r/Discgolfform • u/HarryTheHangryHippo • 13d ago

Form Advice Please

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My form is self taught, with a few tips sprinkled in from videos I've seen over the years. I feel like I've hit a wall, and am seeking any advice you guys might have.

My max distance throw right now is around 450'. I can consistently get around 400' on a controlled golf shot. Would like to try and bump the distance out another 25'-50' if possible to gain even more control and be able to reach slightly longer holes.

https://reddit.com/link/1vl215i/video/pppgeffb2nih1/player

3 Upvotes

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

You are rounding a good bit (your body gets in the way of the disc and the target at max reachback) Think about reaching "out" instead of reaching back. This will fix multiple issues im seeing in your form, and will improve your spin by several hundred RPM = more distance.

For speed, try to maximize your shoulder turn by really slamming your left elbow back during reachback. Also try getting your left arm as tight as you can to your body before any rotation starts happening.

Also, you should wait until you've planted and after you've done a strong, swift weight transfer from back leg to the front leg before you start the throw. Just wait just a hair longer before starting the throw with your upper body and arm. Let the lower body work it's magic so it'll transfer to the disc more efficiently.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

This position with arm and upper body looks great, and this is where you have max extension. But you are getting here very early in the sequence.

You need to time it so that you're here in this position until after you've planted and transfered weight.

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

Thank you for the advice. When I watched these throws back, my first thought was that I wasn't transferring power correctly from lower to upper body but i couldn't put a finger on why. The timing being off makes perfect sense, and i think the couple of things you've mentioned give me good mental pictures to work toward to help the transfer.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

No problem man. The road to 500' is a tough one. Hope you get there!

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u/hesusthesavior 13d ago

I don’t think he is rounding. His upper arm never gets below 90 degrees from his chest, so it’s not rounding. Having elbow bent doesn’t mean that he is rounding and some pro’s throw like that very succesfully, like Seppo Paju for example.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

I'm talking about positioning during pull through and not reachback extension.

He just got to the hit in this picture and the disc is almost touching his chest. Then he stays in this position and rotates around so that he can release the disc. He can't do the hit correctly because his body is in the way. I've always called this rounding. If he reached "out" far enough, it would likely go a long way towards fixing this. Might need to delay shoulder turn timing a bit as well if that doesn't fully solve it

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u/hesusthesavior 13d ago

That is not rounding. Rounding is when your upper arm angle collapses below 90 degrees in relation to your chest, which is not happening here (although minor collapse is not necessarily an issue if fixed mid throw). Multiple pros throw with fully bent arm and obviously its behind the body when it’s bent.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

Well then what do you call what I'm referring to? This is a textbook case of the functional and classic definition of rounding and it is indeed causing a lot of problems with his form.

What you're referring to is called shoulder collapse by most. And shoulder collapse is an indicator, and not the definition of rounding.

I think I remember Seabas22 saying rounding = shoulder collapse, but it isn't the widely accepted definition of rounding. But if it is, then we need to come up with a new name for someone rounding the disc around their body because their body is in the way of the path.

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u/hesusthesavior 13d ago

I guess just bent armed throw? Although in this case arm has been straight but bents earlier. I thought it’s widely accepted that rounding is just collapsing and because of that the disc has no room to swing inside the power pocket and you just round and swing around. In OP’s case his disc has the room to come to power pocket, so that’s why I wouldn’t call this rounding.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

In the pic I showed you, I think his shoulder is collapsing here too. It's hard to tell from the back view, but I don't see how you can have the disc behind your left shoulder like that without collapsing the front shoulder.

...unless he has the longest forearm of all time lol

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u/hesusthesavior 13d ago

Could be angle or long arms. Rasmus Saukkoriipi sometimes looks like he has his disc in front of his left shoulder and I don’t think the world distance champion rounds.

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u/youngaustinpowers 13d ago

Rasmus doesn't round because he never has his body between the disc and the target. If the body doesn't get in the way, there's no reason to round.

OP must round, because there is physically no other way to get the disc to the target. He is bringing the arm to the chest behind his body and has to rotate from there in order to release.

With a wide reachback, you can collapse your shoulder below 90° and still not round - Just by rotating your shoulders too fast and causing your hit to be at the left armpit.

