Let's get it going for 2019

[VictorB]

Removed the force for a PL FLX hurricane. They are overstable enough for me that I don't need a new mold.

Also currently auditioning the Steady for putting (and possibly throwing) since I have a few weeks until my next tournament. The big bead actually seems to work better for me, after learning a lot more about how and why my putting style works. Flight is very similar to the banger gt so might just condense down to one putter mold.

 

[texasissouth]

How does Surge v Hurricane play out? Sort of like Wraith v Destro? (this would be my guess based off of rim width) While the Force flies more PD2ish?

 

[VictorB]

How does Surge v Hurricane play out? Sort of like Wraith v Destro? (this would be my guess based off of rim width) While the Force flies more PD2ish?

The hurricane is a tick less stable than a destroyer, which is why I like it. If you could imagine what a ForceSS would fly like, that's the hurricane. Supremely underrated disc. It's more predictable in the wind than the surge for me, but can work a lot more lines than a force or destroyer.

If you are thinking about trying it out, grab one and I bet you're not disappointed.

 

[VictorB]

Challengers are just better putters for me than the big bead steady. Nice discs for sure, but not for me. Now I've got a stack I likely will never use!

 

[VictorB]

Challengers are just better putters for me than the big bead steady. Nice discs for sure, but not for me. Now I've got a stack I likely will never use!

I think this was me resisting a change. :doh: Sometimes change isn't bad!

After a couple of years of not knowing what was happening, I figured out why I previously liked big beaded putters. My most natural grip puts the bead right in the crease of my bottom knuckle of my middle and ring fingers. Having more of my fingers under the disc leads to less 'finger spring' for me and I have to focus a lot more on wrist action. None of that has felt natural and I was trying to force a round peg in a square hole by changing my grip and using a non-beaded putter.

The steady has taken over for all putting duties (and even throwing duties) for right now. For me this is a significant change. At least the drivers and mids I've committed to have stayed in for the whole season (so far!)!

 

[VictorB]

Current "unofficially start of summer" lineup, for posperity - expanded lineup edition

Distance drivers
174 PL FLX Hurricane, new - pretty beefy hurricane, booted the force out
174 SP Hurricane, new - lost my Baldwin sig hurricane, so had to put a new one in
171 SP Hurricane, worn - primary distance driver

Fairway drivers
172 Z Predator, newish - flat as fk. really overstable, flex forehands
174 Z Predator, slight wear - pretty flat, mainly used for BH overstable shots
174 Z Predator, worn - beat predator, kind of like a glideless thunderbird
174 FR Z Undertaker, slight wear - quite HSS for an undertaker
174 ESP Undertaker, newish - primary straight fairway
168 Z undertaker, slight wear - lighter and more workable, will hold an anhyzer
172 Z Mantis, slight wear - long turning shots that don't flex
174 Z Avenger SS, beat - backhand rollers

Midranges
176 Jawbreaker Wasp, worn - primary straight stable midrange, beating in
176 CT Jawbreaker Wasp, newish - fresh JB Wasp for cycling - flies very straight and mild finish
178 Swirl Glow ESP Wasp, slight wear - overstable wasp
176 MJ ESP Glow Comet, worn - finesse turnovers, FH and BH
Considering trying out a Squall in the comet slot, sometimes the dome of the comet throws me off now, and the steady is long and straight and covers a lot of typical comet uses and lines.

Putters
174 JB Zone, new - backhand zone. just a bit straighter than Z
172 Z Zone, newish - main FH approach disc. actually gets a lot of use inside 225'
174 Glow MF4 Steady, new - nice stable driving putter
174 D-Line Steady, slight wear - very straight and glidey, holds a line like a champ
174 D-Line Steady (x3), newish - putting only putters

 

[Casey 1988]

Removed the force for a PL FLX hurricane. They are overstable enough for me that I don't need a new mold.

Also currently auditioning the Steady for putting (and possibly throwing) since I have a few weeks until my next tournament. The big bead actually seems to work better for me, after learning a lot more about how and why my putting style works. Flight is very similar to the banger gt so might just condense down to one putter mold.

