Plastics Galore

            Lets talk about plastic! Discs have come a long way in the last couple of years. Traditionally discs were only available in a base line cheap plastic. These provided ok grip and decent performance. Soon it was realize after a few tress smacks that these plastics would not just handle the demand the players were putting on them. Now there is still a use for this type of plastic today. Mainly well playing wide up course but for tightly wooded course there are much better options out!

            Champion, Star, Gstar, Opto, Gold, Lucid, Fuzion, and Tournment are just some of each brand of disc maker’s premium plastic. These plastics are much more durable and provide excellent grip in those not so optimal conditions. These discs will break in slower and retain there over stability much longer. The plastic is made by combining different polymers to give the plastic a good feel and add rigidity to the discs.

            They are all great choices and deciding which once to buy can be a very tough choice. Honestly I believe it all comes down to personal preference and what feels best in YOUR hand. I personally have had the opportunity to be able to throw and test out all of the plastics available.  I believe that Innova Star and Latitude 64 Opto lines are the best on the market.

            Innova Star plastic has a nice grippe feel to in and excellent in handling abuse from various obstacles. This plastic is said to be the furthest flying plastic made from Innova, adding almost 25-50 feet on your throws! I have multiple discs in my bag that have been in there for years. To this day they have maintained their grip and have held their stability like a brand new disc. I have one that has been run over with a lawn mower and it stills flies just like the day I bought the disc!

            I also like Latitude 64s Opto line plastic. This is a very nice and grippe super durable plastic blend. The best thing about Latitude 64s Opto line is that it comes in some of the brightest colors on the market. This is important because when you are throwing in the woods some of the darker opaque colors become very hard to find. This is the most common issue that leads to newer players losing disc! Go grab yourself some neon green or orange Star or Opto discs and go out and throw!

The Tale of the Shots

            On this weeks installment of the Michigan Disc Golf Scene we are going to be discussing weather the forehand hyzer or the backhand anhyzer approach is best.

            This is defiantly the age-old argument and battle of the bests. In one corner we have the tried and true forehand (sidearm) hyzer approach. The anhyzer shot has been an essential shot in pros arsenal since disc golf first became a sport. But as disc technology has improved and companies have been able to design more and more over stable discs, the forehand hyzer shot is the new school shot or choice.

            The backhand anhyzer shot is simply taking an under stable disc or beat in disc and throwing like you normal do. Except instead of pulling straight through for a max distant drive you are going to look lead with you head and “open” up your shoulders and throw across your body. This shot should cause you to lean backhands as you are moving out of the way of the way of the discs path. This is going to cause an intentional turn over that allows your disc to fade and fly to the right instead of the normal straight and finish left.

            On the other hand we have the forehand hyzer shot. This shot is taking a massively over stable disc and during your throw you want to adjust you wrist angle. It is a common misconception that you need to change you arm position to achieve and different shot but a simply wrist change is all you need. So during your shot you are going to drop your wrist angle down from flat as you are releasing the disc. This will cause the disc to hold a tight hyzer shaped line to the right as intended. 

            You might be asking well what’s the difference if they both end to the right? A simple answer to that no technically. They are both very good shots and not one is any better than the other. However players need to know both to be successful. Though they may end the same they are definitely more beneficial in there given situations.

            The forehand hyzer needs a lot of open room to work, as you must throw it into the air high and let the shot flip. But if you are in a low ceiling, tight wooded area there is not much room for that shot to work.  That is wear the backhand anhyzer comes in. This shot can be thrown straight and allows for the disc to turn and than pan out to finish. Also if you don’t want your disc to skip due to out of bounds or water hazards the backhand anhyzer is the shot. Typically the anhyzer like to glide and just sit where it lands, but the hyzer likes to skip and roll from its point of landing.

            So as you can see both shots have their pros and cons. There is no magically be all of disc golf shots. You have backhand hyzer and anhyzer, forehand hyzer and anhyzer, thumbers, tomahawks, rollers and many others. To be a top rated player all these shots must be in your arsenal so you can throw the perfect shot for whatever situation you might get yourself into. Thanks for reading and stop by next week for more Michigan Disc Golf.

Disc Golf Background

           The reason I chose this topic is I have a newfound love for the ever-growing sport of Disc Golf. Everyone’s thinking of just throwing a “Frisbee” at a basket seems boring and un-doubly easy, right? Wrong! I too fell victim to the common misconception of what Disc Golf actually is.

            Ed Headrick is said to be the father of Disc Golf, well being the first man to establish the sport and also the first man to develop the first disc. Fun fact is that Disc Golf was at first suppose to be called “Frisbee Golf’ but that phrase was already coined and patented. So Headrick started the DGA (Disc Golf Association), this organization is still around today but more into the market of making and selling Disc Golf “discs” or “baskets”. Today the PDGA “Professional Disc Golf Association” is the central hub for all things Disc Golf.

            The pioneer so to say disc golfers use to throw their discs at wood poles with a steel band covering the top 6-inches. The goal was to hit the metal part of the wood pole with your disc. Things have change drastically since then. Now days Disc Golf is played by throwing your disc into large metal baskets with poles and chains. Technology has improved and there are now single, double, even triple chained baskets to help catch the discs better.

            Discs today are so advanced that they are machine made and tested in wind tunnels to see which design has the best airflow to achieve maximum distance. You have medium rimmed “mid-ranges”, large rimed “fairway drives”, and extra wide rimmed “max distance drivers”. There are a ever growing number of company’s producing these disc: Prodigy, Innova Champion, Discraft, Latitude 64, and Dynamic Discs are just a few of the industry leaders.

            The interest in Disc Golf grows on you as you engross yourself in the sport, with the ability to go out to a local park and get away from the busyness and clutter of society. It’s peaceful. Its one of the few sports where “being good” isn’t the main focus. You can grab a beer head out with friends and have fun! But of course your competitive nature will come out and than you’ll dig deeper into the sport. You will learn how to different discs fly and different techniques for throwing the discs.

            You can travel around the state, country, and even world to experience different courses (place where Disc Golf is played). You will meet new people at courses and maybe even make new friends if you join a course’s weekly leagues! I love Disc Golf and I hope I have sparked many new interests. This sport is getting big and just recently had two ESPN Top 10 Plays of the Week! Stayed tuned and check bad for more Disc Golf News.

1st Post

New blog, tons of new Disc Golf information in the weeks to come!