Discraft Focus

[Yehosha]

OK so I know there is partial discussion about this disc in spread out amongst several threads, but now that it has a name and some people have been throwing them for a month or two, I'd like to get a better discussion going about it. I'm going to steal some pics and quotes from some other threads to get the ball rolling, (hope they don't mind ) then follow it up with some questions I have.

By the numbers:

Name	MaxWt	Diam	Ht.	Depth	RimDiam. 	RimWid.

Gateway Wizard 	174.3 	21.0 	2.1 	1.8 	19.0 		1.0 
Discraft Focus 	175.1 	21.1 	2.1 	1.6 	19.1 		1.0

Can you say CT Wizard? The D plastic is very close to the signature stamp CTs. The flight plate is a bit softer, but I think that's because the flightplate feels a bit thinner than a challenger. Its like one of the best driving wizards I had from 04. Mines a white 170 for reference.

The ESP is nice. Its not super stiff, bit its not FLX like previous years. Hopefully I'll throw them tomorrow.

Finally got a round with these. Nice little discs. They seem kinda slow, but that may just be the glide. Its inbetween a rhyno and wiz in glide. It flies like a slightly seasoned wiz. They were coming up short of my VPs. Pretty much just stays on a line with a little fade. The did well into and with crosswinds. I did hit a 3 big (60-80 ft range) and some up and over putts today.

I give them a B-

I got a chance to fondle the Pro-D. I rescind my previous statement on the plastic (for the putter anyway). Reminded me of my glow Wizard on feel. Or some of the soft Soft Wizards (not the slick supersoft). How is that for confusing! :roll:

Anyway, it is a good feel for a putter. I am not confidant about durability for approach/Ace Race. I am still going to use the premium (ESP??) version. BIF13 said they were a little on the floppy side (kind of like BIF13 - or so I hear :lol: ).

I too only used the esp during the ace race rounds. After about three tree-hits, they were turning left to right nicely, hopefully they don't beat in too much more. Played doubles after and used the pro-d (nice feeling plastic) and for me, it was MUUHHHHNNNNNYY. Then again, it could be me. I putt with elite-x soft bangers and these held a better line putting.

As far as driving, most people observed that they had very good glide for a putter, and they resist turn-over even with a little heat on them. If thrown with anny, they fought back well but didn't fade with any lss. Thrown hyzer, held the line but not overstable enough to break hard.

During our weekly doubles we had a couple of college guys join us (big armed bastards) and a few of our players lent them their ace race discs for the round. After we finished they wanted some real bad, but nobody was selling, even if they weren't putting with it, no one wanted to give them up. Testimonial to the disc? I think so.

It IS a Wizard. Closest copy I've seen since the Wasp, and I think this one is a closer copy. Probably because Gateway doesn't have any lawyers :shock:.

Except it's more comfortable in the hand, lower nose lends to a cleaner release, a bit longer, and holds hyzers better. Not to mention it won't be in a different plastic every single time it's run. I also get better "spring" when putting with it than the Wizard.

I would describe it as a smashed Wiz.(think about heating a Wiz up and then smashing down around the top edge, and you get the Focus)

Whats wrong with making a good disc better? :lol:

I've handled many Wizards since they came out and I have a dozen or so in my collection all bought at different times. I can throw the FOCUS in the mix and nobody could pick it out except for the plastic. The Wizard in my bag has a low shoulder and is identical to the FOCUS. I've thrown Spirits in Z plastic so I wouldn't rule out David M. working out a deal with Discraft to copy or use the Wizard mold.

 

[Yehosha]

Here you go-

Yellow Ace Race and Orange Wiz

Yellow Ace Race and Red Banger

Wiz on top of Ace Race on top of Banger

 

[Yehosha]

I was pretty impressed by the D disc...the ESP one not so much. Both of them need to be in stiffer plastic.

