Discmania Deep in the Game: Ep 3 - Sidearm (Instructional Disc Golf video)

Disc golf courses are like highways -
there's typically one main route
designated to get you
to your destination.
The beauty of the game is to
find alternative ways to drive.
You may discover
that there are better routes right in front of you.
Welcome to LaMirada - Deep in the Game.
the sidearm was a key to my success in my first major victory in 2006
I'm going to teach you the proper sidearm technique to take your game to the next level
The sidearm or the forehand throw,
is a natural throwing motion used in other sports. That's why you typically see
beginners and children pick up that kind of throwing style first
there are many different advantages
to throwing a sidearm. Such as open up the fairway to the right side
it's very hard to get a turn over to carry over to the right side of the fairway
But it's the natural spin and the natural spin of the sidearm
that will take over to the right side
giving you more potential to birdie
and better advantage on the course.
it's also a very efficient throw - you don't need a lot of power
from a standstill throw because you utilize a lot of your body and a lot of your hips
when you throw the shot.
So you can standstill for the most part
and throw a very efficient shot.
You can face the target the entire time. On a backhand throw you turn and turn away,
on a sidearm you can sit there and face the target as you throw the shot
also you can get a nice low release on a shot as your trying to throw a skip shot or
a low tunnel shot through some trees.
so for the side arm throwing style there are three main grips:
there's a split grip,
the stack grip,
and the power grip.
The split grip
is great for putter and midrange shots real technical little approaches to the green
the stack grip on the other hand is a grip that's widely used by many sidearm throwers.
Good power,
good control
But then there's my favorite grip,
is the actual power grip.
With good control and much more power, it actually increases your spin
and generates a lot more power as you're trying to drive the disc.
Thumb on top -
I try to place it where the flight plate meets the rim.
nice dense spot, good thumb pressure.
Two fingers on the front edge.
actually keep the disk in your hand and keep a nice firm grip
These drop out of the way when you're ready to release the shot.
Sidearm arm swing is a very fluent motion from back to front.
The sidearm is a shorter reach back 'cause your not extending your arm fully
you have kind of a tucked elbow here as you're going to drive your elbow through
as you reach the extension point and hit the point of release.
On the teepad,
I square up to the line of release or the intended flight path.
square my body up,
I take one medium step of the left,
a slight turn with the hips
as a lean back and rotate back, load on my hips, take one medium step with the right
turning fully hips, trying to load the hips to get some power from my body,
the last step, a final step: plant foot with my left. large step
as I lean forward, I'm driving my legs and driving my hips forward
in to the final release of the disc.
let's deep in to the game
and bring it all together.
now for the first part:
you're reaching back
on the arm swing
reaching back
swinging back extending not too far because you elbow is still slightly bent,
keeping the disc flat.
As you come in through driving the legs on that very last plant foot,
driving your elbow through,
and keeping it close to the body. It helps regain a lot of power to keep the disc close to the body.
too far away from the body - you're going to lose distance and lose power.
Keeping the arm and form parallel to the ground
and keeping it perpendicular to your body
as you almost do a karate chop
extending forward
This is the hit point. This is where you really want to accelerate through the shot
and give a tremendous acceleration,
extended forward
releasing the shot.
Hit point and snap are very key.
The wrist -
a little bit of movement, not a full curl
but a nice solid pop at the very end of the shot.
The sidearm is a very touchy shot and you need extremely good timing is coming through
With the backhand you can get away with some missed timing. The sidearm is a
super touchy, really concentrate on the hit point.
really concentrate on the middle finger.
and release the shot through.
and now we are at the most critical part of the sidearm throw,
which is the follow through.
You're extending so much energy in the shot,
as you're extending forward
on the shorter shots you're going to extend your arm. On longer shots you're going to
spring your arm through.
and stepping forward to right leg this unloads all the momentum that your
body builds up
in a one forward straight line as you're trying to hit your line.
You really want to commit to the angle of the shot as you're pulling through,
keeping your palm to the sky.
And extending forward with your palm to the sky.
any wrist rotation or wrist roll can cause a disc to turn over or even a roll
on a sidearm shot.
So really commit to that line,
commit to that angle and commit to keeping your arm to the sky.
as you follow through and extend.
The sidearm is a very complex throwing style.
Here are some common mistakes people do when trying to do a sidearm:
First off -
throwing the shot
and rolling the wrist.
Rolling the wrist will cause a faulty shot to the left side and may even cause a sidearm roller.
really commit to keeping the palm to the sky.
Next "nose up" -
Throwing nose up at the very end of the release. It's a very low release
and when you're trying to throw the shot,
pulling up at the very end cause a nose up,
and the disc to carry up, stall
and to hyzer out to the right side.
next is not tucking elbow -
by not tucking the elbow you're bringing your disc farther away from your body.
This causes loss of power and loss of accuracy.
always wanna tuck your elbow.
Being a right-hand thrower the sidearm allows me to open up the right side of the fairway.
I throw stable to overstable drivers
that have a tendency to finish
off to the right side
I throw the PD (Freak) and the PD2 (Chaos) in in the Discmania disc line because of the
overstable finish and long distance on a sidearm throw.
Learn to
throw shorter shots when trying to learn the sidearm
Throw little short approach shots with your putter or midrange.
and then start trying a little longer shots, maybe even teeshots on some shorter holes.
until you get the mechanics down
to throw the longer sidearms
I'l guarantee when you learn the sidearm, it'll shave strokes off your rounds
and take your game to the next level.
three key points of sidearm driving -
1. Tuck your elbow.
Keeping the disc close to your body
in order to produce power throughout the throwing motion.
2. Palm to the sky.
commit to the line by following through with your palm up
to reduce rolling your wrist and turning the disc over.
3. Firm grip.
Concentrate on springing the disc off your middle finger during
the release to maintain accuracy and control.