The School of Disc Golf recently hosted an unusual and exciting teambuilding event for a group of tech leaders from startup accelerator YCombinator. While we typically use our private venue in Santa Cruz, or an established disc golf course elsewhere in the Bay Area, this particular outing presented a unique set of circumstances that required us to pivot.
The putting contest in Golden Gate Park revealed some true natural talent.
Navigating the Grateful Dead and Golden Gate Park
YCombinator requested that the event take place in Golden Gate Park, which normally wouldn’t be an issue as the park has a great course. However, on the scheduled day, the usual course was closed due to a Grateful Dead festival. With such a big show also taking place in San Francisco all weekend, the park was buzzing.
To accommodate, we enlisted the help of Bill’s Flying Discs and set up a short, pop-up disc golf course in a less-populated section of Golden Gate Park, in the Panhandle. Despite the unpredictable circumstances, strong winds, and an increasing stream of “Deadheads”, the event was a resounding success.
The YCombinator Effect
A major reason for the event’s triumph was the exceptional group of participants: Founders with YCombinator. They all displayed the common traits found in tech entrepreneurs: a mix of curiosity, engagement, and charisma. All 13 individuals present truly embraced the experience. The video below shows several of them doing an excellent job mimicking the technique demonstrated moments before.
tech leaders embrace TECHDISC’s smart disc & App
A highlight for the group, particularly the engineers, was the integration of TECHDISC into the experience. They were highly engaged, asking great questions about disc flight. We even referred them to Chapter 11 of “The Disc Golf Revolution,” where Dr. John Hernlund, PhD explains that a flying disc has six degrees of freedom, significantly more than a sphere (ball), which only has two!
Participants then had their throws measured and mapped in the TECHDISC app, allowing them to see how different metrics acted as “knobs and levers” for controlling disc flight.
Even with a very tight schedule, the group’s enthusiasm was evident as they insisted on staying 10 minutes past their deadline. The competition had been switched from focusing on the fastest throw as measured by TECHDISC to the furthest throw, and they were quickly trying to adjust their technique to achieve flatter releases.
The event was a resounding success, proving that even with unexpected challenges, a great group and a passion for learning (and disc golf!) can make for an unforgettable teambuilding experience.
Are you ready to take your pursuit of better disc golf to the next level? Yeah?
Keep reading!
This post provides additional information to pair with TechDisc Talk Episode #1, the 8-minute video below in which we explain how the mindblowing TechDisc platform changes your game by revolutionizing your understanding of your throws.
After working directly with dozens of clients using a TECHDISC, I don’t hesitate to recommend the product and platform to everyone, with one caveat: It isn’t like Invisalign, magically correcting your over-right (Get it? Over-right/overbite?) by being under your pillow while you sleep. The disc itself can’t help you at all, in fact. But you can’t use The Platform without it.
The TECHDISC Launch Monitor Pro measures speed, spin rate, angles, and much more!
If you’re not yet familiar, TechDisc is a hardware/software platform that includes a disc with sensors in the center of a disc that measure the forces and angles during a throw. The data is transmitted to a web app that determines the throw type and calculates six throw metrics and a simulated flight.
The Six Key Metrics: Unlocking the Secrets of Disc Flight
TechDisc tracks six crucial metrics that together with the simulated disc flight numbers mathematically describe a throw: Speed, Spin, Nose Angle, Hyzer Angle, Launch Angle, and Wobble. Understanding these metrics is essential for training and improving your disc golf game. Let’s take a closer look at each one:
Speed: Measured in MPH or KMH, speed indicates how fast the disc moves through the air. Generally, more speed equates to more distance, assuming identical throws. However, higher speed can also make a disc fly more understable.
Spin: Tracked in TechDisc as rotations-per-minute, spin helps the disc remain straighter by resisting turn and fade, potentially increasing distance. Higher spin stabilization creates a more stable flight.
Nose Angle: Also known as “Angle of Attack,” nose angle measures the back-to-front pitch of the disc relative to the oncoming air. A positive nose angle (nose-up) increases lift and drag, causing the disc to travel high and drop quickly. An ideal nose angle for flat distance throws is around -2° to -3°8.
Launch Angle: Launch angle is the angle of the disc’s flight compared to the ground. Ideal launch angles depend on the nose angle and speed of the disc. For instance, for a 60 MPH throw, an 8° to 10° launch angle combined with a -3° to -5° nose angle is optimal for distance. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I throw 60!
