Tips for Beginners
• Disc Grip
There are two main grips used in the game: the power grip and the finesse grip. The power grip requires pushing all four fingerpads against the inside rim of the disc for maximum snap upon release. The finesse grip has many forms but all involve spreading all four fingerpads across the bottom of the disc to have maximum control over the disc. If you are shooting for maximum distance, go with the power grip; if you want more accuracy, go with the finesse grip. I use the finesse grip for all throws: disc golf is a game that rewards accuracy more than distance. However, there are courses with long, wide open fairways, and that is when you put you're all into it because the penalty for a wild shot is less.
• Disc Selection
Not all discs are created equal. Some discs are geared towards beginners and others towards more advanced players. Beginners may get more distance out of understable discs, such as the Discraft SlipStream-GT or Innova Roadrunner whereas more advanced players might reach for an overstable Crush or Predator. Weight is an important thing to consider as well; weight affects how much the disc flight is changed by the wind. Ever thrown a disc on a windy day and watched it get blown up and down? That is what I'm talking about. A 165g disc will be blown around way more than a 175g version of the same disc.
Suggested Discs for Beginners:
• Drivers:
Discraft Slipstream-GT/Innova Roadrunner, very understable disc. Throw this disc until you have enough power and snap to get it to turn over. Once you can do that, you can move to a more stable disc, like a Discraft Flash or Innova Beast or Innova TL.
• Midrange:
Once you can throw a driver longer than 200-250 feet, I suggest buying a Discraft Buzz or Innova Shark as your main midrange. Most beginners will not benefit from having more than one midrange in their bag as the differences in flight will not be very noticeable.
• Putter:
A Discraft Magnet, Discraft Challenger, Gateway Wizard, or Innova Aviar (any of the Aviars: JK, KC, etc.) are all great putters for all skill levels. All people passionate about improving their scores need to bring a putter to the course, simply using a putter for putting instead of a driver will shave plenty of strokes off every round.
Discs I Love
• Drivers: Innova Star Roadrunner - this disc is very underestimated. If you don't have one, buy one. Combine this disc with the Slipstream GT and backhand rightys can take on any dogleg right situation with ease and backhand leftys can take on any dogleg left. The Roadrunner will turn over but not dive into the ground giving a long sweeping turnover shot and, if you can control it, it could be the longest disc in your bag. The Slipstream - GT takes care of shorter, sharp dogleg holes and will easily hook around corners. Innova Star/Champion Beast - this is my max distance disc. The champion is great for wet days when I can't put my all into a disc due to uncertain footing and the Star is a little more stable, so it is great for windy or slightly downhill drives because it won't dive into the ground, but has great glide and holds it high-speed line forever so it stays in the air a long time.
• Midrange: Discraft Elite-Z Wasp: the wasp is super stable and will take care of you on windy days, and will stay stable forever. The brand new FLX Drone is a perfect complement to the Wasp and Buzzz. They make a great team and when combined with the Innova Shark, will take care of absolutely any midrange situation. Order of stability: straight to overstable--> buzzz, shark, wasp, drone.
• Putter: Pro Rhyno, great short distance accuracy driver. This putter is so stable even the strongest arms can throw it with the same power and spin as a driver and it will fly dead straight. It is deadly straight and can give you ace runs on a regular basis. The Rhyno will fly around 300 feet for someone who can throw a driver over 375 feet but will fly dead straight the entire way. As for a suggestion of a putter to use FOR PUTTING, if you're an advanced player, they're really all the same. The Challenger is a great disc, it has a little stability to it but not so much that it dives the way a Rhyno does, and it has more glide so it takes less to get it to the basket. If you haven't found a putter that you're comfortable with, try out a Challenger in the FLX plastic plastic. The grip makes my grip comfortable in all weather conditions, and it really grabs the chains.
Finding the Right Disc for the Distance
You always want to use a disc that will just make it to the hole when thrown at about 85% power. Unless I know the hole is out of my range, I will do what I can to throw at about 85% so that it is controlled. This means that you will usually pick a slower disc, such as a midrange over a driver on shorter shots. Slower discs are more accurate and will lead to more consistent shots. If you can easily get both a driver and a midrange to the hole, choose the midrange every time. And if you can easily get a putter and a midrange to the hole, throw the putter.
