[Drivers] Are Speed 7 Discs Necessary?

[dontbl1nk]

The Veteran(speed 7) and QJLS(also speed 7) kicked out my need for speed 10s. I can throw them as far with more control. Anything I can't reach with them(380+) I feel comfortable throwing a scorpius(speed 12).

 

[elmexdela]

just a personal observation
i think that most "speed 7 users" ie teebirds, leopards, banshee, etc
will often use innova mids typically 4 speed ie rocs, etc

and often discraft 5 speed mid throwers ie buzzz, hornet, meteor, etc. will jump to a 8 or 9 speed
because the gap is so close between a 5 and a 7

weird. i am a discraft mid thrower (add wasp into what you just named and its right on haha) and i bridge the gap from speed 5 to 9 with stalkers. they are perfect for longer D with great control of a mid like disc.

 

[Nasty Nate]

For a sidearm player no, you aren't wasting strokes. However speed 7 discs are essential for one thing for a backhand player and that is precision and accuracy not necessarily for distance. For some their mids are fast enough to replace their speed 7 drivers ( Mcbeth and the roc3). But whether mid or fairway for a backhand player this speed is key for accuracy.

PMcB throws Teebirds.


I started throwing a Teebird since the word on the street was that it's the most happenin' fairway around. I don't think I'll ever be without a Teebird... unless I lose it like I did earlier this season.

Besides that my bag goes to 10 and then 11. I was meaning to get a speed 9 to pair with my TB for longer shots, and I ended up getting a Volt after some consideration. It's pretty overstable so I am not getting it any further than my Bird. It's supposed to season up, though, so we'll see how it goes.

Teebird is old dependable.

 

[bballr4567]

I live off my GL Rivers. I bag two of them now (lost one and havent found a replacement). One is 175g and the other is 161g. Both are completely different discs but when I need that laser shot or just a slow glidey one I know exactly what Im reaching for.

I recently started bagging an Underworld and its starting to beat in perfectly. Just a touch of understable with a ton of glide.

 

[B-Man]

just a personal observation
i think that most "speed 7 users" ie teebirds, leopards, banshee, etc
will often use innova mids typically 4 speed ie rocs, etc

and often discraft 5 speed mid throwers ie buzzz, hornet, meteor, etc. will jump to a 8 or 9 speed
because the gap is so close between a 5 and a 7

All my current mids are speed 5, and like I mentioned, my fairway drivers are one 6, two 7's, and one 8. I treat my Whippet (speed 6) like a mid tho, its my "get out of trouble disc".

 

[mk.ultra]

please see my sig

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

I think it depends on the course and what you're comfortable with. My local course is a tight shorty where you could throw a mid or a glidey fairway off the tee for most holes and do well either way. I'll practice with both before our club monthly and whichever one I'm gelling with best that particular day is the one I'll be reaching for during the comp. If I'm debating between throwing a speed 9 or fairway, usually the speed 9 wins out.

 

[grotto]

That's probably true, it depends on the course. If I'm playing a new course I'll always bag my Leopard and River just in case. But, in the last few months of playing courses I know well, I haven't used either one of them.

For what it's worth, I have beautifully seasoned star Valkyrie that I can power down and it has pretty much taken the river's place.

 

[BrotherDave]

just a personal observation
i think that most "speed 7 users" ie teebirds, leopards, banshee, etc
will often use innova mids typically 4 speed ie rocs, etc

and often discraft 5 speed mid throwers ie buzzz, hornet, meteor, etc. will jump to a 8 or 9 speed
because the gap is so close between a 5 and a 7

I think that is true for a lot of folks. I'm goofy though, I use speed 5 mids (Nebula, Squall) and speed 7 FWs (Eagles, Banshee, EL). I do use some PDs to bridge the gap b/w my FWs and my max D driver (sword) on days where my form sucks too much to make the Sword worth throwing.

 

[mashnut]

I think that is true for a lot of folks. I'm goofy though, I use speed 5 mids (Nebula, Squall) and speed 7 FWs (Eagles, Banshee, EL). I do use some PDs to bridge the gap b/w my FWs and my max D driver (sword) on days where my form sucks too much to make the Sword worth throwing.

And I'm the opposite, I jump from rocs to PDs since I feel like the PDs power down to cover anything longer than a roc shot for my game.

 

[kevdiv48]

just a personal observation
i think that most "speed 7 users" ie teebirds, leopards, banshee, etc
will often use innova mids typically 4 speed ie rocs, etc

and often discraft 5 speed mid throwers ie buzzz, hornet, meteor, etc. will jump to a 8 or 9 speed
because the gap is so close between a 5 and a 7

I mostly agree, and I'll add that most of the newer mids out there (M series from Prodigy and most of the newer Trilogy mids) are faster, speed 5 mids. Most of the newer fairways that have been released are faster than classic speed 7's; e.g. the F series, FD, Patriot and Rival all have 1.8 cm rims. This then makes the gap between them and speed 9's smaller and makes more sense to jump to something in the 10/11/12 range.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

And I'm the opposite, I jump from rocs to PDs since I feel like the PDs power down to cover anything longer than a roc shot for my game.

