Frustrations of Forehand Throws

So Kirk and I have narrowed down or forehand test discs to the final six, these are discs that have all performed well for test throws in the past, so I should be able to consistently throw them right?

That's what I would have hoped. I've literally done thousands of forehand throws while we've done our tests, and the sad thing is that not only have I not improved my average distance, but it's actually decreased.

After twelve throws each with our top six discs, my median and average distances went down...

Oh well, at least the positive is that my backhand distance has substantially improved over the summer, so my game hasn't totally diminished. It's just evolved to a different primary drive.

From our results, the top 5 discs for backhand distance throws for intermediate disc golfers right now are:

1. Innova Star Destroyer
2. Innova Champion Krait
3. Latitude 64 Bolt
4. Latitude 64 Flow
5. Innova Champion Monarch

We still have about 16 more throws with these discs, then we'll get to 100 total throws and will publish our results.

Best Forehand Distance Driver for Beginners/Intermediate Players

For the last few months Kirk and I have been testing out different disc golf drivers for the sole purpose of finding which one we can get the most distance with from our forehand drives. We haven't focused on accuracy, just pure distance.

While we have some discs that have been consistently good for both of us, the different throwing styles and techniques have a lot more to do with getting distance than do the discs you're throwing. With that said, there are clearly some golf discs that perform better for distance driving, especially for forehand throws. For me to get 300+ feet of distance from my forehand drives, I need a high speed disc with the right sized rim (not to thick, not to narrow) that is overstable, but not too overstable.

When I throw discs that have a high degree of turn, my sidearm drives turn over and crash into the ground without getting very significant distance or glide. My sidearm throw naturally goes anhyzer on my flick release, so in order to get maximum distance I need a disc that will recover from the anhyzer angle with a highly overstable fade.

While most discs with high turn ratings don't fly well for me for forehand throws, my two best discs, the  Latitude 64 Bolt, and the Innova Monarch are actually fairly understable but these discs resist the tendency to turn over.

When disc rims are too thick, (Like the Innova Boss, Dominator, and Discraft Nuke) I have trouble releasing them and they turn over. When rims wing length is too thin, the same thing happens. After our first round throwing 70 different disc golf drivers, here are my top 10 drivers after the first round:

Alan's Best Distance Drivers for Forehand Throws

1. Latitude 64 Bolt
2. Innova Monarch
3. Latitude 64 Flow
4. Innova Destroyer
5. Discmania DD2 Frenzy
6. Discraft Flash
7. Westside King
8. Discraft Wildcat
9. Innova Krait
10. Westside Giant

We're taking our top 20 discs and doing additional throws so that we can narrow down the results and really answer the questions, "What is the best driver for disc golf?" at least for beginners and intermediate players who throw similarly to Kirk and myself...

Stay tuned for more results...

More Putter Test Results

From 20 Feet, I've now completed 30 test throws. My results are, as they should be, better than from 25 feet overall. The weird thing is that some discs were actually more accurately for me from 25 feet, than from 20... Really weird. Anyways, the results are no where close to being finished, I still have thousands more putts to throw before really answering the questions, what is the best disc golf putter?

One fairly conclusive piece of evidence is that from 20 feet, my number one putter once again is the Vibram Ridge. I'm sure it's part psychological, as I just believe that I'll make my putts with that disc every time because I always have in the past, but the fact is that of the 26 different putters I'm testing, it lands and stays in the basket more than any other disc.

Here are my 20 ft putt test results:

Best Disc Golf Putter from 25 Feet

Okay, so the results are in (well, some of them)....

The best putters for putts from 25 feet are the Innova Dart and the Vibram Ridge.

Well, these are at least the results for me. After 54 rounds of 25 foot putts, these two discs currently tie for first place as the best putters. With these discs, I have been able to make more than 70% of my putts.

The Vibram Ridge is nice and firm, with that great rubber grip that only Vibram can provide.

The Innova Dart is a super reliable straight flyer that rattles the chains. After my first 1,188 test putts, these two discs stand out as the best, the cream of the crop.

I plan to complete another 46 throws at this distance, then move on to another. I'm also working on getting some putter test results from some of the other workers at my office, some of which don't disc golf. This should be a great way to help us determine the best putter for a beginner.

But for now, if you are a disc golfer who wants to improve your game, go with the Innova Dart. Not only is it a great putter, but it's also our #1 rated approach disc. A super straight flyer with no turn or fade. One of the best things about this disc is that it's also super cheap. The Dart comes in Innova's inexpensive DX plastic. You can literally purchase a dart for less than $7.

Choosing the BEST weight for your golf discs.

When you go to purchase a disc golf discs, one of the options is weight. Now how are you supposed to know the best weight? Some discs come in "light weights" less than 150g, while the heavier discs usually weigh between 175-180g.

So what is the best weight for your discs?

The best weight really depends on the type of disc you're using, and how fast your arm speed is.

To try and determine the optimal weight I am testing the Innova Wraith, Roadrunner, and Leopard in each of the different weights available.

With the way I throw, the best weights with the Innova Leopard are the heavier ones. Any time I try and throw the 150 gram leopards, they turn over and don't get nearly as much distance as the discs that are 168g and up.

For beginning disc golfers, light weight discs are best. The hardest thing for most disc golfers is that disc golf discs fade too much. Lighter weight discs do this less. Once you get so you can throw about 300 feet, the heavier weight discs will fly best. The weight will also depend on how stable a disc is. The Leopard is a fairly stable disc, so for my throwing speed it turns over more easily. However, the Wraith is mostly overstable and at my skill level a lighter weight disc is best.

Once I have completed 100 test throws with each of my different weight discs, I will come up with my exact results that show which weight discs are ideal, at least for me.

Best Disc Golf Putter

I just got a new Mach 14 portable disc golf basket delivered by UPS this afternoon, and began my tests to help determine, "What is the best disc golf putter?"

Now Kirk and I did some tests with both putters and mid range discs to determine the best approach disc. For that test, our initial round of results determined that the Innova Dart putter is the most accurate approach disc, as in, it's a good disc go help you land near the pin and have an easy putt.

But what is the best disc for actually putting the disc in the basket? What disc golf putter is going to provide the most accurate results and have the lowest number of missed shots.

Now obviously everybody's hand size, and throwing style are a little different, but by performing tests we can determine the disc most likely to be the most accurate for the greatest quantity of people.

I have about 25 different putters I'm testing made by Innova, Discraft, Millenium, Westside, Latitude 64, Ching, and Vibram. So far I've thrown each disc 14 times from 25 feet out. While this sample size isn't big enough to determine anything yet, there are two discs which stand out from the pack thus far. The Millenium Omega Super Soft and the Vibram Ridge have been my two most accurate discs after one day of testing. Stay tuned for more results....

Disc Golf Flight Ratings Chart

Innova has the rating system Speed/Glide/Turn/Fade that they use to rate the flight path of all their disc golf discs. But what about other disc manufacturers that don't use this system? How do Discraft, Millenium, Ching, and Vibram discs compare?

Altitude Disc Golf put together this chart that compares the flight path of nearly every disc golf disc currently made. Check it out.