Driving Question

[joshkns]

I need help with my drive! here is a question, how do I get height to my throw without it just going straight up into the air and crashing 75 ft in front of me? In the last few days I have changed my grip and that has added some distance. Tonight I went to the park to drive with some putters and mids, my furthest throw had some height and was my longest drive to date (about 300ft per google earth) How do I add consistent height??

[RonTheWhip]

Quick question - how much is the development of your game worth to you? There are some very qualified Professional players in the area that wouldn't mind giving you a lesson...just a thought.

Aiming up usually gets the disc higher. But why do you want to throw high? If by height you mean ~ 8 to 10 ft of height, than really just try throwing flat, and let the natural lift of the wing of the disc do its thing.

[Tim]

There's no substitute for hands on lessons, but reading some of these articles might be the next best thing. http://www.discgolfreview.com/resources/articles.shtml

[joshkns]

Thanks guys. My next free day I will try and set some lessons up. Whats frustrating is I have read all the articles, watched the You Tube videos and have been trying to pick up as much info I can on any of the forums. I ask about height because I have always tried to throw low and flat, it just seemed once I got the disc 15-25 ft off the ground it added a bit of distance.

[Burge]

Originally Posted by joshkns

I need help with my drive! here is a question, how do I get height to my throw without it just going straight up into the air and crashing 75 ft in front of me? In the last few days I have changed my grip and that has added some distance. Tonight I went to the park to drive with some putters and mids, my furthest throw had some height and was my longest drive to date (about 300ft per google earth) How do I add consistent height??

Sounds like you're making too big of a correction too soon in your throw or you're rotating your wrist at the end of your throw and pitching the nose up hard and making your disc stall out and die.

Still, height is not what you need--thousands of drives is what you need. Don't try to nail down the 'one thing' you need to get more D because the only thing that is going to get those drives out there farther is practice, practice, practice.

Oh, and did I mention, practice?

It took me two years of consistent training (throwing drives for one hour on a soccer field 3times a week and playing at least 5 rounds a week) before I could throw over 400' with accuracy.

Check out the articles Tim linked--that's your best reference.

[Magilla]

Originally Posted by joshkns

I need help with my drive! here is a question, how do I get height to my throw without it just going straight up into the air and crashing 75 ft in front of me? In the last few days I have changed my grip and that has added some distance. Tonight I went to the park to drive with some putters and mids, my furthest throw had some height and was my longest drive to date (about 300ft per google earth) How do I add consistent height??

Think of snapping a towel. When throwing a disc you need the straight pull across your body. Throwing up into the air is usually due to a "sweeping" motion that causes the nose of the disc to be pointed up upon release.
You cant snap a towel with this same "sweeping" motion. Ive help MANY players with this theory.

[Eric Olson]

Originally Posted by joshkns

... how do I get height to my throw without it just going straight up into the air and crashing 75 ft in front of me?

Keep the front of the disc (referred to as the "nose") angled down, independent of your plane of release. This is achieved through wrist orientation and getting your weight forward over your plant foot at the hit and follow through.

[joshkns]

On your long drives about how high off the ground is your disc at its highest point?

[Ol' Bob]

Geez. Well, my long drive is only about 275'. I know what it takes to milk my maximum distance out of what I have, and if I have much height at all, distance suffers. I get whatever D I can get from glide. You don't want your maximum D to get killed off at the end by a pantload of fade, so the angle of climb should not be more than required to get into a good long glide-out. When you're not on level ground, learn to pick the right disc to follow the lay of the land. I see most new players throwing way too high on both uphill and downhill lines. In the downhill shots, find a disc that has a glide you can get into quickly with the right power applied (and throw it downhill). On the uphills, avoid a disc that fades too hard and pick one that will match your applied power without going ape-sh*t. Remember the uphill shots will fade sooner and harder. Find the spot to land early in the fade.

[Ol' Bob]

You just have to believe.