[Recommend] Cycling wizards

[Jlee]

Okay awesome! I guess my next step is to call up gateway and ask some more questions. I appreciate everyone's input.

Side note: I really like my opto pure for drives out to 300' especially if it needs to finish straight or right, but lately it's been sailing past the basket. I'm hoping that a wizard will be slower and finish a little sooner rather than gliding out so far.

 

[Lurp Nuts]

sounds like somebody needs a nice fresh wizard

 

[StingHP]

I cycle them for driving and putt with them. I like the Stiff S ones that are chalky. I also have an Eraser that is pretty stiff and uber grippy. I like to think of them as baby Ghosts (or Rocs).

You are a man after my own bag. Pink erasers for driving is glorious. I was recently able to acquire 5 more. Now I am trying to locate those chalky orangish pink wizards that were marked CH....

 

[tbird888]

the g9i was one of the firmest blends gateway ever did. it was designed to be a great driver, but when the pdga started cracking down on plastic that didn't pass the flex test, the mediums and g9i were the first to go. so unfortunately, those are now out of production.

Cracking down? No other companies were involved when that happened. Dave sent a box of G9i's to the IDGC, and they were tested because they seemed too firm and failed.

The first run McPro Aviars were just as firm as my G9i's are, and Paul posted here that they would absolutely pass the flex test. Unsurprisingly, the 2Xs are considerably softer...

 

[Ted Bratton]

A wizard will cycle almost exactly as well as a challenger. A D or soft X challenger tends to lose stability much quicker than a medium, soft, or stiffer SS wizard so take that into consideration. Softer runs of SS, SSS, and the like will lose stability at a closer rate to a challenger though. I do not find the wizard less overstable than a challenger. You should find whether you like the challenger or wizard better when new and stick to one of them. Personally I think trying to cycle is pretty silly, it is something that just happens with experience and technically will not improve your shots. It's the experience and mastering your discs that improved your shots.

 

[The Last DJ]

I tend to cycle my Wizards out every six months or so. For me, they need to be very stable for approaches and putts...pretty much anything inside of 100' or so. The personal favorite is a chalky 175g SS...nothing much better than that!

 

[Kodachrome]

i'm now quite interested as well. i've got a variety of wizards right now in my bag and i'd like to cycle different ones for different purposes. here is what i'm doing now.

2 RFF - 170g, 172g these go straight with zero fade whatsoever. they are my woods drivers. seems weird, but it works. i've hit trees with no major side effects. they are starting to warp, but whatever. i'd like to beat one into understable for approaches similar to a summit and turnover drives, woodsy threading type stuff. the other will stay as my nuts-straight driver in the woods.

4 organic - one of these is like a damn dinner plate. i can't really flex it; it's slick and it's going to be my more OS driving wizard. keeping it fresh. two that feel like softs/supersofts, forgive me for being unsure. just getting into the school of wizardry. no real purpose right now. these three are max weight, 175 according to the ink. my third is darker than those three, greenish black. it's great; it's my putting putter. feels harder than a soft, not as hard as the dinner plate. 170g.

2 softs - one 168 for longer putts and easier to put on an anny line now that it's hit some trees. one 171 for unknown purposes.

1 SSS - not really sure what i want it for. 171g

here's what i know now - the 175's are a bit OS for my taste. i like the lighter ones because i can throw them more like my pure. the 168 soft is touchy though; it's hard for me to throw these without flutter so it ends up turning over more.

when you're cycling, do you use multiple plastics or just one? all the same weight? how do you get yours nice and beaten in if you're using one at a time? i've been throwing all my wizards off the tee and putting with them, with the exception of the ones i want to remain OS. do you think i'm doing it "wrong?"

i like the RFF for upshots to hit and stick, same with short drives. they flutter less, they go much straighter. they bounce off the chains for putting; yuck. i don't anticipate changing those out unless my SSS or some other wizard will do better. right now those are too OS though. the RFF's are the only ones i think i'm certain about.

what would YOU do? timeframes would be cool on beating them in. /ramble

 

[Sooner34]

I only own 2 gummy evo HPPs and use one for most upshots within 200'. The other is more fresh/OS and isn't thrown that often as my main still holds whatever angle in most winds. They fly like a Wizard, have a ton of glide, and stick decently in chains in warmer weather. We'll see how they fare in Winter.... Should still be awesome I'd imagine. I feel like heavy softs would be the only way to cycle. They feel like the best KC Pro putter plastic ever... I putt with RFF Wizards and SSs when I can find max weight discs. I am super curious about newer runs of soft. I really really want to go to St. Louis and pick through the boxes and boxes of them... We can all dream...

 

[walde]

I would like to learn more about how different plastics wear, I've mostly used mediums and g9i's. The g9i's turned in to turnover machine after only a month of use. In my experience mediums hold up well, I have one that was really stable for almost a year using it for everything from putting to driving. My current medium is a softer blend than the others I've had and is a bit warped. It flies so nice and is pretty stable, I can get a bit of turn if I throw it hard but nowhere near the turn my g9i's have. I've had it for more than a year and I bought it 2nd hand. Unfortunately I noticed a small crack on it and I don't use it for drives when there's a good chance of a direct tree hit <100'.

