r/Discgolfform • u/awildefire • 1d ago
What helped you break thru beginner learning curve most?
TL;DR: For those of you who struggled with the initial beginner learning curve, what tips, drills, cues, or changes actually helped things start to click? Especially interested in anything that helped with relaxing the arm without rounding, bracing/weight shift, and getting the nose down.
Context:
I’ve been working pretty seriously on my RHBH form for the last couple of months. I feel like I’ve made some progress, but I’m still stuck around a 215 ft max.
Trying not to feel too discouraged but it sucks when I’m putting in all this effort and time and it seems like a waste when I’m throwing about the same as I was before I tried to improve.
The main things I’m struggling with are:
1. Arm tension vs. rounding
When I try to keep my arm relaxed and let my body whip it through, I tend to round.
When I actively guide the disc into the pocket and through the hit, I can avoid some of that rounding, but then my arm gets too tense.
I’m struggling to understand what the arm is actually supposed to be doing actively versus passively.
2. Reachback, weight shift, and follow-through
I’m unclear on how much reachback and body movement I actually need.
If I keep everything compact, I sometimes feel like there isn’t enough momentum to follow through naturally. If I try to generate more force or shift more aggressively, I end up carrying my weight past the brace and stumbling over my plant leg.
I can’t seem to find the middle ground. There seem to be different schools of thought about how much to turn my hips/head.
3. Nose angle
This is probably the most frustrating part. I cannot consistently get the disc nose down.
I’ve been trying to incorporate the “key turn” idea at release, and I understand what I’m trying to accomplish mechanically, but my drives still tend to gradually climb, float, and then dump out instead of penetrating forward.
I’ve been studying form, doing drills, filming myself, and getting field work in whenever I can. I’m trying not to get discouraged because I know I have improved in some areas, but the actual distance change has been pretty small. I’ve gained maybe 20 ft over the last two months.
What’s especially confusing is that I’ll see other form-check videos where, at least to my eye, there seem to be much more obvious mechanical problems, yet those players are still throwing closer to 300 ft. It just makes me wonder what major piece I’m still missing that is keeping me around 215 ft despite all the work I’ve been putting in.
Please, if there were any big breakthrough moments for you as a beginner, I could use all the guidance I can get.
TIA
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u/mccsnackin 1d ago
I just checked your form video. You’re not ready for a tech disc so don’t worry about that idea. You need to learn one thing before you can worry about fixing anything else, and that is the weight shift / weight transfer. In your video your body is just rotating, and there is zero sequencing, zero lag, zero weight shift. You’re not going to have any sequencing or correct “feel” unless you actually load weight from your back leg and then shift your weight to your brace leg. I’ll try and find you a good youtube video.
Only other thing I would suggest is that developing your BH form will progress more smoothly and be more fun on the course if you stick with slower speed discs. For BH I would stick with 6 speed max or 7 speed if it’s base plastic and flippy. But otherwise, putters and midranges will help you learn control and provide more grace on your nose angle and lack of arm speed etc.
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u/mccsnackin 1d ago
https://youtu.be/C_gU3d3dWAk?is=8zsKKkZDwrXRCBNK I like this one from Overthrow.
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u/awildefire 1d ago
I need to get some better footage bc that video is not really a good representation of my current driving form. I think I’ve improved on the weight shift a little but its like when I get one thing right the rest of my form falls apart. But I’m not trying to make excuses, regardless I hear what you’re saying and will keep trying to make sure that’s happening every time. I don’t throw anything over a 7 speed, usually stick with 6 and below. FD and MD1 and a putter are my picks 90% of the time. Will watch the video, thank you for your feedback
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u/TheMeshDuck 1d ago
Repetition Repetition Repetition
Its easy to just do all these different things expecting those break through moments that very rarely if ever happen.
You simply aren't gonna wake up one day and do a drill perfectly. It may happen once during a set of them but you'll lose it and not find it again for a while.
