Forehand or backhand for distance ?

[captain jack]

Today I did some field testing, and even with my best flex technique and hyzer flipping rips, throwing my lightest, fastest discs, I still threw farther forehand with a 167 gram Boss, than I could with my best backhand throw, which was close, but still at least 40' shorter, with a 150 gram Destroyer.
I had a slight following wind, under 5mph, for all throws.

Do you throw your farthest forehand or backhand ?

[Bruce]

Backhand by far, probably a good 100+ feet further on most days.

[sillybizz]

Backhand by far, probably a good 100+ feet further on most days.

My sidearms hurt my back and shoulder so I only use them for upshots, backhand for me goes much farther.

[Adam Schneider]

Do any of the pros throw forehand for max D?

[Iowa]

Backhand. But barely.

[Ol' Bob]

My rotator cuff was gone before ever started hukking. Backhand only.

[Parks]

Do any of the pros throw forehand for max D?

Geoff Bennett, Ville Piippo, and Jeremy Koling sometimes though his backhand is beast, too.

[snap7times]

Physics-math-human anatomy show the backhand to produce more torque and spin than the forehand which is the result of distance. My farthest throw with backhand was almost 450, farthest forehand 325...

[Nathan]

Backhand by about a hundred feet. Backhand~400' Forehand~300'

[Getty]

My flick goes ~100 feet further than my backhand unless there's room for me to do a 360 wind-up.

[RonTheWhip]

I use to throw a forehand farther and maxed out around 460' around 2006. But by 2005 I was already throwing 400' backhands. Backhands have the potential to go farther and once someone gets the technique down, they'll have greater distance. I no longer throw sidearms over 400', both to save my shoulder and because I've gotten better throwing backhands. I throw about 150' farther with a backhand then I do sidearm now.

[RonTheWhip]

Geoff Bennett, Ville Piippo, and Jeremy Koling sometimes though his backhand is beast, too.

Big Jeremy Koling throws farther with a backhand. He has a bomb either way though!

[bvdisc]

Backhands for sure.

But I will say that Chris Wilcox has a mean forehand. I'm pretty sure it's his max distance shot. That's very unusual though.

[DMajor]

On average my sidearm goes 30-50 feet farther than my backhand. Although I hope to reverse that by Spring. Worse case scenario is I have to start throwing my sidearm 60-100 feet less on average which is definitely doable

[olydiscgolf]

BH for me, I never throw FH for distance, and barely for accuracy.

I don't know about the PRO FH record holders, but there are two Adv. players that have huge FH, Landry and Kenny Clark. Landry aced 11 at Seatac with a FH.

[DoubleDees]

backhand. did anyone notice the period?

[thebakedone]

It's all personal preference and comfort level. I throw much further "accurately" with a forehand as does my younger brother. I use whatever feels better that day if I have an open look and either shot is an option. I throw 400+ with a forehand and max out around 390 backhand

[Ol' Bob]

I get to watch a lot of people huk. I have to admit that I've seen good forehanders throw discs like they were darts, blown away by how they could do tunnel shots. I can see it may be initially easier to get accuracy that way. After all, you're looking where you are throwing the whole time. The accuracy is certainly there with a backhand, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes more time to get it. If I had a rotator cuff, I'd for sure be throwing both ways. It amazes me how many people will only do it the way they are used to. The ones that really drive me nutz are the ones who sidearm left and backhand right or vice versa.

[E-Z-E]

I throw backhand about a max of 450 and i throw forehand about 350.

[Toby Puttzinski]

If you saw my side-arm you might say something like, "I've seen better arms on a rocking chair",
or "I've seen better throws on a couch."

I am a LHBH disc golfer w/ no side-arm shot... I only use my forehand to get out of trouble and rarely off the tee-- it is 'opposite' handed for me in a sense. I throw a baseball right handed, but I am semi-ambidextrous in that I can throw a baseball with either hand, swing clubs or bats from either side, and play paddle sports pretty well with my off hand(R). My RH side-arm is much more powerful, but I've only used it due to injuring my left. I have alot of scar tissue/pain in my right shoulder from h.s. and college baseball, so I never tried to develop a RHFH. (I parked hole #1 at N-Park the first day throwing RHFH after I broke my left pinky, and I've never come close to throwing a LHFH up there)

[Ol' Bob]

I'd give my right hand to be ambidextrous.*






*Bathroom graffiti seen in tavern thirty years ago.

