Let's Talk About "D" Baby

[Steve Solbo]

dont see why 500+ is so unbelievable...

That's elite distance, and alot of people think they throw further than they really do. I've only seen 10 people throw that far.

Most was at the Vibram Open distance competition. Hell, the one year it was held on flat ground, I think the longest throw was a touch over 500' by Henry Childress, one of the longer throwers I've seen. The competition now throws down hill. With throws ranging in the 700 foot range.

At Borderland, the long thrower was Steve Brinster a touch over 500'
I've seen Billy Dunne throw a touch over 500' at Pyramids distance competition.

Not saying it's unbelievable, but I've only seen elite golfers do it, with years of experience.

Alot of people over-estimate how far they throw, I don't believe anyone that says they throw that far unless I see it with my own eyes. Or on tape.

[Jaxon Sheehy]

dont see why 500+ is so unbelievable...

That's elite distance, and alot of people think they throw further than they really do. I've only seen 10 people throw that far.

Most was at the Vibram Open distance competition. Hell, the one year it was held on flat ground, I think the longest throw was a touch over 500' by Henry Childress, one of the longer throwers I've seen. The competition now throws down hill. With throws ranging in the 700 foot range.

At Borderland, the long thrower was Steve Brinster a touch over 500'
I've seen Billy Dunne throw a touch over 500' at Pyramids distance competition.

Not saying it's unbelievable, but I've only seen elite golfers do it, with years of experience.

Alot of people over-estimate how far they throw, I don't believe anyone that says they throw that far unless I see it with my own eyes. Or on tape.

well said- i was beginning to feel like the next post was going to say "i started playing disc golf last night, and i can throw 800 feet"

[Karl Molitoris]

If Mr. Chaney can throw 500 feet plus, wonderful. But if someone can throw that far and his rating isn't even as high as mine, I'd suggest he practice his faults (he must have SOME faults if such is the case) not his strengths...like maybe his putting a bit more .

Karl

[Lucas Brewer]

If Mr. Chaney can throw 500 feet plus, wonderful. But if someone can throw that far and his rating isn't even as high as mine, I'd suggest he practice his faults (he must have SOME faults if such is the case) not his strengths...like maybe his putting a bit more .

Karl

ya that would be my fault for sure. like i said i have only been playing for alittle over a year and a half and i have done very well in tournaments and done bad in some. i have played in i think 7 tournaments in that year and a half

placed 3rd and 2nd in the doubles am am tournament at borderland the minuteman classic. placed first in the fall finale for am 1 and 4th for the vineyard social this year in am1. i have done a few other tournaments at further away courses with pretty bad finishes.

i may end up doing the spring fling still if i can find a way out of this wedding.. not really a close friend of mine or my girlfriends so i may bail to play disc. hope it works out so i can try to defend my title in am1

[Eric Kevorkian]

Nit-picking here Lucas, but you're not defending your AM1 title at the Spring Fling because you didn't WIN the Spring Fling last year. Completely different tourney


Karl - I don't think Isaac's rating reflects the caliber player he actually is. A couple bad rounds during a PDGA tourney while playing courses blind can have that effect. Look for that rating to rise once he's playing tournies again.

Now back to our regularly scheduled distance discussion...

I like to throw far. That is all.

[Karl Molitoris]

Karl - I don't think Isaac's rating reflects the caliber player he actually is. A couple bad rounds during a PDGA tourney while playing courses blind can have that effect. Look for that rating to rise once he's playing tournies again.

Eric,
That may be true (although it's something that everybody loves to say...) but his coming on this MB and spouting off distances (true or not true) show very little tact / humility.
He may be a really nice guy...but his first post (on this thread) reeked of braggardocio. Why not sprinkle in a little "teaching / information" if one is really decent at something?

Karl

[Todd Lapham]

Eric,
That may be true (although it's something that everybody loves to say...) but his coming on this MB and spouting off distances (true or not true) show very little tact / humility.

Well considering the title of this thread, I think his response is perfectly acceptable.

Also, one bad tourney can drastically affect your rating, until the sample size is big enough to reduce variance.

Why not sprinkle in a little "teaching / information" if one is really decent at something?

He did.

basically to achieve this distance with no effort iv spent alot of hours perfecting my power to snap ratio..and the way you move your body has a big play in it to..balance is key!

It is very hard for me to teach distance..mainly because iv only met several people like avery j, gg, jeremy k who share the same power and techniques.

