Drive Analysis

I took my wife and daughter to my secret throwing ground when the rain let up yesterday. There's a problem though – I don't think it's so secret after all. When we arrived I noticed a man practicing his form while throwing a disc, but his disc looked a bit heavier than mine. He was practicing his discus technique. It was cool to watch.

I also saw a boy and a man playing with a remote control airplane. This field was full of flying objects. With all the activity around there was still plenty of room for me to practice, so I went to work.

I asked my wife to shoot some video using my phone so I could break everything down later. This will be my first video analysis for this blog.

Many of my drives felt good, and I may have broken the 350ft barrier. I've decided to save up for a range finder so I can know for sure. Are there any brands I should stay away from?

I focused on two aspects, my grip and my non-throwing arm. I realized my grip could be stronger and that my left arm usually swings wide while I'm pulling through. Below is a picture of me teeing off from hole three on the backside of La Mirada in California. I believe the picture was taken sometime in 2010. It was this picture that made me wonder about the positioning of non-throwing arms.

I started to notice in videos that a lot of pros kept their non-throwing arm close to their body. I sent out a bunch of questions to random people over the Internet, but couldn't get an answer. Finally, I saw the Disc Golf Monthly TV episode on YouTube featuring the clinic with Garrett Gurthie. He used the analogy of an ice skater spinning to explain the reason behind keeping your arm close to your body – it creates a faster spin of the body.

I knew for sure I needed to incorporate it into my drives.

I believe it helps a lot. The combination of that and a tighter grip made me feel like I made progress yesterday.

Now, here's something I want to work on next:

Pictured above is the moment when my right foot plants on the ground. It's completely sideways. I'm wondering if I'll generate a better heel pivot and more power if I turn my body so that my right foot almost matches my left foot. 

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the small bits of progress. If you have any critiques please share. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.