Grip Lock - Disc Golf Mentor

Grip lock is a very common concern for lots of disc golfers and it basically means holding onto the disc too long causing a late release. This late release can make the disc fly off in a direction you might not have been intending. This is incredibly frustrating when it happens to you and there are a few factors that cause grip lock and a few things you can do about it. The first is having any moisture on your hands. If the air is very humid or if you have sweaty palms, the disc could stick to your hand. A great way to fix this is to carry something called birdie bag with you. Birdie bags are canvas sacks filled with powder, which soaks up any moister on your hands. You just pat the bag before you throw and you’re good to go. My favorite is from the Birdie Bag company. I'll post a link in the description for this video so you can easily find it. The second and probably most prevalent cause of grip lock and other release timing issues is rounding. Rounding in disc golf is when the disc travels in an arch around your body during your throw instead of in a straight line. This makes a lot of sense when you think about it. When your entire throw follows a straight path, it doesn’t matter when you release, because the disc will always be on target. If your throw follows a curved path, the moment you release is much more important as an early or late release would cause the disc to fly way off target. A good way to work on rounding is to move through your swing from start to finish in slow motion and watch your disc to see if it's following a straight path from reach back to release. I wrote a really in-depth article on how to fix rounding which you can get to from the link in the description for this video. If you think that you're rounding, I highly recommend you give it a read. Rounding can decrease your accuracy and distance, so it's very important to make sure you're throwing straight all the way through you're form. When I fixed my own rounding issues, I was able to add about 100 feet of extra distance to my throw.