Forehand Flutter

Hey forehand guys, what are some of the issues to watch out for when throwing sidearm to prevent flutter? 1 guy i talked to said i might have something to do with putting pressure in the wrong area when releasing. right now i throw about 300-320 sidearm, but it comes out w/ a bit of flutter at the begining of the flight.

 

Thanks for your help

[keith Morin]

I have the same issue, and have been stuck in the same distance range as you for about two years. I just did a google search to see if anyone from another site addressed this. This is what I found. http://www.pdga.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=1421995

[El Kabong]

This may help:
http://discgolfreview.com/resources/technique/sarmproblems.shtml#fl...

I will also add that some discs are very nose angle sensitive (even backhand) and these seem to be the fluttering champs for me. They seem to do better when thrown nose down. Some just can't take full power.

[Blake Meyers]

thjere is not enough snap on the disc u have to flickl it a little harder with more wrist and arm snap

[Jim Coonradt]

Who cares if it flutters if you can throw 300 -320? Maybe use the peace sign.

[AK Discer]

Usually flutter is from too much arm speed and not enough snap or you're not gripping it correctly or tight enough.

[Tony]

That makes sence. i noticed out in the field I wasn't getting very much snap, and was trying to concentrate on that and saw some improvement.

[Jeremiah Jones]

Make sure your wrist is as far back as it will go, a lot of people have a straight wrist which doesn't create enough tension or snap when you follow through. Also, snap your wrist like you're cracking a whip and creates a lot of spin....

[spiderwoman]

tight grip equals controlled release.

[mark ellis]

Forehands naturally flutter more than backhands due to the design of the human wrist but flutter (aka, Off Axis Torque or OAT) can plague any throw.

I don't think flutter is primarily caused by improper pressure on the wrong part of the disc or the ratio of arm speed to snap. Flutter is caused by failing to release flat and smooth and failing to use a tight enough grip for the power of the throw.

The flatter and smoother the release the less flutter occurs. The harder the throw the tighter the grip needed. So a short. easy throw does not need a tight grip. But a full out drive requires a very tight grip. This rule of gripping exists for all throws, forehand, backhand, overhead, rollers, putts, upshots or drives.

Flutter is harmful to throws because it robs the throw of stability and speed. So the more flutter the more the disc turns over and the slower and shorter the flight.

Flutter can be understood and compensated for. If you consistently throw with the same amount of flutter for a given degree of power then you can predict what flight will result. Just like a ball golfer who always slices hard to the right, they learn to aim far to the left to compensate for their slice. But compensating for the degree of flutter also means the shot never flies to its full potential. And flutter makes the shaping of shots more difficult.

Throwing for distance and accuracy is more a function of good, clean form than outright strength. Watch Liz Carr throw a disc. Liz is a small, slender woman. Yet she has superb form and throws a ton. She throws farther than most guys. But most guys could easily beat her in arm wrestling.

One of the best forehanders ever was Scott Stokely. Scott had such clean form and so little flutter he could drive with a Stratus (an understable disc) and throw it perfectly flat. Most forehanders will never be able to do this because they have too much flutter.

Many player who can throw forehand drives have trouble controlling short or midrange shots forehand. They resort to using overstable drivers or mids on short shots and bending tight "S" turns or hard hyzers, rather than throwing straight, flat, smooth and easy.

Flutter can be diminished with practice. Concentrate on making every disc fly perfectly flat and straight. Repeat as needed.

[Mack]

Yea, mark, that all makes sense, but after a year of throwing sidearm, I've hit a plateau...Short shots are pretty easy to control, all I do is "snap" the disc with little or no arm movement. But the drives, well, I either get 300 plus on a nice even plane, or the disc immediately turns over and crashes and rolls. I use a Star Xcaliber, 172, I'm wondering if a lighter disc might help? Got any hints to help keep a disc flat upon release?

[AK Discer]

I would definitely use a more understable driver and/or a lighter weight if you want to work on your technique. An Xcal was my go to disc for a long time when it came to forehands. Everybody always told me it was too overstable for most of the shots I was taking.

A guy I play with throws forehand pretty well and can throw anything understable very well. I found out that I was rolling my wrist or torquing the disc. If you find yourself doing that, then the disc you're throwing is too overstable. Obviously there are times that call for this, but not standard tee shots and upshots.

[Justin NUDGA#15]

Sean hit it on the head. Try a slightly less stable driver and focus on keeping your palm pointing to the sky on your follow through. Your wrist naturaly turns over so it has to be very deliberate. Let the disc do more work more for you.