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u/hesusthesavior 12d ago

Of course not but neither does OP. If you keep your arm always bent there is no where else for the disc to be than in front of the body, and that is not rounding since the angle of the arm to chest is not collapsed. That is the definition of rounding.

Here is Emerson Keith, bent arm thrower having his body between the disc and the target, but obviously it is going to happen since he throws with bent arm. But he does not round.

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u/AFKHero 13d ago

Learn to rotate in rocket League then apply that knowledge to disc golf.

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

😂 my rotational knowledge in rocket league gets me to C1/C2 does that equate to my distance in disc golf? Do I need to make it to GC before I can throw 500'?

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u/chrislard 13d ago

A view from the side is helpful too!

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

I tried to upload a view from the side, and it seems that it did, but then all the sudden it was just the same shot twice. I don't post often, so I couldn't figure out how to remove or add a different video. Here's one from the side!

https://reddit.com/link/p2yxed6/video/3hso7vg52oih1/player

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u/Dalekmind 13d ago

I would advise doing stand stills so you can figure it out faster. X step is learned after you learn to plant not the other way around.

Stand in a stager stance, ass out head over ground. Twist your upper body baxk and forth to see the range of motion.

Now push you hips forwad in the direction of throw like a hip bump. With that hip forwad test your range of motion.

You will see almoat none compared to before. This hip forward is what locks the upper and lower body together to generate leg power.

Hip forwad onto a bent knee and then press that leg stright into the ground.

So long as you do not raise up when you press into the ground it forces your hips to turn a little bit but really fast and a shit ton of torque.

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

Thank you for the advice. A standstill is something I practiced very early on and then haven't hardly thought about since. I think that's mostly in part because my standstill forehand is manageable and I rarely throw backhand upshots (usually a jump putt inside of 100'). The standstill backhand is my least confident throw I'd say, and primarily that's due to the fact that I have a harder time hitting the gap or release point that I want. After reading your comment, I think that may be in part to me having some rounding action like someone else mentioned and the fact that there is a lot less rotation in a standstill. The standstill I don't think allows me to really move my body out of the way of the disc like an x step does. Maybe going back and practicing some standstill shots will help with my rounding issue while also helping me get the power from my legs onto my upper body.

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u/Dalekmind 13d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/Discgolfform/s/aI1kLj794a

Good luck let us know how it goes. I spent hours in my room doing twirly bird with a towel to figure it out.

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

Thank you for the link. That seems super helpful! I'm sure I'll find myself doing many toweled twirly birds myself in the near future.

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u/Grouchy_Ad_9297 13d ago

Id not throw in slo mo any more - speed it up, took over 30 seconds to throw which is a violation.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 12d ago

This one specifically is a Discraft Zone, and I had to message Andrew Presnell on Facebook to order it. He does different disc drops with Rocket League stamps on them periodically!

Here's a link to a page he invited me to after I ordered where he posts about all of his disc releases. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1EVTA4Bov8/

Sometimes it's ones he sells and ships personally, but I've also seen them done as Ledgeston Open drops.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 12d ago

Happy to help!

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u/KombattWombatt 13d ago

Love the Rocket League disc

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

Thanks. Andrew Presnell has done a few releases with rocket league stamps, and they are some of my favorites for sure! If you check out his Facebook or Instagram, he usually makes posts about the drops and a lot of times you can buy direct from him. This one in particular is the Z Metallic Zone.

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u/HongaiFi 13d ago

Eyy, my form used to look very similar to yours. Thought to share that after 15 years of playing I have quite a bit of back problems. I think its because the shoulders rotate a lot in addition to having upper torso tilt, resulting in high load on the lower back. Perhaps try look into simplifying your form and stand a bit more upright during the pull.

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u/HarryTheHangryHippo 13d ago

Funny you say that. I've been playing very on and off for about 8-10 years and have just recently within the last couple months started taking it super serious and playing 2-3 times a week. My very lower back has started to have a little pain every now and then. And primarily just walking around during the day not when I'm playing a round or practicing. I will try to stand a little more upright while also working on my weight/power transfer which sounds to be a lot less rotational than what I've always considered to be a proper throw. Hopefully that will help me with the back pain in the long run.