ok so i've been playing disc golf for about a year now. and my side arm drive is 380 - 400 usually but last weekend i did hit a 425 foot drive at our driving range for the first time. :cool:

now for my back hand. its a very sorry throw when i try to crank any kind of distance out of it. it usually peeters out at about 275-300 feet and it's widly inaccurate.

anyone else have similar results? the old three people i know like me are two other guys that i throw with. every time i see other people play they are using a back hand for their drives most of the time.

That's good/impressive 'D' for your sidearm! For some, this shot comes more naturally...

A "backhand shot" is a worthy weapon to develop that compliments your sidearm skills...and "it" generally is considered the bread and butter shot of DG. Some will argue, but there are longevity issues with sidearms and the stress it puts on elbows and shoulders.

I worked on my sidearm shot this last Fall due to a backhand injury and was quite impressed with the power from such a 'short' motion...but due to a/the limited follow-thru potential I decided to just keep the shot for short dog-leg right drives and approaches.

I know what you mean. My sidearm drive has always been longer than my backhand but I've been working on the backhand for distance and its about caught up. You really need to throw both to be the most effective, especially on tighter courses where some holes just set up primarily for one or the other. If you really want to get more distance though you need to focus on the backhand because its going to be hard to get a lot more from your sidearm if you are already getting around 400, + it's going to take a toll on your elbow over time throwing this hard. There are threads on here that you can go to for technique that should improve your accuracy and distance, good luck with it.

so i just realized how horrid my typing skills are.

thats the exact reason i'd like to get better on my back hand. i need that left hand fade for about half the holes we play. a side arm just can't give it to me. :(

i guess i'll just have to get out there and throw some back hands to get a feel for it. i have a hard time getting all the mechanics down for it though.

oh and thanks for the complement on the side arm distance but the 425 has only been once so far. usually they hit 380 to 400.

flick and putt it's nice to see there are some others out there who are just a wierd as i am. :) to me it doesn't seem as though i'm throwing all that hard, it more of a very clean release and lots of spin. if i throw as hard as i can the disc just turns over about 150 200 feet down range. (i use a 174g beast as my primary driver)but then agian i may be throwingt harder than i realize.

I still love these internet distances. Here's my formula:

D = cD'

where D is the true distance, D' is the distance as posted on the internet, and c is a constant called the internet constant, which is .7176

World record for sidearm is 538 and that was on a desert lake bed with thermals with a perfect throw by a guy whose arm was a genetic anomoly (Scott Stokeley). So I take the 425 number as posted and multiply it by the internet constant and get 305.

nice throw, 305

My brother tried to get me into the game about 20 years ago, but my back hand was so pitiful, that I quickly gave it up. Five years ago my son told me about the forehand, and I�ve been playing ever since. I can drive about 350 feet consistently, but I throw more like a sidearm baseball throw than the flicks I have seen others make. I�ve had shoulder problems for about 20 years, but thankfully, throwing has never bothered me in the least.
I believe the forehand has some definite benefits besides the left to right fade. I will always prefer it for threading the needle on tight shots (with no run up) and on slippery courses (with a reduced run up).

I have been working on my backhand since I started playing, and actually use it a lot now, especially for down hill drives where a lot of glide is beneficial, and of course, for right to left doglegs. So keep working on it, using the information you can get here. Also make sure you try a bunch of discs. It may help a lot.

Interesting take on internet distances. But have to tell you not everyone exagerates. I can throw side arm about 220' but I measured a friends side arm cause it was freakish far to me. Used a wheel 416' on a soccer complex. He isn't real consistant but he can sometimes crush it out there.

Stokeley really touts the sidearm in his videos, telling people all about how you can use it with a bad stance, without a runup, when you need a left to right fade, and all the other good stuff about it. He finished in 2nd place twice in Worlds, so he should know. But the guy who beat him in Worlds both times (the champ Kenny) doesn't throw sidearm at all. I've heard, when he needs a strong left to right fade, he throws left handed!

I'm really amazed that so many of the really best superpros with ratings of 1010 or even higher can't throw sidearm to save their lives. I can't figure it out.

If you ever play tightly wooded couses like we do quite a bit in NC, it's going to be in your best interest to be able to throw siearm shots. Not only for certain tee-shots but mostly to get out of trouble from in the woods when you have no overhead route.(Like the left side of a tightly guarded fairway up against the trees with about 230 to the basket) Unless you are the small percentile that can throw with both hands (consistently); then throw your roller (really great odds here), just go ahead and mark down a 4 on the scorecard, or park it with a sidearm. :D

They have woods in other states besides NC. Like, in all other states east of the Rockies.

But what you say is true, the sidearm rocks at getting out of jams on the opposite side. It's a pinpoint accurate throw and you have to develop one for woods.

Once you get the hang of it, turnover shots aren't so hard, maybe thats why alot of pro's don't use sidearm much? Not saying at all that there are some aspects to the right fade that will make some shots easier. I use sidearm most often when I get into that heavy rough on the left and don't have room to use a backhand. Also to the average golfer sidearm seems like a good idea to use for threading the needle, but the pro's probably have a pretty consistently accurate backhand and don't need to use a sidearm for that.

But the guy who beat him in Worlds both times (the champ Kenny) doesn't throw sidearm at all. I've heard, when he needs a strong left to right fade, he throws left handed!





I saw Kenny throwing some anny sidearms in warmups at the crosstown - I dont know if he was just practicing or waht...

And you are correct about the lefty thing. Stokely said in his book that one time he and kenny were neck and neck and tied going 17, which was a big lefty or flick hole, so he figured he could pick up one on kenny and go to 18 up one.

Stokley parked it - kenny knowing he needed the 2, threw lefty and parked it as well - he ended up winning the tournament