Pitching Tips RSS
Flip Grip
This is the basic flip grip. Thumb flat on top with index finger right of ringer breaker and middle and ring finger on the other side. Baby finger acts as support underneath to stabilize everything. I have seen many variations of this grip one of the more popular variations is to put the ringer breaker between your middle and ring finger which allows your index finger to run along the underside of the blade of the horseshoe adding more support. The goal is to pitch the horseshoe so it flips once in the air then lands open at the stake....
Write it Down
This may seem insignificant but I strongly suggest that after you just finished having a good practice session write down any tweaking you did to your style which proved beneficial. It may be something simple like if I hold the horseshoe a little flatter it turns better, anything you found that helped. You would be surprised how quick you forget. If it's on paper you can always reference it. I used this one alot when my game was on the up swing.
Paint Your Horseshoes
I learned this tip from reading an article about Dean McLauglin a long time ago. Whenever things were not going well he would paint his horseshoes. It accomplished two things. When a horseshoe is panted it gives it a different feel which might help you get out of the slump, but more importantly it will allow you to follow your horseshoe in the air and possibly determine what is going wrong. I will add one other benefit for painting your horseshoes the paint acts like a shock absorber when hitting the stake. You will have less bounce-offs and your horseshoes...
Setup
As you practice you should come up with a routine. Once you develop this routine you should always follow the same routine be it in practice or in a tournament. This way it becomes natural and reliable. Under the pressure of a tournament sometimes it is difficult to think but you can still draw some level of confidence knowing that if you go through your normal routine a ringer will be the result. When setting up a routine don't make it so long it becomes annoying and cumbersome. Under practice conditions you are not likely to follow it if it...
Consistency is the Key
Unlike most sports which there is typically a defined right way and wrong way to achieve results. Horseshoes is a game where any number of different techniques such as swings, grips, heights, speeds can all still achieve the same ultimate response, the perfect ringer. Now I am not saying some styles are better than others and some people should go back to the drawing board but the main key to pitching ringers is to be able to repeat the same motion time after time. My experience with this in the past is the times in my career where I accepted...