Hyzer Angle: Hyzer angle refers to the side-to-side angle of the disc from the thrower’s perspective. It’s the main metric that controls the right and left movement of the disc in flight. Maximum distance throws usually have a slight Anhyzer angle for most of the flight, fading to Hyzer towards the end.
Wobble: Wobble refers to the Off-Axis Torque applied to a disc during a throw. It introduces turbulence, inducing drag and creating a more chaotic, unpredictable flight. Wobble often correlates with low spin rate or low Advance Ratio. Consider how a spinning top’s wobble increases as its spin rate decreases.
The Advance Ratio
Advance Ratio is a calculated (spin times disc radius over speed) TechDisc metric that shows the relationship between spin and speed for a given throw and is a good measure of optimal spin rate. An Advance Ratio of 50% is a good target for a backhand throw, and 30% is a good target for a forehand throw. The body mechanics involved in proper backhand form create more spin than forehand throws, on average.
Utilizing TechDisc for Improvement
Understanding these metrics on a basic level is all that’s required at first. After that, TechDisc will deepen that understanding so you can ask and answer the right questions about your own game. The real power of TechDisc lies in its ability to help you translate this knowledge into tangible improvements on the course. Here’s how:
Identify areas for improvement: By analyzing your TechDisc data, you can pinpoint specific areas where your technique is lacking. For example, if you consistently have low spin rates, you can focus on drills to emphasize snap, like our Asynchronous Drill.
Experiment with different techniques: The TechDisc platform allows you to experiment with different throwing techniques and see how they affect your metrics. This can help you optimize your form for maximum distance and accuracy, and test new theories on how to throw flatter/faster/further.
Track your progress: Since the platform stores all your data, it also allows you to track your progress over time. This provides valuable feedback and motivation to keep you on track.
use both the Techdisc App and Website
The smart disc can connect via Bluetooth to the TechDisc app and an account logged into techdisc.com on a web browser, with captured data stored on the same servers. Both ways of capturing throws and accessing the data have their uses. The app offers portability and several bells and whistles, while the browser interface is device-neutral and houses the Flight Simulator.
The Flight Simulator
TechDisc offers a free Flight Simulator for anyone to use. With it, users can:
Create virtual disc profiles with flight numbers and weight, then simulate throws to see how they behave
Modify metrics (speed, spin, hyzer angle, etc.) to understand their impact on flight
Get concrete, actionable answers to questions like “How close am I to throwing 300 feet?” and “What changes are easiest to make or most impactful?”
As a disc golf instructor and writer, I’m probably more excited about TechDisc than most because it opens up an entirely new avenue for explaining and understanding disc flight.
Understanding disc flight, in and of itself, is half of the equation to achieving longer, straighter throws. Throwing mechanics account for the other half. This means that potentially half of your possible improvement right now can be achieved without getting any better. Only smarter!
Expect more posts that get into specific TechDisc features and uses, and please subscribe to our fledgling YouTube channel to see more of our rough and ready content!
If you’re ready to experience the difference that having a private disc golf coach can make, book your first lesson or sign up for remote coaching today!
Earlier this summer, I was contacted by Yhashika, a representative for the Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence at Cal State University Monterey Bay. She asked if School of Disc Golf could facilitate a disc golf experience for a few dozen teenagers— on a date less than two weeks away!
Even though we normally have much more time to prepare, and our corporate group rate is well beyond their budget, I said yes immediately. Of course I did.
I’m in the disc golf business, but the mission of disc golf can never be ignored. Everyone should know about golf’s unique combination of low-impact exercise, socializing, and personal challenge. More importantly, everyone should be made aware that a version of golf exists that fits into every budget and even the busiest schedules, where everyone is welcomed and treated equally.
Most people associated with our sport feel pretty much the same, which is another reason I agreed without hesitation to Yhashika’s request. I knew that I’d have no trouble rounding up volunteers, even given the short prep time.
The reason for the rush, by the way? The Center had received a last-minute grant to host a weeklong STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) camp on the CSUMB campus. If they could put the entire thing together on such short notice I figured I could manage one little disc golf event.
Guess what? I was right! Thanks to Innova ambassador Nick Kite each participant got to take home a brand-new golf disc, and they also marveled at the power and control of 16-year-old phenom and rising star Aviel Gome/z as he launched discs further than 400 feet with ease and consistently drilled 40-foot putts, despite his diminutive stature. I can easily imagine one or more of those kids getting into disc golf, and then recognizing Avi’s name years later and remembering that day in 2024.
