[Question] Disc Advice for High School Program

[imurhuckleberry]

I have some funds to buy discs for the disc golf club we started at a high school this year. I have access to discs from Innova, Discraft, Lattitude, Prodigy, and Dynamic Discs. I am buying for high school age kids (14-18), both boys and girls...nearly all are beginners. I am only going to buy the higher grade, longer lasting plastics...so no dx or equivalent plastics.

1) Which disc manufacturer would you recommend?

2) Which specific discs do you believe are best for the range of students listed above?

3) Would you recommend avoiding any of those brands?

4) Although I haven't thrown any blizzard plastics, my gut tells me that they might be my best bet...thoughts on blizzard plastics for this age group?

Thanks for any input you have for me.

 

[JedV]

Blizzard discs tend to be too fast for beginners. As far as I know the slowest disc is speed 10 (Beast). Starlite plastic might be a little more reasonable with something like a Teebird.

It depends on what you're goals are. Actually get the kids learning proper mechanics or just chucking?

I wouldn't rule out baseline plastic for putters.

 

[onemilemore]

Comets.

 

[JedV]

There are many models that are available in 150 class weights that aren't infused with bubbles. I understand your desire for durability, hence no baseline plastic, but keep in mind that bubble plastic gets really nasty scuffs of the discs but abrasive surfaces like concrete. Blizzard in my experience runs the gamut in terms of stability within the same mold.

I'd suggest fairway drivers be your fastest, given that kids might not even be able to grip a driver comfortably. Diamonds are great, and are speed 7.

 

[tomte]

1) Which disc manufacturer would you recommend?

All - but not just one. Let the kids know that there is more than one company.

What are the kids supposed to do in the program? I would say get a mix of putters...

 

[BC Product]

I think you should buy whichever brand will get you the most discs for your money. The only reason I could see going towards a specific brand is if the kids will only have access to 1 brand at a local retailer. If that is the case, it would make sense to purchase discs that they could find locally.

I would focus on buying mostly lighter weight (140-160g, or starlite maybe?), stable to understable discs. I would not recommend buying any high speed discs (10+speed) as they will inhibit learning proper form. Since most, if not all blizzard discs are higher speed drivers, I would avoid them. I would also buy a small amount of "advanced" discs in the standard weight range (160-175g) for the kids that outgrow the lighter understable discs.

Disc suggestions:

Innova: Aviar/mako/leopard with a couple rocs and TL's for advanced throwers
Discraft: meteor/comet/xs with a couple buzzz's and stalkers
Lattitude: L64 has a beginner lineup with the ruby, pearl, and diamond. Just add in a pure for putting and maybe some cores and some saints for advanced throwers
DD: Warden/fugitive/witness?? To be honest, I don't have enough experience with this company. Same goes with Prodigy.

 

[imurhuckleberry]

re:

Thanks for the input thus far. As you can see, I don't really know that much about the technical aspects of the different disc types and that is why I came here for some advice. I appreciate the points made about blizzard plastics. My thinking right now is to buy a few of each brand in beginner friendly molds in their most durable plastics. I would love a few more specific recommendations for discs as I am not familiar with most discs from these brands. The lattitude beginner lineup mentioned sounds intriguing...do they make those in opto and gold plastic?

A little background for those who are interested:

Our "program" is not really a program at all. It is just a school club I started this year after some of my students showed an interest in learning to play when I brought my discs to throw around with them last year. Our town doesn't have a disc golf park, so this year we have taken 1 field trip to play on a nearby course (hopefully 1 or 2 more this spring), and we have two mobile baskets we drag out to a field and practice on. I just lend the students some of my discs and we go out and chuck them around. Occasionally we will go and putt outside my room. I also bought a cheap mini basket for my room.

Our club has sparked some interest in town and I will present a design and estimates for a mini course in a municipal park in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, we will soon have our own little course to play on.

 

[RistoS]

The lattitude beginner lineup mentioned sounds intriguing...do they make those in opto and gold plastic?

