Preparing for a Tailwind
A tailwind is one of the most critical situations in disc golf. Knowing how to deal with tailwinds could be the difference between shooting under par and being under par.
There are three things that you need to do when you’re preparing for a tailwind: choose your disc, choose the line, and throw with confidence.
Choosing Your Disc
The first thing you need to do when preparing for a tailwind is choosing your disc. You want to choose a disc that will hold up well in a tailwind. I prefer discs that are overstable or have lots of glide, like an overstable fairway driver or a distance driver with lots of glide.
The Discraft Buzzz is one of my favorite discs for handling a tailwind. It’s very overstable, has great glide, and can hold up to strong headwinds. The Innova Destroyer is another good choice; it’s also overstable and has good glide. If you need more distance, try an Innova Starfire or Discraft Force.
Choosing The Line
The second thing you need to do when preparing for a tailwind is choosing your line. You want to throw an anhyzer shot into the wind so that it
How To Prepare For A Tailwind
Playing disc golf in the wind can be a challenge. Especially if you are not used to it.
The wind is an interesting thing. Sometimes it can be your best friend and other times it can be your worst enemy. Therefore, you should always keep the wind in mind when throwing a disc.
I have been working on my game for many years now and one of the toughest things to master when playing in the wind is preparing for a tail wind.
Preparing for a tailwind is essential if you want to throw a good shot. Whether you are a pro or just starting out, you need to know what to do when the wind is blowing behind you.
We all want to improve our game and go lower on the scorecard. And one way is to learn how to use the wind. When you prepare for a tailwind, the process is very similar to when you prepare for a headwind. You need to know what the wind speed is (this will determine how far your disc will travel) and you also need to know if it is coming from behind or from in front of you.
So if the tailwind is from behind you and it’s pushing your disc forward faster than usual, then you can use this as an opportunity to throw your disc further than usual. If it’s blowing at 10 mph and usually your disc travels 200 feet with no wind, then it might now travel 220 or 240 feet because of that extra 2 or 4 mph that the wind is giving you. So when getting ready to throw, aim a little further left (or right if you’re RHBH) and throw a tad harder than normal because of that extra push from behind.
If the tailwind is coming from directly in front of you, then this could be a good chance for you to throw a roller shot down the fairway. So again, aim further left or right depending on what hand you
A tailwind is an obvious advantage in disc golf because it allows you to throw the disc further with less effort. It will also allow you to take a more aggressive line on your shots and still have enough distance to make the shot.
Knowing that you will be facing a tailwind, it is important to adjust your game plan for each hole. You should always start by looking at the tee sign. The tee sign will show you some important information about the hole including distances and obstacles that may affect your shot.
If there is water on the course, you should look for it in front of your landing zone as well as behind where your disc lands. If there is water behind the landing zone, you may want to lay up and take an approach shot rather than risk throwing over water into the wind.
On a calm day, maximum distance comes from throwing with a flat release angle with at least some amount of hyzer. If the disc is released flat, it will glide as far as possible without turning over or fading away. A hyzer release angle will keep the disc from turning over and allow for maximum distance for any given thrower.
A tailwind can add to your distance as long as you use it properly. A tailwind can help you throw further but if used incorrectly can also cause more severe turn over and fade.
If you are used to throwing with hyzer, you will want to release your discs with a little bit less hyzer in order to take advantage of the extra distance provided by the tailwind. Depending on how much tailwind there is, a good starting point would be to release your discs in line with your shoulders or even slightly anhyzer – this will allow the wind to push against the bottom of the disc and help it stay up longer.
If you are comfortable throwing with some anhyzer (i.e. slight turnover) then you will likely want to continue doing so in order to reduce turn over and increase your glide in a tailwind.
I was playing a round of disc golf at the new course that was recently installed in my town. I just arrived at the tee-pad of hole number five, which was a downhill shot with an open fairway and water to the right. The basket was set all the way down on the bottom, right next to the water. It was a long hole, but fairly straight if you picked your line correctly. I stepped up to throw my drive and noticed that there was a strong wind coming out of the southwest.
I knew instantly that this would be a tough hole for me as I am notorious for throwing left. The wind would put extra spin on my discs and cause them to flip over and turn left at their max distance regardless of how far they should actually go. After some brief discussion with my friends, we decided that we would all throw upwind first and then into it after we all made our throws upwind.
Many courses have a lot of open holes that are perfectly flat and the wind is your only real obstacle. It is important to know the direction of the wind before you tee off. This can be done by throwing a few mini-markers out at various points on the hole and seeing which direction they are blowing. If the wind is blowing in the same direction as you are throwing, then it will work for you, but if it’s blowing in the opposite direction then it will work against you.
The wind can push your disc downwind farther than normal or it can slow your disc down and cause it to fall short of your target. One way to counteract this interference is by adjusting your throwing style and grip on the disc. If your disc is going left/right then you should use a forehand throw which will allow you to better control where your disc goes when thrown with power into the wind.
If your disc has less momentum (speed) then try using an overhand throw because this type of throw requires less power to hit its target and therefore less power will be lost due to wind resistance!
In order for any of these techniques to work well, one must also practice them regularly so that they become second nature during play.”