Alexplz's bag threadskie 2019

[Alexplz]

This year I'll scale back to long fairways for distance and shelve the Terns and FDs. I'll inevitably end up swapping them back in, but for now Escapes are really easy to build around.

Putt and Approach

Hard Dagger - the one true putter. The thing that came closest to usurping in 2018 was beat DX Rhynos - gawd I love how those feel in hand. Daggers are not great in the wind, but I'm in the PNW so who cares.

Backup Daggers - After a field test and some wooded rounds, I've decided it's worth it to keep a "throwing Dagger" in the bag to take advantage of the mold familiarity buff. I don't throw these hard, but it's good to have a disc I can trust at low speeds 100%. Picked up a soft for winter, will probably bust out the medium/hards when it hits 70+.

Approach and Driving

Proxy/Envy - Daggers may be top tier, but they are not well rounded - I mean, yeah they are round, but they have their drawbacks. One is that they don't throw off the tee very well. Enter the GYRO putters. Plas Proxy flies like a Pure with the added bonus of sharing the core of the Envy for added mold familiarity (sure...). Envy in N or Proton flies like a Zone SS, that is to say, with a great deal of HSS. I picked up a Plas Envy and it was surprisingly straight, excessively so, without the reliable fade out of a flex I had come to expect, nor the reliable HSS to hold up to the occasional stinky FH.

P Spin or Star Mirage - did some soul searching, realized that a slow, easy to turn over training wheels type disc is a necessity for me in the woods. I need something that I know I can throw on a slight hyzer at <80% and have it turn and stay away from the left side. I could go with either one of these depending on which one pairs better with whatever US mid I'm going to be bagging.

Zone - For OS FH upshots, the Zone is a one stop shop. Alternatively I would bag a combo of like, a Rhyno + a faster OS disc like a Mortar/Justice. ESP or crystal is nice, and I'll probably try a McBeth Z.

Mids

Tremor - I have a premium Tremor on the way that I hope will finally fill the "thrashed DX roc/comet" slot off the shelf that I have been searching for for years. Assuming I can get the hyzer flip line I'm looking for, I should be good. If not, no biggie, I'll bag a Tursas or Vertex here until I beat in a stack of X Comets.

Comet - Per the blurb above, if I really like the Tremor I'll just throw a Z Comet here for straight goodness. If not, I'll make due with something else for a bit and start cycling in some X Comets.

Z Wasp - Z Wasp is awesome, ton of glide and D, great stability. Goes with the DC theme and I get to throw the same type of plastic for my stable and straight mids.

Fairways

Star Leopard3 - just a straight, controllable fairway. Enough glide to do the job, not enough to get away from me if I shank it. Sleeker than the leo, fits better with a teeb.

Star Teebird - 168g of reliability. Picked up a new Avery teeb, can't remember if penned or embossed, but all the stability I want in a 168g package.

MF Teebird3 - Straight teebird flight in a very FH friendly config.

Champ Firebird - 175g, mild dome, not a super high PLH. This is another OS disc that I could replace with 2 more specialized discs, like possibly my FAF 12x FB plus a resistor/banshee. But I figured for now I would roll with the gold standard and make it work for all manner of OS fairway shenanigans. Have a newer star firebird, but I don't love the run of star plastic it's made of. Would not mind picking up a less glossy, stiffer run of star.

Fairway / Distance Hybrid

Underworld/Hatchet - these are both in VIP (which I find flippier than their TP counterparts) and bridge the gap between my slower and faster fairways. The Underworld is sticking around for woodsy hyzerflips and rollers, and the Hatchet (which shares the top of the undie) is a stand in for a beat up escape, which will leave the bag once my bio escape reaches the appropriate level of flippiness.

Escapes - awesome, awesome mold. You get every drop of distance squeezed out of rusty form, in a speed 9 package. If I were throwing much farther I imagine I would want to move up at least one click in stability and start throwing my moonshine escapes in situations where my bio does fine now, but that's the beauty of DD molds - you can expect to find them in a spectrum of premium plastics/stabilities. Right now I'm rocking a bio / bio / fuzion / moonshine / fluid moonshine type of cycle, with stuff going in and out as appropriate.

Getaway - the profile of the Getaway looks and feels so similar to the Escape it lead me to believe it was the same mold with a small amount of material grinded off the lower wing to raise the PLH. This might be true to some extent, but they feel so similar that I basically count my Getaway as part of my Escape cycle.

