What driver do you prefer for long (400'+) open holes? What type of shot? (sidearm, backhand, tomahawk, etc.....)

I am asking this because this is something i debate more on the long holes than the shorter holes, and I usually end up throwing a disc and wondering if I should have picked another. Please give me your input with the disc brand and type as well as the weight. This is for ideal conditions but feel free to put input for the various windy conditions as well. Thanks

I am asking this solely to compare my game to the options other players take. I throw a Champion Beast, Wraith, or a Valkyrie. I question myself after every shot for my own improvement. I dont want to know what I do, I see it every day I play. I am asking what do YOU do. Thanks.

[Handsome Tim]

Tim "GOT SNAP" Nevins said:

I think John McMullen (above) has it right. Buy your drivers in bulk, find a BIG field and hammer away at all angles!!
I practice throw until I am pretty well muscle fatigued. That way I get a feel for how to throw a specific disc no matter what my energy level (I'm over 50).

As for me personally...

Backhand for the big D

JLS in Millenium plastic for big tail winds or drastically long downhill shots
The Monarch low-170's in neutral or a slight tail wind- is looking mighty sweet !
Star Destroyer 169 in light to moderate head wind (or dramatic uphill shots)
A weighty Champ Firebird... "the legend" in big head winds

[John]

I'm getting good distance with the boss and destroyers i throw them with a hyzer backhand and it ends straight ahead 400 without wind with a little head wind they go about 380

[Rich Drawdy]

Forehand 175g Destroyer, that thing goes forever.

[eric beich]

I think you'll get a mixed bag of answers for this one. since you don't want any opinions on what you should do.. I throw a kc12x Wraith or star Destroyer or Valk for my longest shots.
all depends on the snap, but I can outdrive most of the people I play with or see, except a few local pro's.. damn them!!

but as I often see in tournaments and tell my friends.. doesn't matter if you can drive far if you cant make a good upshot or putt. hence my delegation to the INT ADV rank till I work on that aspect of my game some more.

[CBass]

Well I would never recommend trying to tomahawk more than 150-200'. Seems like there's a greater risk of injury on shots longer than that. What works for me is a strong backhand to go over 400-450'. Lately I've been using a broken in champion Wraith, Pro Destroyer or Champion Valkyrie. Sticking with one disc off the tee is hard to make yourself do, but is worth it. Practice makes perfect when it comes to mastering a disc, if you can force yourself to put in the work...

[Shel]

I would throw either a 172 XS, X-clone, or a either 168 Star leopard or 174 Starfire. Those are probably too many choices, but depending on the fairway and landscape your dealing with. My straightest disc is my X-clone or Champion eagle. I can get long distance with an S with my xs and starfire, my leopard will cut to the rt. and go far for me, so, as i said, it depends on the landscape.. I know that I've always won the distance drive title from my Champion Starfire. Lost it the disc, but got lots more to choose from! : ) Oh yeah, plain ol" drive with a four finger power grip. If I try to roll, which I have on that distance, it would be with my Champion Leopard-169. Now that I read back on everyones reply I've gotten stupified by- back hand, fore hand,sidearm, flick, two finger, "pancake" whatever!!! I'm just tired rt. now, I throw the typical pull from my shoulder across forward, oh and I'm rt. handed.... sorry, I'm just needing to get to sleep, feeling under the weather...kinda cracking up myself with the fact I don't even know the name of the throw I'm trying to explain, and then how I did explain it..is funny too!! Gooodddnnnittteee.........

[Jamie]

Long drive strong headwind Cmapion Destroyer 175, lite headwind Champion Boss 173. Long drive strong tailwindchampion gummy 150 Valk, lite tailwind CE leopard.

