Well put Three Putt. I needed some clarification on rocs. I've got a fairly new one(bout 20 rounds old) and I love it. I've been wondering how it is going to "evolve" as time passes. Thanks.
Just to clarify, I'm a weenie arm. Your experience may vary if you have decent power.
For me a brand new Roc holds a nice stright line out to about 260-270 ft with a predictable fade, and I really can't turn it effectively as it will come back to the left pretty hard. It's great into the wind.
As time goes on I'll notice that when it should fade it doesn't anymore, it will start to glide to almost 300 ft with a slight fade...$$$! Get some height on it and watch it GO! Plus, it is deadly accurate...no need to hyzerflip or anything that takes a lot of room to work with, you can put it on a straight line down a tunnel on a dime! Those I can turn more effectively, but it will still fade back AND it will start to flip into the wind some.
As more time goes by I'll have to put more and more hyzer on it to keep it going straight as it will want to flip. At that point it is a deadly turnover disc as it will flip and stay on that line...eventually you beat the fade out of them. Really if I need a disc to turn over on a high line, a beat-up Roc is the only option I have. Hopefully by the time my $$$ Roc starts flipping my overstable Roc has beaten into a straight flyer and I can just move them down the line.
For me it never worked that way. Once I had my $$$ go-to Roc, I threw it all the time and put hyzer or anhyzer on it to get it to do what I wanted. Since I threw it so much more often, it got beat flippy before my beat Roc was useless or my overstable Roc was ready to be my $$$ go-to Roc. For awhile I used KC Rocs for my overstable Roc, and since they wear in more slowly than DX it really screwed everything up. What helped me out was when those KC Rocs finally were beat in they lasted for a long time and I was able to get several DX Rocs seasoned, so I actually have some nicely beat in Rocs waiting to get back in the bag now. And NO, I don't want to sell or trade them!
I carry 6 Rocs: two new, two seasoned, two flippy. I always carry a back-up for each disc, even though I'll search for hours for a Roc. My back-up flippy Roc is actually a 12 year-old Ontario Roc that never gets thrown because I have a BUNCH of beat-flippy Rocs ready to go. It gets the sentimental ride in the bag, and I throw it every now and then.
For whatever reason I really don't like beat-up KC Rocs. They are not as predictable as a beat-up DX Roc for me on an anhyzer line. I also don't like Super Rocs or Ching Rocs when they get beat up either, they are just too squirrelly. I've never been in the same room with a Champ Roc, much less thrown one. So for me I've settled on DX for my Rocs, as I just think the DX beats into a more predictable turnover discs than any other plastic, and to have a flippy DX Roc you have to start with a new DX Roc and get it to that point.
For me a Roc will work it's way through the bag over 5 or 6 years. Once a Roc is my $$$ go-to Roc it will last about a season and 1/2. The courses I play are heavily wooded, so I know they stand up to tree hits (and believe me I DO know about that!) I know some guys who play a renegade course with rock outcroppings and rocks and DX Rocs don't like each other, so if there are a lot of rocks on your courses beware! I'm also pretty careful when it gets cold out, since I've had DX Rocs come apart like they were hit with a shotgun when they hit a tree in the cold weather. I tend to break out the KC Rocs when it is cold and save the DX until spring.
That's really all I can tell you about Rocs. When I was young and poor I used one flipped upside-down as a dogs water dish for a while, but an old mold Birdie worked better. You can use one as a plate in a pinch, too. I used to keep one upside-down on a table by the door that I threw change and my car keys in, but the then-girlfriend, now-wife put an end to that. It hangs in my garage now, an odd random golf disc hanging on the wall for no apparent reason. 13 years ago that disc was $$$! I never forget a good Roc.
