I’m guilty of telling just about everyone who has had a lesson with me “Let the disc do the work.” So let’s dive into what I mean, and how you can stop doing the extra work and make the disc do it.
What I mean is, as a general rule, use a disc for its intended purpose.
I carry about 20 discs in my bag for a round. On a 200 foot throw that’s wide open I could throw just about anything. I could ramp up and throw a putter straight at it. I could soft flex a high speed driver. But I’d probably throw my MD3 and swing it out to the right and let it hyzer in.
Because that’s what the MD3 is designed to do. It’s overstable, 200 is a midrange shot (for me), and it doesn’t have much chance of rolling or going past unless I throw it flat.
This blog is about choosing a disc that’s going to do what you want without you having to do extra work on your shot. Sure you can get close with any of the discs, but using one that’s perfect for your shot makes things a lot easier.
The less you have to think about nose angle, speed, and flippiness, the more you can focus on a nice clean release. That’s why I tell people, “Let the disc do the work.”
Let’s focus on the steps that get you there. To find the disc that is going to do what you want it to do.
Envision your shot before you do anything else.
I can’t stress this one enough. Imagine that disc in your hand hitting a straight gap, flexing halfway down the open fairway back towards the basket, or the line that you really want it to hit. This helps with disc choice, if I can’t imagine a disc doing what I need it to, I put it back and grab one that can.
Throws have 4 parts of their flight. I’m sure people have broken them down into other parts, but this is how I’ve decided to do it for this blog.
- Release.
- Flip, Hold, or Hyzer.
- Losing speed.
- Ground play.
Release
This is when you let go of the disc. The angle of which you release means a lot to the disc. Flight numbers are designed to tell us what a disc will do when it is released flat. If you find a disc isn’t doing what you expect it may be your release angle.
If you’re holding it on an anhyzer you’re forcing the disc to one side. Even if I throw a Tilt on RHBH anhyzer it’s still going to go a little bit to the right before it does anything else. Sometimes it makes sense to release the disc on an anhyzer or hyzer, but for the most part a flat release will get you good distance.
Flip, Hold, or Hyzer
Flip: You know this moment in the flight of every disc. It’s about 25% to 50% of the way into the flight. This is when you’re yelling at your disc to “turn” or “flip” if you want it to S curve. This is my favorite moment in disc golf. I fell in love with the sport the first time my Wraith was 100 feet away from me in the air and it drifted right before swooping back left. No frisbee I’d thrown before had done that.
Hold: is when the disc keeps on whatever line you put it on. It could be a straight putter drive, or you’ve thrown a high anhyzer shot and the disc is starting to stable out. When it keeps going on the same line it’s moving forward and not really side to side.
Hyzer: is when that disc hooks up. It’s slowed down from the power needed to keep the disc flat and is starting to move to the side. Discs can be released on hyzer and still fly to the other side, but this is really when that wing dips.
Losing Speed
At release your disc is traveling its fastest, and it starts to slow down right out of the hand. But after about 75% of the flight all discs are now moving much more slowly. At this point nearly every disc in the game will start to hyzer out. How long it hyzers for depends on glide.
Discs with high glide tend to have a gentle hyzer at the end. So the last 25% to 33% of your discs flight is going to be on hyzer. Think of them as discs like the Shryke or Mamba. When they do finally fade it takes a long time for them to get to the ground so they fade further to the side.
Something like a Firebird with a glide rating of 3 doesn’t stay in the air as long, so the hyzer at the end is a steeper angle.
Ground Play
All discs do something when they hit the ground. Some discs like the Firebird are meant to skip when they hit the ground (when thrown flat). Throw those hard and the wide rim will take them to the side, this makes them ideal for low ceiling shots where you have a dogleg. But it makes them next to impossible to land on a wood chip covered green, because they’ll skip away.
Discs like the Aviar grab hold of the ground. They don’t tend to skip because their edge lands flat and creates a seal where the whole disc hits at once. If you’re looking for more tips about ground play I have a whole blog on it and some discs that can help you achieve the ground play you’re looking for.
Let the disc do the work for you. Having a well rounded bag will help you lower scores. I see plenty of players who try to force a single disc to do everything for them. It’s fine to have a disc that’s your go-to. We’ve all got that driver that is what we’re throwing for most of our drives on longer courses. But when you start encountering different shot shapes and distances it’s great to have a disc that can do the work for you.
If you’re interested in reading an additional blog, I’ve written about the discs you should have in your bag.
I hope that this blog helps you consider letting the disc do the work. Lowering the amount of thinking you have to do on a shot will increase your consistency.
May your discs miss all the trees,
Andrew Streeter #70397