A statistical breakdown of disc usage

[aphilso1]

Out of curiosity, I logged ever shot by speed class over my last two rounds. Well, I actually tracked by individual mold, but I will break that down in my own ITB thread since most people reading this throw different molds. Both rounds were at courses I play regularly, with one course being a Par 61 18-hole wooded course and the other a Par 66 22-hole park style layout. I subtracted all tap-in putts, leaving only throws from C1X and longer. The following is a breakdown of my disc usage statistics:

61% putters
11% mids
18% fairway drivers
10% distance drivers

The 61% putter usage wasn't shocking, since that includes all putts longer than a tap in, approaches, and drives with a putter. What surprised me was just how much more I use a fairway driver than either my mids or my distance drivers.

My takeaways from this:
1. It confirms that the number of molds I carry (4 P&A, 2 mids, 4 FW, 2 distance) is probably what it should be. I carry more stability options in the areas where I need them, and I don't carry tons of choices in the areas where extra molds would just clutter my bag and not get used enough to sustain confidence.
2. You have to love your putter(s) to be any good at this game. Controlled putter drives, putts, and approaches make up almost 2/3 of my shots. And again, that is after removing all tap ins from the equation since it really doesn't matter what disc is used inside 11'. No wonder practicing putting and learning to throw putters is so effective at lowering scores. It's literally 2/3 of the game.


Has anyone else tracked your rounds like this? What were your usage breakdowns and takeaways?

 

[R-Ogre]

I've tracked tee shots but never a whole game.

 

[Rastnav]

Interesting data.

I haven't tracked to that detail, but the putter data is not surprising at all to me. P&A is clearly where scoring happens, whether it's parking a 100 foot pinched approach or canning a 25 footer. I know that my most reached for discs are always putters.

One thing that does surprise me is how often I won't use a favorite disc on a particular course. I have courses where my go to disc is an overstable mid, and other courses where I never play it at all. Same thing with my understable mid.

I do wonder whether the Fairway driver use is potentially partly because you carry 4, though. If you don't carry a mid for a shot, you can't use it, if that makes sense.

 

[Keller]

I've tracked what I use before and I was surprised by how few mids I threw.

It is course dependent though.

 

[swatso]

...
61% putters
11% mids
18% fairway drivers
10% distance drivers
...

At my most frequently played course (Rockburn), which frequently rotates between A/B/C positions:
39% putters
28% distance
24% mid
09% fairway

Note1: I pretty much only putt with my putter. I use a max-weight, neutral mid (Mako3) for many shots that others probably use a putter.

Note2: When is a disc a distance, v. a fairway, driver? I consider the Valkyrie a distance driver; if it is classified as a fairway, then my distance/fairway percents would change considerably.

 

[ray1970]

After reading the original post I tossed together some numbers. It seems my disc use is really dependent upon the course played. The putters are the most used on any course but based off of three different courses mine broke down like this.

Course #1-

61% putters
9% mids
15% fairways
15% drivers

Course #2-

80% putters
14% mids
4% fairways
2% drivers

Course #3-

64% putters
15% mids
10% fairways
11% drivers

So, while I apparently don't lean on my mids much on course #1, it looks like they get more use on the other two courses than my fairways and drivers.

I'd be curious to see how your numbers stacked up on different courses.

For the record, I had to play out the courses from memory so my data could be a little off but it's pretty close.

Course #2 is a relatively short course.

Course #3 is the longest of the three (a lot of fairways or drivers off the tee usually followed up by a mid range approach or possibly a putter).

Course #1 is kind of in between the other two. Usually a driver or fairway off the tee gets me within some sort of putter range and I rarely need a mid for the approach and there are a few holes that I drive with a mid.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I play roughly...

10% distance driver
30% fairway driver
20% mid
40% putter

- I carry 1 distance driver and it is a 10 speed.
- I never tee off with mids. I might throw a mid 1 or 2 drives out of 45 holes.
- I like to disc up. If I can get it there with a 7, I like to throw a 9 and take a little off. There are holes where I've parked a putter many a time, but I prefer to throw an understable 7 speed with a soft hyzer. I like to throw mids for some approach shots where 9 out of 10 probably grab a putter.
- I look for reasons to throw my Rocs.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

QFT:

It is course dependent though.