We taught the middle and high schoolers some basics, played a fun game that combined putting with a relay race (thanks to Jay Reading of EDGE Disc Golf for the recommendations), and then played on one of CSUMB’s two on-campus courses.
To wrap it up, I set up a net and broke out my TECHDISC to give these STEAM campers something to discuss later, and the smart disc measures various elements of the physics of flight.
Disc golf phenom Aviel Gomez
Back in 2015 when I was researching The Disc Golf Revolution, I had several conversations with the then-director of First Tee, an outreach program that exposes young people to golf and its many redeeming qualities and life lesson parallels. Since the main thrust of the program seemed to be exposing kids to golf who would otherwise not be due to economic reasons, I suggested that disc golf should be included in their program as it shares all of ball golf’s virtues. But unlike ball golf, disc golf would allow all these kids to enjoy golf after they exited the program.
She agreed but was certain the program’s board of directors, representatives of the World Golf Foundation, would see only another threat to the continued existence of traditional golf. I understood. Disc golf would not receive that particular boost to accelerate its steady rise driven by an undeniable appeal, sustainability, and unmatched accessibility.
And it has, thanks to people like those who answered my call without question. The Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence is a great program doing extremely worthy things, and we hope to make next year’s disc golf day even better while introducing yet more young people to a sport many of them will benefit from for decades to come.
And someday soon disc golf’s ascent will be powered entirely by momentum, education, and buzz. When that happens, remember the volunteers who have kept the machine running for the past four decades.
As a coach, I am always on the lookout for better ways — sometimes just additional ways — to help clients understand key points. Being able to reliably measure the forces applied to a thrown disc is a seismic shift in this regard.
After working directly with dozens of clients using a TECHDISC—some in-person at our facility, others remotely, using a TECHDISC they purchased—I don’t hesitate to recommend the product and platform to everyone. I’ve witnessed the impact it can have within a single 2-hour introductory lesson. Remote coaching (video conferencing, chatting) instantly becomes 50 percent more effective when the client has a TECHDISC in their hands that produces data on my screen.
I have a disclaimer, though. My perspective is undoubtedly skewed. My experience with TECHDISC has thus far been through personal use, and as an instructor. As a user, I began with an advanced understanding of disc characteristics and throwing mechanics, and my clients, through working with me, have access to that “interpretative” knowledge as well. For others, unlocking the true benefits of TECHDISC might not be so automatic.
It reminds me of when I discovered creative apps like Photoshop or Garageband. In both cases I was excited at the potential to create art and music, only to discover that there would still be tons to learn about the products and the media upon which they were designed. I was daunted by the learning curve required just to get started.
Using a TECHDISC is simple. Download the app, connect via Bluetooth, throw the disc, and flight numbers appear. Using a TECHDISC to get better at disc golf, however, is not so different than an artist or musician learning to use the aforementioned apps from scratch.
This is the first of what will likely be a series of posts intended to help fellow disc golfers unlock TECHDISC. The plan, to avoid bogging down with lengthy technical discussions, is to touch on several different areas in each post, including:
Exploring the platform— Capturing and viewing throw data is only the tip of the iceberg
Understanding the numbers as interlocking components of disc flight
Applying that understanding to the confident creation of the ideal combination of disc, throw type, and throw-type details (the stuff measured by TECHDISC) —something that must be done in less than 30 seconds, again and again.
Going from “knowing what to do” to “How to do it” to “I’m doing it!”
If readers ask specific questions in the comments or by contacting me directly, I’ll do my best to address them in the next post.
Before starting, I want to draw special attention to the last bullet on that list. If you buy a TECHDISC, read the rest of this post and the others in the series, feel you’ve gotten a good handle on the first two bullet points, but still struggle with the 4th and maybe also the 3rd and therefore see no measurable difference on the course . . . don’t be discouraged.
Read our reviews on the site or Google Maps and you’ll see a repeating theme beyond the generous compliments; people of widely varying skill levels and experience who only needed to work 1-on-1 with an expert who can tailor the lesson to their needs. If that is the last piece of the puzzle left to be able to throw to your potential, why not? Think about it, and in the meantime let’s begin our deep dive into TECHDISC.
when to use The App and when to use techdisc.com
A disc golf disc with a TD (short for TECHDISC) puck attached to it can interact with the TD platform in two different ways; by connecting it via Bluetooth to techdisc.com on a web browser, or to the iOS or Android apps. Don’t think of it as either/or; both methods have their uses.
