
Stancil Johnson, coiner of the term "hyzer" as its used in disc golf. Johnson was a psychiatrist, not a physicist). The word "hyzer" has no scientific origin (Dr. The angle will vary for curve throws and cross and against winds. Rule: the unheld (9 o'clock) side (wing) of the Frisbee is lower at release than the held side. Hyzer problems are the bane of the beginning player. This is the angle the Frisbee makes at release in relation to the ground. On page 57 of the book, there's an entry called "Angle of Hyzer" where Johnson wrote:
Disc golf lingo manual#
The Disc Golf Hall of Famer and very early member of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA #9) coined the term in his 1975 work Frisbee: A Practitioner’s Manual and Definitive Treatise. Stancil Johnson (1933-2021) officially introduced the word "hyzer" into the disc golf lexicon. Where Does "Hyzer" Come From in Disc Golf? Throwing a disc with less hyzer means to make it leave your hand closer to parallel with the ground (or flatter), and throwing a disc with more hyzer means the disc should get closer to being perpendicular with the ground:
Disc golf lingo how to#
If someone is telling you how to throw a disc, they might tell you to throw it with more or less hyzer.
Disc golf lingo pro#
Original photo credit: Disc Golf Pro Tour Here's a visual example of a forehand soon to be released on a hyzer angle: Hyzer angle on a forehand throw by a right-handed player (in this case, pro Sarah Hokom). If the ungripped edge of the disc is closer to the ground than the gripped edge, the disc is on a hyzer angle. The terminology stays the same when throwing forehands, too. Original photo credit: Professional Disc Golf Association You can see a visual example of a backhand hyzer angle below: Hyzer angle on a backhand throw by a right-handed player (in this case, pro Catrina Allen). If the ungripped edge of a disc is closer to the ground than the edge in a player's hand, the disc is on a hyzer angle. Hyzer refers to the angle of a disc at the moment of release. Since we want to help newer players understand what they hear on the course, we've opted to use "hyzer" and "anhyzer" in their colloquial rather than technical senses in some sections. However, it's very common for disc golfers to use this word to describe flight patterns and the angle of a disc in the air. The word "hyzer" was originally meant to refer only to the angle of the disc at the point a player released it. For example, in my early disc golfing days, an experienced disc golfer stopped to tell my group that an area was "OB," and we had no clue that what he was saying (obie? opie? oh! bee?) was common shorthand for " out of bounds." But while the acronym "OB" has a very clear source, that's not the case for one of the most commonly-used words in disc golf: "hyzer." Here you can learn both the meaning of hyzer – and its counterpart, "anhyzer" – and how the unusual word entered disc golf vocabulary. When new disc golfers first encounter experienced ones, they're bound to hear lingo that's completely unfamiliar.