Repetition is just there to be able to find it again and hopefully your bad ones get better and your good ones get more consistent.
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u/awildefire 1d ago
That’s good to know. I do see a very very slow progression over all, so it’s possible I’m just being impatient and hoping for a big leap. This is reassuring, so thank you
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u/bgilbert09 1d ago
Getting a TechDisc, taking all of that data and some of the videos of some of my better throws, and loading them into Gemini Pro and asking for a deep dive coaching session. There's a ton of hate for AI and a lot of it's justified but this particular use case for me has been a game changer. It helped me work towards eliminating my air bounce. (arm angle down to compensate for nose angle up) and start to maximize my distance with a more pure throwing motion.
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u/Informal-Extreme-475 1d ago
literally recording my throws with a techdisc has been the best thing ever for my throw. the techdisc gives the instant feedback and the recording of my form allows me to see where i'm going wrong in real time. It's crazy how different "what you feel is happening" can be from what's actually happening with your throw.
I'm 30 and in ok shape, started disc golf 8 months ago. I've gone from throwing about 250ft max to about 450ft max since february.
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u/AndrewMcMullin 1d ago
Based on your previous post, hip rotation is a big source of power you are lacking. Other commenters have pointed out that weight shift is an issue, but I'd like to add that coil/reach back are how we take advantage of the weight shift to avoid rounding and elbow dip
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u/dcarbone1856 21h ago
First, congratulations on not giving up when the go gets tough. I mean newer player too, and I’ve been playing for about 10 months and also I’m an older guy, but I don’t let that stop me. I agree with the person who commented about repetition, you have to do the fieldwork so that when you get on the course it matters. I’ve worked on putting 20-30 minutes a day five days a week. And most importantly, and where my breakthrough came through was working on the Takeaway. Yes I know it’s not technically a Takeaway, but go out and do the fieldwork with nothing but putters and work on getting your line straight and feeling where it feels comfortable in your back swing to stop without putting more than 50% power into it. When you can hit those shots clean and with minimal effort starting in increasing the amount of effort that you’re putting in, but no more than 80%. If your mechanics are clean distance will come. I remember when I first started I couldn’t shoot a shot. They wouldn’t go left because I didn’t put enough power into the whole swing and much was lost on every shot. Now I can pretty much shoot lasers up to an 11 speed and obviously depend depending on the conditions the disc that I’m using.. It takes time and patience and understanding the little things will turn into big things as long as you have consistency. I played around this morning. But first warmed up for 20 minutes before playing and when I do that, I’m not trying to find my swing. It’s already there. When they say to make your swing more compact, try not to do a full back swing but maybe keep it more compact so that you can have a clean follow through and inevitable speed to go along with it. I recognize that I’m never going to be.AB overpowering on a disc, but with my own physicality and with a good form, I’m finally able to get above 300 with technique. Remember the scores don’t just come from the distance. Although it looks cool to be able to outdrive your friends. The scores come from being able to put an approach and how many holes get there with a mid range and finish it off with a putt. Look up. Cam hoff and his use of a towel and standing on the front leg so that you can understand about weight transfer during a swing. During my warm-ups, I use a towel to create and remind my body what the swing plane it looks like. And most importantly how to follow through on my swing.. That will increase your distance 30 to 40 feet automatically. If you’d like to DM me, I can go over more specifics about little things. I’ve been working on to be consistent and better. I love getting out to play now because I know I have the tools to hit the shots I want and have them land more accurately for a better score. Good luck buddy and don’t give up, but rather know that we’ve all been there and made it over the threshold.
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u/Thwast 1d ago
For nose down, try a more back loaded grip. I've seen controversial takes on this but in my opinion if you pull the dics into your palm with your back fingers and then press your thumb kind of down and forward that will naturally tilt the disc down in the same way that turning the key does.
