[Drivers] Are Speed 7 Discs Necessary?

[HyzerRoc]

On discing down: there is a hole on my local course that requires a really high and steep angled flex line. It is about 70 meters of power. So damn often players that view themselves as lacking distance will throw a driver on the perfect line to reach the basket but it will inevitably fade out and they will chalk it down to not ripping on it hard enough. They would nail that hole with a mid or a putter on the very same line with the very same power.

At the same time I appreciate ChrisinFLs perspective here. When you dont throw far, getting an extra 10 feet is actually a lot and can make it worthwhile to throw something faster.

 

[mostlynorwegian]

There is one word in there that is the reason you cannot throw your crave 300 feet.



I literally teach people to disc golf. I'm not just some keyboard warrior here on the internets. I am also very active in the disc golf community where I live and know and play with a lot of people. My sample size to draw these conclusions is very large. It's not a generalization.

The same reason you're throwing your drivers is the same reason that almost everyone else is. They don't think they can throw far enough with a disc more matched to their skill/speed. They grab slower discs then try and throw it as hard as they can because in their head they think "I need faster disc to throw further, thats how it works." so they throw slower discs harder to get the disc there.

I'm not throwing my putters or 6 speeds "harder" to throw as far as you throw your katana or your tern. I'm throwing them cleaner.

When you throw higher speed stuff like that, it can help you get a bit further because its covering up some bad form stuff. But at the same time limiting your game.

This topic is unfortunately something that can never be really solved because people are going to play their game the way they play their game. And that, in the end, is all that matters. It's about doing what makes you happy on the course at the end of the day.
But at the same time, I don't wanna hear people complain who play like this about their distance or accuracy. And I certainly don't like hearing/seeing folks that stand on this crutch of a play style handing newer players high speed discs trying to get them to learn to play. There are guys who have been playing for 20+ years that I play with and they will hand new players shrykes and katana's and all sorts of other stuff. and I'm just cringing watching these guys try and learn to golf with us as they struggle to get these big drivers moving.

I'm confused why players with 20+ years of experience will just go and hand a sports car to a rank amateur. But, I don't have time for the rest of my response. Because. If people are that bloody irresponsible while having that much knowledge to prevent the mistakes they will have made, and the injuries they have acquired. There's no need for one. These people are bloody stupid.

 

[LeverageUp]

People get way to prideful over their 12 speeds.

And.. Granted, some people make it work, I wont say they dont. But there are better easier ways.

The best ones are these guys who talk about how they turn over 6 and 7 speeds, so they have to throw 12/14 speeds.

Yeah bro. Uhh, that's a force over, not a turn over. your form is shit.

I throw with friends that pull over on every disc. Keeps buying new discs thinking THAT will fix it....... But can't say anything because no one listens

 

[RahvinKing526]

I tend to lump everything speed 5-10 together, they're all control drivers to me since a *controlled* shot is why I throw them, and the determining factor between them is your preferred throw height and hand feel. First drivers I got good with were speed 7s (Eagles, Teebirds, Banshees, Tyrants) but I like a lower throw and wider wing so I bumped up to speed 9-10 a few years ago.

(And I need to update my bag thread now that I'm thinking about it)

 

[isamoor]

I can sure control a 7 speed better than any 9 speed. I mean, I guess a Firebird is more controllable... but a Firebird is going to do what it wants more than what I want.

I love my fairways. A mix of Teebirds (and Teebird clones). I've been loving the IT recently as a smoother understable compliment. With a 7 speed I know I can hit ~55mph on my backhand, and usually come close on what I meant on hyzer/nose/launch angle. So I can usually shape them pretty darn consistently. Baby flex, smooth turnover, classic straight to fade. They're all achievable and reproducible.

Stepping up to a 9 speed is just hard for me right now. They're noticeable more sensitive to deviations in speed and nose angle. And when you're not throwing ~60mph, 9 speeds and 7 speeds just don't really have much distance separation.

 

[GeezerGolfDFW]

I have two 7 speeds: a River for a slightly overstable shot, less than a full drive and an underworld for 150 to 200 foot throws down a tight lane. Escapes are my go to driver. I use either a 5 speed compass or a way overstable 5 speed for upshots. There is a small gap in there for 7 speeds. I am 66 and only expect 250 to 300 on my drives with my Escape. Maybe I should just throw the putters more, but that is my strategy.

 

[isamoor]

I have two 7 speeds: a River for a slightly overstable shot, less than a full drive and an underworld for 150 to 200 foot throws down a tight lane. Escapes are my go to driver. I use either a 5 speed compass or a way overstable 5 speed for upshots. There is a small gap in there for 7 speeds. I am 66 and only expect 250 to 300 on my drives with my Escape. Maybe I should just throw the putters more, but that is my strategy.

How much are you playing with different weights? If your River is overstable for you, is it already in the lower 160s (or even 150s)? And I'd recommend sanding off any flashing left on it. A River that matches your arm speed is a pretty magical disc.

An Escape is a great 9 speed for distance. I'd never be a snob and tell someone to put away an Escape. Again, I'd consider playing with Escape weights some if you haven't already.

