Hello there, this is Jack Tupp, Owner and lead instructor at School of Disc Golf.
Part of my 2023 disc golf summer was spent familiarizing myself with an amazing piece of technology called TECHDISC. I’ve already used it with several clients and have now fully incorporated it into both types of lessons we offer; in-person and virtual.
Here is a brief summary of what TECHDISC is and what it does:
TECHDISC is the name of the company, as well as the company’s flagship (and only) product
The product, which sells for $299, is a piece of hardware; a small rubberized puck that is precisely and permanently attached to a disc at their factory. Customers can choose the disc type and weight.
The puck contains sensors that track the disc’s speed, spin rate, launch rate, hyzer angle, and wobble rate upon release
The data collected by the puck is transmitted via Bluetooth to the user’s phone, tablet, or laptop, where it is displayed numerically and graphically and also stored securely in the user’s account on TECHDISC servers
The software platform also enables users to label and sort throws to gain additional insights
So far, TECHDISC has been so popular they’ve gone through several cycles of preorders. In other words, they can’t make ’em fast enough!
I’m working on a more comprehensive review of TECHDISC to be posted soon, but after extensive use of the tool and platform over the last few months these are my impressions of how TECHDISC can be used to improve one’s disc golf game— and how we’ll be using it at School of Disc Golf moving forward.
techdisc in school of disc golf private lessons
Using TECHDISC with clients hasn’t changed what I teach in lessons, nor has it altered how I teach. At least not very much. But it has supercharged both in two ways I noticed right away.
A big part of my private lessons — especially with newer players — is explaining how to generate arm speed and spin, and how to control the direction and trajectory of the disc. In other words, how to throw further and “straighter.” Before TECHDISC, my methods produced consistent results, but quite often success is delayed, at least for a time, by the fact that adopting proper technique can feel strange.
I would explain mechanical changes and drills to a client, and together we’d assess their throws using my eyes and experience and the client’s feel. But trusting that new feel can take time. Having the quantification and scientific measurement of TECHDISC, however, is powerfully different. It provides an irrefutable level of confirmation — positive or negative — to both student and teacher. Numbers don’t lie, as they say.
Speaking of numbers, the other instant win using TECHDISC with new disc golfers involves explaining the differences between discs, flight numbers, and how to select the correct disc for each circumstance— and why that answer changes depending on a wide range of factors. TECHDISC includes a flight simulator that allows us to see how tweaking throw characteristics (and also disc characteristics) changes the flight of a disc.
The Flight Simulator lets users adjust both disc and throw characteristics, then use the 3D Throw Viewer to see how each change affects the flight of the disc.
Having a hands-on tool that lets someone change disc and throw numbers to create hyzer flip and forced flex shot lines that end up in the same place communicates important info in a much more memorable way.
using techdisc IN virtual lessons
We have developed an excellent methodology over the years to serve those who can’t make it to Santa Cruz, but as with everything else, communicating via Zoom and email and texts is a little less effective than being in the same location.
The most important thing for me in using it as a training tool is that it accurately reflects adjustments a client makes over the course of our work together. It does.
The concrete metrics of TECHDISC permit no message distortion— they are what they are. Clients know exactly where they stand in terms of speed and spin, and they gain a proper understanding of less intuitive factors like nose angle, hyzer angle, and launch angle. As an instructor, knowing the exact numbers for each throw I see on a video call makes an even bigger difference than when using it with an in-person client. I may misinterpret something I see, especially when it’s on a screen and the angle is bad, but I can trust the numbers.
I’ll go into more detail soon in a full review, but I’ve used my TECHDISC enough by now to know it is consistent from throw to throw. The most important thing for me in using it as a training tool is that it accurately reflects adjustments a client makes over the course of our work together. It does. When my clients own their own TECHDISC, they can share their throw data between sessions, and I can trust that data. It provides scientific data that confirms when they do X, the results are Y. Over time, even more patterns and trends will emerge, especially if they take full advantage of the tagging feature.
TECHDISC automatically sorts throws by type and release angle, and lets you manually label and sort in numerous other ways.
using techdisc on your own
You can of course use a TECHDISC on your own. At the very least you’ll have the coolest disc golf gadget around, one-upping the rangefinder crowd. If you expect the ability to capture and slice and dice all that data to translate into lower scores, though, that will largely depend on your ability to figure things out on your own. If you’ve had success in the past watching YouTube videos and implementing changes, and you understand technical disc golf terminology, TECHDISC should provide you with all the benefits described above.
If, however, you’re on the other end of the spectrum (many of my current clients tell me they found my website after trying and failing to watch videos and develop on their own), please remember that TECHDISC is a measurement tool combined with good database tools. It won’t tell you how to change those numbers. But, hey, that’s what me and my fellow disc golf instructors are for, right?
Contact us if you’d like to schedule a TECHDISC-powered lesson or have a question, or book online directly to reserve a date and time right now.
