Disc Golfing basics and some science behind it.

Disc golf discs are specially designed flying objects with different flight characteristics. Their aerodynamics depend on:  

1. Lift based on Bernoulli's Principle.
The disc's shape (aerofoil) causes air to move faster over the top and slower under the bottom.
This pressure difference creates lift, helping the disc stay in the air longer.....

Thank your for listening - JT Norton 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

Hey done, folks. Uh this one here is more of an educational stuff for people new to the game and uh may not understand the aerodynamics and some of the basic terminology. Again, I'm keeping this really simple just so that it um kind of gives the new people somewhere to start. I'm not saying it's 100% accurate, um, but based on everything I've read so far, it's pretty close. Um the aerodynamics of disc off and a little bit of the science to it. Hope y'all enjoy. Have a good one. Discoff aerodynamics, the science behind flight. Some of it, anyways. Disc off discs are specifically designed flying objects with different flight characteristics. Their aerodynamics depend on, one, lift based on Bernoulli's principle. The disc shape airfoil causes air to move faster over the top and slower under the bottom. This pressure difference creates lift, helping the disc stay in the air longer. Gyroscopic stability is number two, the spin of the disc. A disc must spin to stay stable during flight. The faster the spin, the more gyroscopic stability it has. It resists wobble and holds its intended line. Number three, it's drag. Discs slow down due to air resistance, also called drag. Discs with sharper rims like drivers reduce drag for longer flights. Wind affects drag. Headwinds make the disc act more understable, tailwinds make them more overstable. Side winds drive you crazy. Now, this throws off a lot of people. The pun's intended, by the way. Understable, overstable. Understable discs are generally better for beginners when thrown with a flat release, will go right with a right-handed backhand throw. Over stable discs, which are sometimes referred to as beefy, and are typically used by more experienced players, and those facing headwinds will fade left with a right-handed backhand throw. Stable disc putters, some mid-ranges, things like that, will have a consistent neutral flight and tend to stay straight when thrown flat. Most disc, once they lose their flight power, this is an additional note from Jack from JT, will drop left. So once that power is gone, it will drop left. Some will drop very slightly. Some will take off left like it's got a mind of its own. Some, depending on the design, will actually skip once it hits the ground on more compact surfaces, rock, clay, things of that nature. So you really need to pay attention to what your disc is capable of and how it will perform, not only in environmental conditions in the air, but what it's going to do when it strikes the ground. So some of them will hit the ground and take off, some of them will hit the ground and stay put. So in the various environments, take five or ten minutes and practice. Okay, what happens if this happens to me? Angle of attack. The angle at which the disc cuts through the air affects its lift and drag, as mentioned before. The nose-up angle causes a stall, resulting in shorter flight. Nose down or flat angle promotes glide and distance. Number five, distability. Overstable discs tend to curve left for a right-handed backhand throw. Understable discs tend to curve right and are easier to turn over. And turnover is when you you pull it one way, it comes back the other. Now, how to throw a disc. Number one grip. The two most these are the two most common. But there are other ways of holding, uh holding a disc, but these are tried and true, pretty much. Um power grip for distance, tuck your fingers under the rim, place your thumb on top of it, and you're literally just you're you're you're gripping it fairly fairly hard. Tuck your fingers under the rim, place your thumb on top of it, grip it, and rip it. A fan grip for putters and mid-ranges, uh, the fingers are a little more spread out. So um just give you a better feel and control. Stance and footwork. For a backhand drive, most players use an X-step, a rhythmic three-step motion that generates momentum. Weight transfer from one foot to another is also an integral part of footwork. There are numerous excellent videos out there uh that discuss this topic. Um, but if you're just starting out, just stand still and throw the damn disc. Um, but again, you want to a run-up is different. So you want to get, if you're gonna get your distance and you're gonna get consistency, you're gonna have to learn to use those feet because this isn't just an arm thing, it's a body thing, it's a leg, waist, the whole nine yards. You'll learn as you as you get further along. I will note on forehand, again, we've mentioned backhand uh a few times already, forehand throws, which are popular with anyone who's played baseball. A sidestep or shuffle is used in disc golf with this type of shot. Um here, use caution because a lot of people will tell you to take that elbow and tuck it in close to your body. Don't do this. So uh because when you get that