Kansas Disc Golf Association

Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is the case Niko should be pleased! Did I mention that I'm getting old? Well see, it's like this....Between my work and play I'm developing what seems to be tendinitis of the elbow. This is really a pain when you use your elbow a lot in your putt. It causes distracting twinges just before release. To say this is bad is an understatement. Because of this, I started experimenting with a modified version of Niko's form. Fact is, it looks a lot like the putt Devan Owens has. I've been working on it fairly religiously (mainly because my regular putt hurts to throw), and I'm getting pretty good surprisingly fast!
There are trade-offs to consider. First off, this goes out as a hyzer putt. I haven't been able to change this, but, inside 40 ft it doesn't seem to matter much. The throw has more arc on it than my usual flat putt and doesn't carry near as well, but learning the release point has been simpler. As a bonus I tried throwing this with gloves on(while working in the yard) and I was successfully ringing-em up! The Steeper angle also means that I have to hit well or get a bounce off left. On the plus side, the disc already has a degraded flight path, so when it hits chains, it's going to the bottom of the basket. Body orientation is the key for me to have an accurate putt. Much more so than a "normal" putt....but, lined up correctly it seems to have less variables to go wrong. If I miss 10 less short putts in a tourney, I'll be ecstatic!
The stance is a left foot forward, right foot back and 5"-6"to the right of the line from right foot to the basket. The arc of my arm is at much the same angle as I would use to throw a steep hyzer.(coming from my left knee to point just to the right of the pole) The grip on the disc seems to be where the correction takes place. I'm trying to keep the disc flatter or anhyzer as my arm is swinging forward. As I've been practicing the throw has gone from Radically nose down, to a much longer hyzer angle. Making the swing more sideways and less up-down did the trick. I'm rapidly becoming a believer in this style and I've seen a few people who are great at it , so I know it has possibilities. With the Oklahoma Open and VPO coming up shortly, I hope my putting will help offset my lack of rounds. As I get more and more successful with this form I can't help thinking that the next thing to go will be my wrist! By the way, Thanks go out to Smitty and T.Rude for their encouragement.

I injured the fur trapper.
I am still trying to learn to putt at all.

Zen Okie wrote:I injured the fur trapper.(Strangely, I know that quote!)
I am still trying to learn to putt at all.

And now a blast from the past!
Lessons are cheap. After we get the new baskets installed at 5th street, give me a holler and I'll come out and play!

Well, to paraphrase T.Rude,"I practice this way and think I've got it figured out, I start playing in a tournament and it(my putt) reverts back to where it was". I sympathize. My putting was just good enough the first round to tease me. 45 ft. seemed to be the distance I had to be at to hit! 20 and in were O.K., but the 30-35ft. putts killed me. The second round was an easy course (Dovillio) with 4 par three holes.... all the rest are not only reachable, most are what would be considered easy birds in the Open division. Normal average is 50%of the 13 possible birds. With 2 exceptions, (Avery Jenkins and Sprout) I think the whole Open division balked! It was one of those rounds that seem to bleed forever.I gave up trying to use the new putt near the end of the round and hit 3 in a row to finish at 3 under. Ouch! Round three was a course I'd never played before(Centennial) and man what a nice layout for the available space. Almost every hole had OB. and most were wet! A creek and several(3)ponds played as well as a meandering walking path that played on or across OB most of the time. The only complaint was that weather had delayed the city's installation of Tee pads! Still not bad. It seemed that the whole division woke up and came to play. Scores were what they should have been at Dovillo! I managed to just hang on to last place in the final 9 with great driving and poor putting. The final 9 was skip a hole at McClure! This format is 1's tee to 2's basket. Hole 5 we played normally. What fun! Putting,... well, I gave up on the new technique, accepted the pain and started removing strokes from my game. Of course, when you must throw at least 2 great shots to get to the basket, putting is also less of a concern!
I guess it is still a work in progress. I still see the value of the shot, but I hope I don't need to use it as much! This weekend VPO and hopefully another decent tourney. We'll see.

Keep trying, It'll work itself out.

mrsenortyler wrote:Keep trying, It'll work itself out.

No complaints.