 

[Jugular]

If I only have one shot where I need a DD on two different courses that doesn't mean the same disc covers those two shots. I don't conclude I need the same proportion of disc types as the proportion of shots I make. I throw my K1 Berg and K1 Reko for P&A everywhere. They do all I need, I don't need two more P&A discs because a greater proportion of shots use that class of disc.

Whats interesting to me is that you seem to assume your proportions are only course dependent but don't mention weather dependence. I find I throw quite different discs once it gets windy. In general I disc up.

 

[Keller]

I used to bag a Roc cycle (3-4). But in the last few years I lean far more on putters, I have a beat to snot Rhyno that goes almost as far as a Roc now.

For the last few months, the only mids in my bag are a DX Stingray and a seasoned KC roc. I don't seem to be missing anything with just these two.

 

[aphilso1]

I'd be curious to see how your numbers stacked up on different courses.

At The Fort in Ogden, UT (Par 61 layout; long, mostly wooded with a few open holes sprinkled in):
58% putters
11% mids
21% fairway drivers
10% distance drivers

At Riverpark in Riverdale, UT (22 hole layout, all Par 3s; mostly park style, relatively short with no holes longer than 375'.)
64% putters
12% mids
14% fairway drivers
10% distance drivers

My usage rate was pretty consistent, even comparing two very different courses. Now granted, the reason I'm selecting a disc is different on these two courses. At The Fort, when I throw a putter or mid off the tee it is usually because I'm just trying to keep the disc in the fairway and play for par; at Riverpark, it's because it's a short hole that I can park with a slower disc. I know I've played courses that would sway my usage rates dramatically, but I think most decent courses with a good variety of hole lengths/styles would render similar results for me.

 

[aphilso1]

I do wonder whether the Fairway driver use is potentially partly because you carry 4, though. If you don't carry a mid for a shot, you can't use it, if that makes sense.

Yeah, that's a fair point. Although at least for me, I think the cause = lack of use, and effect = not carrying an overstable mid, rather than vice versa. I bagged a Verdict for almost two years but it got used way less than my Emacs. I also tried out a Drone, thinking maybe if I got more stability separation from my Emacs that then my overstable mid would get used more. I even went to the extreme and tried a Justice for a bit. None of those got used enough to where I was really confident in them.

I actually do carry 4 mids (sometimes even 5) but they are all either an Emac Truth or Tursas, just in different states of wear. Maybe one shot every 3-4 rounds I find myself wishing I had a Drone or Justice in the bag. But using a disc so rarely means I probably wouldn't execute the shot anyway, even if that disc is the correct tool for the job.

 

[Dingus]

Assuming a TeeBird is a "fairway" driver, I throw a very low percentage of distance drivers. The only holes that a "distance" driver would come out for would be a 390'-420' hole. Anything longer isn't reachable so I throw the more accurate TeeBird. On the other end, any hole 250'-320' and I throw a mid. SO, the distribution is purely dependent on how many holes fit these length profiles.

 

[aphilso1]

If I only have one shot where I need a DD on two different courses that doesn't mean the same disc covers those two shots. I don't conclude I need the same proportion of disc types as the proportion of shots I make. I throw my K1 Berg and K1 Reko for P&A everywhere. They do all I need, I don't need two more P&A discs because a greater proportion of shots use that class of disc.

True, kind of. If I knew that I would throw a specific disc at the most once per round, I'd probably try to see if one of my more used discs could cover that shot instead. It comes down to whether you want to use the perfect tool for the job, or the tool that you've found to be the most reliable based on countless repetitions. Eventually, carrying extra molds/discs reaches the point of diminishing returns. That point is different for each of us.

Whats interesting to me is that you seem to assume your proportions are only course dependent but don't mention weather dependence. I find I throw quite different discs once it gets windy. In general I disc up.

