why do companies even make drivers?

[youdidwell]

Drivers are fun to throw. There are other factors in disc selection aside from distance. I don't throw putters 300ft but if you do I believe you need a higher ceiling to get it there. Its also harder to skip mid/putters. Wind, Etc, etc...

Anyhow, as long as the driver isn't stalling out and fading at the end of your throw. Have fun with it. If you want to take the game super serious, you'll probably need to play with slower neutral discs for a bit. Drivers can correct and stall development.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I guess I don't quite get the of thought that throwing mids and putters isn't as much fun as throwing drivers.

Every one's entitled to their own opinion, and how you feel is how you feel... I sure as hell don't know how you feel when you're throwing, but, I'd say the discs that are the most fun to throw are whatever disc gives me the shot I'm looking for. I don't wouldn't say drivers, mids or putters are inherently an more or less fun to throw than the others (but maybe that's just me).

In fact, on shots where I have trouble deciding whether to back off with a driver or throw a mid harder, and don't get the result I want on my first shot, I often throw the other disc, which almost always turns out to be "more fun," regardless of which disc is whatever speed.

 

[Shooter14]

Between Koda and BNM, this topic/question has been pretty well covered. They're spot on with what they're saying.

Listen to them, my padawan learners!

 

[sidewinder22]

Why do ball golf companies make drivers when someone hits their putter 300 yards?

 

[youdidwell]

I guess I don't quite get the of thought that throwing mids and putters isn't as much fun as throwing drivers.

Maybe you just get as much joy out of parking a short hole as you do a long one. I find bombing drivers out for good shot to be more entertaining. Simple as that.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Maybe you just get as much joy out of parking a short hole as you do a long one. I find bombing drivers out for good shot to be more entertaining. Simple as that.

No one said bombing isn't fun. All other things being equal, sure it's more fun to park a shot farther away. But it's the distance (and the resulting increase in challenge) that makes it more fun... not my choice of disc. Obviously drivers are meant to be thrown farther. so you reach for them if that's the distance you need to throw.

But on shot that's kind of a tweener (i.e. short for a driver, long for a mid), you think throwing a driver's just more fun? That's how I read "throwing drivers is more fun" ...rather than interpreting it as "it's fun to throw for big D."

 

[youdidwell]

But on shot that's kind of a tweener (i.e. short for a driver, long for a mid), you think throwing a driver's just more fun? That's how I read "throwing drivers is more fun" ...rather than interpreting it as "it's fun to throw for big D."

Ya got me... in the future I'll be sure to post, "Throwing drivers for distance is fun" to avoid the confusion.

 

[Smigles]

I think it's two different philosophies.

Some people play against the other players and to win. Parking a 250 hole with a driver is not a problem for them, it's parked right? Nobody can argue with that, right?

Others play with the constant urge to improve. They dont care about the score of the round, but about the progress of their game over time. Rebuliding swings, discing down etc. All of this is to be better later on.

I think the second cathegory are the ones who tell people to use putters. I am amongst them too. But if you are just in it for a laugh and the saturday afternoon round with your buddies, do whatever you like most.

 

[Dan Ensor]

Slow drivers are acceptable for anyone to use, even with DGCR sciency-rubbish.

Distance drivers are a misnomer, for the most part. While they do get moderate distance gains, the distance is not the important part of what they do. Distance drivers flex out quicker. That's the big part for me. They also skip better. They retain speed better.

However, if you're throwing 250' with Leopards, what you will see with distance drivers is that they'll flex out unpredictably, which negates distance gains or speed retention. To make them fly better, you might throw them on extreme anhyzers, or extreme nose angles. If you solidify that as part of your normal form, you won't be able to control mids or putters; especially as you increase your distance.

If you're at that 250' mark with Leopards, and throw mids, though, you can get a good flight out of them without extreme adjustments. And fairways are the advantage over mids that distance drivers are over fairways for a 400' thrower.


The further over it's cruising speed you can get a disc, the more often it will act the same. (I should write more explaining this, but I can't find the words.)

 

[scarpfish]

People again need to realize the object of the game and do in a round what is going to get that accomplished. Chucking a distance driver on a 200' foot hole that could skip all over the place isn't the way to go. Neither is using a midrange on a hole when you need a fairway driver to reach birdie range.

People also have to remember that there are no points in disc golf for prettiness. Draining a 100' save for birdie after screwing up your drive scores exactly the same as parking your drive and tapping in.

