The Struggle to Learn a Disc Golf Forehand

Disc golf is still evolving. In the scheme of things, it’s still a fairly new sport. Because of this, players are still developing new techniques.

Look at Chandler Kramer’s forehand. His run-up and throwing motion are different from many other players. He’s developed his own throwing style—and it works. He gets tremendous distance out of his forehand. (Watch him in the final round of the 2022 European Open for a good overview.)

Kramer has a much longer, more involved run-up for his forehand than, say, Paul McBeth. Kramer uses that run-up to build torque—and convert all of it into a tremendous sweeping motion when he launches the disc. You can actually see him sort of drop down right before he releases the disc. It’s as if he’s using that dropping motion to help convert all of his forward momentum into a final, helicopter-spinning release.

What’s particularly cool is that Kramer basically tinkered away until he found his own forehand style. He described the process as “trial and error.”

Most unique is the way Kramer finishes. His throwing arm sweeps all the way through, almost in a table-clearing motion.

If it’s any consolation for people who struggle with their forehands, Kramer has said that he finds it easier to control forehands than backhands. He may just be more naturally suited to throwing a forehand than a backhand.

Another interesting development is watching Ezra Robinson incorporate a forehand into his game. Both he and his brother, Isaac, have been known as primarily backhand players. But in 2025, Ezra Robinson has been confidently throwing a forehand.

Take a look at Ezra’s second shot on the 14th hole in the final round of the 2025 Discraft Supreme Flight Open. After a long backhand opening drive, Robinson throws a forehand that lands close to the basket. (Here’s a clip of that shot.) If you look carefully, you’ll see a certain arm-driven thrust to his forehand. He’s not a natural forehand thrower, so what comes out is a kind of baseball side-arm type of throw. It works well for him.

I throw a forehand in a similar manner. I’m kind of a side-arm baseball thrower. I’m not great at “snapping” the disc.

I discussed this in a recent post about Ella Hansen’s forehand, too. Some players have a strong wrist-snap in their forehand. Others use more of a “passive,” rolling motion in the delivery of their forehand. Hansen has a great, smooth snap, for example. In contrast, Ezra Robinson uses a more passive release.

But good for Ezra. What matters is “What works.” Meaning—what you can replicate? What can you throw with some consistency?

Something else that has actually given me some consolation is that I stumbled across a few Instagram videos of Kat Mertsch teaching herself to throw a forehand last October. Mertsch is a great putter, and has a strong backhand drive. I just assumed that—because she’s a pro disc golfer—she must automatically have a great forehand.

However, in the videos that Mertsch posted, it’s clear that she’s learning from scratch. And watching her practice, I can totally relate. How many thousands of tiring, frustrating forehands have I thrown across a muddy field—just trying to figure out how a forehand works?

In Mertsch’s videos, you can see some wobble. She’s trying to crack the code—and find out what works best. I’ve been there. I’m still working on my forehand. It’s been three years...

The point is, if someone as talented and accomplished in disc golf as Kat Mertsch can be starting from the beginning in learning a forehand, then I know I’m not the only one who finds it challenging. I went through all of the same wobbling, fading-off throws.

This past weekend at the KC Wide Open, Mertsch busted out her forehand on the 700-foot par-four 14th hole. For her approach shot, she threw a standing forehand that eventually faded right and ended up on the green. A standing forehand can be tough, and Mertsch sort of "arm-threw" the disc a bit; it came out slightly wobbly. (You can see her throw here, at 1:27:30 in the full-round footage on the Disc Golf Network.)

Probably, Mertsch has thrown that particular shot better in practice. (We all throw better in practice.) And so she arm-shoveled the throw slightly. But it worked. Good for her. She took the risk in competition, and pulled it off.

I can think of many forehands I've thrown that I rushed. Or I got nervous at the last moment, and didn't fully commit. Or I over-threw, and the disc hooked off. Those moments can bother me, even when I've had an otherwise good round—and even had some good forehand drives.

The frisbee forehand is a hard throw. It doesn’t come as naturally as the backhand. To even have a functional forehand is an accomplishment.