Beginner bag

[Kranica]

Just started playing about two weeks ago and love it! Started out with 175 champ sidewinder x-out, 171 champ spider x-out, and 171 dx aviar. These were based solely on suggestions from the people at my local shop. When I went in, I knew nothing, but since starting, I've been doing my research on technique and equipment and have added a few to the bag. Help me out with any gaps or any other suggestions...thanks guys

167 star orc
170 millenium ols
170 dx teebird
172 mjls (beat)
173 dx roc
176 z buzzz
171 champ spider
174 ss wizard

 

[dgdave]

Not to bad to start with. The Orc and Sidewinder may be a bit to fast for you at this point, but looks good.

 

[Kranica]

Thanks for the quick reply! I've been reading a lot about technique and working on it. I'm not consistent yet, but when things click at just the right times, I can get the orc to turnover just a little bit and come back and end up about 320. Same with the sidewinder, except with a much more pronounced s-curve because it's a much more understable disc obviously. Do you see any gaps or overlapping? I kind of feel like the spider is now obsolete in my bag. I never find a situation where I'm reaching for the spider over the buzzz.

 

[dgdave]

With the buzzz and roc, the spider is kinda like the red headed step child.

only gap I see is something overstable. I would look into a banshee.

 

[Kranica]

Yea, that's what I thought. Thanks for the suggestion...would a z predator compare to a banshee?

 

[Lithicon]

Well, being a Spider thrower, I'd say drop them keep the Spider!!!!! :lol:
I think I'm one of the only Spider throwers here.

Seriously though, it's whatever feels good to you.
I threw a Buzz to start with, and ended up switching to the Spider because it felt better in my hand, and felt like I could get it to do the same thing as the buzz with less power. That's just opinion of course. The Spider might really be just a little less stable than the buzz in a wind. Even in a decent wind my FLX buzz would end up flipping over.

The Buzz thrown at lower speed is more stable, at Higher speeds it might still be more stable, but unless it's a Beat DX Spider. It won't flip over unless it's into a wind. The fade seems to be the same to me.

Overall, your bag looks good though. Like DG said, try a Banshee or something. Cheatah, or Leopard instead of maybe the Sidewinder. BUT, the Sidewinder might actually still be a decent speed if you can throw it 320', you might start to flip it more, so you could probably keep that anyway.

 

[Kranica]

I just never got used to the spider. It's not that I hate it, I'm just a lot more comfortable throwing the buzzz. I, too, was thinking about trying out a leopard to kind of round out my fw driver needs (assuming I pick up an overstable fw driver i.e. banshee or pred), but would a leopard kind of overlap the sidewinder? I'm actually not opposed to getting rid of the sidewinder.

 

[Lithicon]

In most sense, I'd say yeah the Leo would overlap it a bit. It's more of a preferance to you. PERSONALLY, I think if you throw the Leo with 350' of power, it'll flip and not come back consistantly as the sidewinder would thrown with the same power.

 

[keltik1]

you don't really have to get rid of any disc. we're just suggesting that you leave them at home or in your car when you play for a while so you can develop you technique to suit the faster drivers. you don't have to get rid of them.

a good driver for you right now would be the XL. It's very easy to throw and flies similar to your sidewinder now but you may be able to get it to go a bit farther. it will also be a good compliment to your Teebird.

and if you are more comfortable with the buzzz then yeah you can drop the spider. a good thing to try is to play a few rounds with just your putter and mids. lets say about 10 rounds. then you can add your drivers in but with a different outlook off the tee. you may find yourself pulling out a mid or even a putter on the shorter holes rather than trying to guess the skip of a driver.

you should also dedicate some time to field practice. you will develop your technique a lot faster without the worry of a tree ruining what felt like a perfect throw.

 

[tgm]

I'll vote for a predator too. Although I like my FLX ones. The Z was too much for me.

A couple others to try over time would be a stalker (if you like your buzzz) and something like a Cyclone that can still s curve but isn't quite as understable as the sidewinder (which was my fav driver starting out).

I like the FL too for an overstable but the predator is easier and goes a bit farther.

 

[Lithicon]

I wouldn't suggest anything as fast, or faster than your currently throwing. I'd say get a Banshee and a Cheetah, or a Leopard too.
The Pred could be used to replace the Banshee as a true overstable, most would agree there.

Another things, with your SS wizard being great for putting. You could get one specificly for driving purposes. Maybe a S or a M.
Practice in a field as Keltik said and you'll be throwing those wizards as far as your mids in no time. Once you can do that, you'll notice your mids start going just a little farther. Then your drives will also improve some.
So this would be your bag.

Predator - Firebird - XXX - Banshee These are just options if you don't like the Pred.
Teebird
Cheetah
Leopard
-
Roc
Buzz
-
Wizard

I'd say play with that for a few months, get an idea, once you can push those drivers around 350, you're well on your way.
The mids won't be too far behind them in distance, around 300-320 once you really get use to them, so don't worry too much about it, it's just how it goes. Then your putters will end up being somewhere probably in the 250 range, maybe more if you really catch on. Don't get discouraged if you aren't hitting this right away, it takes months some even years to achieve this.

 

[Kranica]

Thanks for all the tips guys! It's very much appreciated! Well I picked up a beat in jls that fills my anhyzer/roller slot perfectly. So it looks like all I need now is an overstable fw driver (z pred or banshee) and then a dedicated driving/approach putter (s wizard). I was able to get out today, and I think I figured out some things regarding my technique. I was getting it 20-30' farther than I normally do, and I sank a couple long putts and hit chains on a 100' approach. So I'm really happy about that, but yea, thanks again for all the advice!