Is this the general concensus? I've been putting with magnets since I started, and was contemplating giving wizards a try until the Focus came out. I might want to give these a try instead, just need to figure out which plastic. I used to throw the Hawk in Pro D but gave up since they got ruined too quick on massive tree hits. I like to tee off with my putter on short holes, so durability is a must....but if the ESP stinks, what's the point.

 

[keltik1]

It Looks like a retooled Challenger, same rim depth as the Challenger too. If you held up a Challenger to a Wizard you would see about the same differences. Hell, hold the focus next to a Challenger and I think you may get the same pictures.

And judging from the tech specs it is a retooled Challenger.

 

[Jesse B 707]

I was pretty impressed by the D disc...the ESP one not so much. Both of them need to be in stiffer plastic.

Is this the general concensus? I've been putting with magnets since I started, and was contemplating giving wizards a try until the Focus came out. I might want to give these a try instead, just need to figure out which plastic. I used to throw the Hawk in Pro D but gave up since they got ruined too quick on massive tree hits. I like to tee off with my putter on short holes, so durability is a must....but if the ESP stinks, what's the point.

i really cant ever recommend putting with premium plastic and yeah the D ones do fly a bit nicer than the ESP (D has more glide and maybe a bit more HSS)

 

[Anakha]

It Looks like a retooled Challenger, same rim depth as the Challenger too. If you held up a Challenger to a Wizard you would see about the same differences. Hell, hold the focus next to a Challenger and I think you may get the same pictures.

And judging from the tech specs it is a retooled Challenger.

I was told by a Team member that this is what he suspected as well, and an e-mail from Discraft stated that it is not a completely new mold, so a retool is probably what it is.

I was pretty impressed by the D disc...the ESP one not so much. Both of them need to be in stiffer plastic.

Is this the general concensus? I've been putting with magnets since I started, and was contemplating giving wizards a try until the Focus came out. I might want to give these a try instead, just need to figure out which plastic. I used to throw the Hawk in Pro D but gave up since they got ruined too quick on massive tree hits. I like to tee off with my putter on short holes, so durability is a must....but if the ESP stinks, what's the point.

i really cant ever recommend putting with premium plastic and yeah the D ones do fly a bit nicer than the ESP (D has more glide and maybe a bit more HSS)

It's all about preference and confidence. I don't think the differences in flight between the D and the ESP are that discernible to not throw the ESP too. So no, the ESP does not stink.

It IS a Wizard. Closest copy I've seen since the Wasp, and I think this one is a closer copy. Probably because Gateway doesn't have any lawyers :shock:.

Except it's more comfortable in the hand, lower nose lends to a cleaner release, a bit longer, and holds hyzers better. Not to mention it won't be in a different plastic every single time it's run. I also get better "spring" when putting with it than the Wizard.

I would describe it as a smashed Wiz.(think about heating a Wiz up and then smashing down around the top edge, and you get the Focus)

Whats wrong with making a good disc better? :lol:

I've handled many Wizards since they came out and I have a dozen or so in my collection all bought at different times. I can throw the FOCUS in the mix and nobody could pick it out except for the plastic. The Wizard in my bag has a low shoulder and is identical to the FOCUS. I've thrown Spirits in Z plastic so I wouldn't rule out David M. working out a deal with Discraft to copy or use the Wizard mold.

I forgot about this in the other thread. I'm sure to the untrained eye and hand it can be passed off as the same disc, but it's not the Wizard mold. :?

Here's some more pics to see the difference.

-Wizard

-Focus

-Challenger

Focus-Wizard

You can see the more pronounced slope to the bead on the Wizard, which is what I was referring to when I said the Focus was "smashed down" around the edge/nose. Also, notice the steeper angle on the shoulder(again, "smashed") of the Focus.

Why it translates to a cleaner release and more comfortable, is because how the forefinger rests against this slope with the average putting style. With the Wiz there is a gap from nose to bead, and with the Focus the finger is more snug to the contour. Make sense?