Yeah, that's fair. And when I lived in Nebraska my discs selection was much more weather dependent. The same hole could be a putter shot with a tailwind, mid in calm conditions, or fairway driver with a headwind. But where I live now stays pretty calm so weather is a minimal factor. It's rare to see more than 10 mph.

 

[aphilso1]

Assuming a TeeBird is a "fairway" driver, I throw a very low percentage of distance drivers. The only holes that a "distance" driver would come out for would be a 390'-420' hole. Anything longer isn't reachable so I throw the more accurate TeeBird. On the other end, any hole 250'-320' and I throw a mid. SO, the distribution is purely dependent on how many holes fit these length profiles.

Length is the only factor? Don't you find overlap between an understable disc in one class and an overstable disc in the next speed class? I find my US mids fly about the same distance as my OS fairway drivers, US fairways about the same as my OS drivers, etc. I use them in different situations, but the distance itself is the same. To me it's just as much about the shot shape as it is about the total distance.

 

[Dingus]

Length is the only factor?

Length is the primary factor. I choose molds that can be acquired in OS versions, like the TeeBird!! A fresh Champ Teebird will be OS enough for almost any shot. I do carry a Firebird as a meathook compliment, but I believe most would still say that is a fairway.

I guess there are weird holes where I need a super duper skip and I will whip out my Excal on a 250' hole, but that is a rarity.

 

[azplaya25]

I've tracked what I use before and I was surprised by how few mids I threw.

It is course dependent though.

I tracked my usage for the past couple of weeks and found the same thing to be true. My bag is now Aviars, a Harp, Rocs, Banshees, Eagles and an MOLF. What surprised me is how little I throw my Rocs during rounds. I absolutely love throwing Rocs during field work, I get out to a field and throw that dead straight glidey flight for 250-300 feet. What I find during rounds when I need to hit golf lines is I have much more confidence in my eagles and banshees from 200 feet and out. I have a fresh, stable banshee, and a beat, straight with predictable fade banshee, and I feel like I can hit every shot from 200 - 300 feet with them. Plus I'm more confident throwing them sidearm, Rocs will get really crazy if I don't have a OAT free release. From 300 plus I'm throwing an eagle. From 150 and in it's Aviar touch upshot or a flick with my Harp. So that leaves a really narrow range of shots where the Roc seems to be the best choice. I will say that when scrambling, if I need something glidey but more stable than my aviars, my Rocs are invaluable. Pretty cool to go through this experiment, my disc selection on the course is a lot different than I thought it was.

 

[tylerc]

This is interesting! I will see what this is for myself. I feel as it might be more helpful to know what speeds I take off the tee. Counting throwing scrambling shots, I feel like throws the data off by a lot. I will sometimes use a driver for a short scramble because it will work better or maybe just to cut through leaves better.

But for my 24 hole home course off the tee:

42% putter
5% mid
33% fairway driver
21% distance driver

 

[aphilso1]

This is interesting! I will see what this is for myself. I feel as it might be more helpful to know what speeds I take off the tee. Counting throwing scrambling shots, I feel like throws the data off by a lot. I will sometimes use a driver for a short scramble because it will work better or maybe just to cut through leaves better.

But for my 24 hole home course off the tee:

42% putter
5% mid
33% fairway driver
21% distance driver

I thought about not counting putts in the calculation, but sometimes the line between a putt and an approach is blurry. Same thing with an approach vs. second drive on a par 4, or even with a long recovery shot. Ultimately I decided to count everything other than tap ins because tap ins are the only ones that really are irrelevant as far as what disc is used (I often tap in with a driver or whatever is in hand at the time). I can see why others would calculate differently, but for me that seemed the most meaningful way of breaking it down.

 

[ray1970]

For the sake of complicating things, I may look into my statistics again and exclude putters from the equation when they are legitimately used for an actual putt. In other words, only count the discs that are thrown either from the tee or from the fairway and not inside of circle one or circle two. I'll probably use circle one to simplify my data because circle two is a crapshoot for me. A few feet out of circle one and I'm legitimately putting, far edge of circle two and I'm likely trying to make a throw in and not actually putting.