Forehand / Sidearm

Forehand Utility & Overheads

Tomahawks, thumbers and utility flicks for trouble.

Why it matters

Overheads — the tomahawk and the thumber — are the shots for when nothing goes forward: a wall of trees with sky above, a dogleg with no line, a lie where you need the disc to come down almost vertically. They are also the shots most likely to hurt you if thrown often, so they are tools for specific holes rather than part of a regular rotation.

How to do it

1. Tomahawk: hold the disc with a forehand grip and throw it vertically, overhand, like a baseball. It climbs, turns over in flight and comes down steeply.
2. Thumber: put your thumb inside the rim and throw it overhand with the disc vertical. It flies a similar shape with a different release.
3. Use an overstable disc for both. An understable one turns over too early and dives before it has got anywhere.
4. Learn which way YOUR overhead finishes and throw the same disc every time. The finish depends on the disc, the release angle and your speed, so the only reliable answer is the one you have observed.
5. Aim high. Overheads need height to work, and a flat one is just a bad throw.

Common mistakes

Key points

• Overhead (tomahawk/thumber) clears tall obstacles.
• Use a stable disc so it finishes predictably.

The drill

Drill · Learn your own finish — 20 overheads in an open field with one disc. Twenty tomahawks with one overstable disc, in a field, with nothing in the way. Watch where each one finishes relative to your aim and how steeply it comes down. You are not practising accuracy yet — you are collecting the one piece of information that makes the shot usable, which is what your overhead actually does.

Watch: Utility Throws For Beginners | Roller, Tomahawk, Thumber, Grenade | Disc Golf Tutorial — IceBerg TV

Further reading

• The Key To Forehand Upshots With Ricky Wysocki! — Ricky Wysocki
• Five Ways to Improve Your Sidearm — Discmania

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