 

[Pbmercil]

So being new of course I am looking at as much information I can. The constant thing I keep seeing is people saying "Don't throw anything but putters and mids. Unless you can throw 400+ dont even think about drivers." If this is true why does anyone ever need a driver? Why do companies keep coming out with faster ones? And then why does everyone's ITB's have drivers? If the average dg hole is under 400 feet shouldn't all we really need is putters and mids? But you all still throw faster stuff. It all seems very hypocritical to me.

I don't know that anyone says don't throw drivers before 400', but if they do they are full of crap. If that were the case no open level women should bag anything bigger then a teebird, which is nonsense. You have to keep in mind that internet distance is different then real life distance. Throwing over '400 is hard, takes a ton of technique and practice, and there are not a lot of real life people out their with that skill, regardless of what you hear on these boards.

There is some sound logic behind it tho: when you're new and don't have much arm speed its much better to learn how to control the slow stuff then to go crazy trying to crank on stuff that is not designed to fly for people with low arm speed.

It is hypocritical in a sense, because I would venture a guess that most guys (myself included) say that stuff now but when we were first starting were cranking on orcs/wriaths what have you. That doesn't mean it was a good idea or a good way to learn the sport.

I would say its more about can you throw controlled shots EI: nose down, full flight pattern, not NOOB hyzers, consistently before throwing drivers. There are plenty of high speed drivers out their that are specifically designed and marketed for people with low arm speed to be able to control such as the tern, katana, Vulcan, daedulus, and others. Not even counting the ultralight plastic stuff. There is a reason those discs are hugely popular with masters age players and women. Now if you want to get into a debate about if its better to not throw those discs at all and wait until you get more arm speed and go straight to the heavy hitters that's a different conversation entirely.

Now on to the last part of your post. How much drivers get used depends a lot on the course you're at. A lot of us (and by us I mean fairly skilled long time players) play pretty challenging courses where a tee shot of 400 feet or more is highly desirable on multiple holes. Now you're local course might not have any shots like that, but it doesn't mean ours don't.

Also drivers are easier to throw on lower ceiling shots and easier to fade harder around doglegs, so its very dependent hole to hole. A wide open 300 foot hole is usually a midrange shot for me, sometimes a putter, but a narrow tight dogleg left 260 might be a driver shot (just a made up example to try and illustrate a point)

 

[Detheos]

See now you all make a lot of sense! I have only played for 7 months so I know I don't throw the best. I do however carry an Avenger SS for most long distance shots, my home course has a few 400+ and 1 830 foot hole, so it's needed a little more, and I have a Avenger for windy days. But I mainly throw my fairway drivers or mids for tee shots.

 

[Pbmercil]

See now you all make a lot of sense! I have only played for 7 months so I know I don't throw the best. I do however carry an Avenger SS for most long distance shots, my home course has a few 400+ and 1 830 foot hole, so it's needed a little more, and I have a Avenger for windy days. But I mainly throw my fairway drivers or mids for tee shots.

An avenger SS is a great driver for a new player. I recommend that disc to new players often.

 

[smarkquart]

Probably the best advice is do not get caught up with speed, labels, and what you must or must not throw. There are so many discs on the market, so many new discs filling in the gaps between all those discs, that there are no more clearly defined mids - fairway drivers - maximum distance drivers.

For example, mids like the Axis or Truth are essentially fairway drivers because of their true stability, glide, and speed. Fairway drivers like the Gazelle, Zombee, and Leopard are such slow drivers that they perform the role of mids for many shots. Once maximum distance drivers like Orcs, Valkyries, and Avengers are now middle of the road in comparison to Forces, Destroyers, Bosses, Nukes, etc.

If anything, the only thing you should look at is rim depth. That is the biggest indicator of how far you can accurately throw. If you feel more comfortable with your grip on a thinner rimmed disc, being able to apply more snap, you are more likely going to reach its potential more easily. A wider rimmed disc may have more potential overall, but if you are maxing out the potential of a thinner rimmed disc and cannot do the same to a wider, your overall distance will likely be the same. The true difference will then be in your accuracy. That is why everyone preaches throwing putters and mids first, to work on a form that can be replicated so that accuracy greatly improves. That is also why a lot of people throw the TeeBird; easier to reach its potential with a repeatable throwing motion.

