How I Learned to Putt in Disc Golf
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- KEY TAKEAWAY... EJECT THE PUTTER, DON'T THROW IT. Push the back of your hand toward the target. Forget trying to "time" when to open your hand. Instead, allow forward arm momentum and the weight of the disc to open your hand and automatically spin the disc for you. The disc will simply effortlessly slip out at the end of your reach as your elbow unfolds. You need a loose grip for this to happen. Let that disc slip out! Don't try to force the spin or you will have left and right misses.
TARGETING: I want the back of my hand to move straight to the spot I'm focused on - usually a chain link. For long putts from say 40 to 50+ feet, my target is a space in the air high and right of the basket instead. I allow my wrist to quickly unfold with a light grip and use the palm and middle fingers under the disc to eject the disc at the target.
PUTTING MENTAL CUES - both styles: My setup thoughts are to keep my chest pointed at the target line. I visually imagine a path or tunnel no wider than my shoulders going to the basket (Philo Brathwaite #26416 • HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PU... . I want my putt to go down this tunnel. I even think of walls on both sides no wider than the width of the basket. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL - I always want the back of my hand to never deviate from the basket pole... "paint the pole with a brush" analogy. Before I throw, my eyes are focused on a chain link or some other spot I want my disc to hit. I try very hard to not think about how I'm throwing. I try to only think about my hand moving forward on that straight line to that chain link or other spot I'm targeting and feel the disc open my wrist and slip out to my target.
PUTTER GRIP: In the video, I use a very light but not too loose fan grip, meaning your fingers extend out across the flight plate under the rim of the disc, but never grab or pinch the rim. The index finger must always be relaxed and unused. It just lays there, under the rim. It's the last three fingers and the palm are used to support and propel the disc. The thumb on top can vary with comfort, but it must also be relaxed. I want the disc to slide out of my hand as I push the back of my hand out to the target.
PUTT SETUP - STAGGER: My feet are staggered front and back. I'm right-handed, so my right leg is forward for bracing, and my right foot is pointed slightly to the left of my target line - yours may vary. My feet are also not perfectly in line. Instead, they are only inline enough to maintain balance at all times. I want my chest to be facing straight at the basket, or intended putting line. Might right arm (for right-handed people) is bent 90 degrees at the elbow with the back of my hand facing the basket. This hand placement allows me to preload the wrist, but many people like to load as they move the arm. My way eliminates another variable is all.
PUTT SETUP - STRADDLE: The only difference here is with the legs and feet. I want my feet to draw a line perpendicular to the line going to the basket. Think of your footline being the line that crosses the top of the letter "T."
LOADING THE PUTT - STAGGER: When I begin my putt, I sink down into my back leg while tracing my hand or disc down the pole of the basket.
LOADING THE PUTT - STRADDLE: I tend to "bow" to the basket or line of throw and lower my hand and disc, tracing down and up the basket pole. How low or high you bring it down is a personal preference. NOTE: the more you bend your knees and sink into your "bow," the more upward push for power you will get.
johnkellydiscg....
These are great drills.
Going to give this a try.
Would love to hear of your results.
You showed it yourself in the video, going for full power pushes the disc out right. How do you control that? I do that by accident all the time.
Controlling that for me is my palm and fingers pointing at my target line. My hand and wrist is loose enough for the hand to "whip open" at the end of my forward reach. I finally learned to stop trying to "time" when to open my hand to spin it. This was wrong. People get frustrated with spin putts because of the left-right misses. Much of that has to do with forcing the spin instead of allowing the putter to simply slip out. If your grip is light, it will open for you and the putter will slide out. But if you notice, I pre-cock my wrist and hold it that way until I push forward. Push putters often have their hand starting at the side.