Disc golf throwing technique is so much more about the proper form than it is about power and speed. Don’t get me wrong, power and speed are going to enhance the distance of your drives, but correct technique is going to keep your shots down the middle of the fairway.
One disc golf technique training tip that has helped me develop my game throughout the years has been proper body alignment on the teepad and striving for a straight pull across the body on the arm swing in order to “hit the line.”
Proper body alignment on the teepad is positioning your body in the correct location by starting in the back right corner of the teepad if you are right handed and the back left teepad if you are left handed. This slight adjustment of the body on the teepad will allow you enough space to swing and extend your arm while your back leg is shifted out of the way on the run up. Running up in a straight line from the back of the teepad will definitely keep your body in line but it will not offer the space necessary for the arm on a straight pull through.
Keeping the disc on the line throughout the throwing motion typically results in what we call “hitting the line” which produces a straight throw. It’s extending the arm back in a straight line to arm position A at the peak of reach back, then pulling through while bending the elbow to ensure that you are keeping the disc close to your body until the release of the disc in arm position B. In the end, it’s a simple pull from point A-to-B on a straight line while your arm travels from back to front.
You absolutely want to avoid taking the disc off that straight line by over rotating your upper body on the pull back or letting the disc drift away from your body.
This is called “rounding.” Rounding typically results in an errant shot or throw which will definitely translate to increased strokes on the course. It’s called rounding because the disc is literally curving around the body while pulling the shot through until the release point.
It’s very difficult to hit your line when you take the disc off line before you release it.
If you don’t release the disc on the line, the disc is going to travel either left or right depending on if you release the disc early of the line or late of the line. Now if you consciously focus on staying on the line and releasing the disc on the line then you are more likely throw the shot that you intended to throw. Do your best to limit any side-to-side movements as you need to absolutely trust your footwork and technique throughout the entire process of the throw, this is everything.
One of my favorite ways to really ingrain the proper throwing technique and keeping your arm on that straight line is the use of resistance bands. I highly recommend getting a medium gauge resistance band that you can fix to the proper height of the intended throwing motion and start with multiple repetitions in order to reenforce your muscle memory. The resistance band will not allow you to take your arm of the line and this added resistance will definitely add increased power/speed to your overall throw.
- Avery Jenkins
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