Flight should be nearly identical with a Bangor GT and Steady as the Steady, is a Bangor without the GT and a bigger bead from regular to compensate for the mold. I should know a cousin tried a Steady to see if the mold would work for him but he likes the GT for his thumb to put it just on the outside of the rim when putting. For me the GT gets in the way with thumb or I would have gone with a Bangor as I like the flight and bead but that the mold did not fly like Wizard for shorter 20- about 10 foot putts. I ended up with Magnet mold minus the soft Pro D and now 2019 the Proline Titanic for putter when I found the index finger would fit in the grove nicely.

 

[VictorB]

the Steady, is a Bangor without the GT and a bigger bead from regular to compensate for the mold

It doesn't have a bigger bead. It's literally the exact same except for the GT.

You didn't make it through the first sentence without being wrong, and the rest of your post was completely unnecessary

 

[VictorB]

Fiddling and tooling, as always.

Removed the avengerSS for rollers only. I have a Z Mantis that's understable enough to take over those duties so I'll roll with that for now. I'm a lot more familiar with how it flies simply because I never actually throw air shots with the avengerSS. So I'm setting up to be down to 8 molds and 22ish discs. Wouldn't have a problem with putting the avengerSS back in if needed though, an extra utility disc here or there is fine.

 

[lines]

It doesn't have a bigger bead. It's literally the exact same except for the GT.

You didn't make it through the first sentence without being wrong, and the rest of your post was completely unnecessary

He should know.... His cousin used it.

 

[VictorB]

A friend gave me a PL pipeline to try out the other day. I find it to have a straighter overall flight than an undertaker, and probably will pair better with the Mantis. I really like the wider diameter drivers (hurricane, predator, and mantis already all bagged) and think this will slot right in nicely. The more I am exposed to DGA discs the more I like what they have going.

 

[VictorB]

Updated lineup

Distance drivers
174 PL FLX Hurricane, new - pretty beefy hurricane, booted the force out
174 SP Hurricane, new - lost my Baldwin sig hurricane, so had to put a new one in
171 SP Hurricane, worn - primary distance driver

Fairway drivers
172 Z Predator, newish - flat as fk. really overstable, flex forehands, hard hyzer shots
174 Z Predator, worn - beat predator, kind of like a glideless thunderbird
168 Z Predator, beat - has some noticeable high speed turn, workable with consistent fade
174 PL FF Pipeline, new - stable pipeline, workhorse fairway
176 PL FLX Pipeline, new - has a tick more high speed turn, can work mild flexes and long panning turnovers
168 SP Pipeline, new - little lighter for slight power down and tailwinds. kind of a backup right now.
172 Z Mantis, worn - hyzer flips, long turning shots that won't fade, some BH roller work


Midranges
176 Jawbreaker Wasp, worn - primary straight stable midrange, beating in
176 CT Jawbreaker Wasp, newish - fresh JB Wasp for cycling - flies very straight and mild finish
178 Swirl Glow ESP Wasp, slight wear - overstable wasp
176 MJ ESP Glow Comet, worn - finesse turnovers, FH and BH

Putters
174 SP Breaker, new - gets the majority of BH hyzer approach work.
172 Z Zone, new - main FH approach disc. actually gets a lot of use inside 225'
174 Glow MF4 Steady, new - nice stable driving putter
174 D-Line Steady, slight wear - very straight and glidey, holds a line like a champ
174 D-Line Steady (x3), newish - putting only putters

Still kind of a toss up between if I want to use the breaker or zone as overstable approach. I like the feel and flight of the breaker for BH, but that extra overstability and lack of bead of the zone is great for my forehand.

 

[VictorB]

Haven't thrown the Mantis since I put the lighter Pipeline in the bag. They have pretty close to the same flight, but the mantis still has a little bit more low speed stability, which I don't particularly want for the shot shape I need it for. Really only see that difference when I throw a high turnover, on lower shots the difference is negligible. So, unless I put a dedicated roller back in the bag (considering a bigZ heat since I lost my beat avenger SS), I'll be down to 7 total molds which is right about where I like to be.