[The Ombudsman]

Backhand all the way!
when I played Ultimate, I had one of the most feared forehands in the game, but it never translated to my golf game.
Theory: The more spin you impart to the disc, the more distance
The more surface area of grip you have on the disc, the more spin you can impart. There is far more grip on a backhand than on a forehand, therefore, there is the potential to impart more spin.
Some may argue that a forehand allows you to put more angular momentum on the disc, but I disagree with that theory.
The issue with the forehand is that the release point is far smaller than that of a backhand. therefore, it is far more difficult to control a forehand, especially the behavior of the disc when lands.
I am sure that all of you have noticed how it is far easier to get a backhand to 'sit' when it hits the ground, while a forehand will skip and/or roll much more wildly than a backhand.
The spin on a forehand has a 1 to 1 ratio to the arm speed while on a backhand it is far easier to adjust the amount of spin while controlling the arm speed (angular momentum) Try putting a lot of spin on a forehand without throwing it hard and you will see what I mean!
Beginners throwing forehand are naturally able to, at first, put more spin on the disc. Therefore they can throw a forehand much further than a backhand. At first.

[erp]

I've always thought my backhands would catch up and pass my forehand, but so far my longest throws are RHFH by 30'

I throw right and left hand backhands within about 5' of each other for distance, but I have some old nerve damage on my right hand and I think the resulting hook on my longest finger just allows me to get more snap on the disc and it just soars past the backhands.

Merciless on the rotator cuff though so I reserve them to one or two a round.

[REDFIVE]

My backhand goes further but I have only recently been seriously practicing my sidearm. After playing with nate and dion this weekend I am inspired to get the thing to a somewhat consistant 350. I am comfortable at around 250 maybe 300 now. Backhand goes much further.

[Parks]

did anyone notice the period?

We're both so proud of you; you're becoming a woman!

Now go have a talk with you mother.

[Tim]

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u67/timcoye/random/Marvelous.jpg

[DexterHawk]

I'm no "big arm" but I don't think there are more than two people in the world that can throw a forehand farther than I can throw backhand (500 ft measured)... Backhand is king for distance

[DexterHawk]

PS Backhand rollers go farther too!

[Adam Schneider]

Here's a related question: you big bombers out there (400'+), how does your overhand distance compare to your backhand? I can throw about 320' backhand, but I don't count on being able to get a Firebird tomahawk past about 230'.


P.S.:I'm no "big arm" but ... I can throw backhand (500 ft measured)
The hell you aren't.

[catalystdg]

i can throw a thummer 250-260 a grenade 240-250 and backhand 450 when i throw forehand its either 350 or 150 and on another fairway( about a 50/50 chance:slapface:)

[Nathan]

Here's a related question: you big bombers out there (400'+), how does your overhand distance compare to your backhand? I can throw about 320' backhand, but I don't count on being able to get a Firebird tomahawk past about 230'.

I can throw right around 400' and my tomahawk doesn't go any farther than yours. I do have some friends that throw as far as I do but they played baseball and can tomahawk ~300'

[Nathan]

i can throw a thummer 250-260 a grenade 240-250 and backhand 450 when i throw forehand its either 350 or 150 and on another fairway( about a 50/50 chance:slapface:)

That is an extremely long gernade. Whenever I've seen one thrown, they go ~100'. I've never seen one be throw for distance like that.

[Ol' Bob]

I remember a couple of young guys who came here and they both overhanded their shots over the first line of trees on 4. I was shocked. :shocked:

[catalystdg]

ive pretty much replaced my thummer with my grenade i am alot more accurate with the grenade and i don't lose alot of d

[Parks]

I'm no "big arm" but I don't think there are more than two people in the world that can throw a forehand farther than I can throw backhand (500 ft measured)...

Well, I already named three off the top of my head who can do it. I know there's more, as well.

That being said, backhand will give you more distance potential than forehand with good form.

[The Ombudsman]

I seldom throw overhand, and only as an out shot.

[DMajor]

I can throw a tomahawk or thumber about 300 with a full cro hop. Anything over 260 tends to hurt a little

[bvdisc]

Backhand all the way!
when I played Ultimate, I had one of the most feared forehands in the game, but it never translated to my golf game.
Theory: The more spin you impart to the disc, the more distance
The more surface area of grip you have on the disc, the more spin you can impart. There is far more grip on a backhand than on a forehand, therefore, there is the potential to impart more spin.
Some may argue that a forehand allows you to put more angular momentum on the disc, but I disagree with that theory.
The issue with the forehand is that the release point is far smaller than that of a backhand. therefore, it is far more difficult to control a forehand, especially the behavior of the disc when lands.
I am sure that all of you have noticed how it is far easier to get a backhand to 'sit' when it hits the ground, while a forehand will skip and/or roll much more wildly than a backhand.
The spin on a forehand has a 1 to 1 ratio to the arm speed while on a backhand it is far easier to adjust the amount of spin while controlling the arm speed (angular momentum) Try putting a lot of spin on a forehand without throwing it hard and you will see what I mean!
Beginners throwing forehand are naturally able to, at first, put more spin on the disc. Therefore they can throw a forehand much further than a backhand. At first.