elbow close to the body, um it limits the range of motion of that arm. So, and um it can cause you some problems. Scott Stokely has some really valuable lessons on this topic. So go to YouTube, um, search him and look at his forehand. Uh, if you're a baseball player and you're just getting into disc off, definitely consider a forehand as an option. Um, because in my experiences, I've played dozens and dozens of tournaments, all the people I meet, I pay attention to them. These former baseball players and stuff have a have really good luck with a forehand. So especially if you your primary shot was a pitcher, um, it might be something for you to invest some time in. Number three, reach back and pull through. This is on a backhand. We're not talking forehand anymore. Reach back with the disc at shoulder height or slightly lower. Pull through your body line. The disc travels across your chest to the release point. Number four, snap, sometimes also called a hit. This is where you accelerate your arm and release uh with a wrist snap. Generally, uh it generates both speed and spin, critical for distance and accuracy. So again, you're pulling across your chest, you gotta make sure you get the snap at the end. Don't worry when it comes out ugly. Everybody goes through it. So just trust it. So just develop the form, don't worry about the disc, develop the form, worry about the disc later. So release angle. Now, as you pull through, as you snap, as it comes out, a flat release will give you a neutral flight path. So it's pretty much gonna stay stay flat again, depending on the disc design. If it hyers on you, which you'll hear this term a lot, um, if it's going to hyzer or you need it to hyzer, which means it's gonna go left, the disc tilted down on the outside edge, left curve for a backhand. And hyzer, the disc is tilted, the disc edge is tilted up on the outside edge. And this is gonna give you a right. And again, don't worry about the shot shaping, you're just worried about how to properly do this based on what you're trying to achieve on the course. Follow through. Oh my god, this is important. So it's important in driving, it's important in mid-range, it's important at putting. Um, your body continues forward naturally after the release. A smooth follow-through helps prevent injury and improves consistency. The big thing about follow-through too is when you follow through, make sure that you're following through that as your arm comes through, as you go through that whole motion, that hit mark, that release point, that follow through, that that is a release point. So if that hit mark or that release point is right of the basket, guess where you're going. Yep. If it's left of the basket, that's where you're going. If you're looking at the center of the fairway, because you you're like me, you can't throw 500 feet, you you've got your eye on that part of the fairway that you're trying to get to. Now, if your release point is to the right, guess where you're not going. You might luck out and the disc might come back to you, which some people do do that. Um, but the trick is to learn proper form. When you learn proper form, uh then the disc will be able to do their job. So now, this is some bonus tips based on just my playing over the years. Uh again, I'm not a coach, I'm not a pro. I'm just sharing what works for me. I still have a lot of room to grow. That's a great thing about sports. No matter what you play, you can always get better at it, no matter how good you are. So um, putters um are slower, more stable, they're great for control and shorter distances. Uh don't uh don't underestimate your ability to chunk a putter a damn good distance. So, because sometimes um instead of going to a mid-range, which is going to um make whatever shot you're trying to perform, um, if you have a putter and you're like, geez, I don't, I it's only 200, you can you can jam a you can jam a putter 200 feet. And sometimes that's what you want because at the end of that flight, that putter is gonna sit still and not skip off on you a hell of a lot less than a mid-range or even a driver. So why you're throwing a driver at 200 feet, who knows? But anyways, everybody's different. So putters are slow, more stable, great for control and shorter distances. Mid-range, you also hear them called fairway drivers, they're a moderate speed discs suitable for shaping lines. Putters in mid-ranges, when you're first out, my personal suggestion is this is what you need to stick to. The easy way to determine what is what is just look at the speed. I am not a big fan of flight numbers, but look at the flight numbers. And my advice is anything 10 or less, that's what you should stick to when you're starting out. Because the problem you have with these hires, 10 is a little much too at times, but anything under 10, put it that way. Um you might see a 500-foot course and then you see the videos and you see a Mamba or you see one of these uh discs, one of these discs out there that have a 12 at 12, 13 speed, something like that. What that is, is when you get up in them high speed, high performance drivers, you really have to have snap. You have to have snap and you have to have arm speed. If you don't have it, that disc is never gonna do what it's designed to