Launch speed and spin versus player skill level for disc golf throws

Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)

Recently, the game of disc golf has seen rapid growth, with a 55% increase in Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) memberships in 2021. Recent papers have predicted the dynamics of golf discs, such as the model from Giljarhus et al. (2022) but studies focusing on player performance have yet to be conducted. Sasakawa et al. (2017) compared ultimate forehand throws, a biomechanically similar action to forehand disc golf throws, from skilled and unskilled players. This abstract considers the performance characteristics of both backhand and forehand disc golf throws and relates them to player skill level.