Let's dissect this statement:
1st, you have a hypothesis not a theory.
2nd, Surface is independent with friction. It might be correlated but there is no cause and effect. Friction=coefficient of friction*Normal force. So if we're talking friction it's all how much force your hand is applying to the disc. But friction isn't the only force applying torque to the disc because they have rims. If you're using a power grip (as you should be in a drive) then most of your torque is coming from your fingers being curled under the rim (no friction required).
This is all an oversimplification. You can in fact grip something harder with a backhand grip then a forehand grip. Having said that, your wrist has more strength pulling in rather then out, this helps your forehand. Also when you sling a forehand off of ends of your fingers then your hand is acting as a longer lever arm then with your backhand.
3rd, the idea that backhands get more spin and you know that because of how they land. The flight of a disc is significantly more complicated then most people account for. You have conservation of angular momentum, the Bernoulli Effect and the laminar flow of the air. Oh and did I mention that this isn't a theory, in fact it's not even a hypothesis.
4th, I don't even know what you mean by saying that the forehand has a smaller release point. The backhand and the forehand both have a release point which is a point in space and has no size. It's a release point not a release area.
5th, you can definitely increase your spin on a forehand without substantially increasing your arm speed. It's often done as a chip shot (especially when done as an anhyzer or roller).

Having said all that, you're going in the right direction with this. Backhands definitely go farther (in general) but some of your specifics either aren't fleshed out fully or are wrong.

As a professional physicist I feel comfortable telling anyone out there that thinks they really understand what exactly makes a disc do what it does is wrong. There are broad statements you can make about how to adjust throws and such but if you go into the details of exactly why it's happening that way it get very tricky very fast.

[maynard]

Backhand.

[RonTheWhip]

Let's dissect this statement:
1st, you have a hypothesis not a theory.
2nd, Surface is independent with friction. It might be correlated but there is no cause and effect. Friction=coefficient of friction*Normal force. So if we're talking friction it's all how much force your hand is applying to the disc. But friction isn't the only force applying torque to the disc because they have rims. If you're using a power grip (as you should be in a drive) then most of your torque is coming from your fingers being curled under the rim (no friction required).
This is all an oversimplification. You can in fact grip something harder with a backhand grip then a forehand grip. Having said that, your wrist has more strength pulling in rather then out, this helps your forehand. Also when you sling a forehand off of ends of your fingers then your hand is acting as a longer lever arm then with your backhand.
3rd, the idea that backhands get more spin and you know that because of how they land. The flight of a disc is significantly more complicated then most people account for. You have conservation of angular momentum, the Bernoulli Effect and the laminar flow of the air. Oh and did I mention that this isn't a theory, in fact it's not even a hypothesis.
4th, I don't even know what you mean by saying that the forehand has a smaller release point. The backhand and the forehand both have a release point which is a point in space and has no size. It's a release point not a release area.
5th, you can definitely increase your spin on a forehand without substantially increasing your arm speed. It's often done as a chip shot (especially when done as an anhyzer or roller).

Having said all that, you're going in the right direction with this. Backhands definitely go farther (in general) but some of your specifics either aren't fleshed out fully or are wrong.

As a professional physicist I feel comfortable telling anyone out there that thinks they really understand what exactly makes a disc do what it does is wrong. There are broad statements you can make about how to adjust throws and such but if you go into the details of exactly why it's happening that way it get very tricky very fast.

I love you Ben!

[ScottW]

I can throw my RHBH (dominant style) 400+ (though I think I would be lucky to get 400 right now). I started playing exclusively as a sidearm thrower and am extremely lucky to see 300 feet with it now. I have been working on a lefty backhand for some time now and feel more consistent with that as compared to my RHFH. I think I have way more room for improvement with my lefty backhand for distance and accuracy than I do my righty sidearm. There's no contest for me, backhand is the better throw.

That said, I did play with a kid (JC I believe was his name - from Colorado) at the Ft. Steilacoom Open this year and he threw 500+ft with a sidearm drive. His overhand was rediculous as well. I have never seen a sidearm drive go that far, EVER!

My overhand distance is weak. I might max out at 280' but probably average something more like 250'. Too much overhand makes me hurt.

In practice I try to practice RHBH, LHBH, and RHFH equally.