do. Um, I'm not saying the flight numbers are 100% accurate, but the high speed ones are pretty accurate. So um, you need, in order for that disc to fly properly, you've got to tag that arm speed. So starting out, anything under 10, stick with that. I have thrown um a what's considered a fairway or a mid-range driver, I have thrown one than 400 feet. So they can give you distance. It's better to be consistent at 3350 um than be all over the place, so everywhere else. So, and um, and this especially if you're younger, I'm an old guy, but if you're younger, um that distance will come fairly quickly if you hold true to the form and go after it. Uh drivers, as mentioned, high-speed drivers are designed for maximum distance. They are designed to be flexed, they are designed depending on the the make, mold, and model. Um they uh they can give you some monster distance. My longest drive was definitely with a um with a driver-based disc. Um, I have one. My on my longest unassisted drive is 427 feet. I think I've done a couple longer than that. That's the only one I've measured via U-Disc. Uh, and then the longest one I had that was assisted by the wind was 527 feet. And I had a lake behind me, I was playing a mountain course. So uh, but consistently I'm more at the 2350 range. So I can throw 400 if need be, um, but I'm just not very consistent with it. Uh so putters, slow, more stable, great for control, and shorter distances, mid-range disc, moderate speed, suitable for shaping lines. Drivers, high speed disc designed for maximum distance. Plastic matters, starting out, don't worry about it. Don't don't go buying those super expensive things. Just just get used to playing the game and have some fun. Uh, rollers is a popular throwing style, and when done correctly, can give you massive distance with minimal effort. This is I'm not good at these, but I've had a few bail me out of some pretty pretty nasty courses I played over in uh Tennessee. Um it will uh it will also get your butt out of a thicket of trees or bushes when you find yourself off the fairway. So um when you're in doubt, when you're in a thicket of crap, just go skinny. So get the smallest dish you have, turn it on the side, and then just try to flip it out straight out, try to roll it out. Just get it out of there. I had a uh a fellow card mate. I was stuck in the bushes, and I'm not good at rollers, and he said, dude, just get skinny. So just get skinny, turn the desk upside down, throw it like a plate, and get skinny. And on this particular case, I rolled out and it gave me par, so I saved my par. Um that was in North Carolina. Okay, so um, so rollers, try it if try it. Some people like them, some people don't. Um figure out the disc. Um, there are discs specifically meant for rollers. Rolo is one from one company. Um, but I've seen people roll race, I've seen people roll undertakers, I've seen people roll rocks, putters. I can consistently roll a berg at 150 to 250. Um I've got the left hook down from the roll, I just can't develop the right yet. I'm still working on that. So uh that leads to being creative. Uh be creative and practice the odd stuff. Heavy thicket and tree shots, as well as those that require shaping to get through wooded obstacles. Um, all this should be practiced far more than most people do. I have had I have some crazy ways of getting myself out of some crap when I screw up a drive or approach shot. These trick shots, so to speak, um are just as important as a good short game and just as important as putting because you will find yourself in the woods, on a lake shore, butted up against a rock, stuck behind a log, uh one leg buried in brambles that's just slicing the piss out of your leg. So you're gonna have to get creative and um track. I mean, I don't like thumbers, but I do have a thummer style that I can actually throw up and get like all it is called a grenade, by the way. It is a it is a throwing style. And I create a sidearm thumber that that literally converts into a grenade, and literally I can get it to I can get this eagle to flop and flatten out on its lid so it comes down top down. And uh it's one specific disc. I don't know why it flies the way it does, but practice these crazy little trick shots when you're on a course by yourself and it's a heavily wooded course or you got big boulders and it's elevated, which I hate elevated baskets. Put your find the stupidest spot at that basket where you've got trees or bushes in front of you, and just try eight or nine, ten, ten shots. Try forehand, try backhand, try roller, try any of those. That creative stuff will get you out of some stuff, and also it will create you some good moments. I was playing one here in North Virginia, and uh I did this crazy little weird high toss thummer because I had buried myself behind the hut bushes, and uh I I chained it right dead bottom of the. I could not see the basket. I could make out just one left side of it through the tree, so I threw it up almost the guys, the basket would be to my left. My card mates were directly in front of me, and the bush is god, every bit of 15, 20 feet. So I had to tomahawk chop this thing into I had to get it to go up like I was trying to chop it with an axe straight up in the air. And then as it goes up, I