Get a grip: The best thumb position for disc launch speed and spin rate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2024 – Disc golf is a sport growing in popularity, but there hasn’t been much research into the best techniques – until now.

Researcher Zachary Lindsey and his team studied professional and amateur disc golf players in Georgia to analyze the effect of thumb grip on disc-throwing.

“Participants were eager and excited to engage in the study, as there is clearly a thirst for scientific evidence and data to drive progress in the sport so that disc golf enthusiasts can improve their game in recreational and competitive contexts,” Lindsey explained.

Research published in AIP Advances, by AIP Publishing, determined that a thumb position of approximately 3 cm from the outer edge of the disc corresponded to the most favorable combination of spin rates and launch speeds.

“While the optimal parameters of a disc golf throw may vary based on physical build, arm speed, and other characteristics of the individual, our data suggests that the ~3 cm position is a sensible starting point for amateur players who might be unsure of where to place their thumb on the disc,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey and his team studied 24 total players, with skill level groupings determined by their Professional Disc Golf Association ratings. Like regular golf, there are different types of discs for different distances. The researchers used a mid-range disc equipped with a sensor and took measurements of the angular speed, translational speed, and torque of the disc based on different thumb positions.  The thumb positions investigated ranged from 9.40 cm to 2.61 cm from the center of the disc.

Each player performed five throws per grip, resulting in 600 total throws throughout the study. While maximum angular speed and torque were observed when the thumb was furthest from the center, a thumb position of ~3 cm from the outer edge exhibited simultaneously high average angular and translational speeds for all participants.

“We were particularly surprised to observe such a strong linear correlation between spin rate and launch speed across all throws performed in the study. Results showed that throws achieving higher spin rates also tended to have higher launch speeds as well,” Lindsey explained.

More research needs to be performed on different discs to solidify this conclusion, but this result could be a great starting point for individuals hoping to increase launch speed and distance.

“Considering the lack of data relating the various details of a disc golf throw to resulting performance, we hope that this study serves as a catalyst for similar research to commence at other institutions.”

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The article, "The Effects of Thumb Position on Backhand Disc Golf Throws of a Mid-Range Disc," is authored by Noah Koch, Hayden McGuire, Connor Cole, and Zachary Lindsey. It will appear in AIP Advances on Oct. 22, 2024 (DOI: 10.1063/5.0229599). After that date, it can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0229599.

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AIP Advances is an open access journal publishing in all areas of physical sciences—applied, theoretical, and experimental. The inclusive scope of AIP Advances makes it an essential outlet for scientists across the physical sciences. See https://pubs.aip.org/aip/adv.