Q: I have just the opposite problem that Shane had. I have been playing for about 4 months now and cannot get any distance to save my soul. My approaches are good and putting is fair, but the driving kills me. At best I can only get the disc (we are talking top of the line disc here; Beast, Sidewinder, Teebird, all in the 150 class weight) about 150'. In other words if I went out to an open field (and I have done this) and threw all my disc (including putter) they would all end up within 25' of each other. Is there a drill or exercise I can do to help me get more distance? (I am realistic in the fact that I am 65, so I do not expect to be throwing any 400' drives).

A: You pose a question that many of us ponder. Being big, strong and a bundle of fast twitch muscles will help anyone throw far, and exercise regimens that improve strength and flexibility will improve distance – provided this regimen doesn’t put us in the hospital.

But as you suggested, we should set realistic goals, and every one of us can improve our distance by improving our form. What we’ll lose in the process – we hope temporarily – is our accuracy. Any time you change your mechanics you’re messing with your game, but if you can accept taking that little step backwards, you’ll wind up throwing not only farther, but more smoothly.

Turning your hips is the secret of throwing farther, because a well-timed hip turn will allow you to put your whole body into the throw. I asked Steve Brinster, who tosses about 500 feet without being physically enormous, how he does it. He said one thing to try is pointing your left heel (for right-handers) toward the target on the second step of your three-step X-step run-up. This puts your back to the target. By unleashing his hips in this manner, Steve is able to connect the ample strength of his legs to the rotation of his torso, which in turn increases his arm speed. The same basic technique can also be applied to a standstill drive.

Once you get over the awkwardness of doing something new, you can begin to refine your new mechanics by concentrating on being smooth. Smoothness always equals greater power. How many times have we seen some stud huck a BOMB and someone, as if on cue, will say, “Wow, it looks as if you didn’t even throw that!” Real power is always smooth. Keeping this in mind, try to eliminate all unnecessary movements in your windup. People have strange and awkward ways of expressing exertion, and many of these head jerks, knee bends, and hippity hops serve only to inhibit smoothness and hence power.

Sincerely,

Torque Novitski, Marshall Street

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