Star Mamba - basically a utility disc at 162g, I have begrudgingly bagged this disc after encountering a crazy huge anny hole that my Hatchet just didn't have the speed for.

//

When bagging terns and FDs, I'd throw in a Wraith for distance FHs, but I actually don't mind FHing Escapes. I skip FDs when bagging Escapes for D because they actually encroach upon Escape distance, so I'm better served by the teeb/leo combo. I was cut up about bagging so many putters for a bit, but at a certain point when you putt with something like the Dagger you have to compromise and have either a slim bag, or all your upshot options covered, pick one.

 

[Alexplz]

Putters:

Dagger - hard all year round, possibly medium for actual snow rounds
Dagger - Still digging a Zero Soft for tossing at the pin

Rhyno - I've always loved BH rhynos, as of late I've been FHing them a lot as well. Flat champ or Gstar is my go-to, stable enough to hold up to some FH OAT

Spin - in MF proton it's an awesome US driving putter. I am not always convinced I need an US putter when I have a solid FH upshot, but on some shots a perfectly flat or slight anny angle from the Proxy can be tough to pull off, whereas a consistent hyzerflip from the Spin keeps me clean. Reminds me of Conrad throwing a beat Aviar in the woods.

Envy and/or Proxy - at this point a plasma envy stays straight for long enough that I think I can get away with just it. If I were inclined I could instead rock an envy/proxy combo, both in neutron.

Mids:

Tremor + X Comet(s) - Working on beating in an X comet to US. For now, bagging a Ti equivalent Tremor that flips nice and easy.

Buzzz - had a Wasp here before, which would work fine too, but I have started to take a liking to BH with the Mortar and figured I could go with something a little less stable here. New Ti Buzzzes are real nice and stable.

Mortar - what a mold, never knew I would dig a beadles gator this much. Mine are 1.5 recons, don't mind whatever micro bead is or is not on there. These things are actually in this crazy sweet spot of stability and glide. Also, love the small diameter.

Fairways:

Leopard3 - newsflash, the leopard is a good mold. I feel like the 3 top, while not flat by any means, slips through the air cleaner. I don't expect these to turn, I just want a controllable, neutral laserbeam. Star for now, champ would be fine too.

Teebird3 - I like that these work well in MF champ. FH workhorse all day.

Firebird - versatile OS fairway - I don't hit this one full power usually, more likely to be used as a utility. Rocking a fairly flat champ FB from BSF right now.

Underworld - In my small sample size, I have found VIP to be more flippy than old TP (the swirly pearly kind). Love the mold, most reliably flippy control and distance bang for my US buck here. I would throw this on a distance turnover that needed to stay right before anything else with a wider rim.

Distance:

Hatchet, Escapes, and a Getaway - throwing a VIP Hatchet in 169g (like the underworld, VIP is flippier to me) until a bio escape beats in appropriately. Escapes combine euro glide with the perfect speed and stability for my arm. Lots of great plastic choices and they align nicely with the Getaway for an OS bookend. Picked up Lucid Getaways as I'd prefer they stay stable enough not to encroach on the top end of the Escape cycle.




For utility and depending on the course/day, I would bring something for nasty FH flex shots like a defender or overstable fortress. I like FHing escapes for distance, which was a surprise to me, but star wraiths have otherwise been my go to for that shot and could come back in the bag. Underworld is for rollers, firebird is all the OS utility I need as I'm not throwing thumbers much anymore. Could bring a light star mamba for monster turnovers but I'm more likely to get in trouble with it than the underworld.



Later in the year I might throw Terns back in the bag as the only true distance driver to give me enough extra D to make the reduced control palatable. In which case, I would probably lean on FDs to bridge to gap between mids and terns, and leave the leopards and escapes at home. Then you'd also see me throw a star thundie in the bag as a compromise for the wind. opcorn:

 

[SD86]

Solid bag.

Only thing I can suggest is to try a Banshee to complete your Speed 7 array. Of course, if you love your Firebird, stick with it...

 

[Alexplz]

Been through some interesting changes of late - decided to put distance drivers back in the bag for one.

Started with Terns as I tend to do, decided it was time to try out a Thrasher as the slightly deeper and more narrow rim appealed to me, plus the possibility of them flying decently in X plastic (Terns as you may know did not mold up super well in Pro for some reason).

