people in the World.

Anyway, distance will come with time. And it is more technique than strength.
Its weird but from my experience every Pro player or advanced player who I have played with who throws it 400ft + have been very UNIMPRESSIVE physical specimens. Everyone of them !! They have little or no muscalature and for the most part are not really that athletic outside of Disc Golf.
I am 5'11 215lbs and workout about 3 times a week for the last 17 years and am solid muscle. And I am very very coordinated and have played every sport growing up . Any one of these Pros I played with I could wipe up on a B-ball Court or blow them a way in a 10k. Actually this has happened on numerous occassions. Quite hilarious too !! :cool: Especially seeing them trip over their own feet when chasing the B-Ball :D

I am not trying to be arrogant because I really look up to all these Pros who have set goals and acheived them thru hard work.
But I am just trying to prove a point. That throwing a Disc it is more
about technique thru time and practice than it is pure strength and athleticism.
And arunner3, just because your older doesn't mean you can't improve considerably by technique from where you are now .

That being said I must say I do sincerely commend these 150 lb string beans who can Launch it 450 ft. Its a thing of beauty and something I strive to accomplish myself.

However, I just hope the Sport has a better balance in overall representation of physical fitness and athleticism. Two great examples are Ken Climo and Shawn Sinclair. Now those guys are true cross trainers and are solid as oak trees.Two players who I truly admire and would love to emulate. I sure wouldn't want to double cross either of those two guys in a Bar. :eek: [

Yeah ok this is pretty common knowledge. Actually, being too muscular can be a problem for disc golfers. If you have extra stregnth, it's easy to put too much arm in your throw and actually hurt your distance. The key to long distances is technique and timing, not pure stregnth.

And the putting game really is key. Driving is more fun and easier to do well, but tournaments are won from 50' and in. My approach game is the strongest part of my game. I'm about 6/10 from 80' and I consider that pretty accurate. Now my putting game isn't the sharpest, and my normal distance drives are currently maxing at around 380'. Still, I know my number of birdies would double if I was a better putter

Yeah, I agree Putting cannot be stressed enough. It becomes some what cliche hearing it for the umpteeeeenth time but it is True !!!

I will argue however, that packing on a stragic amount of lean muscle thru Circuit weight Training 2 to 3 times a week will have a very positive impact on your game. As long as you don't start doing 500Lb Squats and drinking Protein drinks and shooting up steroids :(

Most of the Disc Golfers I have played with could use it. And if you do circuit training of course you need to remain nimble thru caliestinics. It is a must to keep limber so you can adapt to added lean muscle mass to your body.

Most people just use the "I am afraid ro bulk up" argument as an excuse because they don't have the discipline to work out and don't like pain.

The facts speak for themselves in my own playing in the last 5 months. I cannot tell you how many errant drives have led me to very precariuos sitiuations where technique was of no use. It took pure strength in some of these Cases to get the Disc back in play.

PERIOD !!!!

Yeah I don't know anything about that lean muscle stuff. I'm one of those guys that knocks down protein shakes and bars all day long. I had to learn how to throw properly and ignore my muscle.

When I was a "beginner", I could reach about 330' max with my CE Eagles. That was basically all arm with almost no run up. Throwing 330' was great and I was fairly accurate, but there was no possible way to throw any further. I wanted to add more distance, like most people, so I scrapped my whole throw and started from scratch. I started using spin, and a killer x-step (in my opinion). At the beginning, I was maxing at about 300' with DX Valkyries and Z Wildcats, but I stuck with it because I knew it would pay off. And sure enough, 12 months later, I can throw 380' all day long and push to 400' if I have to. Now I'm searching for a disc to suit my style. I haven't thrown the ORC yet so I might try that.

the orc is definately a great disc . try different weights !!

I wanted to add more distance, like most people, so I scrapped my whole throw and started from scratch.


Any suggestions on what would be the best way to do this. I've picked up a lot of bad habbits and can't get anything over 280 and i've been playing for 4 years now. All I do is just stand there throw it, no run up very poor technique

Well the hardest part about scrapping your throw is accepting that you will probably be throwing 50' less for a while. My friend still has his original throw and his distance has not grown substantially in over a year. He's peaking at about 280.

Everyone's throws and bodys are different so I don't know exactly what will work for you. You need to experiment with many different things and find what works the best. In your current throw, you're probably using way too much arm and I suspect your discs are fluttering and turning all over the place. If this describes your throw, don't worry, cause this described mine too.

First, I had to learn the importance of body rotation through a good x-step. A lot of players I see don't realize that the X-step is not for looks. It can be a huge distance and control booster but you have to know how to use it. Start slow and experiment.

After I figured out how to do the X-step, I decided to take all the arm out of my throw and let my body rotation whip my arm around. What i found was that I was getting about 300' of distance but it took almost no effort. But my discs were still pretty wobbley. Enter SPIN. I had absolutely no concept of spin until this point when I learned that spin adds stability to your disc and allows you to throw it harder without the wobble. I spent hours just working out my snap. When I finally found the desired snap and point of release, I added it to the X-step I already had in place. Now the discs were flying without wobble but still were dying out at about 300'.