[Jamie]

Very humble. You can out drive most of the people you see. God your dominant.
eric beich said:

I think you'll get a mixed bag of answers for this one. since you don't want any opinions on what you should do.. I throw a kc12x Wraith or star Destroyer or Valk for my longest shots.
all depends on the snap, but I can outdrive most of the people I play with or see, except a few local pro's.. damn them!!

but as I often see in tournaments and tell my friends.. doesn't matter if you can drive far if you cant make a good upshot or putt. hence my delegation to the INT ADV rank till I work on that aspect of my game some more.

[mark ellis]

You gotta go with what you know. You gotta dance with the girl you brought to the dance. You gotta play the hand you are dealt. There may be a few more cliches that apply. None come to mind.

I drive sidearm (aka forehand) for power because my sidearm is far more powerful than my backhand. Like 100 feet more powerful. I can probably throw farther from one knee sidearm than backhand with a full run up. Maybe not, but I'd bet on the sidearm.

I throw overstable drivers from Discraft. Mostly heavy weights but depending on the disc maybe in the mid to high 160 grams. Disc weight is a minor factor. The flight pattern and glide of a disc is what matters. With my throw, I need overstable drivers. I am sponsored by Discraft and have played as a Pro for the past decade. My wife thinks I am sponsored by her. She is right on most other topics.

For pure distance I will throw a Crush, Flash or a Pulse. Mostly in Z plastic (translucent candy plastic with remarkable durability) but the latest run of ESP Pulses are superb! The new Pulses are flat-topped and overstable but still have great glide (( ESP plastic is a candy blend that is not translucent but grippy and still very durable).

With a huge tailwind I will throw a Z Flash or DGA Rogue. Into a screaming headwind I will throw a Z Talon or a Z Crush or an ESP Force. For a roller, the same discs as a headwind. A tailwind makes a disc fly more overstable. A headwind makes a disc fly more understable. A roller is semi-impossible to control in any wind. Unless you are Joe Mela. But he installs remote-control-computer-chips in his discs. Don't tell anyone this. It is a secret.

For backhand players of average power who want superior glide and maximum distance, consider trying a Flash (in Z or ESP) or a DGA Rogue (they only come in one plastic blend similar to ESP). If you run into me at a course or a tournament you can borrow one of mine and try it out.

Backhand players with monster arms, with freaking cannons mounted on their shoulders, don't need any advice except to invest in ice packs. Except Craig Leyva. Everyone should remind him it is rude to break the sound barrier with his drives. Craig can circumnavigate the globe with a putter. But the joke is on him. Sometimes his frisbees burn to a crisp when they re-enter the atmosphere. HA HA, now where do you spot it? The biggest piece is a micro-dot for a dust mite.

[Brandon Swanson]

So I guess for really big drives, Mark would recommend a disc that is coated with some NASA engineered material that doesn't melt upon re-entry. That is solid indisputable advice. :-)

In a wide open field when I want to just rip it far, I'll throw either dx sidewinder roller, but usually a 170 cfr destroyer. I can rip it 20-30 ft farther than the surge equating to 450 ft. I grow weary of the inconsistency of runs of destroyers however. I'm not sure the 20-30 extra feet is worth the inconsistency. I don't want to have to relearn every destroyer I buy. So I think I'm going to step back to the surge for my bombs.

Actually, though it's a fairway driver, I have thrown a lighter TL 375-400 ft consistently and that is probably my best option as it almost always finishes straight. That is actually the reason I have trouble throwing the newer long drivers, they are so picky about hitting the line just perfect. You try and try to tweak the the right nose angle to maximize the flight, but you usually fall short of your old reliables, unless you get the disc to "hook up."

I'm in the process of great advice of paring down my bag and learning each disc well, rather than trying to tool the perfect disc for each situation. I'd recommend the same process to you. simplification. I play my best golf when I throw only TLs and rocs. The promise of more distance is one that us golfers have a hard time resisting though. :-)

[Jay and [e-mail]]

Ummm thought i lost my force today...Nice and broke in would have been a sad day thats my tree weaver on a side note the Boss for side arm is a sweet anhyzer disc throw it high and far...

[LSDiscs-zack aschenbach]

The boss, backhand all the way