 

[VictorB]

And like a fleeting memory, the pipeline moves its way back out of the bag. I've been throwing them A LOT in the wind the last week or two, and they just aren't as dependable as the undertaker (slightly slower, slightly less stable, and larger diameter likely is the root cause) Going to roll with the lineup that's been nice and dependable for me over the last 18 months or so.

The pipeline is a great disc, don't get me wrong - but they definitely fit better in a bag for someone with a nice hyzer flip game, which isn't my strong point anymore. I don't think that it's a good choice for me to use as a workhorse fairway/control driver. This time I'm making the smart decision!

 

[VictorB]

Fairway drivers
172 Z Predator, newish - flat as fk. really overstable, flex forehands
174 Z Predator, worn - slight dome, beat predator, most BH overstable shots
174 Z Predator, beat - this one has been in and out for about 10 years. quite worn. Very straight for a predator, I can pound on this and it won't turn (and maybe just a slight turn in a headwind) and the fade is very mild.
174 FR Z Undertaker, slight wear - quite HSS for an undertaker
174 ESP Undertaker, newish - primary straight fairway
168 Z undertaker, slight wear - lighter and more workable, will hold an anhyzer
175 Glow Z Mantis, newish - holds a turn from flat longer than the light undertaker
172 Z Mantis, slight wear - use for most left to right turning shots outside of 275'

 

[discerdoo]

I watched your Pipeline affair with interest. I dabbled with them myself and ultimately found them less stable than the 0/2 numbers. Lots of overlap with my FDs so I moved on. I had 3 SP, never threw a PL.

 

[VictorB]

I watched your Pipeline affair with interest. I dabbled with them myself and ultimately found them less stable than the 0/2 numbers. Lots of overlap with my FDs so I moved on. I had 3 SP, never threw a PL.

Yeah they were closer to a stable mantis to me.

I had 1 SP and 1 FF PL that are somewhat stable (probably 8/5/-1/2, similar to a worn undertaker), the rest of the 3 PL (1 tour series) and 3 SP were closer to 8/5/-1.5/1.5 which isn't really what I'm looking for in a workhorse. I've got stable mantises that will cover that flight pattern too.

 

[VictorB]

Played a long woods course yesterday, and was actually missing the pipeline a lot. Throwing harder shots with undertakers took its toll over 36 holes. Might be worth using a full 4 predator lineup to cover power straight to hyzer shots, and use the pipelines for working all the other different lines. I have enough beat predators where I can make a 4/2 or 4/3 split cover basically all of my fairway shots.

Feel like I'm being very indecisive (because I am). Do I stick with what works well on my local courses or challenge myself to get better using a more versatile disc? I'm leaning toward the latter right now.

 

[SaROCaM]

Do I stick with what works well on my local courses or challenge myself to get better using a more versatile disc? I'm leaning toward the latter right now.

Competition/cash on the line, the former. Otherwise go with the latter, eventually building up to shred local courses with whatever.

 

[VictorB]

Competition/cash on the line, the former. Otherwise go with the latter, eventually building up to shred local courses with whatever.

I've adjusted a bit to the slight flip up needed for throwing the pipeline pretty quickly. Put a good bit of practice in with them in the last couple of weeks. Just need to remember to lean on Predators a little more when the wind is picking up, but so far so good. The real test will be this weekend at my first tournament with this altered lineup.

I've spent a lot of time throwing pipelines back to back with undertakers, on different lines and different elevation shots. The only real benefits of the undertaker are that it handles wind just a little better, and has slight more distance potential. The benefits of the pipeline are that they flip up a little better and glide better, while not requiring as much power to get a straight or slightly turning shot. Milder fade too. The benefits of the undertaker, at this time, aren't significant enough to keep in my bag. If I need to handle the wind or get more distance, I have other discs in the bag that can do those things, and the undertaker isn't as good for me in the woods and on control shots as a pipeline.

The mantis I have will stay in the bag until I get a pipeline beat up - this particular mantis is quite understable and really will turn right hard and hold that line. Also really good roller disc.