Here is an intentionally blurry pic to emphasize the nose difference-

Focus-Wizard

BTW, because of the thin flight plate, Wizard-like clovering is also possible on the Focus.

 

[billnchristy]

If a picture of a focus is out of focus what is it?
:lol:

Our ace race is Oct 3, cannot wait.

 

[tumpsi]

If a picture of a focus is out of focus what is it?
:lol:

Our ace race is Oct 3, cannot wait.

yo dawg..

 

[discspeed]

Good pics. You really have to look hard to see the differences, but they are there. It looks like a possible Banger/Challenger hybrid with some tweaks. I'm still a little ticked that mine are 3-4 grams less than I prefer (despite being marked 174) and it makes it hard to test them accurately against my other putter molds that are heavier.

 

[Spinach D1]

Good pics. You really have to look hard to see the differences, but they are there. It looks like a possible Banger/Challenger hybrid with some tweaks. I'm still a little ticked that mine are 3-4 grams less than I prefer (despite being marked 174) and it makes it hard to test them accurately against my other putter molds that are heavier.

Looks like a Banger without the groove top to me.

 

[Nice Drive Kid]

How long does it take for Ace Race discs to be released as regular production? As a Wizard thrower, I'm pretty excited about this one.

 

[Mr. Wick]

How long does it take for Ace Race discs to be released as regular production? As a Wizard thrower, I'm pretty excited about this one.

Yeah....you might be able to buy two that feel the same.

 

[Nice Drive Kid]

Plus I'm really feeling that new Pro-D.

No Homo pink Focus?

 

[banzai7]

How long does it take for Ace Race discs to be released as regular production? As a Wizard thrower, I'm pretty excited about this one.

+1

 

[Jesse B 707]

How long does it take for Ace Race discs to be released as regular production? As a Wizard thrower, I'm pretty excited about this one.

+1

could be anywhere from a month to never judging by previous ones

 

[Mr. Wick]

Plus I'm really feeling that new Pro-D.

No Homo pink Focus?

The new pro-d is great. Firm and grippy at the same time.

 

[Yehosha]

The tide is slowing shifting my intrigue away from the wizard and to the focus. Great input, I appreciate it.

 

[J-Man]

Yea guys, thanks for the pics, they really help. I have been going back and forth on picking one up, Barsby's in town with some, so I'm getting one on Wednesday when we huk. Thanks again for the pics, they helped make the call.

 

[black udder]

Looks like an attempt to produce something wizard-like to lure gateway fans over to discraft. perhaps "pros" that don't want to part with the wizard would feel better about this and thus be more tempted to move over.

Although that sounds like a stretch with all the top names already with Innova/Discraft.

I like the blurred photo, it really does show off the differences better than the focused ones.

 

[Timko]

So I participated in the ace race this weekend, and wanted to give my thoughts. I threw it once over 250', and most shots were in the 150'-170' range. We also had a distance accuracy contest in the 320' range. I had a yellow 169 D, and a pink 175 ESP.

It does behave like a wizard, but stays straighter for longer. It doesn't really flip up from a hyzer, but it does keep flying straight on a hyzer line before fading. It's very nice for turnovers. I think it's more sensitive than a wizard as far as nose angle, but it's also faster. I had a lighter one that I was throwing on anhyzer flips a lot (start the disc out anhyzer to the right of the basket, throw flat and straight with the angle, and let it go to the right), and it would lock in very nicely and track slightly to the right in the 50% power range inside of 120'. I also threw my heavy one on this line a couple times inside of 200'; it would flip over, and move a very slowly to the right. Not a lot of elevation change during the tracking portion of the flight.

When throwing it for the distance accuracy comp, the disc flew like a nicely broken in wizard. Very very straight with fade at the end. I could really lean into both the light and the heavy.

All and all, a very nice disc. Had I not been throwing Wizards for the past 5 years, I might be tempted to change.