Help Me With Drivers!!

[a.bergal]

So I put one of these up last year looking for some general help, and I have figured out everything besides the drivers, so lets get this on the road.
Vitals

Experience - 3 years seriously in DG, 3 years in ultimate recreationally before that.
Right Handed
Throwing Style - Primarily RHBH with the occasional RHFH for utility purposes, but I can get some decent distance with it.
Distance - 200 ft.- Sole 260ish ft.- Buzzz 310ish ft. - XL

Other Info

Age - 20
Sex - Male
Injuries - Right knee ACL reconstruction, Left knee meniscus tear, Right shoulder labrum tear.
Other Sports - Alpine Skiing, Mountain biking, and Rowing
What I Need Help With - I know I have a lot of overlap in my drivers. Mainly because I can figure out what I like and dont like. Im not the greatest at looking at all the brands and their varieties, I came from a discraft background coming from ultimate.
Goals - Gain more accurate distance, hone in on my putting, and fill the gaps/eliminate the overlap in my bag.

Bag

Putters - I got these figured out

• 2X 174 Med. Vibram Sole - These are for putting only, when I am going for the chains
• 175 Firm Sole - For upshots and the occasional tee shot, I am considering running all Firm Soles

Mids - Seem to have these figured out but if there is something out there I am missing please tell me.

• 177 Z Buzzz SS - Started using this instead of the Meteor because I liked the feel more
• 2X 175 Cryztal Buzzz - This is my bread and butter, I like the cryztal for the extra tackiness
• 175 Med. Obex - For the slight hyzer shots with the fade at the end, also my "buzzz" when I have a slight headwind
• 178 FLX Drone - Only really used in the wind or when I need to get out of a sticky situation.

Drivers - This is where yall chime in, I have some discs that I know I love and want to keep, but others I really need help with. I know I have overlap and gaps Ones in Bold I want to keep, but if something else fills the spot I guess I can get rid of it.

• 166 MVP Volt - Seems to be a little too understable for me, turn it over too much to be confident with it.
• 176 Z XL - My bread and butter driver, I seem to just jive with this disc. I get a real nice S curve out of it with some consistent distance.
• 176 Ti Stalker - Flies real straight for me without turning over, but I feel like it overlaps the XL
• 175 Firm Ascent - Realllly like this disc, but again I feel like it overlaps the XL spot. I like the grip of the rubber more than the plastic, but not as confident with it.
• 174 MVP Shock - For being MVP's overstable option I just dont get it, every time I throw it I seem to get a whole heck of a lot of turn out of it and not a whole lot of "overstableness" out of it.
• 175 Champ Firebird - My most confident disc in drivers. I can predict exactly where this will go and love that!
• 175 Champ. Krait - Just tossed it in the bag, from the dozen of times I have thrown it it feels to me like a little longer XL
• 167 Champ. Tern - New in the bag this year and really liking it. Love the glide and the "easy" distance out of it.
• 167 Med. Lace - I feel like it is too fast of a disc for me, I have gotten real mixed results from this disc and not sure if i should keep it or not

Ok so now is your time for your knowledge to shine!

 

[Halcón]

Is your Shock a first, or second run? You should get no turn out of a second run Shock.

 

[a.bergal]

Is there a was to distinguish? do they say first run?

 

[New013]

I don't even know where to begin unraveling your driver setup but if you're not in love with a disc take it out, you know what works more than anybody. You can still work with discs in the field or on practice rounds but just throw in what you know works and find a simpler setup.

 

[Halcón]

No, they are not marked as "first run." The only way to tell is to compare the PLH (the seam on the overmold that marks where the two halves came together) to another Shock that you know is newer. New Shocks have a PLH that sits higher, giving them more stability.

How long are your max distance throws?

 

[a.bergal]

I don't even know where to begin unraveling your driver setup but if you're not in love with a disc take it out, you know what works more than anybody. You can still work with discs in the field or on practice rounds but just throw in what you know works and find a simpler setup.

Calling this my setup is far from accurate, so yea I have been tossing some discs in my bag that I feel will work well for my playing style but nothing here is concrete set for my drivers. I just dont know what I like and dont like.

 

[a.bergal]

No, they are not marked as "first run." The only way to tell is to compare the PLH (the seam on the overmold that marks where the two halves came together) to another Shock that you know is newer. New Shocks have a PLH that sits higher, giving them more stability.

How long are your max distance throws?

Max distance I would say is around 350ish with the Tern consistently.

And my shocks would be a second run then.

 

[Halcón]

I would agree with New. You know what has been working and what has not.

I will say that you may have some form tweaking to do if a new Shock is turning for you and you top out at 350 in distance. Go to the field and work on getting the discs that turn on you to go straight, past 300 feet.

 

[a.bergal]

Hmm, I threw a teebird for a while just in the field and I could consistenly get that out to 320 and striaght and felt real comfortable with that since everyone says "teebird teebird teebird" and get that out and consistent and such. So then I moved on to the bigger guns and this is what I got now

 

[Halcón]

Hmm, I threw a teebird for a while just in the field and I could consistenly get that out to 320 and striaght and felt real comfortable with that since everyone says "teebird teebird teebird" and get that out and consistent and such. So then I moved on to the bigger guns and this is what I got now

If you could consistently get 320 with a Teebird, and it felt comfortable, why did you switch?