The only advice I could really think of is, reach back as far as you can, then pull through has hard as you can with your body, not your arm mucles..this will help create snap. And STAY balanced!! Also the more your throwing wrist is curled up the more snap you can generate. Once you gain more distance with some key fundamentals, you need to use some manual dexterity skills to to do little things here and there that can keep adding distance

[Karl Molitoris]

He did.

True. I stand corrected. My mistake.

But any time anyone starts stating "statistics", one should understand their audience may feel intimidated a bit...and thus saying things like

My crappy shots that have too much hyzer release still go about 550.

seem pretty "...oh look how good I am..." to me.

I knew DJ for 4 years before I learned he held the WR for distance at one time (numero uno, best of all time (at that time))! Yet never heard as much as a peep out of him about it.

And I was hoping that THIS thread wouldn't go the same route as most of the dgcr threads (which I've found out that it's just not worth 'discussing' anything there...) but probably "silly me" .

Karl

[Jeff Wiechowski]

There's three units of measure in the world these days..........
English(measured in feet)
Metric(measured in meters)
and Internet Distance(measured in BS units).

[Shawn Mullen]

He did.

And I was hoping that THIS thread wouldn't go the same route as most of the dgcr threads (which I've found out that it's just not worth 'discussing' anything there...)

Worst Disc Golf site ever.

[Rob Underwood]

Anyone know of a simple method to measure the rpms of a discs? Would like to know so I can track progress and see how a few different grips truely effect how energy is transfered into the disc.

[Matt Stroika]

He did.

And I was hoping that THIS thread wouldn't go the same route as most of the dgcr threads (which I've found out that it's just not worth 'discussing' anything there...)

Worst Disc Golf site ever.

Disagree. The discussion threads are pretty useless, but they list more courses than the PDGA and there are user ratings as well as narrative on courses. It is searchable and easy to use. I really like the site for that reason.

[Mark Valis]

There are more people throwing over 500 ft . on this thread than I have ever seen in person ! Solbo is right 500 + is world class distance and there are probably about 6 people in this area that can get it done . I've have heard from numerous people that Isaac can flat out KABOOM so he now brings the cout to about 7 , for the rest of you I think you need to check yourslef.

[Justin DeVico]

My question is who cares if someone can get to 500 feet in the middle of a field? Can they drive 350 next to a basket 5 times in a row. We live in new England where the farthest we need to drive is 350 in the woods. Personally I work on accurate smooth releases, instead of throwing far. Anyone else agree?

[Matt Stroika]

My question is who cares if someone can get to 500 feet in the middle of a field. Can they drive 350 next to a basket 5 times in a row. We live in new England where the farthest we need to drive is 350 in the woods. Personally I work on accurate smooth releases, instead of throwing far. Anyone else agree?

My opinion is that disc golf differs from ball golf in that disc golf it is not all about throwing far. It is about shaping shots through the woods. However, the times are changing. There are many courses today which feature holes where the ability to throw 500 in an open field is a huge advantage to a 350 center cut throw.

Personally, I could care less about throwing far although I would like to be able to be back in the 320-330 range. It sucks struggling to consistently hit birds on 300 foot holes.

I hate open courses and heart the woods.

[Matt Heenan]

My question is who cares if someone can get to 500 feet in the middle of a field? Can they drive 350 next to a basket 5 times in a row. We live in new England where the farthest we need to drive is 350 in the woods. Personally I work on accurate smooth releases, instead of throwing far. Anyone else agree?

Globally the game is very long and open where you're going to need major D to compete. Our youngers players in NEFA have to practice getting major distance down.

[Bill Dunne]

After watching Billy’s game evolve, I think the advantage to throwing far is not the 600 foot bombs in an open field. It’s being able to throw a Putter - 350 feet and a Roc or Buzzz - 450 feet. It’s such an advantage here in the New England woods because those discs hold their line the whole way (It doesn’t hurt to be able to throw a forehand shot – 500 feet either).

[Matt Heenan]

After watching Billy’s game evolve, I think the advantage to throwing far is not the 600 foot bombs in an open field. It’s being able to throw a Putter - 350 feet and a Roc or Buzzz - 450 feet. It’s such an advantage here in the New England woods because those discs hold their line the whole way (It doesn’t hurt to be able to throw a forehand shot – 500 feet either).