If you choose a shorter range disc but would only get it to the basket if you threw it 110%, switch back to the longer range disc.
Rollers
Any disc can make a great long-range roller. You can either throw a sweeping roller where you aim wide left and let the natural understability bring the disc back on track and land on the ground at around a 60 degree angle., or you can throw a more stable disc at a very high angle where it hits the ground at the same angle you release it at. Rollers are great for lower power throwers and should add around 50 feet to the max distance throw. They are also great for low ceiling shots.
For more powerful throwers, a long-range roller is usually unnecessary, except for going around obstacles or very sharp dog-legs. However, the most powerful and underutilized shot (by beginners) is the short-range roller. Ever been 10 feet into some thick brush and there seems to be no way out? Do a spike-forhand roller (hold like a tomahawk) and it will likely fly through everything unhindered. For this shot, you want to use a very thin disc, so grab a fast driver out of your bag. I use the Flick for this because it is the sleekest disc ever made. Also, because it is so stable, it will hold whatever line it hits the ground at until it dies out. A more stable disc will be able to execute a sharper turn. Say you threw wide right of the entry into the woods where the basket is sitting and you need to execute a near u-turn shot to get it near the basket. That is a perfect candidate for a roller. Grab your Flick, which is super stable, and thus able to execute the sharpest of roller turns, and throw it as hard as you can, having it hit the ground at an angle of around 15 degrees, the second it hits the ground it will flip up and start turning back aroud towards the basket. This probably won't work the first time, but could save you in a tournament if executed properly, so practice it.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL
A friend and I were playing a round of disc golf and he was beating me as he usually does which was to be expected since he was the #1 Amateur in MN (now around #4 Am in the world). I mentioned how I was switching up my putting style for the third time in three weeks. He said "I've got ten words for you that are all you need to know: Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice." (Update 05/05/08: I've played about one round every day for the last month with a few extra on the weekends and I am now playing the best golf I have ever played -- consistently around 960-990 rated)
There are two main grips used in the game: the power grip and the finesse grip. The power grip requires pushing all four fingerpads against the inside rim of the disc for maximum snap upon release. The finesse grip has many forms but all involve spreading all four fingerpads across the bottom of the disc to have maximum control over the disc. If you are shooting for maximum distance, go with the power grip; if you want more accuracy, go with the finesse grip. I use the finesse grip for all throws: disc golf is a game that rewards accuracy more than distance. However, there are courses with long, wide open fairways, and that is when you put you're all into it because the penalty for a wild shot is less.
• Disc Selection
Not all discs are created equal. Some discs are geared towards beginners and others towards more advanced players. Beginners may get more distance out of understable discs, such as the Discraft SlipStream-GT or Innova Roadrunner whereas more advanced players might reach for an overstable Crush or Predator. Weight is an important thing to consider as well; weight affects how much the disc flight is changed by the wind. Ever thrown a disc on a windy day and watched it get blown up and down? That is what I'm talking about. A 165g disc will be blown around way more than a 175g version of the same disc.
Suggested Discs for Beginners:
• Drivers:
Discraft Slipstream-GT/Innova Roadrunner, very understable disc. Throw this disc until you have enough power and snap to get it to turn over. Once you can do that, you can move to a more stable disc, like a Discraft Flash or Innova Beast or Innova TL.
• Midrange:
Once you can throw a driver longer than 200-250 feet, I suggest buying a Discraft Buzz or Innova Shark as your main midrange. Most beginners will not benefit from having more than one midrange in their bag as the differences in flight will not be very noticeable.
• Putter:
A Discraft Magnet, Discraft Challenger, Gateway Wizard, or Innova Aviar (any of the Aviars: JK, KC, etc.) are all great putters for all skill levels. All people passionate about improving their scores need to bring a putter to the course, simply using a putter for putting instead of a driver will shave plenty of strokes off every round.