needed it to come over and almost act like a grenade, so I had to convert its flight in the air. Now I know what this particular, it's a K1 soft berg in this particular case. I know what that thing does when I get it really high and it stalls. And when it comes down and boom, right square in the basket. I got a birdie on that one. So um, so get creative because this these creative stuff is extremely important. Every time you go out there, people are putting monster drives and they do their putts and they forget that that that creative, you've got to work on that creative short game, especially North Carolina, uh, parts of Tennessee. I mean, there's courses like this in every single state. Um, I've played a ton of states, so I've seen a bunch of different courses. Um, but you gotta get creative because they will save you. Now, as mentioned before, you have grenade shots, you have thumbers, turbo putting. There are other inventive ways of playing this game that will come along as you play more and more. In a nutshell, if it works and it gets the job done, go out there and use it, no matter how stupid uh it may look to everyone else. Um my personal thing that I do, I don't jump putt, so um, but I have created a side-standing, a very stiff upward. I just jump putting is very uncomfortable for me. Maybe I'm old, maybe my knees are screwed up, who knows? Um, my bot, I just I'm very uncomfortable doing a jump putt, so I created a standing stiff arm putt to compensate for the jump putt, and I just I won't give it up. I have a disc golf basket in my backyard, I practice jump putting, and I just even after all these times, it's just not something meant for me. Now, this standing stiff arm throw, I can get a lot of distance extremely accurate with it. Now, I'm still trying to dial it in a little bit, a little bit more, but a couple years ago I was playing a tournament in Georgia, and we were all practicing our putting. I'm just trying to get my arm warmed up. So, like everybody else, was just trying to get warmed up, get in the disc golf mode so we can play a course. And I was I had four or five discs, four or five putters in my hand, and I'm doing my standing stiff arm um putt that replaces what I what most people do a jump putt for. One of the guys goes, dude, you look like Jackie Chan, because in that particular sequence, I actually basketted three of the five discs I was holding using that motion. And the guy said, Dude, that looks so weird. You look like Jackie Chan, like some martial arts looking thing. So I call it a Jackie Chan, because apparently that's what it looks like when I throw it. And uh I have to use very specific putters because of flight and loft and things like that. So uh if it's creative, if it's stupid, and it's getting the job done, do it. Um so the name came from other disc golfers. Again, I was playing in Georgia. It was a really tough course. I had a really, really bad game because the course was way beyond my experience level. Um, but we'll discuss that another day. Um so the disc off aerodynamics and science and the beginning um cluster of what I'm talking about here is just you have to understand the science behind it a little bit just so you know what to do. Um don't throw it like a beach frisbe or a backyard frisbee. Um if you take a regular frisbee and hold it up against one of our disc golf discs, you can clearly tell there's a difference. Um so get your arm down, throw flat, throw straight, have fun. So don't get too frustrated. Um and um when you met when you when it when you throw it and it does doesn't do what you want it to do, just pause for a second, think about it. Where was my arm, where was my foot, what was I doing? And again, the big thing is to listen to professionals. I don't consider myself a professional. Um Scott Stokely, Gannon Burr both have videos that have been tremendously valuable to me over the years. Ganon Burr more for the putting and my approach putts, the longer distance stuff. They call it uh C2 and beyond C2 and things like that. Um Gannon has been very uh helpful in that aspect. Scott Stokely's videos have been extremely helpful with my forehand, which I actually use in tournaments now. I went through the first year of playing tournaments and playing games where I wouldn't, I mean playing tournaments, I wouldn't use a forehand because I was so bad at it. And then I forced myself to start doing it. Stokely's videos uh were very uh very, very important, and now I'm just as confident with them as anything else. It's just my overall game is still in need of improvement. So um keep going and um keep playing. So I appreciate you listening in to me ramble. I'm trying not to use the AI voices. I think this is probably gonna be a little bit more impressionable. So uh this is JT Norton. Good throw, bad throw, good putt, bad putt, good game, bad game. It doesn't matter. Get out there and have fun. Take the family. Uh starting out, start with your easy courses. Uh, you're gonna love this game. It's not gonna break the bank. And like today, it's a beautiful day out there. Get out there and play. And if it's not a beautiful day, go play anyways, because the rain and the wind will make you a better player, too. Appreciate y'all for listening. I'm out of here, but I shall return.