True. For here in NE. But hopefully maybe even in the near future Billy will play in some major events around the country or globe where that 600 ft rip will allow him to compete

[Greg Aucoin]

From what I've seen, several of the best/youngest players around here like Billy, Troy, J. Dore, and Gagne are awesome at both crushing open field drives and throwing long, accurate putter shots through the woods. If they were on tour, they'd be able to compete just fine because they can do both well.

Personally, the first thing I was able to do well in disc golf was throw very far sidearms but that only allowed me to compete pretty well in am2 and mid am1. Taking off some distance, and switching from releasing anhyzer to flat has saved my shoulder and increased my accurate golf distance, lowering my scores overall. The ability to dial in 350-450ft. holes for birdies is way more important around here than throwing 500+ open field. But, most guys throwing 400-450' golf d. can throw 500' if they want to. Usually, though, it's not even worth doing in a singles tournament, unless there's no risk of going way left, right, or turning over into the pond on MH #1 Gold . Even on those types of very long holes, I've found it's way more important to leave myself with a 2nd shot that's to my liking, rather than be 50-80' closer to the hole.

[Mark Valis]

My question is who cares if someone can get to 500 feet in the middle of a field? Can they drive 350 next to a basket 5 times in a row. We live in new England where the farthest we need to drive is 350 in the woods. Personally I work on accurate smooth releases, instead of throwing far. Anyone else agree?

No one was saying you have to throw 500 ft. I think most of us were amazed by the amount of people that claim to throw in that range. I would rather be able to throw 375-400 and approach and putt with the best of them all day then throw the furthest. However Matt is right with the ever changing game more and more holes require a drive of 450 + just to make a deuce run from outside the circle.

[Justin White]

I'm the best and throw the farthest.

[Justin DeVico]

Point well taken, I do wish I could drive farther than 350, but I find myself more trying to push my buzzz's out that far rather than trying to get my valks farther than that.

[Lucas Brewer]

alright so i finally got actual measurements on my drives.. most are between 480-500 ft.. throwing star bosses champ katanas and pro destroyers

this is on perfectly flat ground

guess i was alittle off haha glad i finally had it measured

i will be interested to see what i can throw at borderland considering it is alittle downhill from the long drive teebox by the practice basket..

cant wait to see a 600ft+ drive

[Craig Cutler]

Matt S your lack of D is a result of lack of reps in a field. I guarantee if you did two 45 minute sessions per week you would be at 350 easy. Hyzer release (no anny flex) reps with beat in pro destroyer type discs, and you would be right there. IMO, when you are over age 30, the open field reps are more important than ever. I see the results right away and it translates to the course for all types of situations.

[Erik Siersdale]

While playing in the eastern mass area has helped shape my recovery and control shots immensely, overly playing courses like Borderland and Devens I believe has a limiting effect on the practice time taken for longer drives. I barely crack 320 feet when given freedom of space, but have yet to find a course other than maybe Wick where it is truly limiting.

[Karl Molitoris]

While I would give up in a heart beat 20'-30' of distance for 2 more made putts per round (read: you can NEVER practice putting enough), Craig is correct about "field practice".
I'll field practice here in middle NJ as much as I'll play (both of which isn't enough ) but it shows you what to do to be "natural"...as we all have the tendency to steer our shots when fronted with trees in our way. Open field practice both "stretches out" the arm AND allows us to naturally 'flow through' shots...to ingrain them (muscle memory) so then when in the woods, we'll do things less-steeringly.

Karl

[Matt Stroika]

Of course Craig is right. The only time I was ever near the 350 mark was when I practiced in a field twice a week in addition to playing nearly every day.

Now that I gave up on competitive play, the need for the extra D is secondary to trying to get a round or two in a week. I enjoy steering shots thru trees much more than bombing it an extra 50 feet in a field.

I have been lucky in that my putting has not suffered too much without the practice. I guess the thousands of hours of daily putting back in the late 90s and early 00's is still paying off.

[Craig Cutler]

For those struggling with D what discs are your main drivers? Matt are you throwing the older models?

[David Hoey]

For those struggling with D what discs are your main drivers? Matt are you throwing the older models?

thank you, perhaps this thread could get back on track and more instructive.

I'd imagine the Beasts, Flashes, and Orcs still provide reliable D for most of us... what are ya throwing Matt?

[Matt Stroika]

I throw a beat up Nuke, Wraith, and Sidewinder for drivers.