Discs I Love
• Drivers: Innova Star Roadrunner - this disc is very underestimated. If you don't have one, buy one. Combine this disc with the Slipstream GT and backhand rightys can take on any dogleg right situation with ease and backhand leftys can take on any dogleg left. The Roadrunner will turn over but not dive into the ground giving a long sweeping turnover shot and, if you can control it, it could be the longest disc in your bag. The Slipstream - GT takes care of shorter, sharp dogleg holes and will easily hook around corners. Innova Star/Champion Beast - this is my max distance disc. The champion is great for wet days when I can't put my all into a disc due to uncertain footing and the Star is a little more stable, so it is great for windy or slightly downhill drives because it won't dive into the ground, but has great glide and holds it high-speed line forever so it stays in the air a long time.
• Midrange: Discraft Elite-Z Wasp: the wasp is super stable and will take care of you on windy days, and will stay stable forever. The brand new FLX Drone is a perfect complement to the Wasp and Buzzz. They make a great team and when combined with the Innova Shark, will take care of absolutely any midrange situation. Order of stability: straight to overstable--> buzzz, shark, wasp, drone.
• Putter: Pro Rhyno, great short distance accuracy driver. This putter is so stable even the strongest arms can throw it with the same power and spin as a driver and it will fly dead straight. It is deadly straight and can give you ace runs on a regular basis. The Rhyno will fly around 300 feet for someone who can throw a driver over 375 feet but will fly dead straight the entire way. As for a suggestion of a putter to use FOR PUTTING, if you're an advanced player, they're really all the same. The Challenger is a great disc, it has a little stability to it but not so much that it dives the way a Rhyno does, and it has more glide so it takes less to get it to the basket. If you haven't found a putter that you're comfortable with, try out a Challenger in the FLX plastic plastic. The grip makes my grip comfortable in all weather conditions, and it really grabs the chains.
Finding the Right Disc for the Distance
You always want to use a disc that will just make it to the hole when thrown at about 85% power. Unless I know the hole is out of my range, I will do what I can to throw at about 85% so that it is controlled. This means that you will usually pick a slower disc, such as a midrange over a driver on shorter shots. Slower discs are more accurate and will lead to more consistent shots. If you can easily get both a driver and a midrange to the hole, choose the midrange every time. And if you can easily get a putter and a midrange to the hole, throw the putter.
If you choose a shorter range disc but would only get it to the basket if you threw it 110%, switch back to the longer range disc.
Rollers
Any disc can make a great long-range roller. You can either throw a sweeping roller where you aim wide left and let the natural understability bring the disc back on track and land on the ground at around a 60 degree angle., or you can throw a more stable disc at a very high angle where it hits the ground at the same angle you release it at. Rollers are great for lower power throwers and should add around 50 feet to the max distance throw. They are also great for low ceiling shots.
For more powerful throwers, a long-range roller is usually unnecessary, except for going around obstacles or very sharp dog-legs. However, the most powerful and underutilized shot (by beginners) is the short-range roller. Ever been 10 feet into some thick brush and there seems to be no way out? Do a spike-forhand roller (hold like a tomahawk) and it will likely fly through everything unhindered. For this shot, you want to use a very thin disc, so grab a fast driver out of your bag. I use the Flick for this because it is the sleekest disc ever made. Also, because it is so stable, it will hold whatever line it hits the ground at until it dies out. A more stable disc will be able to execute a sharper turn. Say you threw wide right of the entry into the woods where the basket is sitting and you need to execute a near u-turn shot to get it near the basket. That is a perfect candidate for a roller. Grab your Flick, which is super stable, and thus able to execute the sharpest of roller turns, and throw it as hard as you can, having it hit the ground at an angle of around 15 degrees, the second it hits the ground it will flip up and start turning back aroud towards the basket. This probably won't work the first time, but could save you in a tournament if executed properly, so practice it.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL
A friend and I were playing a round of disc golf and he was beating me as he usually does which was to be expected since he was the #1 Amateur in MN (now around #4 Am in the world). I mentioned how I was switching up my putting style for the third time in three weeks. He said "I've got ten words for you that are all you need to know: Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice." (Update 05/05/08: I've played about one round every day for the last month with a few extra on the weekends and I am now playing the best golf I have ever played -- consistently around 960-990 rated)