Picked up a Thrasher or two, and I will say they fly quite well for a slower arm in the calm. X is great, and a slightly domed Z should be a decent compliment as an X beats. Plus they pair better with a Wraith on the OS side and a Mamba on the US side, speaking purely to the rim width/speed class.

Not much else has really changed, although with Thrashers in, Escapes and the like come out in favor of FDs, which work over a broad array of distances and power requirements - they can do a leopard shot fine, but also rival a distance driver with more control if I have a tall ceiling in the woods.

Without further adieu, here we go again:

Putting Putters

Daggers x2 - BT Hard and Soft. The ultimate putter - got a chance to putt these in the wind over in Eastern WA this season, was not bothered. They however do not like to be thrown hard in the wind. I bag the soft specifically for throwing half-goes and touchy ups.

Driving Putters

Star Rhyno - covers short FH upshots and OS backhand approaches. I go with the Rhyno over a Zone or the like because it pairs better with my Mortar. AviarX3 would work well too, a little faster (but not much) and a little dumpier fade, but I like throwing a Rhyno BH better.

Plasma Envy - this is a very neutral envy, much like a Proxy with an extra .5 fade. Not really stable enough to FH reliably, but makes a great BH driving putter.

Star Mirage - I waffle back and forth between skipping this slot entirely, or switching to a more stable Envy + a Proxy lineup instead. It is nice to have a disc that will shape a shot as easily as this.

Mids

Tremor - this is the real deal - a mid that will turnover and shape a shot with medium power. Tourney Tursas is a great disc but speed sensitive, Vertex less speed sensitive but not quite as flippy as I wanted.

Buzzzes - X and GloZ - playing in the wind gave me more perspective on what I want from the workhorses in my bag. For turnovers with wind, I realized I would likely be better served by forcing over a straight/stable disc that would hold the angle, rather than trying to throw a Comet into a headwind with max finesse. That's the plan for now anyway. I figured I'd try bagging the least stable Buzzz I have with the most stable.

Recon Mortar - OS mid in the sweet spot of stability and glide. Love the small diameter and hand feel, fillets short technical holes all day. Like it BH too, very nice mold.

Fairways

Sting - BigZ and/or Ti - my fairways are a bit of a mess as of late but that's fine, things may solidify more naturally. If you've never held a Sting, they feel AMAZING in BH/FH grip. Woodsy play sometimes necessitates a shot you didn't anticipate, like a hyzerflip FH. Great for tweener distance BH too.

VIP Underworld - I find the VIP undies to be flippier than the TP, same with other flippy Trilogy molds. Roller disc, longest consistent BH turnover I have.

S-FD - FH/BH laserbeam, long controlled second shots in the woods.

MF TeeBird3 - mostly a FH workhorse these days, BH is fine too. Would really like to try a 2019 FD2 here.

Star Thunderbird - this is from a more recent run, not crazy OS like the first stars were. Straddles fairway and distance, I'll throw this for distance with a kooky sidewind.

Champ Firebird - short utility shots, more of a mid or approach disc than a fairway really. Flatter recent run, not FAF, but in the sweet spot for an OS firebird.

*note on these fairways - mold maximalism to its extreme. If I wanted to, I could force minimalism here by going DFD - GFD - SFD - 2nd run CFD or something, and cycle through as they go. But honestly I'm sick of that, I don't play often enough to rely on cycling, I just want the shots I need in my bag today. As things beat in, a natural reduction of molds is likely to occur, which will be great.*

Distance

Thrashers - X and Z - squeezes out every drop of distance I have, at the expense of a small amount of control vs an escape or the like. Would not mind trying a domey max weight Z to see if they could handle the wind, but this mold is surprisingly flat in premium plastic that I've seen.

Star Mamba - yep, a mamba. Not an insta roller for me, just hyzerflips with healthy fade. Or give it a ton of height for huge right to left glide.

Star Wraith - FH or headwind distance. In theory I will grow into these for BH as they start to beat up. Tried a pro wraith, prefer star.

Fuzion Defender - what I call my "nasty" FH disc - fast, overstable, skippy, glidey for nasty FH flexes. Would throw this BH for a technical flare skip shot if anything. Considered a champ wraith for this slot, would work fine, but this just does all the above to a greater degree.