I throw 410. I have put a few out to 450 with Kings, Bosses, and Nukes, but those throws were so few and far between, the amount of misfires and errant throws did not make worth my while to continue throwing them. I have more consistency with Valkyries, Swords, and Trespasses. Nukes and such run around 2.5cm for width but I have the most success with drivers that are 1.9 to 2.1cm. The TeeBird, which I can accurately stretch out to 370 to 380 is only 1.7cm. I have more comfort, more snap, and way more control than when I was throwing the Nuke, Boss, and Halo (2.4-2.5cm).

A great overall lineup, especially for a beginner looking to go through the growing pains and come out a great player, will likely throw an Aviar, Roc, Leopard, TeeBird, and Valkyrie. These are discs that have great upper-end potential, are thin-rimmed enough to reach that potential, and eventually as you become better can become the cornerstones of your bag as you round out the other stabilities in your bag. A Discraft equivalent would be Focus, Buzzz, Stalker, and Flash.

Side note. I saw a mention of the Avenger SS. When I was just beginning to break 300' regularly I found the Orion LS far superior to the Avenger SS in both distance and accuracy. Also, there is a smoother transition/ pairing with the Orion LS to Orion LF than the Avenger SS to the Avenger.

 

[elmexdela]

throw whatever you want that will yield the results you want

i found out that speed 9 and under i am able to get the maximum amount of D without sacrificing accuracy. might be different from you. throw whatever you want to that makes you stay in the fairway but also will get you the farthest down the fairway.

 

[Timeetyo]

throw whatever you want that will yield the results you want

i found out that speed 9 and under i am able to get the maximum amount of D without sacrificing accuracy. might be different from you. throw whatever you want to that makes you stay in the fairway but also will get you the farthest down the fairway.

This.

Here is what I did for my first season and it worked quite well.

I started with the staple putters and mids until I had the hang of them. Then I added fairways (US first - leopard) for fieldwork only - not on the course - until I could get it consistently further than my mids without losing accuracy. Once I was there, I added in a dx teebird, and eventually start teebird with the same philosophy. At that point I rounded out my 7s and below.

Later in the summer I started the same process with the speed 9s. First it was the sidewinder, again adding it in the field only until I was getting it consistenly on line but further (~20') than my Leo/teebird. I will admit - at this point I did go through a shopping phase and never could settle on a more stable compliment to the sidewinder so I went through quite a few other 9s before I got to the lineup I have now (see sig).

Then something unexpected happened. Once I became comfortable with my 9s setup, I started looking for something faster. I picked up a few faster drivers for fieldwork. I expected to get used to the wide rim....but never did. Sure - when the stars aligned and I got a good rip I did see my furthest practice shots by far (up to 50' further than my 9s).....but the accuracy just wasn't there. That 50' further shot was also 70' right. Well guess what....most fairways aren't 70' wide....so that'd be buried in a jungle. I tried for quite some time (even as my distance continued to increase with my 9s) and I just never got to where my 11/12s were remotely close to accurate enough to justify bringing to a course. I actually have since given up completely on them and don't even bother for fieldwork anymore. With the winter now upon us I won't even bring them back out now until spring but even then I don't hold out much hope. The rims are just too wide for me to get a good, consistent release......and there is PLENTY of distance potential with the speed 9s I am able to throw consistently.

 

[Shmacka]

They are sexy.
They make pretty lines when you throw them.
Some drivers fly better for you than others.
Even if you don't throw 400', the right driver can get around, through, over and up to your target.
Hmm. This is more about why I like drivers.
The real answer to why companies make drivers is because people BUY them! Oh yeah!

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

drivers are awesome as long as you have the ARM SPEED for them to fly as intended. this is most peoples' issue. i blame "speed" ratings. naturally, an uneducated thrower will equate "speed" to distance. a "power level" denominator would be much more useful...

 

[Smigles]

I don't know that anyone says don't throw drivers before 400', but if they do they are full of crap. If that were the case no open level women should bag anything bigger then a teebird, which is nonsense. You have to keep in mind that internet distance is different then real life distance. Throwing over '400 is hard, takes a ton of technique and practice, and there are not a lot of real life people out their with that skill, regardless of what you hear on these boards.

There are quite a few women who can throw over 400. Just cause you can't do it does not mean that everybody else is just using "internet distance"... And wtf is "real life people"? Quit making excuses and go practice...

 

[elmexdela]

There are quite a few women who can throw over 400. Just cause you can't do it does not mean that everybody else is just using "internet distance"... And wtf is "real life people"? Quit making excuses and go practice...

absolutely