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[Recommend] Advice for my first distance driver?

MNTreekiller

Newbie
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Messages
17
Location
Plymouth, Minnesota
I'm at 300 ft. average very controlled distance, and 330 ft. max distance with speed 7 fairways. These are straight/slight hyzer fairly low golf shots.Looking to get my first distance driver. Leaning between star Valkyrie, Champ. Viking, or Thunderbird? Leaning towards thunderbird because it will have a similar line to the tee bird but faster. Don't usually have a ton of room for a high s curve. Will a thunderbird be too stable with my power? Should I just stick to the valk as it will be straight with my power until super beaten? Wish I had $ to just experiment but don't...any advice appreciated.
 
Grab a P PD and an S PD. They are sneaky long for speed 9s and arguably one of the best discs ever. P line will be great for max d out of the box and S line will start off more HSS and beat in to a bomber.
 
I recently found a G* Thunderbird with no ink on the course. It's a lot of disc, not really like my Star Teebird at all. I'm not saying it's bad at all, but it doesn't fly exactly like a faster Teebird. The one I have is more overstable than the Teebirds I have, and my distance is similar to yours.

If you want to try a true distance driver, try a Star Tern. I just bought one recently, and I'm really loving it. Easy distance and seems much more workable than most speed 12 drivers.
 
Echo the Tern if you want easy distance and glide. I feel it's the glidiest Innova disc out there today. But the Valk is also a good choice. I used it for a number of years for all distance duties. Loved in DX and Champion was even better. Star Valks are probably pretty choice as well.

If you want to branch out from Innova I would reccomend a VIP Sorcerer in the high 160s. Crazy glide and not too dissimilar from a Tern. I personally prefer the feel of the Sorcerer. Of course, Euro plastic isn't always as easy to get locally as Innova, so I totally inderstand if your brush that particular suggestion off.
 
I have a champion Thunderbird and it flies more like a beat in Firebird for me. I agree with Clard, a PD might be a good step up, or maybe an Orc. I still pull my Orc out for those low ceiling drives and it handles the job perfectly!
 
yup, orc, tern, sorcerer.... all have characteristics of longer t-birds, with the terns being the most versatile. Gstar or echo star for more turn, and a champion tern has quite a bit of comeback at the end... even into a headwind... It's a surprisingly easy speed 12 disc to throw
 
Champ Beast and Elite z Avenger ss were my first drivers once moving past leopards and gazelles. I tried a bunch and these worked best for me. Now I'm throwing Destroyer and Tern as well. With all the new discs out all the time the old standards seem to get forgotten.
 
My problem with the Tern suggestion is I'm guessing I could throw a speed 9 just as far because my power isn't huge. From speed 7 to 12 is a huge jump. Good to know about the thunderbird though. Leaning towards the valk
 
Go with the Valk. Fantastic distance driver. Should be great for someone with 300-350 of Teebird distance.
 
If Speed 9 is as high as you want to go, I really like my G* Thunderbird. Started off flying as advertised and has now beaten in to a beautiful controlled flight. You can also get this flight in a Ch. Thunderbird but just takes much longer to beat in than G*
 
PD will be very beefy. I feel like they fly Teebird lines but at 50' higher power requirement. I doubt at 300-330' of power you'd see more than 15-20' gain at absolute most, but you'd have to throw it really hard and it would have a lot more fade. It's a great disc and really reliable, but the laser beam praise it gets is from guys who can throw very hard (so they can line drive ANY disc far, and this one just happens to be extremely reliable when they do).

Star Valkyrie or a Lat64 Saint are probably a good step up, where they have glide and a bit of turn and fade, and are only one class of disc faster. I'm sure you could have fun with a star Tern as well, but it would be a very different feel in hand and large step up in speed/nose sensitivity. If you are considering a Thunderbird, the G* would be more workable as the champ again will need more power and have more fade.
 
I bag a G* Thunderbird, Echo Star Valk & Champ Viking.....My favorite of the 3 is the Thunderbird. I throw my Viking more than my Valk (don't fully trust yet). Good Luck
 
I'm a Teebird guy, and my Thunderbird is more OS, but it's a great wind fighter. A seasoned Orc is a great distance disc.
 
I'm at 300 ft. average very controlled distance, and 330 ft. max distance with speed 7 fairways. These are straight/slight hyzer fairly low golf shots.Looking to get my first distance driver. Leaning between star Valkyrie, Champ. Viking, or Thunderbird? Leaning towards thunderbird because it will have a similar line to the tee bird but faster. Don't usually have a ton of room for a high s curve. Will a thunderbird be too stable with my power? Should I just stick to the valk as it will be straight with my power until super beaten? Wish I had $ to just experiment but don't...any advice appreciated.

I'd go with the valk.

I am pretty close in terms of distance and although I LOVE my gstar thunderbird for FH & headwind duties, it is way too stable for main backhand duties. I am hoping it will break in to that at some point (and also when I get some distance back that I lost over the winter), but right now it is too much for main duties.
 
Personally, for max distance purposes, I think you're better off adding a faster, less stable disc than a slower one, especially a slower more stable one. Something like a PD is going to add little if any distance at ~300' of power, and moving up to an incrementally faster understable disc like a Valk likely won't net you enough extra D to make an impact.

I added a distance driver once I was throwing fairways around your distance, maybe a little longer on average. After trying a few options out I ended up using Laces. Max weights are pretty stable at your power but a mid 160s won't be, and they're easy to find down to 150 class. One of the lighter ones will almost assuredly net you more D, it's just a matter of finding the right weight. The Sorcerer and Tern suggestions (especially a Star Tern) are along the same line as the Lace.

Trying out a max speed disc will give you a true sense of whether you're able to get separation from your fairways or not - which is the purpose of adding a distance driver in the first place, right? - and will also maximize said added D given you find the right disc with the right stability. There are enough max speed discs out there built for your power to find one that does this.

As an aside, I also feel as though adding an understable distance driver at around your power has several positive effects on your game. It teaches you to see distance lines, allows you to learn a lot about release height, and also introduces a difference kind of touch disc. My max D Laces, for example, are definitely finesse discs that have taught me a lot about hyzer releases at certain release heights. Distance drivers are definitely not for beginners, and can do terrible things to your form if used incorrectly, but once you have some experience and decent D they can be a positive addition to your bag if used correctly.
 
Champ Vikings are pretty consistent as far as out of the box, matching the numbers and are an under rated disc. The flat, pfn pearlies are a tick more high speed stable and a bit faster... think Viking3.

The Valk flight matching the numbers is another awesome disc but extremely difficult to find out of the box. My current 'Valk' is a 175 champ Roadrunner in 8/10 condition. My previous was a 175 champ Viking in 7/10 condition and the one before that was a 175 champ 5x Valkyrie in 6/10 condition. Of the 4 Valks I've bought new, none matched the numbers out of the box. Good luck with that one.
 
MVP inertia or Axiom insanity.

Similar to Valks but just, better... Valks are one of the best discs to learn how to throw different distance lines with and as your power/skill improves a more OS disc will be easy to move up from.

Problem is some valks are very OS and others are US.. like the sidewinder :| I let a friend throw my insanity who uses PDs/Sidewinders as his distance drivers and it went straighter longer with a touch a fade. The wide weight range of MVP discs without sacrificing tons of stability from 150 to max is a great advantage as well. 150g tesla could bomb for you as a OS distance driver-- mine is plenty stable at 400+'
 

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