Only at this point did I decide to add my arm back into the equation. Last time I had used my arm, I used brute stregnth to pull the disc through, but now I was doing no pulling whatsoever. This time I decided to use my arm to bring about one of the most crucial parts of throwing distance: ARMSPEED. By making my arm faster and faster, I was making the release speed of the disc faster, and the discs were booming down the field at a good 360'. After some later fine tuning, they go about 380' consistantly now. I haven't messed with my throw since, but I think I might start again!

Thank you for the tips
I knew you were gonna mention the x-step, but I was hoping there would be a way around it....i have a nerve and muscle condition with my legs, translation: no coordination, i more "fall" onto my right/plant food RHBH. The discs don't flutter much, but I am turning them over, I think that's because I have not changed overall technique since I've started and have developed better throwing muscles

Well I'm sorry about your condition. 280' might be your max with no step. Do you have a physical therapist, because I'm sure what ever is going on with your legs can be worked out.

Now I don't know anything about your condition, but the X-step is not very complex. However, to maximize it, you need to have precise timing and coordination with the rest of your body. The basic X-Step is not much different from walking or running, so you might give it a try before ignoring it completely.

i'm not trying to get sympathy, just explaining it...it's most closely related to Muscular Distrophe (sp?) proper term is Spastic Parapalegia. I can walk through the xstep slowly, but if i try it fast i get off balanced. I am going to continue to work on it though. This sports great for me, just getting out and walking. I thank you again for your time

i'm not trying to get sympathy, just explaining it...it's most closely related to Muscular Distrophe (sp?) proper term is Spastic Parapalegia. I can walk through the xstep slowly, but if i try it fast i get off balanced. I am going to continue to work on it though. This sports great for me, just getting out and walking. I thank you again for your time



I went out playing this last weekend and there was quite a bit of ice so I was limited as to how much lower body I could put into my throw (I normally use a fairly quick x-step). What I did was slowly go through the x-step and then try and explode more after I planted my right foot (throwing RHBH) and really focused on shifting my weight forward and following through as I threw. I could tell when I didn't shift my weight enough because the discs would end up way left and took a more "hyzerish" path than I had intended.

My distance wasn't at its best but it was suprisingly close. I'm willing to bet that, assuming you can slowly walk though an x-step and safely catch yourself with your non-planted foot on the follow through you could modify it to a slower maybe just two step x-step. Assuming you're throwing RHBH you could start with your left foot angling it backwards to close your hips and shoulders (I find extending my left arm outwards helps with this too) and then step with yoru right foot, bring your left arm down, close to your body and pull your hand across your chest while shifting your weight forward. After the hit you'll continue rotating around and catch yourself with your left foot. If you don't lean forward enough the disc will go left. If you do it too much, too early the disc will go right, assuming something else isn't wrong with your throw. Starting slowly with putters and mid-range discs to get the feel for the motion might be easier than starting with drivers.

It doesn't need to be as fast as you see others take the steps. If you're able to figure something out to get your upper body to rotate correctly, even just starting out with your back almost facing the basket and just pivoting around and only taking the follow through step should get you farther than you are throwing now.

I was walking through it slowly over the weekend, hoping to use it yesterday, but there was too much slushy snow to even think about trying it on the course. Thanks again for the advice and encouragement

Yup good luck with it and even if you can't add any more distance, don't let that stop you from playing disc golf. Walking around the course is probably one of the best things you can do for your legs.

Have fun!

nothing short of being confined to a wheel chair will keep me off the course, i shot a 60 in doubles, but i'm happy with that, and that's all that matters

Exactly, no matter what you just have to enjoy the game. If you have a physical disability don't ever let it stop you from enjoying the game. I know this all too well as I took a chainsaw to my throwing hand between the thumb and index finger about 5 years ago at work. I had to play left handed, but I didn't let it stop me. I love the game WAY too much. Also look at Santa Cruz Jake. He only has one leg and plays one of the most physicaly demanding courses in the world(Delaveaga). So no matter what never give up, and always enjoy yourself. :D

Thanks alot for the encouragement. In fact, because of everyones suggestions, videos that I bought, and plain practice in a field, I've been able to increase my average to ~190' and a best distance of 243'. I know this is not much for some of you, but its a leap in the right direction for me. Not only is my distance increasing, but my accuracy has improved as well. I have a innova disc basket in my yard for putting/approaches, as well as a golf net (for b-golf and works great) to just practice my timing (recommend that to any one just starting out). So things are looking up.

"HEY GUYS! We've got another one hooked!!!" :cool:

Hey circle where in Lawrence? I used to live on creekwood!!

I attended KU '81-'86, then moved back in '95. Haved lived in several places over the years. Where's Creekwood?

Well I'm sorry about your condition. 280' might be your max with no step. Do you have a physical therapist, because I'm sure what ever is going on with your legs can be worked out.



I don't entirely agree with this. I know people who instead of using a run-up simply stand in the final position and twist their hips and with a fairly straight arm snap off 350+ foot throws. The snap of the wrist, like snapping a towel gives the disc spin and stability, gyroscopic momentem.