Flight Guide (Marshall Street)

Today I would like to go over the flight guide on Marshall Street Disc Golf.  Flight Guide.  The chart compares most of the disc made by all the major manufacturers of discs. The speed is rated from 3-14. The lower the speed, the slower the disc will go.  The speed 3 range is mostly putters and midranges.  Midranges continue up to speed five where they begin to blend with fairway drivers.  Fairway drives then go to speed 7 then get blended with distance drivers that go all the way up to speed 14.  The stability categories range from A-E or Overstable to Understable.  Overstable discs are more likely to fade and less likely to turn.  They represent A-B.  Stable discs have characteristics of both.  They range from low B to High D.  Understables are more likely to turn and less likely to fade they range all the way to E.  A combination of speed and stability is needed for the right throw.  The mapping makes it easy to find how each disc will fly relative to one another.

an important article

Today I would like to look at a blog from Subtraction By Subtraction.  Personally I like this article because it focuses more on the mental aspect of the game rather than just discs and physical attributes.  Training yourself on how to mental tackle the game is quite important.  As mentioned in the article, it is important to only focus on the upcoming shot.  It can become easy to question your game after making a poor shot or thinking too much about your score.  The best solution to this is to just have fun.  Relax yourself, focus on making one quality shot at a time, and make mental notes on how you can improve your game from your previous shot.  Another important part of your game is to not overcompensate correction of your throws.  As also mentioned in the article, we all have an idea of how our throw is suppose to go in our heads.  We may have the right idea but produce the wrong throw.  For example if I am trying to throw a short fade of about 200 ft on a drive and I expect a massive fade line so I release the disc early on a sharp angle to induce the fade. Guess what it did not fade enough and I end up feet to the right of the hole.  The correct course of action would be to put less angle on the disc, release the disc later, or a small combo of both.  However, you do not want to completely throw away the drive you just had.  While it may no have turned out well at all, the small change you make to your throw will make a big impact.  I would only try to change on variable (angle for example) at a single time.  This will help reduce the frustration of too many changing parts causing errant throws.  Disc golf is a game that requires a calm mind. Focus on one thing at a time whether it is throwing mechanics or the shot you just took.

Review of Ript Revenge Disc Golf Card Game

After playing countless rounds of disc golf at the same course, sometimes you just want to change things up.  Ript Revenge is a card game that challenges you to use different throws and strategies while you play.  Ript Revenge is played by dealing cards to each player before the game begins.  Each player can only play one card per hole and may use the card on themselves or their opponents.  The cards vary from directly affecting a players score, preventing them from using a certain type of disc(s) on a hole, or even making them carry another players bag.  While the scores may get a bit ridiculous and it will not be an accurate measure of your game, the practice of different techniques the game forces upon you are quite valuable.  At the very least the game prepares you to take different shots at different distances.  For example a card may require you to roll a drive.  While rolling may not be something players even use, it can come in handy when the tree lines are low or passages are scattered to the basket.  Practicing in a relaxed environment will help in more competitive situations.  What I wish the game included were more cards that last the duration of the game.  For example I wish there were a card that would require a player to focus on using only three discs of their choice.  This would help them learn how to use a select few discs in a greater variety of situations.  I would rate the game 4 out of 5 its pretty near perfect and quite affordable at $5.99 off of Marshall street.

The Forehand Throw

The Forehand throw or the sidearm throw is a common alternative to throwing a shot backhanded.  I am going to be teaching you today how I throw my sidearm shot. The first key to getting this shot down is learning how to snap or roll your wrist when you release in order to put more spin on the disc.  When throwing sidearm, spin is going to keep the disc flatter and straighter.  Both of these are crucial as it is slightly harder, in my opinion, to throw this shot. A good exercise to get used to snap your wrist is to practice a sidearm throwing motion (even if it is more of a baseball throw than a disc throw) and then stopping your arm when your forearm is lined up with the side of your body. Then rotate your wrist forward as if you could only throw using your hand. Keep these two motion separate at first and then gradually speed up these motions and then blend them together.  The finger position I use when I hold the disc is to tuck two fingers straight along the inner rim of the disc (pointer and middle). Then I place my thumb on the top of the disc at a near perpendicular angle to my pointer and middle fingers. If your disc is transparent or translucent you can see through the disc that the formation your fingers are in resemble making a gun with your three fingers.  I find that using two fingers puts an optimal amount of spin on the disc while maintaining good grip and work-ability out of the hand.  To put the whole throwing motion together I begin with my knees slightly bent facing the basket.  I keep my right and left hands on the disc with the right hand gripping the disc to throw.  I step forward with my left foot, turn my left shoulder towards the basket while bringing my elbow back on the right arm bringing the disc along the side of my head.  I step then with the right foot bringing the disc down to my side almost level with my elbow.  Then I step with my left and bring the disc forward while stepping and releasing as my foot is landing and the disc is passing my side.Depending on the stability of the disc, your release will be flat or on a slight turn or fade line.  Every arm slot my not feel the same for everyone so it is encouraged to experiment with your throwing routine.  The main factor is getting enough spin on the disc to keep in straighter and give it more distance. More overstable discs are recommended for throwing sidearm until enough finesse is learned to throw understables.  Understables have a much higher tendency to turn while throwing sidearm. Understables will require a fade line (having your fingers higher than the other end of the disc upon release) while overstables will require a turn line (having your fingers lower than the other end of the disc upon release).

