First time buying fairway drivers. Need suggestions.

[jongoff09]

I have found the need to get a fairway driver or two. I have been throwing a Valk for anything farther than I could get my mids to, but now I am starting to have trouble doing that since my form has cleaned up. My biggest trouble is 300-325' holes that are straight or a gentle turn. 'Til now, I would throw my starfire and it would fade too much, or my valk and it would flip and end up too straight or far, or it would not have the room to work the shape I would need from it.

I have heard a lot about the teebird and eagle, should I get one of these or both? I am not pure Innova, but it is the easiest for me to get. Also, I like the durability of the premium plastic because of the wooded courses I play.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Midnightbiker]

Get a Z Stalker. You will thank me.

 

[Marmoset]

JLS
ZXL
Cyclone
DX Teebird
DX Eagle X
Champ/Star Leopard
Stalker
Sabre

These are all great. The Teebird and Eagle hold up well in DX, even in the woods.
My personal favorite for the shot you described is a Champ Leopard but any of these would work.

The Cyclone, JLS, Leopard, and XL need a little more height to go the same distance as the Teebirds, Eagles, Stalkers. The Sabres need a ton of height to get as far as the Teebirds.

Actually, I lied. The Stalker really likes low lines but it will need more height to go as far as the Eagles and TBs.

What mids do you throw? The Stalker is a great transition for Buzzz throwers.

EDIT: I forgot the DX Gazelle. It is grouped with the "needs height for distance" discs and is also very durable in DX. This is a super solid choice, highly recommendable. The only downside is that depending on your ratio of armspeed to snap and nose angle control, it might not go too much further than your mids.

 

[jongoff09]

What mids do you throw? The Stalker is a great transition for Buzzz throwers.

I throw a pro roc, z buzzz, and an element for my mids.

Not a huge fan of the roc, but it has its place. The buzzz is my favorite, and the element is a great understable mid.

 

[Marmoset]

Then the Stalker would feel natural to you if you like your Buzzz.
For some reason the Stalker did not jive with my tastes... I appreciate the qualities and quirks of the Champ Leo more. I like the old school approach to flightpaths and the Stalker is decidedly new school in flightpaths and requirements. I guess the main difference is finesse player vs. power player. How would you describe yourself?

 

[jongoff09]

Then the Stalker would feel natural to you if you like your Buzzz.

I guess the main difference is finesse player vs. power player. How would you describe yourself?

Definitely finesse, probably because of the wooded courses. Once at a field I was told to throw one of my discs as far as I could and I naturally threw a golf line instead of big D line.

 

[Apothecary]

i like teebirds and avengers. slow and controllable.

 

[discgolftravelerron]

My first fairway driver was a DX Leopard. Now it's broken in and I still use it. It flies very straight.

 

[SacDGNut]

Can't ever go wrong with a Gazelle especially if you can still find a Champion Glo CFR Gazelle from this year.

 

[shoe59]

stick with what you were thinking --- champ eagle or champ teebird. My preference is the eagle, a lot of people seem to like the DX and there's nothing wrong with DX discs, but I like the champ plastic.

 

[Marmoset]

Definitely finesse, probably because of the wooded courses. Once at a field I was told to throw one of my discs as far as I could and I naturally threw a golf line instead of big D line.

Because of this statement ↑↑↑, I'll stick with the Champ Leo as my main recommendation for you. The ZXL is a similar second recommendation.

Both of these discs:
•power down very well
•they're slightly understable at your distance
•they're durable
•they have the glide to get decent distance on low lines
•they can bomb if you can throw with good height while keeping the nose down
•they aren't nearly as nose angle sensitive as other discs so they are more forgiving in the woods

IMO the ZXL has a little more emphasis on speed and distance, the Leo is more about slow, glidey control and is a little less overstable. I guess that's how I'd decide on which one to get.

My third recommendation is the DX EXs... they are a great alternative but different approach to these discs; when they are new they will be overstable and much more wind resistant. As they break in you will get varying levels of stability, some of which will mimic the ZXL or Champ Leo. This is why the DX EX is so highly touted... it is very versatile if you like to play the "stages of wear" game. I know you said you like the durability of premium plastics but EXs actually do well in DX because they were originally designed for this plastic. Personally, I'd steer away from the Champ or Star EXs because they start out really overstable and they take forever to break in. This isn't bad, it just doesn't seem to be what you are after. My Champ Eagles are almost Banshee-overstable and I've only had 1 Star Eagle but it flies just like my Champs... too overstable for my tastes. In the premium plastics the Eagle seems to be more suited for power players.

All this is written from my experience which is primarily @ 2200' above sea-level, so discs are just a tick more overstable for me. Take that into cosideration.

I'd say you should be golden with any of these three choices.

 

[Daddy-O]

I liked my Z Stalker, but I love my ESP Stalker. I think they'll be officially released soon or you can find the PDGA ones on ebay, but they cost a little more.

Teebird or TL would be great choices also.

 

[fairweather_fan]

solid post, marmoset.

to the OP, i throw teebirds in a mix of plastics and weights, including 2-3 dx in my bag at any given time along with a near max weight champ and a 150g star. i am constantly surprised at how thrashed a dx teebird can be, and still be quite usable- i play often, and on some pretty woodsy courses, and i fully expect the dx teebirds i started 'seasoning' early this year to be with me through the end of the fall, at least.

one of the beauties of the dx teebird is that they seem to lose their low-speed fade quite quickly (with a few tree hits), but retain all sorts of resistance to high speed turn for quite some time. they also glide further as they break in (up to a point, i'm sure), and once the high speed stability gets beat out, i'm finding them to be great discs for point-and-click annies or hyzer-flips to turnovers.

teebird for president, is what i'm sayin'.

amen.

 

[Mayo]

I am loving that in this world of wide-rimmed drivers more and more players are discovering teebirds! I throw both the teebird and the leopard. The teebird is more for hyzers and headwinds for me. The leopard works for anhyzers and hyzer-flips. The leopard is my go to disc when hitting the fairway is a necessity.

 

[leppard]

Champion Leppard or Star TL are the disc I use for 300-325' holes that are straight or have a gentle turn.

 

[mashnut]

My fairway driver line up is a cheetah, a teebird and a banshee. The cheetah is great for hyzer flips, tunnel shots, and right turning shots. The teebird is great for straight and hyzer holes, and is one of my most often thrown disc from the tee. The banshee is for spike hyzers, forehand shots and really strong winds, as well as the occasional overhand shot.

 

[BrotherDave]

My biggest trouble is 300-325' holes that are straight or a gentle turn.

Yep, sounds like either a Stalker, TL, JLS, or Leopard to me. You could go with a Teebird or Eagle but I'd probably get them in DX so they'll beat in really straight. My vote for best wooded FW driver goes to Stalkers and TLs.

Edit: Just listen to Marmoset, he beat me to it all, as usual.

 

[jpacetime]

STALKER!

 

[Throwiin]

I would go with champ teebird once it is a little worn in it will go straight with a little fade at the end. Once i picked one up I haven't used anything else for wooded shots.

 

[jongoff09]

I'm took a look at Joe's Flight Chart (why didn't I think of that sooner :doh, and it shows the leo to have a -2 turn, and the stalker to have -.5 turn, XL with -1 turn, tbird with 0 turn. I would like to have one disc with some turn, but not a whole lot, so the stalker looks like a good one to pick up with the recommendations. I would probably use this for the straight shots and put a little bit of hyzer on it for turning shots.

Is the leo in champ plastic really that understable? If it is I might also have to get one of those for shots that my valk would fly past.

Any other suggestions or comments?