This post is a little long and ranty, but I figured if there's anywhere to put a long and ranty disc golf post, it's here. There will be a TL;DR at the end.
As the year is winding down (I know there's a lot of good golf left, but being a full time doctorate student and working, I don't have much time to play during the school year), I'm looking to try some new molds as I narrow down the bag more and more. I know over the course of the year, there have been a lot of changes, but it's been a lot of figuring out what I like, form changes, and narrowing down rather than trying new molds every week and seeing what sticks.
I'm hoping to try new molds in the off season, throw them a bunch in the winter and spring, and hopefully have a core bag ready to go by time summer hits.
The changes:
–I really like the Rekos a lot for putting and driving, however, I'm realizing they may not be perfect for me. I love that they mold up very similarly in base and premium plastic, but the premium is just a little too OS for the shot I'm looking for (it almost overlaps with my R-Pro Rhyno) and the baseline for throwing I haven't quite figured out. I love it on some shots, but it's a little touchy on flat releases for me that I want to go right. For putting, I like them more, so I think they might stay for that. I found a neutron Proxy in my bin that I aced with a while back and decided to give it a throw. It's more similar to my baseline Rekos in that it's a little straighter and not as dumpy, but it's more workable as far as angles go. I know when I put it out flat, it'll stay flat or drift a little to the right. On hyzer, it'll hold the hyzer. There's less guessing for me.
I realized I miss having a true understable putter that doesn't need breaking in. Not to get too in the weeds on flight numbers, but the 0/1 of the Reko kicks in a little more than I'm looking for in that slot. I have an old 1.16 SS Omega that flies like a dream. I found it in a used bin tacoed and warped and it's incredible. I'm looking for something that flies like that– dead straight/slightly US and floaty– but new. I'm not loving the new SS plastic, and don't have the patience to break a new Omega in that much. Some options I've been looking at for something I can throw with a little hyzer and flip up or slight over are the Xero, Pa4, Magic, and Shaman. I know the Pure is popular for this kind of deadstraight/hyzerflip putter, but maybe a little too much side-to-side motion (though I haven't thrown one in a long time). I feel like the Pure or Shaman would be good to replace the Proxy with too, so I could throw one in premium and one in baseline (for mold reduction). While I do have to put the Rekos on a little hyzer, I'm finding it hard to predict: a little too much hyzer and they don't want to flip up all the way, a little too flat and they turn too much. Probably user error, but different discs for different people, right?
–I want to lean in a little more on my straight-understable discs, and the Thunderbird is a little too OS for what I'm looking for. I was thinking the Aztec or Dynasty from Infinite would be good fits for this slot. I need to play around with the speed 9-10-11 slots because there is some overlap with the Graces, Destroyers, and other control drivers (like at the beginning of this year when I tested out the Construct). I've been loving the Valkyrie, so a slightly more OS compliment to that is what I'm going for.
–The last main slot I'm looking to try out is the understable mid slot. I keep going back and forth on DX Rocs. I love them and they fly wonderfully. The DX one that I've had in the bag for a season or two now is beating into a great hyzerflip/turnover disc, but I don't know if I want to keep cycling DX Rocs, or just throw a few different molds that work better in premium plastic. I've been liking the Wasp in the overstable slot and the Jay is similar to a new DX Roc that will keep longer. I've thrown the Piwakawaka from RPM discs in the past and it's a glidey, sneaky-long Comet-esque disc that is very close to what I'm looking for. Might pick one up in their Cosmic plastic which I heard is a little more stable than the one's I've tried in the past. I'd definitely hear other options for slightly understable mids that might fit the bill. I've throw Mako3s before, and they're more Buzzz-ish than truly understable or dead-straight. I'm looking more in the Comet/Piwak/Fuse category of mids rather than the Mako3/M4 category.
The off season will be testing a lot of new discs against the ones I currently have. I'm not necessarily disliking the discs I'm currently throwing, but I want to see all what is out there that's similar so I can find the best fit for me! When I took a big step back to simplify my bag to Aviars, Rocs, Teebirds, and Leopards, I wanted to force myself to learn classic discs that have worked for pros and ams the past 30 years because they're tried and true, and they're all great learning discs. I'm glad I did, but as I figure out my own game better, I'm branching out.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading my ramblings!
TL;DR- testing out some new molds going into winter. Looking for suggestions on a dead-straight to slightly understable putter, slightly understable midrange, and a slightly overstable control driver. Also trying to narrow down the control driver slot (speeds 9-10-11).