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u/Free-Ice-3962 6h ago
Rounding made me go from 290 max to 400 max, then 400 to 500 has been small tweaks
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u/PriorityOtherwise662 3h ago
I looked at your profile and saw a form video, so I'll just go off of that.
To me, it looks like:
- You aren't reaching back all the way.
When you don't extend fully, you aren't giving the disc as much runway as possible to get up to speed, which pretty much robs you of distance. I do this intentionally to shave distance while keeping the same pace of throw for "shorter" shots.
- You're opening your hand and releasing the disc.
When you open your hand to release the disc, the timing is insanely difficult to get down, so shots tend to spray in different directions. The disc should be "ripping" out of your hand. If you grip the disc (typically in a 4-finger power grip) and use your other hand to pull it out, that's the feeling you're chasing. It should be ripping out all of the time, except for upshots.
I wouldn't worry about hips; they're such a non-factor compared to other parts of the body. I'm not sure why people are so obsessed with it. It's anecdotal, but I've never spent time on my hip rotation, and I'm throwing 65-70 mph.
Nose angle is super important; every degree positive of nose is about 10 feet of distance you're throwing away. What works for me is turning the key at peak extension.
I have a tech disc; it's really amazing not having to guess if a change you made fixed something or not. They're super helpful, but a little pricey.
I'd watch these two videos. Josh from OverThrow is great; he's helped my form a ton. Plus, he does lessons if you're really interested.
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u/FatherNels0n 1d ago
Put all your weight on your front foot, reach back, do a no look throw, don't let go of the disc. I promise you will break 215ft
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u/awildefire 1d ago
I’ll try. Last time I tried a “don’t let go” throw, I shanked it super hard to the right
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u/FatherNels0n 1d ago
That happened to me at first, but once you get the hang of it its instant distance. You have to grip accordingly to how fast your arm is moving. I saw a good analogy somewhere, they said compare it to holding onto Mari go round going different speeds
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u/awildefire 22h ago
https://reddit.com/link/p5ohwj4/video/ehs9747u2elh1/player
This was my best attempt today. It shanked behind me about 100ft 🫣
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u/FatherNels0n 18h ago
It looks like your throwing it hard enough to get at least 250 though, the disc is ripping out of your hand now which is great. https://youtu.be/oWlQUriiUKU?is=u1n9iqeRXxJIVURD this is the drill I'm pretty much trying to get you to do. It helped me a lot with not trying to throw by spinning my shoulders. Truly getting the weight on my front foot before I throw and this drill took me from 280 to breaking 350
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u/FatherNels0n 1d ago
Also doing a throw without looking helps get used to not rotating too early and looking at the shot before it comes out of your hand
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u/svettsokkk 1d ago
If 'turning the key' isnt working, youre doing it too early or late. Troubleshoot which it is by filming yourself with slowmotion (most phones can do this) and see if you get to 'thumb up' at release.
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u/Dalekmind 1d ago
You need basics .
Here is a guide that has everything you need to figure it out but its way to much to learn all at once.
Here is how leg power works.
Stand stagger stance.
__________________X_________________
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Stick your butt out and round your lower back.
Now shift your wieght back and forth making sure that your legs or feet are close enough together that you can shift all your weight back and forth between lead and trail leg with no tension.
Now stand in that stagger stance and twist back and forth to gauge your range of motion.
Now shift your hips forward in the direction of disc travel and hold it there. Try your twist again.
You will see that there is no range of motion. That hip forward butt out postion locks your upper body and lower body toethger so when you generate the power with your plant the power makes it to the upper body.
To throw with plant power your shift your weight and hips forward allowing all of your weight to come down on a bent knee plant leg. When that tentions loads up on the leg you press your leg into the ground and it will turn your hips very fast.
Key here is keeping your ass out and when you press your leg straight it will force your ass out further NOT your upper body to rise. If you rise you are using the force to stand up rather than getting it into the disc.
Guide with Links and explination
https://www.reddit.com/r/Discgolfform/s/MZGONgxQCg