Like I said, I'd like to try a little bit softer blends to try out how well they hold up. I don't like the floppiest ones though, I prefer firm.

Btw I haven't had much chance to fondle new Wizards, have they started producing stiffer softs now that mediums and g9i's are oop?

 

[StingHP]

I have unmarked. White ones that sound like you are knocking on a door. Don't personally care for them.

 

[Kodachrome]

so after hunting through this and googling and whatnot, i'd like to ask what general characteristics as these season to expect.

i won't lie, this transition is hard for me because coming from the opto pure and pa4, such laser straight putter drivers in premium plastic, these are definitely overstable and need more height to get the same distance, which is why i currently drive with RFF - it will beat them in for approaches and they're the only wizards that fly the way i want them to on straight drives.

it seems like softs are the way to go, but i have 4 organics right now so i'm going to try. my soft is my putting putter.

does the LSS beat out before they develop HS turn? do they gain some more glide like people always talk about with other base plastics? it'd be nice to not have to give them more height.

 

[jcassidy1990]

so after hunting through this and googling and whatnot, i'd like to ask what general characteristics as these season to expect.

i won't lie, this transition is hard for me because coming from the opto pure and pa4, such laser straight putter drivers in premium plastic, these are definitely overstable and need more height to get the same distance, which is why i currently drive with RFF - it will beat them in for approaches and they're the only wizards that fly the way i want them to on straight drives.

it seems like softs are the way to go, but i have 4 organics right now so i'm going to try. my soft is my putting putter.

does the LSS beat out before they develop HS turn? do they gain some more glide like people always talk about with other base plastics? it'd be nice to not have to give them more height.

They will def. lose LSS before HSS. Glide will also improve a lot. The key to getting a wizard to fly differently is to wear the bead down. As long as the bead remains fully Intact, you're going to have a tough time turning or low powering a wiz. Take the bead to a parking lot or razor and it'll fly like SEX

 

[dehaas]

Yep, that's the best part of a seasoned wiz, little to no fade with retaining hss. The way they break in reminds me of a shorter teebird.

 

[Kodachrome]

Very reassuring. Thanks, guys. It's tough when you have discs that fly how you want out of the box already, but I want to make the commitment. Sounds yummy. Now if I could just throw them without fluttering, haha. Definitely different than my other putter drivers, but sounds better for the long run.

 

[dehaas]

The only reason I quit throwing wizards was the depth. Went to the ridge for a while, then the judge, and back at the ridge. Like the shallower grip and it just seems to work for me. The wizard was definitely a bit longer as a driving putter though.

 

[jcassidy1990]

Very reassuring. Thanks, guys. It's tough when you have discs that fly how you want out of the box already, but I want to make the commitment. Sounds yummy. Now if I could just throw them without fluttering, haha. Definitely different than my other putter drivers, but sounds better for the long run.

Coming from the prodigy lineup and Ions, I can def say the wait is worth it. Wizards are so reliable feeling in all weather conditions. They also tend to wear in with thumb spots which can be beneficial on nice little fan grip approaches.

Really you can't go wrong. One thing that I have done to supplant that straight shot disc is to insert a voodoo. They're very wizard like without the bead. Fun to throw bullet hyzer flips with and doesn't feel like a whole new mold in the hand.

 

[Kodachrome]

Yeah, if the wizard didn't pan out I was going with the ion/anode because those two rock my world as putter drivers and putt well too, but impossible to cycle. Is the bead what causes the flutter on release? No other disc I throw does it. Is it because the bead is getting caught, you think?

 

[bikinjack]

Yeah, if the wizard didn't pan out I was going with the ion/anode because those two rock my world as putter drivers and putt well too, but impossible to cycle. Is the bead what causes the flutter on release? No other disc I throw does it. Is it because the bead is getting caught, you think?

Most likely the flutter is the way you are throwing it, not the disc. It's may be that Wizards are more OAT sensitive than other putters you've thrown. It could be something else though.

I'll also agree that Wizards lose their low speed stability before they lose much high speed stability. I've got a SSS that I've been throwing for the better part of four years that still has plenty of HSS, but doesn't fade nearly as much as a fresh Wiz.

 

[Crazy Runner Guy]

Wizards are deep/tall - 1.8 cm vertical distance inside the rim. The flutter could be from not getting a clean release. In comparison, Aviars are 1.5 CM, Rhynos/Pures are 1.3. I have a hard time throwing Wizards because of their height.

 

[Kodachrome]

^ i had a feeling this could be part of it. i just about never get flutter on release with any of my putters, mids or drivers prior to picking up the wizard.

as a fun little project tonight, i've gone through my wizards and organized them in order of dome/shoulder height. noticed that the ones i have better putting/driving consistency are lower profile, the 171 soft, SSS, and 175 organic brothers as well as the RFF. i have a HUGE variation between all nine of them. will be testing them tomorrow to get some candidates for the best cycle set up. so begins the obsession.