And don't sleep on a Diamond. It's important to have a driver you know you can get some turn out of every time.

 

[Mist Mando]

Underworld seems fine to me for controlled turn for an intermediate player. I'd try an Air Underworld for something even flippier before turning to the Diamond.

 

[mostlynorwegian]

Did some field throwing with just seven speeds, and with some heavy winds between 220' and 260'. Tried everything going slow and with barely 50% power on fh and bh, and rollers. Just to see what they would do, and their differences to control them to go where they should. It might be time to dump the 10 and up stuff for a bit and brush up on form a bit.

 

[GeezerGolfDFW]

How much are you playing with different weights? If your River is overstable for you, is it already in the lower 160s (or even 150s)? And I'd recommend sanding off any flashing left on it. A River that matches your arm speed is a pretty magical disc.

An Escape is a great 9 speed for distance. I'd never be a snob and tell someone to put away an Escape. Again, I'd consider playing with Escape weights some if you haven't already.

And don't sleep on a Diamond. It's important to have a driver you know you can get some turn out of every time.

Diamonds are so understable that I would have to use it for rollers. I have some flippy high speed discs for anhyzer shots: air captain, air bolt, air king. I use Tursas for short anhyzers. Underworlds are great for anhyzer shots. I bag four Escapes for a variety of shots. I really like air Escapes.

 

[zontar]

Diamonds are sweethearts. power down a little and they'll hold a ridiculous needle thread in the woods.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Diamonds are sweethearts. power down a little and they'll hold a ridiculous needle thread in the woods.

Yeah our courses heavily wooded, there's probably five diamonds out of 20 people's regular bag. Seem to be mighty popular

 

[isamoor]

Yea, if wind isn't in play, I think most folks should be able to smoothly spin a diamond out to around 250'. If you're flipping it into a roller at under 200' I'd suggest a little more focus on some cleaner spin.

Air Escapes sound like a great max distance disc for someone throwing around 300'. Sounds like you have a nice spread of them.

 

[Spectacledbear]

I don¨t like the "throw the slowest disc possible" anymore because i have to give it more effort to get there. Nowadays i will throw mids when i used to throw putters, and more speed 9¨s instead of 7 for some freebie distance.

Flippy and faster, less effort. Preserve body, more fun. Older, lazyman game.

 

[Serious-OLD]

I don¨t like the "throw the slowest disc possible" anymore because i have to give it more effort to get there. Nowadays i will throw mids when i used to throw putters, and more speed 9¨s instead of 7 for some freebie distance.

Flippy and faster, less effort. Preserve body, more fun. Older, lazyman game.

That actually makes sense. I'm not sure how Sheep got so hung up on disc speed instead of stability.

Now we've got europeans trying to disc down into headwinds like thats a thing.

 

[Nick Carroll]

1996 golf discs (max 6 speed)

Somebody could get some of these 6 speeds 600 feet in some condition. Not sure how that translates to the average person though.

A few years ago my entire driver lineup was: Whippet, Gazelle, Cheetah, Leopard. I bagged like 3 mids, 3 putters in one of those lunchbox style bags. I was throwing like 250' max, but those were optimal for me to reach that distance. Once I was able to reach over 300' max I moved up to 7-speeds, so Banshee, Teebird, TL, FD, and I kept the Leopard because it had beaten in, and I was using a cart with more room for discs. Today I don't throw much farther, and I keep some 9-speed as "distance drivers", for low lines, and extra groundplay, but 7 speeds are still my go-to drivers. My loadout now is 5x 9-speeds, 5x 7-speed, 5x 5-speeds, 5x putters (4 approach, 1 putting putter). I don't miss faster discs, and the fastest discs I ever threw in a round were 11-speeds, and I'm glad I put them away.

 

[Dcinmd]

I throw mids so much you'd think I learned to play watching Nate Doss (I learned to play watching Nate Doss btw.)

Nate has thrown his yellow/black Huk Lab Predator more times than any disc in the world.

 

[ChrisinFL]

I Crave one really good 6.5 speed disc, and I have it. One of my favorite discs, but I definitely get more distance with higher speed stuff - especially Terns and Katanas.

 

[TiltedFlipCurves]

Well the 7 speeds can go straight-ish but won't go over 300 feet. The 12-13 speed can go over 300 but not straight. Either way 330 foot wooded straight par 3s are going to suck probably until midranges go over 300 feet and that would be a huge game changer.

 

[ChrisinFL]

Tilted, hitting your numbers would be a game changer for me. My 7 speed maxes around 200', and 12-13 speeds max around 250-275'. I guess I am an oddball - I actually throw them about equally well as far as hitting my lines. My game changer for now would be adding 30' to my Katanas - that would get me easier birdie tries. But, happy that I am pretty much shooting par or under regularly, and what got me there was getting my drives more consistent, and improving my putting. I have gotten pretty deadly at 20' or less, and starting to feel like I expect to make 30' putts, where I used to expect to miss them. Also, 40-100', makes are rare, but I have a lot of really close misses, and usually leave my misses close enough for an easy follow up putt. The improved putting is score changing for sure.