Jun 06 2005, 01:46 PM
My question will eventually lead to grip strength, but I'll give some background first. Near the end of last season I was throwing in the 350'-360' range (that number is a guess, but I really think it's fairly accurate) with my wide rimmed drivers. However, most of my midranges and putters all fluttered and dove off to the right (RHBH) so I put a lot of work into getting rid of the flutter and throwing with a smooth motion. After several steps backwards I'm now back to my old distance and can actually control my midranges and am quite a bit more consistent at all distances. I'm still a little shaky when throwing my putters for distance with a power grip, though.

Yesterday I was out playing and decided to throw all the discs in my bag one last time in the field between the last pin and the parking lot. I grabbed my Medium S Wizard and popped it out farther than I've ever thrown a putter on a line similar to what I throw with a midrange (Element or Element-X, but I do the same with Rocs and MRVs). When I went to retrieve my discs I noticed that the Wizard had gone just as far, if not farther than my midranges and even a couple of my drives that I thought were pretty good. I'm a bad judge of distance, but I don't doubt that this "wonder throw" broke the 300' mark. The other three Wizards I threw were closer to 250' and the good throw landed near a Sabre, which I have consistently been throwing 300'-310' based on tee to pin and long to short tee pad distances given at:

http://www.playdg.com

Now I'm stuck trying to figure out what went right. Did I just manage to find the sweet spot and get the perfect nose angle, height and grip strength? If that's right, does that mean that I could possibly optimize my distance with other discs if I'm able to find the right grip strength and get a better speed/spin ratio? Does it sound like my grip strength may be holding me back with regards to higher speed drivers? Do those ideas sound right to the experts or am I way off and it's something else? I've suspected that my grip is getting to be the weak point in my throw recently and I do occasionally get some flutter so I suppose it may be an off-axis torque issue but that could lead back to my grip as well. I tried to only compare good throws for this question.

Thanks

discgolfreview
Jun 07 2005, 05:07 AM
Did I just manage to find the sweet spot and get the perfect nose angle, height and grip strength?



possibly... one of the things i notice is that i can often throw my wizard as far or farther than my rocs... but a lot of that is based upon height. at 10' high my rocs always go farther. when height is of no concern, i can throw my wizard higher with greater success than i can with my rocs (although my max roc D exceeds my wizard D when i am throwing really well, and this is more common now that i have gone to slightly lighter rocs). this leads me to part two...


does that mean that I could possibly optimize my distance with other discs if I'm able to find the right grip strength and get a better speed/spin ratio? Does it sound like my grip strength may be holding me back with regards to higher speed drivers?



i don't think this is necessarily the case. putters are generally much less nose angle sensitive and are often easier to throw higher and with "enough" nose down than other discs. they are also slow flyers and are easy to hit/exceed their cruise speed and are easier to generate natural lift with.

you may not be getting enough nose down or generating enough velocity to throw the high speed drivers substantially farther, but you were able to hit this just right with the wizard.

i woudn't say the lack of a distance gap can be traced solely to grip. the flutter is most likely off-axis torque, but that is generally caused more by the extension plane and finish and how it corresponds (or fails to) with the disc trajectory/orientation.

i'm guessing that throw was one where you had better timing and a good grip as well as hit the perfect line... i can't really say more without seeing you throw. i would guess the lack of driver d is due to a combination of timing, extension, rip, snap, finish, etc. but i can't say any one of those more than the other for certain.

Jun 07 2005, 10:47 AM
i'm guessing that throw was one where you had better timing and a good grip as well as hit the perfect line...



Thanks for the insight!

Given my (limited) knowledge of throw mechanics and what I remember about that throw, this sounds right. I remember that throw feeling more "right" than most of my others. It still suprised me how far it went, though. Hopefully I can try and emulate that throw more and start improving my form.

Of course I would have liked to hear that it was something more specific, but I realize that's rarely the case. I don't just throw in a field as much as I should. That one throw had me rethinking my concept of how to throw and how discs could and should fly for me.