 

[jubuttib]

Thought I'd add to this topic instead of making a new one:

I got one of my friends hooked up on disc golf. He's yet to play on a course (Finnish winter, what can you do?) but can throw pretty well and his technique is coming along nicely. He pretty much instantly wanted his own discs and since we like trying different things, and my discs are all Innova and Discmania, he decided to get some Discraft plastic to try them out. The only problem was that I have no idea how the Discraft discs fly, so I couldn't really help him with his first 4 disc setup. He wanted a slightly overstable putter and likes 'em grippy, a dead straight mid/driver, an understable driver and an overstable driver for windy days and going left. So using the universal flight chart we came up with something like this:

Soft Challenger
Elite-X Buzzz
Elite-X Xpress
ESP FLX Surge (only plastic available at the store and the FLX seemed interesting enough)

He'll most likely be getting more discs come summer, but how far from the truth were we with this setup? The Surge isn't really that overstable, but keep in mind that his distances are still below 300 feet, we figured a Wraith-like disc (according to the universal flight chart) disc would suffice for now and not be too much "too much of a disc".

BTW, he really likes throwing thumbers, but I gather that the FLX isn't really ideal for this. Maybe something more overstable in Elite-Z at some point in the future?

 

[tigel]

I would recommend staying as MINIMAL as possible the first few months. The more discs you have starting out, the longer it will take you to figure out what you need (opinion).

dx Aviar
dx Roc (or buzzz, but I suggest a roc)
dx teebird or an eagle


And maybe a longer driver like a viking or valk. I threw a valk the first 3 months of playing and it really taught me a lot.

I personally would stay away from discs that are fast and discs that are overstable. Stick with the basics first, then work your way up. A disc that's too overstable is going to cover up your screw ups and lead to poor form.

It's hard and I failed hardcore at this, but try having 5 maybe 6 discs molds total in your bag for the first few months. It will do you good. Either your going to love them, learn how they throw, and be able to work them. Or you'll end up not liking them, but will know what you need (maybe something a tad bit more stable, or understable, etc etc). Its a win win.

goodluck

 

[jubuttib]

Don't know who that was directed to, but the point was that the discs would have to be Discraft. We've got plenty of Innova plastic to loan him. 3 discs seems like plenty (I know I started with just 3) but they would have to be Discraft.

 

[archmage]

As a beginner yet myself, I think Wraith/Surge are way too much for someone throwing 300' (that's what I throw now). I have grown very fond of my Z Stalker, which I think works perfectly for my distance. I don't know if overstable putter like Challenger is best for beginners, but I seem to prefer straight ones for now as a main putter. If I were to recommend an all-Discraft beginner 3-pack, I might recommend something like:

Stalker
Buzz
Soft Magnet

(My own "main triplet" is Stalker, Roc and Aviar.)

 

[jubuttib]

Yeah, the Surge is definitely a specialty and of limited use, but how about the rest of them? Is the Xpress any good?

And about the putter, he's tried the Discmania P1, Aviars and my Rhyno and felt that the Rhyno was most to his liking. Putting is mostly a confidence thing so if he likes a certain type of disc he'll probably play better with it. But yeah, thanks for the input, we'll add the Stalker to the list of future discs.

 

[Kranica]

I lost my sidewinder a couple days ago, so I decided to try something different. I picked up a Millenium OLS, and I love this thing!

 

[jubuttib]

As a beginner yet myself, I think Wraith/Surge are way too much for someone throwing 300' (that's what I throw now). I have grown very fond of my Z Stalker, which I think works perfectly for my distance. I don't know if overstable putter like Challenger is best for beginners, but I seem to prefer straight ones for now as a main putter. If I were to recommend an all-Discraft beginner 3-pack, I might recommend something like:

Stalker
Buzz
Soft Magnet

(My own "main triplet" is Stalker, Roc and Aviar.)

Yeah, too bad the Stalker is next to impossible to find at the moment (in Europe at least). He'll probably get either that or an Esp/Elite-X XL next, depending on availability.

We got his discs today and tried them out quickly. The Surge did what we thought it would, went left very reliably, and that's all it has to do for now. =)

The Xpress was magnificent, he could pull of very very straight hyzer flips with ease and got some decent distance, considering the conditions and how little he's been practicing backhand. Definitely a keeper. Also held anhyzer lines perfectly. Challenger also worked very well indeed, seemed to fit his hand nicely.

But the cream of the crop was the X Buzz. Holy crap that thing is awesome. The only Discraft disc I'd tried before was the Ultra-Star, but it was love at first throw. When it beats in a little bit (or maybe the cold made it more overstable, it was 3 degrees Fahrenheit) that thing is going to be pure gold. Plus it's dyed and looks sick. =)

I really need to get one, or at least go test and compare them with my current stable mid. Oh, and the owner likes it also.

 

[archmage]

Yeah, too bad the Stalker is next to impossible to find at the moment (in Europe at least). He'll probably get either that or an Esp/Elite-X XL next, depending on availability.

You should check http://www.powergrip.fi, that's where I've got all of mine. They still seem to have some 173-175g Z Stalkers in stock, and lots of different weights in Z Glo.