 

[Alexplz]

One suggestion I could use is where to look for some Trilogy options to try over those thrashers. I played with someone the other day that was bagging the warp speed Westside options, and I liked the sword and sorcerer in flight, and the Queen in feel. Are there other Trilogy drivers that share the same curvy, rounded edges of the queen and defender, possibly in a slower speed around 12, but with the EuroGlide I'm looking for? I threw the Sorcerer FH and it rocketed out of my hand and held a turnover forever for ridiculous distance, the sword gave me a similar impression.

 

[SD86]

One suggestion I could use is where to look for some Trilogy options to try over those thrashers. I played with someone the other day that was bagging the warp speed Westside options, and I liked the sword and sorcerer in flight, and the Queen in feel. Are there other Trilogy drivers that share the same curvy, rounded edges of the queen and defender, possibly in a slower speed around 12, but with the EuroGlide I'm looking for? I threw the Sorcerer FH and it rocketed out of my hand and held a turnover forever for ridiculous distance, the sword gave me a similar impression.

Perhaps surprisingly, there don't seem to be many Trilogy discs in the Speed 12 straight-to-understable range, where the Tern and Thrasher are.

The Renegade is listed as a Speed 11 disc. I like them but Twmccoy absolutely hates them.

The Trespass is Speed 12, and is generally more understable than its 12, 5, -1, 3 numbers suggest. It has good glide. Noodle arms like me get a surprising amount of distance out of the Trespass, so I suggest you take a look at the Trespass.

The Bolt and Sorcerer are Speed 13. I tried the Bolt a good while back. It was 'okay', as I remember... not bad but not great.

TL;DR: try a Trespass.

 

[Alexplz]

Been through some interesting changes of late - decided to put distance drivers back in the bag for one.

Started with Terns as I tend to do, decided it was time to try out a Thrasher as the slightly deeper and more narrow rim appealed to me, plus the possibility of them flying decently in X plastic (Terns as you may know did not mold up super well in Pro for some reason).

Picked up a Thrasher or two, and I will say they fly quite well for a slower arm in the calm. X is great, and a slightly domed Z should be a decent compliment as an X beats. Plus they pair better with a Wraith on the OS side and a Mamba on the US side, speaking purely to the rim width/speed class.

Not much else has really changed, although with Thrashers in, Escapes and the like come out in favor of FDs, which work over a broad array of distances and power requirements - they can do a leopard shot fine, but also rival a distance driver with more control if I have a tall ceiling in the woods.

Without further adieu, here we go again:

Putting Putters

Daggers x2 - BT Hard and Soft. The ultimate putter - got a chance to putt these in the wind over in Eastern WA this season, was not bothered. They however do not like to be thrown hard in the wind. I bag the soft specifically for throwing half-goes and touchy ups.

Driving Putters

Star Rhyno - covers short FH upshots and OS backhand approaches. I go with the Rhyno over a Zone or the like because it pairs better with my Mortar. AviarX3 would work well too, a little faster (but not much) and a little dumpier fade, but I like throwing a Rhyno BH better.

Plasma Envy - this is a very neutral envy, much like a Proxy with an extra .5 fade. Not really stable enough to FH reliably, but makes a great BH driving putter.

Star Mirage - I waffle back and forth between skipping this slot entirely, or switching to a more stable Envy + a Proxy lineup instead. It is nice to have a disc that will shape a shot as easily as this.

Mids

Tremor - this is the real deal - a mid that will turnover and shape a shot with medium power. Tourney Tursas is a great disc but speed sensitive, Vertex less speed sensitive but not quite as flippy as I wanted.

Buzzzes - X and GloZ - playing in the wind gave me more perspective on what I want from the workhorses in my bag. For turnovers with wind, I realized I would likely be better served by forcing over a straight/stable disc that would hold the angle, rather than trying to throw a Comet into a headwind with max finesse. That's the plan for now anyway. I figured I'd try bagging the least stable Buzzz I have with the most stable.

Recon Mortar - OS mid in the sweet spot of stability and glide. Love the small diameter and hand feel, fillets short technical holes all day. Like it BH too, very nice mold.

Fairways

Sting - BigZ and/or Ti - my fairways are a bit of a mess as of late but that's fine, things may solidify more naturally. If you've never held a Sting, they feel AMAZING in BH/FH grip. Woodsy play sometimes necessitates a shot you didn't anticipate, like a hyzerflip FH. Great for tweener distance BH too.

VIP Underworld - I find the VIP undies to be flippier than the TP, same with other flippy Trilogy molds. Roller disc, longest consistent BH turnover I have.

