Don't sleep on the forehand

Happy Friday! You’re In The Circle, the disc golf newsletter giving you the knowledge you need to impress your card mates this weekend.

📝 On today’s card:

• Don’t sleep on the forehand

• Music City Open

• College Disc Golf National Championships

Read time: 5 minutes

UP YOUR GAME

Backhand is the predominant throwing style for most players. The forehand is a shot a lot of players don’t have and many neglect practicing it.

Jeremey Koling, aka Big Jerm, has one the best forehands in the sport today. He and Brody Smith made a video breaking down his forehand and what you can do to make yours better.

To start, Big Jerm uses a two-finger stacked grip. This grip gives him extra power for the throw while also being able to control the angle of the disc.

Footwork - He uses a four-step approach. He brings his right leg behind his left before he finally plants with his left foot. This is similar to the x-step commonly used for backhand throws. An important note is that his plant foot is pointed forward rather than sideways. This helps him keep his body low and opens up his hips.

Follow through - Another tip is to not short-arm yourself. Finish your throws by pointing where you want the disc to go. This will help with accuracy and can help prevent injuries to your elbow.

Disc selection - Big Jerm favors throwing more understable discs with his forehand. With an understable disc, he is able to get good distance with less effort. Throwing a less stable disc on hyzer and letting the disc do the work rather than your arm can be easier on your joints and help prevent injuries.

If you’re confused or want a good visual of how all this looks in action, check out Brodie and Big Jerm’s video here.

MUSIC CITY OPEN

The fourth Elite Series of the Disc Golf Pro Tour kicks off today with the start of the Music City Open. If you missed the pre-tournament press conference, check it out here.

All three rounds of the Elite Series event will be held at Mill Ridge Park in Nashville, TN, or more specifically Antioch, TN.

The tournament has been around since 2010 and was previously an A-Tier event before becoming part of the PDGA National Tour in 2021 and then a DGPT Silver Series event in 2022. It was upgraded to an Elite Series event for the 2023 season.

Free live coverage of the FPO division is already underway on the DGPT YouTube channel. Live coverage for the MPO field will start at 4:00 pm EDT. Live coverage for rounds two and three will be available exclusively on the Disc Golf Network.

Next-day coverage of FPO and MPO feature cards will be available on JomezPro.

Previous Winners

• 2022 (SS) - Chris Dickerson / Missy Gannon

• 2021 (NT) - Mason Ford / Hailey King

• 2020 (A-Tier) - Alden Harris / Holly Finley

• 2019 (A-Tier) - Chris Dickerson / Catrina Allen

• 2018 (A-Tier) - Chris Dickerson / Madison Walker

SS - DGPT Silver Series | NT - PDGA National Tour

Things to know

Chris Dickerson is a Tennessee native and a four-time winner of the event (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).

The 2x world champion Ricky Wysocki will be making his re-debut in Nashville this weekend. Ricky missed the first two DGPT events of the year and backed out of The Open at Austin with only three holes to go in the final round.

Calvin Heimburg is currently the best player in the world after an impressive start to 2023. He has two wins and two other top-three finishes through the first four DGPT events of the season.

Catrina Allen is a two-time winner (2011 and 2019) of the Music City Open, already has won an Elite Series event this year, and has three other DGPT top-ten finishes so far in 2023.

Another two-time winner (2013 and 2015) is Paige Pierce. Hot off her recent win at The Open at Austin, she’ll be looking to take home another title and continue her journey to reclaim the #1 FPO spot.

WEEKLY PRO RANKINGS - TOP 10

LATEST PLASTIC

The PDGA approved three new discs this past week.

• Statue of Liberty from Giant Industry

• Crockett from Lone Star Disc

• Gain from Momentum Discs AB

Total PDGA-approved models: 1,762

CIRCLE’S EDGE

• The College Disc Golf National Championships are currently underway and will conclude tomorrow. Here are the results so far:

  Tailey Rowley, DI Women’s - Singles winner

  Micah Jones, DIII - Singles winner

• The PDGA partnered with the Entertainment Benefits Group to offer benefits available for all PDGA members, accessible at any time. Benefits included in your PDGA membership can be anything from savings at Office Depot to discounts for rental cars or hotels, and even savings at Disney World.

• It was announced on The Trevor Staub show that Caroline Henderson signed a 3-year contract with Prodigy Discs. Caroline joins Lykke Lorentzen as the second FPO player on Prodigy’s 2023 core team.

RULE OF THE DAY