This is more my style as well. I never really have used many 6/7 speed discs. They fly fine for me but always was more comfortable with something a little faster and unless it is a stable to understable mold then I see really less of a need. I carried a resistor before the motion came out but have no need for both. Roc style mids fly so far too on different lines they really tend to overlap with some of the slower discs but even provide greater control IMO.

 

[thePiRaTE]

please see my sig

247ft ace with a Nuke? I guess you get a pass for not needing speed 7

 

[theabacus]

Is any speed technically necessary? No. If there wasn't a benefit to speed 7 discs, no pro would throw them; and plenty do. Some of the most popular, long standing drivers--such as the Teebird--are speed 7. Question is kinda moot and pointless.

Do you need a 7? Well most players benefit from a fairway driver speed for a good combination of speed and accuracy...

 

[Indiana574]

I have a teebird eagle an TL. An I love um

 

[6.5swede]

From speed 7 on down, I carry 2-3 of each speed except putters.

I can go skinny on the long range stuff but speeds 3-7 are my bread and butter.

This^^^^^
Fairways are the most versatile for me. I can throw them for distance or precision. I keep Several of each fairway mold in different stabilities in my bag. if I need to take some off a speed 7 disc I can and not get punished as much as taking speed off of a distance driver.

 

[zmannz1984]

I used to throw a valk or orc on anything over about 250 feet, an eagle for what most would use a firebird for, and way too many mids. After a while of being stuck at 300 foot drives, I started trying all kinds of discs and realized no matter what I threw, my max distance was always the same, and I was spraying discs left and right with no consistency on the practice field.

I took everything faster than my eagle out of the bag for a while, and added a leopard and teebird. After a few months I could get teebirds and leopards flying the same lines as what I threw a valk or orc on before and with way more consistency. I can now confidently throw about 330 with the speed 6/7 stuff, and a 9/10 driver about 40 feet farther, or on a much higher hyzer/anhyzer line if needed. My newest focus in practice has been learning to extend my leo's and valks out as far as possible using a hyzer flip so I can someday maybe reach 400 on the course. I still don't always feel confident in getting the line I need with a 9+ driver on the course, so often I throw a DX teebird or leopard and try to get the distance with that beautiful flip action.

I have also found less use for mids now a days. Where I was once throwing a mid as hard as possible, I am now throwing a leopard or teebird at 75-80% power, or flicking an eagle or teebird. And a lot of my shorter approaches I now throw a putter.

 

[Timeetyo]

As I've grown in confidence with my speed 9s (primarily my sidewinders - so many lines I can hit with these now) and gained consistency & accuracy with them I have been tossing my 7s much, much less. On a 100% toss there is only a ~30' difference in max range but I can easily take a bit off the 9s to cover the shorter shots. Over the last 2 months when on the course I am rarely reaching for those 7s and I'm very close to pulling some of them from my bag. My rivers used to be my go to anny driver / turnover disc. Holes I used to throw this I am now more comfortable with my mongoose or comet (or in some cases a FH shot as well). My DX teebird shots are now replaced by either my powered down sidewinder tosses or my powered up roc3 or buzz shots. The only disc I seem to reach for from my 7s any more is my gstar teebird. There are a few holes where I just have that disc dialed in on to hold a nice sweeping hyzer line to the pin that I can't seem to replicate with my other discs. Perhaps I'll drop the other 7s and leave just that 1 teebird.

 

[mk.ultra]

247ft ace with a Nuke? I guess you get a pass for not needing speed 7

I stopped using it and I'm driving further with a Teebird now

 

[Questatement]

This^^^^^
Fairways are the most versatile for me. I can throw them for distance or precision. I keep Several of each fairway mold in different stabilities in my bag. if I need to take some off a speed 7 disc I can and not get punished as much as taking speed off of a distance driver.

Yea, I use my 'distance' drivers (speeds 9-11 for me) off the tee as often as something slower, even though they only constitute 4 of the 18 discs I carry, I just don't have the control with the high speed stuff to consistently place say, this speed 11 exactly this many feet with this line of travel as comparted to this speed 10, this many feet, with this line of travel, like I do slower stuff.

So if it comes down to a crap shoot, of sorts, why pretend that that 1 notch up or down in HSS and/or disc speed is going to produce the desired results?

Now, if I could power up the top speeds out there, it would be a different story but since I only break 400' about 1 in 5 attempts when going for it, no need. Maybe this the same reason why the pros carry so few speed 13-14 discs?