I did the Zone GT Challenge yesterday and it was interesting. Let me get this out of the way first....I don't throw the Discraft Zone and I don't care for the disc. I have two on my shelf, but I really don't like them. Now that is out of the way....
Background:
The Zone GT Challenge is testing two prototype discs. It's two molds combined. The bottom is the Zone (4/3/0/3) and the top is another putter, either the Banger GT (2/3/0/1) with a groove around the top or the Ringer GT (3/3/0/3) with a slight groove track (actually more of a ridge). You get a package with the two discs (no swapping around due to the scannable code that comes with the BattlePack). After playing/testing, you then scan the code, vote for which one you like the best, and answer a survey. When the BattlePack challenge is over, Discraft will choose the most liked disc to go to production.
The details:
My two disc pack was a Green Zone/Banger-GT Concept and an Orange Zone/Ringer-GT Concept (that's the wording on the discs).
One interesting thing I noticed pretty quickly is the 'optical illusion'. The Zone/Banger-GT appears to be larger than the Zone/Ringer-GT. I brought it up with other players and they agreed, the Zone/Banger-GT LOOKS larger for some reason....maybe the deep and wide groove causes the illusion. But they are both the same except for rim depth.
The regular Zone has a rim depth of 13 MM; while the Zone/Banger-GT version is 14 MM and the Zone/Ringer-GT is 12 MM. Checking the base three discs on TryDiscs.com, the Zone has a rim depth of 1.3 CM, the Banger-GT is 1.6 CM, and the Ringer-GT is 1.1 CM. So that makes sense that the Zone/Ringer-GT version has a shallower rim depth. This was noticeable to me and others when throwing forehands.
Onto the testing results:
Plastic-I'm not sure what plastic they are. They are translucent, so I'm guessing either the Flex or Z plastic. Since I don't know Discraft plastic that well, I'll compare it to Innova's plastics and these discs are like Champion plastic. I don't care for the plastic. For me it is too hard and slick. I prefer plastic like Innova's Star plastic. The basic Zone I have is Pro-D and that is a 'likeable' plastic.
Stability-The Zone/Banger-GT was more overstable for me. The Zone/Ringer-GT held more of a straight line before fading. With the Z/B-GT, I had to put it on an anhyzer to get a worthwhile flight out of it.
Throws-this is where the type of groove had an affect.
Backhand-I didn't throw many backhands as I'm not fully accurate with them and didn't want to lose a disc in the water or over a fence. However, the few backhands I did throw confirmed the Z/B-GT was the most overstable of the two. As for the Z/B-GT groove, my thumb fit into the groove on the top and I didn't feel like my thumb got 'caught' in the groove on the throw. The groove 'bump' on the underside is a different story. When using a fan grip (my usual backhand grip), my finger tips were on the bump...it was a bit distracting, but I don't feel it affected the flight. With a powergrip, my fingers were not on the bump and I didn't notice it. The Z/R-GT was better for my backhand as I could only slightly feel the ridge and it did not affect my throw at all. Thoughts: They were both good for backhands, if that was all I was using to base my decision on...it's pretty much even.
Forehand-The Z/B-GT failed for me here. The deeper rim (even though it was very minor, it was noticeable) made a difference with my throws. The groove just didn't work for my thumb placement; I would start with the thumb in the middle of the groove, but it would slide to the outer lip of the groove and just wasn't comfortable, plus it tended to cause the disc to be on more of a hyzer. The bump did not interfere with my forehand fan grip. The Z/R-GT was much better for my forehand with the shallower rim and the ridge didn't interfere with my grip. The Z/B-GT was off line more than the Z/R-GT. I felt I had more control with the Z/R-GT. Thoughts: The Z/R-GT was the clear winner here.
Putting-Both felt good with my putting grip. Since I'm a backhand putter, my thumb fit into the Z/B-GT groove just fine. Neither one was really uncomfortable, nor did the groove or ridge affect my putting. What did make a difference here though was the stability. The Z/R-GT was much straighter and was my 'go-to' putter for the round, which made it the clear winner here.
At the end of the testing, my vote went to the Z/R-GT. It was just the better all-around disc for my use. Will I bag it? Nope, it just isn't the disc for me. Both will go on my shelf for now, but I may take them out for some field work.
Of the players I talked to, the majority liked the Z/R-GT. They felt the Z/B-GT was more overstable and didn't care for the groove. The groove seems to be the bigger issue....does your thumb fit in the groove comfortably enough?
www.team.discraft.com