S-FD - FH/BH laserbeam, long controlled second shots in the woods.

MF TeeBird3 - mostly a FH workhorse these days, BH is fine too. Would really like to try a 2019 FD2 here.

Star Thunderbird - this is from a more recent run, not crazy OS like the first stars were. Straddles fairway and distance, I'll throw this for distance with a kooky sidewind.

Champ Firebird - short utility shots, more of a mid or approach disc than a fairway really. Flatter recent run, not FAF, but in the sweet spot for an OS firebird.

*note on these fairways - mold maximalism to its extreme. If I wanted to, I could force minimalism here by going DFD - GFD - SFD - 2nd run CFD or something, and cycle through as they go. But honestly I'm sick of that, I don't play often enough to rely on cycling, I just want the shots I need in my bag today. As things beat in, a natural reduction of molds is likely to occur, which will be great.*

Distance

Thrashers - X and Z - squeezes out every drop of distance I have, at the expense of a small amount of control vs an escape or the like. Would not mind trying a domey max weight Z to see if they could handle the wind, but this mold is surprisingly flat in premium plastic that I've seen.

Star Mamba - yep, a mamba. Not an insta roller for me, just hyzerflips with healthy fade. Or give it a ton of height for huge right to left glide.

Star Wraith - FH or headwind distance. In theory I will grow into these for BH as they start to beat up. Tried a pro wraith, prefer star.

Fuzion Defender - what I call my "nasty" FH disc - fast, overstable, skippy, glidey for nasty FH flexes. Would throw this BH for a technical flare skip shot if anything. Considered a champ wraith for this slot, would work fine, but this just does all the above to a greater degree.

Changes/revelations as of late:

Rhyno/Envy etc > Proxy/Envy/Mortar

Presently throwing a Proxy/Envy combo, plus a Recon/Frontline-X Mortar combo for approaches. Mortars are in the goldilocks zone of speed and stability, allowing me to use them for touch FH ups, FH flex shot shaping, OS flat backhands, etc.

Buzzzes/Tremor/Sting > Wasp/Buzzz/Tursas/Mirage

For mids, hopped to a Wasp/X Buzzz combo, along with the Tursas+Mirage over the Tremor+Mirage. Wasp is just a better "OS buzzz" than the actual OS buzzzes I was finding. Tursas+Mirage complement eachother better than Tremor+Mirage. The Tremor is a cool mid, but would flip too hard on line drives and would fade out on touch annys.

Fairways are largely the same, Underworlds and FDs are consistent performers, I would like to add an FD2 RR over a mellow teebird for the "second run FD" slot. Thunderbird is truly a teebird to the Nth degree, and is the longest option I am willing to pull out in a sidewind. SD suggested a Banshee previously, and if I wanted to I could go all speed-7, but a mellow, throwable firebird just seems like a better banshee from my perspective.

Thrashers > Terns

Thrashers are consistent - consistently flippy, even in all premium plastic I have gotten my hands on - yet to try ledgestone releases. In a way I was spoiled by the ability to pick up a star tern and a champ tern on the same day and get two separate, complementary flights. If I could find a domey, glidey, beef(ier) Thrasher I would really like to revisit them.

I am throwing a domey star Wraith as my OS bookend to the Tern - a stable Trespass, a DDX, or a Pro Destroyer could also probably work fine here. Plusses for the Wraith include FH comfort and wind fighting ability. Additionally, upon further inspection, the Tern lower wing is actually equal the width of a Wraith, not a Destroyer as one might assume based on the speed rating of 12 (due to the shallow profile).

At this time there's a Fuzion Defender sitting in my bag for that same nasty FH flex and skip shot, but I have contemplated making an OS glow champ Wraith work for this shot for the sake of reduced molds. :doh: I guess if I was worried about reduced molds my bag would look more like:

Daggers
Mortars
Comets
FDs
Firebirds
Trespasses

 

[SD86]

SD suggested a Banshee previously, and if I wanted to I could go all speed-7, but a mellow, throwable firebird just seems like a better banshee from my perspective.

I don't blame you a bit. Sometimes for funsies I put my Sexton FB in the bag in place of the Banshee/overstable Teebird, and see what I can do with it. I don't need that very OS shot all that often, though, maybe one shot in three or four rounds at the home course. But yes, if I had the arm for it, I'd be like you and many others and bag the FB.