Connecting your TECHDISC through a browser has the benefit of universality. Pretty much anything that can get an internet connection, has Bluetooth, and isn’t ancient can connect to your TECHDISC, if needed. But that’s not where the web interface shines, just a nice backup plan in case the app isn’t available.
One person throws the TECHDISC while the other holds a smartphone with the app open.
Logging in to your account at techdisc.com is where the research takes place, compared to the app and disc, which are used to collect specimens (throw data) out in the field. Whereas the app easily connects to the disc and clearly displays basic information (along with another killer feature), the ability to dig deeper, experiment, and search for patterns exists only on the web platform.
Digging Deeper
View the list of your throws at techdisc.com, then click on one of them. You’ll see one important stat (Advanced Ratio) that doesn’t appear on the app display. This number is a calculation of spin rate and speed, and a good indicator if you are achieving enough spin for your armspeed and disc choices. You’ll also see 3D mapping based on their computer model’s projection of the throw’s flight path. (Since there are numerous external factors their model can’t take into account, don’t get too hung up on what it looks like.)
Experiment
Regardless of whether you think the 3D graphic looked like your real throw or not, clicking on it opens the secret passageway to a virtual laboratory where you can play the What-If game two different ways: Change around the flight numbers of the disc to see how the flight of your disc changes when you use a slower, lighter, or less stable disc, for instance.
Change the actual measured Throw Details of the throw being displayed to see the various ways—and what would be required, effort-wise—to get the disc to move in the direction you desire. If a throw with your current driver’s flight numbers dumps to the left, up the spin rate until it flattens out for longer, or lower the launch angle, or both.
Searching for Patterns
The longer you work with TECHDISC, the more useful the collected data becomes. This is especially true if you proactively use the platform’s ability to add tags and a note to each throw. TECHDISC automatically assigns backhand/forehand and hyzer/flat/anhyzer designations, but you can add more info. For instance, #afteraround to see how fatigue affects your form, or #cold, or #windy, or various specific discs.
More data points + more throws over time = more potential revelations about how score better through improved insights.
The App
The iOS app has been out for some, but the Android version was released more recently. I mentioned one big feature of the app aside from its simple function and optimized display, and here it is: If you want to work with your TECHDISC and know the results of each throw without having to look back to a screen, you can! Simply set the app up to audibly read out the measured stats of your choice. This works great when you’re working on something specific and use the stats as instant confirmation of whether you’re on the right track.
Spin vs. Speed
I have had similar experiences lately with three of my clients who own their own TECHDISCs. In each case, I have for some time been stressing the importance of imparting enough spin on a disc to enable it to fly as intended. I’ve done my best to explain why throwing shots with more spin and less speed allows a player to gain additional precision when needed and achieve steep turnover shots that cover short distances.
They all listened. Each of them embraced the mechanical changes we made, stressing a crisp halt of the body on drives to increase snap. Somehow, though, it became clearer—and therefore more of a priority—through the use of TECHDISC.
Seeing the RPM (spin) number increase when you work on a mechanical change specifically intended to increase spin is for some a more concrete form of evidence than seeing the difference in flight because memories fade but numbers are forever. Or something like that.
As noted above, the Customizer can be used to see how increasing spin changes flight “in the lab.”
TECHDISC provides a calculated metric called Advanced Ratio which describes the ratio of speed to spin rate for any given throw. It is Speed divided by RPM multiplied by the circumference of the disc. For a typical throw, an optimal ADV ratio is in the mid-40s, and this provides a simple benchmark, regardless of speed or distance.
I believe that as with many things in a sport as complex as disc golf (they say it’s easy to learn and hard to master) half of learning new skills and tricks is gaining a deep enough understanding of that element of the game. As I explain in Three Paths to Better Disc Golf (and touch on in this blog post) there are six ways to manipulate the flight of a disc. Six knobs to adjust, if you will, to get the exact flight you want. Spin is one of those knobs.
If I have a low ceiling on a 200-foot shot and need a throw that turns over at the finish, I’m probably better throwing an understable disc with a hyzer nose angle and use extra spin to create the turn, rather than releasing with anhyzer, due to the low ceiling.
My clients seem to be grasping these concepts more clearly thanks to TECHDISC, and that has given them more motivation to work on spin-inducing drills. Whether you own one or not, you can still use the Customizer to see why spin is such a crucial component to getting the flight paths you need and the distance you crave.
Hit me up with questions and I’ll do my best to answer them, and might include some in the next TECHDISC post.
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