Introduction to Disc Flight Characteristics

Out of the thousands of discs available for a person to use, many people find it hard to find what the correct disc for them is.  Personally I do not think there is a single disc for one person. I believe that there are perfect discs for perfect situations.  Today I want to go over the different flight characteristics of discs using the Innova flight characteristics scale.  Different disc manufacturers have different scales on which they base their discs off of.  Innova is simple enough to understand and divides the flight characteristics into four categories: Speed, Glide, Turn, Fade.

Speed: This is how the disc flies through the air.  With a higher speed, the disc will gain more distance through the air with the same amount of force than a lower speed disc.  For a beginner, I would recommend having a few discs with various speeds.  One driver with a high speed rating such as 10 or 11, a mid range disc with a speed of 4 or 5 (most mid range discs have a speed of 4 or 5 so speed is not the largest factor when it comes to shorter range discs.), and a putter with a low speed no higher than 2.  The reason for the low speed in putters is because as a beginner it will be hard to find a solid form for putting. Putting may be difficult at first, so a disc with less speed has less chance of blowing by the hole and adding frustrating strokes to a score. Innova speed range (1-14)

Glide: I like to look at glide as hangtime for the disc.  Faster disc DO NOT inherently have more glide than slower discs. A high amount of Glide is valuable you want to shoot over terrain that is undesirable.  Say you need to shoot over a 150 feet pond in length.  If the pond was 15 feet in front of you, a disc with a lot of speed would be the obvious choice.  However if the pond is 100 feet in front of you, you would want a disc that will hang up in the air long enough to carry over the pond.  Innova recommends discs with a lot of glide for beginners because the glide will add distance to your drives. Personally, I use discs with a lot of glide because I like the flight pattern and the straight line discs with high glide tend to hold.  As soon as you have a throwing rhythm you like, then I would recommend finding a disc with a good amount of glide that fits your playing style. Innova glide range (1-7)

Turn:  Conceptually I believe this concept is the hardest for beginners.  Turn is the tendency of the disc to go against its natural flight pattern.  There are high speed turn and low speed turn (the difference being high speed occurs right after the disc is thrown and low speed occurs after the disc has lost velocity and is attempting to land). For this post, we will not distinguish between the two.  The real question is what is the natural flight pattern of the disc you are using? there are two factors that determine this: How the disc is made and how you throw it.  Some discs are made to turn more than others. Just like some clubs in ball golf are made to put more spin on the ball than others.  How you throw the disc determines which way the disc will finish when it loses its spin and speed. For example, if you throw backhanded with your right hand (RHBH) or forehanded with your left hand (FHLH) the disc will naturally tail to the left when it is finished.  If you throw backhanded with your left hand (LHBH) or throw forehanded with your right hand (FHRH) the disc will finish to the right.  A lower turn score means the disc is more likely to turn.  This is better for beginners because it will help them gain distance while they are learning how to put more spin on the disc (spin will keep the disc straight).  Innova turn scale (-5 to +1)

Fade: This stat determines how hard the disc will finish in its natural direction.  Innova refers to fade as how hard the disc will hook when it begins to lose speed and starts to land.  Fade can be helpful if you have a dog leg on a hole and you need to curve your disc to get towards the hole.  A high amount of fade will balance out a high turn number (even though there are not many discs that are high in both stats).  For a beginner I would recommend a disc with as little fade as possible. It will be easier to learn to throw as well as gain more distance by staying straighter. Innova Fade range (0-5)

About Me

Hi, my name is Tom Colatos and I am a student at Illinois State University studying Economics and Accounting. Currently in my last semester trying to obtain my CPA as well as working for a local food pantry. I am 22 years old and currently reside in Normal Illinois.  I am originally from Chicago and moved out to the suburbs when I was four.  When I am not at school or working I am an avid disc golfer.  I usually get out and play at the various disc golf courses in the surrounding area at least three times a week. I created this blog to talk about disc golf and give general pointers to beginners to make their disc golfing experience more fun. When I first started playing, I had no idea of the various ways of throwing nor any of the techniques associated with them. My goal is to help people play a little bit better and for them to just get out and have fun.  The sport is free and family friendly. I have been playing disc golf for seven years now and have competed in various tournaments around the Great Lakes region.  Before I started playing disc golf I played baseball for fifteen years. I played on a team that went to the Little League World Series when I was fourteen.  I also played a year of collegiate Frisbee for Illinois State. A few good websites for information on disc golf and disc golf products visit Innova Website and Marshall Street Disc Golf Pro Shop. To contact me please email tjcolat@gmail.com.