Yes they do. Maximum weight of these easy to use line discs is 159 grams and all of them are understable molds, meaning they're easier to throw far with less power, but are vulnerable in a headwind. What you should consider though, is that in putters the baseline plastics (DX etc.) are more popular because grip is important within 50 feet off the target. I'm sure most of us here use softer plastic in their main putters.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Aviar/Mako3/Leopard

168-175 gram. I would go with GStar/Star. Would be excellent for beginners and work well for more advanced as well. You could stick to DX for Aviars though and be fine.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

http://www.edgediscgolf.org/

 

[Qikly]

I've a good pit of experience introducing the sport to children, teenagers, and beginners in general, and the one rule that holds is that understable discs are best. My sister-in-law threw the Underworld great, the 8 year old I used to tutor got some awesome throws with a beat-in Cheetah and an Anode, and his brother really liked the Tangent. So neutral to understable discs are your best bet, be it Latitude's beginner line, mids like the Comet or Tangent, or others. Definitely stay away from anything faster than speed 7 or so.

(And just to note, when I say understable, I'm talking about pretty significantly understable discs, at least where fairways are concerned. For beginners, discs like the Leopard and River are going to fly pretty stable.)

 

[rasfade]

1) They are all good! See if one will give you an educators discount!

2) Base plastic mid-range (shark, comet, maybe roc or buzzz only in baseline) Do not discount baseline plastic (DX or Pro-D, etc.) as it is widely considered best for beginners. Any who stick with the sport can get themselves candy plastic down the road at the proper time. Plus with baseline you could get every kid 2 discs instead of one, a putter and mid or a putter and slow fairway driver would be a awesome starter set. DO NOT get any discs over a speed 6 for these kids to start with! Best options for drivers are Gazelle, Cyclone, Cheetah or Polaris LS....or something similar.

3) See number one! DX, Classic, Pro-D, they are all pretty nice for the price!

4) No blizzard plastic please! Try 160 class baseline discs, maybe a few 150s for the girls. Again price allows 2 for the price of 1 on base plastic vs. blizzard. Premiumplasticitis is real and many are suffering, don't aid the spread of this disease, haha, but seriously!

Good luck and have fun! Thanks for helping introduce and great sport to another generation. Good work!

 

[SSquirrel]

The Innova starter set has a nice trio. Aviar, Shark, Leopard. There is nothing wrong w/150 class either, I wouldn't worry about starting kids odd w/max weight discs. More understable, something like a Stingray or Kite could do well. The Skeeter is also a good straight disc.

Personally I'm a big fan of both the Shark and Leopard. My Stingray I just picked up recently and it's nice, but I want more practice w/it.


Other companies are good too, but I would check out that EDGE link that got posted. Discraft's Magnet and Buzzz would be a great putter/mid combo. Honestly you probably don't need anything bigger than a mid for the kids starting out. Fairway absolute max.

 

[tu-f-o]

a light weight sidewinder is what got me into this game

 

[krooster]

I'm really liking the Latitude 64 Easy to Use line, picked all three up for my wife, all around 150g. Only been out to play with her once so far with these discs, but here was our experience:

Diamond - We brought along both a 150g DX Leopard and the Diamond. I think the Diamond went a bit farther and was equally easy to throw as the Leopard. She even got a nice S-curve out of it a few times, definitely going to be bringing along the Diamond for any beginners I play with in the future. Might have to purchase a few more, maybe a 155g and 160g. Perfect beginner driver, I think.

Pearl - Super easy to throw straight, doesn't need much speed for a straight flight (very understable). Best midrange for a beginner that I've seen.

Ruby - Honestly I think there isn't much to be gained from having such a light putter. Seemed hard for her to get a consistent release when putting, and she's used a heavier Aviar P&A before with great success. But it was a bit windy, so that could have contributed to the issues.

Next time we play, I plan to have her bring along a 167g Aviar, the Pearl, and the Diamond. We'll probably also bring along a D Buzzz and maybe a heavier Leopard for if there's a bit of wind... the 150g discs are completely unreliable in the wind and it's usually insanely windy where we play.

I would think if you're trying to teach people between the ages of 14-18, and of both genders, there is going to be a huge range of physical ability. Might be good to have a range of options, with the Latitude 64 Easy to Use line at the low end of the spectrum, and then have more advanced options for when their skills develop. If the only discs available are easy to throw 150g discs, some people will outgrow those quickly.

 

[krooster]

Oh, I just noticed that you said you only want to get premium plastic. In that case, I'd very strongly recommend the Latitude 64 Easy to Use discs, since they come in Opto.

