I use Hard Shields for putting and throwing, and also bag a Hard Harp or two. I've tried Shields and Harps in the VIP and Tournament plastics, but prefer the feel of the base line plastics.
Starting with putting. Shields are very high speed stable when new. Too stable for my liking. A person is going to need to have a pretty fast putt if they are using fresh Shields. Someone like John E McCray. He putts strongly with his Shields. But, when Shields are broken in they are my preferred putter mold. Even my weak sauce putt with a beat in Shield can reach the basket from outside the circle. A Shield's weakness is that it is not super reliable in headwind putts. I use a beat in Hard Harp for windy putts.
Harps are meant to be throwing putters. Anyone putting with a Harp either chooses it for their super spinny spin putt, or is dealing with a headwind situation.
Now throwing. Again, Shields are very high speed stable when new. I love the stability of fresh Shields for throwing. I can crank on a new Shield with 100% effort, and it is going to hold the line, and then have a moderate fade. Harps are also high speed stable, but will have a more pronounced fade. The trouble with base line Shields and Harps is that the Latitude 64 base line plastics beat in quickly when you are abusing them by throwing them hard. Hard Shields go from super high speed stable to medium stable after about 6 rounds of abusive throwing, but then hold that stability for years. I spent some time, and money, buying a bunch of Shields, and bagging one for a month or two, before replacing it with another fresh one. I loved the flight of a fresh Shield. But, that gets expensive after a while. And, I was going to end up with boxes of beat up Shields. So, I decided to learn to deal with the moderately stable beat Shields. The Shields in my bag now are 4 years old, and super chunked up. I have learned to throw them with some touch, rather than just ripping on them like a new Shield. I should say, though, that when I take them to a field to throw, they still have more stability than a fresh dx Aviar.
If I wanted to get the widest range of throwing putter stabilities with my (baseline) Shields and Harps, I would go:
Fresh Hard Harp - most overstable.
Fresh Hard Shield - next most overstable. Zero turn. Actually hinting that it wants to fade straight out of your hand, but holding the line. Moderate fade.
Beat Hard Harp - relatively good wind resistance. Very straight. Not going to fade hard.
Beat hard Shields - I throw these with a slight hyzer, and admittedly not super hard ( I use the more overstable discs for hard throws). They might pop up to flat, and given wind conditions, they might drift slightly, but will never turn over much except given enough headwind. Low speed fade is almost gone.
I don't bag understable putters. If I want the disc to turn, a beat Hard Shield released with anhyzer, and a little bit of snap, should approximate the path that I want.
Neither Shields or Harps have a lot of glide. But, I prefer my putters with lower glide, because they seem more reliable with less glide.
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