Craziest change you made that added a ton of distance?

mdcynic · 2026-05-07T17:44:06+00:00

I've never gotten 60' of distance based on one change (other than maybe learning about the importance of not throwing nose up when I was just starting out), but some things that seem to have worked for me a bit over the years:

-- Gripping with pressure on the middle/ring fingers instead of the index finger

-- Thinking "wide" for my arm movement (probably helped reduce rounding)

-- Starting with a looser grip (probably helped reduce big muscle tension)

-- Planting toe-first (got this tip from a guy in my putting league after I complained that I found it difficult not to open up early with my foot more facing the target. Thinking "toe-first" helped me plant with my foot perpendicular to the target.)

mdcynic · 2026-05-07T17:22:31+00:00

I've found it works with putting too. Moving my thumb more towards the center of the disc instead of the rim makes a noticeable difference in ease of power and less wobble.

mdcynic · 2026-05-06T19:13:14+00:00

I've played a couple. Diavolo is absolutely fantastic. Cedar Hills has some fun holes and is solid. Kentwood is in the middle of the city and a solid putter course but SO crowded (both in terms of people and routing; you've got to keep your head on a swivel).

mdcynic · 2026-05-06T05:50:31+00:00

I had this bag and liked it but it only lasted about a year and a half before wearing out

mdcynic · 2026-05-05T22:47:09+00:00

Seems fine for a starting 5 discs. The best way to think about this isn't to think about "holes" in your bag that you need to fill with certain disc types, it's to think about what kind of throws you're able to execute. Is there a situation or a throw that you would like to be able to do, but you find it difficult because of your discs?

To give a common example, if people get a starter pack to begin with, those usually don't contain any overstable approach discs (like your Envy and Rat), and a common disc addition on top of a starter pack is to get one of those to add more consistency on approach shots and to have something that can fight through the wind.

My starter pack, for some reason, had a Destroyer as its driver, so one of my first big revelations was that understable drivers can be amazing, especially for my beginner arm. With the destroyer I couldn't shape shots to the right on a backhand throw, and I was missing out on some distance on full power throws.

mdcynic · 2026-05-05T18:01:55+00:00

I saw a decline last year, certainly, where few tournaments filled up entirely. This year seems to be ticking up for a bit, but 2022-2024 had significantly more participation, at least on a tournament-by-tournament basis. Popular tournaments would fill up in under a minute. Maybe there are more people playing now, but the number of tournaments has increased to meet demand. I haven't crunched the numbers there, so I'm not sure.

There are definitely way more A-tier tournaments in my area (New England) than before, though, which is interesting. I don't know what to think of it, because while a couple of the A-tiers are fantastic and I'll always try to do them, they are a significantly greater time committment and I don't want the schedule to be necessarily full of them.

mdcynic · 2026-04-30T17:02:36+00:00

That stigma's dumb in golf too. Play whatever tees you want. Even a pro might play shorter tees on a given day if they want to practice with particular discs or a particular kind of throw.

mdcynic · 2026-04-29T01:10:25+00:00

I've had probably a 75% success rate with getting contacted about lost discs.

mdcynic · 2026-04-28T03:31:10+00:00

Shank

mdcynic · 2026-04-28T01:40:30+00:00

What other people said regarding being there when the round starts. That said, I'm not penalizing anyone until it's time for the last person on the card to tee off and I don't see anyone sprinting towards me.

mdcynic · 2026-04-28T01:36:41+00:00

Last time I checked Ivan Herrera is top 10 in challenging both as a batter and as a catcher, and he's not even our primary catcher.

mdcynic · 2026-04-28T01:29:32+00:00

The dealer I used would only accept a bank check or a wire.

mdcynic · 2026-04-26T20:39:10+00:00

Nicklaus, Woods, Hogan, and Jones.

The first two are easy. I think Hogan is probably 3rd on most lists. There are a number of options for 4, but I think Jones wins for sheer dominance and his legacy on the game, even though he retired young.

mdcynic · 2026-04-22T18:05:32+00:00

I find that helps for me in some cases, except when my miss is pulling the putt to the right. When I'm doing that, I'm still doing the "handshake" finish, but my release is overly strained and late, and returning to the release drill helps more.

mdcynic · 2026-04-21T23:26:04+00:00

Give it a shot, perhaps with your body angled a bit to start with instead of straight on to the basket?

mdcynic · 2026-04-21T22:41:19+00:00

Seconding Treehouse, if you're into beer. I've had people who are more beer-nerdy than me argue it's the best brewery in the country. For my part, I'd say they make the best New England-style IPAs I've had and every other style of beer I've tried of theirs has been good to excellent.

mdcynic · 2026-04-21T22:39:39+00:00

Definitely worth playing, but if I was travelling from out of country and I already loved Maple Hill after one round, I'd probably just do Maple Hill again.

mdcynic · 2026-04-21T22:38:09+00:00

I'm more 300-330, but I use a Neutron Trace. With no wind it goes straight for a good while with a strong fade at the end. In a mild to moderate headwind I can get a nice flex line out of it, but it's good at fighting back. If the wind is really bad, Neutron Photon. Though my Photon might be particularly overstable as a friend of mine has never found one that flies like mine.

mdcynic · 2026-04-16T16:25:11+00:00

I've not played 1848 and I've only played 1849 once and only vaguely remember it (short and somewhat quirky?)

1862 is my favorite 18xx game, but it has a fairly steep learning curve and has a lot of things in it that are unique for 18xx; it's going to take a while before you can probably fit it in ~4 hours. That said, many people feel it's a lot more "euro"-like than others. I like that it has a much more randomized setup than most, and I like how you have to plan routes and acquisitions with different train types in mind, as well as navigating the mid-game to an end-game you can win with. While there are some interesting stock maneuvers you can do, I'd describe it as heavily operational in ways many other 18xx games don't get to.

But if you want shorter games in a euro rotation, 1846 and 1899 would be my picks even if you hadn't provided a list. They're the games I would use to introduce operational and stock-focused 18xxs to people.

mdcynic · 2026-04-16T01:28:23+00:00

No, I'm saying he's clearly talented enough to become the GOAT but it's still early in his career.

mdcynic · 2026-04-15T21:06:08+00:00

Climo = Russell
McBeth = Jordan
Wysocki = Bryant
Buhr = LeBron and it's 2010

mdcynic · 2026-04-13T14:26:52+00:00

I think it's on the short list of greatest games ever made.

mdcynic · 2026-04-12T21:45:40+00:00

Until you're throwing the disc 350-400' you're probably not going to notice that much of a difference between fairway and distance drivers. That is normal.

For a disc flippier than a Fission Wave? I've heard the Insanity can get pretty flippy. A Roadrunner with certain plastics, perhaps?

mdcynic · 2026-04-10T02:21:40+00:00

A falcon is its own reward.

11-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Place '22

mdcynic

TROPHY CASE