Use your Teebird, Firebird, XL, favorite Buzzz, Drone, and Soles, and you'll be set.

Any player who can consistently throw 320 on target, and putt well can be a great disc golfer. Don't worry about other discs for now. Good luck!

 

[a.bergal]

If you could consistently get 320 with a Teebird, and it felt comfortable, why did you switch?

Use your Teebird, Firebird, XL, favorite Buzzz, Drone, and Soles, and you'll be set.

Any player who can consistently throw 320 on target, and putt well can be a great disc golfer. Don't worry about other discs for now. Good luck!

Hmm, true very true. I just feel like there is more out there and im missing something. I guess I had faith in finding some other discs that might go farther or fly "better" Maybe I will just stick with the Teebird.

 

[New013]

what kind of courses are you playing mainly? do you need to focus more on control through tight gaps or are you more worried about where it lands and less how it got there?

you've got a good basis, you know what your main control driver is so build off that. you're right that a lot of those stable control drivers overlap with your XL which is what you're the most confident with so for now take all of those out. it seems like you need a more stable compliment to the XL but none of those are stable enough to seperate them, the shock should be that compliment and it sounds like you got one of the early runs that isn't. that sucks but move on, if it's not what you need drop it for now. you just mentioned the Tbird, to me that sounds like a pretty good compliment to the XL so put it in.

go Firebird, Tbird, XL then throw in one distance driver. from your description the Lace isn't working that well so drop it. i'd pick the Krait or Tern and go with one for a while and see how it works for you, if you're not liking it try the other for a while but don't just go back and forth between the two a lot because you'll never develop a good feel that way. if you want to do side by side comparisons go out in a field and just throw them a bunch.

just simplify it for a while and get some consistency with a few discs and see how they work out, if you ever think to yourself hey i wish that disc was still in my bag then throw it back in and see how it fits. i used to be where you are, i'd change my discs and throw in all these damn things all the time and it never allowed me to really see what the discs could do.

 

[kutz167]

what kind of courses are you playing mainly? do you need to focus more on control through tight gaps or are you more worried about where it lands and less how it got there?

you've got a good basis, you know what your main control driver is so build off that. you're right that a lot of those stable control drivers overlap with your XL which is what you're the most confident with so for now take all of those out. it seems like you need a more stable compliment to the XL but none of those are stable enough to seperate them, the shock should be that compliment and it sounds like you got one of the early runs that isn't. that sucks but move on, if it's not what you need drop it for now. you just mentioned the Tbird, to me that sounds like a pretty good compliment to the XL so put it in.

go Firebird, Tbird, XL then throw in one distance driver. from your description the Lace isn't working that well so drop it. i'd pick the Krait or Tern and go with one for a while and see how it works for you, if you're not liking it try the other for a while but don't just go back and forth between the two a lot because you'll never develop a good feel that way. if you want to do side by side comparisons go out in a field and just throw them a bunch.

just simplify it for a while and get some consistency with a few discs and see how they work out, if you ever think to yourself hey i wish that disc was still in my bag then throw it back in and see how it fits. i used to be where you are, i'd change my discs and throw in all these damn things all the time and it never allowed me to really see what the discs could do.

When I finally did this instead of trying the "Next Best thing" that came out my game began getting better way quicker than when I had been trying everything that came out.

 

[a.bergal]

Sou you guys have any recommendations for a disc in the middle of the firebird and the XL? I feel like shock would fit this spot but it doesnt seem to work for me.

 

[laramiecarlson]

I have a 2nd run shock if you're wanting to try it! My first run one was very flippy compared to this one.

I dunno if I've flipped my 2nd run one over on a calm day yet.

 

[JTacoma03]

Sou you guys have any recommendations for a disc in the middle of the firebird and the XL? I feel like shock would fit this spot but it doesnt seem to work for me.

If I were you, I'd simplify your headspace. Start with these 4:

Firebird
Teebird
Tern
XL

Play 10 rounds. See what shots you're missing, then add from there.

 

[a.bergal]

Ok so i threw a couple of rounds and it seems like I am missing a disc in the middle of the XL and the Firebird in terms of OS to Stable discs. Any recommendations?

 

[Buiscutboy]

A Teebird should be sitting there, stability-wise. How beat up is yours?

 

[a.bergal]

not beat up at all. probs a 9/10 champ

 

[a.bergal]

Ok so I THINK I may have figured it out after playing a handful or two of rounds. I have narrowed it down to 4 molds in a few different plastics for a little tuning.

• Champ Tern - My max D disc, for the big open shots.
• Champ & Star Firebird - Champ for the absolute meat hook of a disc, and the star for a little less OS version.
• Z Avenger - Less OS than the Firebird and I feel pretty comfortable with the disc.
• FLX & Z XL - My control driver bread and butter easy to throw for me.

Im still looking at the Teebird as well as the FL. Throwing these around in the field and seeing if I like them more then my current options. But the 4 Molds listed above are my solid lineup as of now.

What do yall think? Do I have any obvious gaps or significant overlaps?