Certainly, I don't know of any other beginner-friendly drivers in premium plastic other than the diamond. Would never give a champ/star Leopard to a beginner, for instance.

There are probably easy to use premium plastic mids and putters from other manufacturers though. I haven't thrown any of the neutral mids people talk about (like the mako, comet, etc), but I do like the esp meteor and it's not too hard to get up to speed for a relatively fast mid.

 

[BiggieSMLS]

Innova makes great discs and beginners usually latch on to the branding of a "leopard" or "cheetah." I would buy putters and fairway drivers. If you can, I would buy SS Wizards for the putters (dynamic discs can produce these for you) and then buy Pro Leopards from Innova as the fairway driver. You will get a lot of bang for your buck with this route.

 

[blammo]

Do not discount baseline plastic (DX or Pro-D, etc.) as it is widely considered best for beginners. Any who stick with the sport can get themselves candy plastic down the road at the proper time. Plus with baseline you could get every kid 2 discs instead of one, a putter and mid or a putter and slow fairway driver would be a awesome starter set.

Not trying to talk you out of premium plastic, but this guy makes some great points. Plus many of the best beginner friendly molds were created for baseline, and fly wonderfully in it. Sharks, rocs, cobras, stingrays, TeeBirds, leopards, and many of the putters are magical in DX. I throw about 90% premium myself, but LOVE taking a DX stingray or cobra out for one disc rounds and field work.

Also, I introduced disc golf to a small summer day camp in a similar manner to what you are doing. While some of our participants may not have been as interested in disc golf as the members of your club (which probably has voluntary participation only from those that are interested), discs get lost frequently. When you have inexperienced throwers chucking plastic they didn't pay for, you can go through a lot of discs. Most kids weren't trying to lose them, but it happens. Cheaper baselines plastic allows you to purchase more discs, so you have a wider variety of molds, weights, and colors (which really helps tell discs apart when they don't have the thrower's name on them), and losing a disc wasn't as costly. Even with good kids that didn't want to lose their discs, and me trying to keep track of every throw like radar, we lost more discs than we wore out. Maybe premium plastic for the drivers, and some less expensive recycled line for the easy-to-use Lat64 molds, but don't rule out baseline for putters and mids.

 

[coupe]

2) Base plastic mid-range (shark, comet, maybe roc or buzzz only in baseline) Do not discount baseline plastic (DX or Pro-D, etc.) as it is widely considered best for beginners. Any who stick with the sport can get themselves candy plastic down the road at the proper time. Plus with baseline you could get every kid 2 discs instead of one, a putter and mid or a putter and slow fairway driver would be a awesome starter set. DO NOT get any discs over a speed 6 for these kids to start with! Best options for drivers are Gazelle, Cyclone, Cheetah or Polaris LS....or something similar.

3) See number one! DX, Classic, Pro-D, they are all pretty nice for the price!

4) No blizzard plastic please! Try 160 class baseline discs, maybe a few 150s for the girls. Again price allows 2 for the price of 1 on base plastic vs. blizzard. Premiumplasticitis is real and many are suffering, don't aid the spread of this disease, haha, but seriously!

Agree completely with Rasfade.

I run a disc golf clinic for about 200 middle- and high-school students at a private school, as part of their PE class.

YMMV, but my experience is that beginners do significantly better with baseline plastic than premium plastic. For one thing, baseline plastic doesn't require as much arm speed or snap as premium plastic to get the disc to fly as intended. Additionally, the quicker beat-in period means that kids are able to see results more quickly and can move on to intermediate/advanced techniques such as anhyzers, hyzer flips, rollers, air bounces, etc. more quickly.

I've also found purchasing premium plastic to be false economy: yes, they're more durable than baseline plastic, but they cost more to replace when (not if, when) you "lose" them. (Discs do occasionally "sprout legs" and walk off on their own, and premium plastic walks off a lot more frequently than baseline plastic.)

 

[mashnut]

You're going to save a lot of time on kids arguing over discs if you buy a big stack of the same disc. There are a lot of good options, but I would say pick one and just get a bunch of them. At the beginner level you don't need a huge variety of molds, you just need something slow and controllable for the kids to start figuring out how disc flight works. Also, I completely agree with the last couple posts on base line plastic, it's way more beginner friendly and a lot more cost effective. If you're getting mids or putters there isn't any durability issue, those last forever even in base plastic.