Another long one.
To muck up things further: What if your hands are flexible and large and powerful enough to handle many kinds of disc sizes and shapes to the extent that the discs feel similar enough not to offset aiming? And wide winged discs grip the same vs each other and moderates and smalls the same. Would you think of disc minimalism or mold minimalism or _role_ minimalism if one were to carry say a Roc/Buzzz and a Comet? Or Leopard and Cyclone or the zillion moderately overstable drivers or the over half dozen overstable putters in a combination of two or more different molds per role?
See this is real for me and happens all the time. Not to mention the added flavor of the same mold in different weights and plastics. I may well carry two different discs from two different manufacturers for the same role because weather forecasts don't always get it right. It's good to have the option of a more wind tolerant disc just in case at least if it's an important often repeated role on the course I'm playing. My home course really has just two drives where I benefit from using a driver and one FH drive with just a slight edge over an pig overstable mid. And the two other holes need straighter and less fading drivers. But that FH is doable with great risk with annies too if I brought an understable mid and possibly even an Ion. I don't carry understable mids usually on that course because I'm content with the trouble avoidance ability of Ion to Buzzz pair.
I can do ok with fewer roles than what Blake has suggested on this course. OTOH I carry more putters than one. Three 60'+ spike putts with Rhynos last week :-D Great bends and approaches in winds as well with the Rhyno. Otherwise having a blast with the Ion. Although it's tricky to throw right when giving it oomph. What do you do when you have a better average score with a wind putter and calm putter on a windy course with an overwhelming majority of putter shots from the tee, approaches and putts? My course of action is clear.
When I go to a long course in town I still carry Rhyno and Ion for different winds and getting out of trouble. There the FH disc for that one hole on my home course becomes the headwind BH driver and the very overstable driver. And I still don't carry understable mids that's the work of the Ion. Depending on what you call the Stalker I carry one and use it like a FW driver. Otherwise I wouldn't have one if it's considered a tweener mid and FW. Ion really is a tweener putter/mid anyway so two tweeners plus a Buzzz could be seen as three mids if one wanted to. Then it would be mold pluralism. So it's definitions schemifinitions since the Rhyno would become a putter by that logic even though an overwhelming majority of my approaches and especially putts are done with the Ion. Clear as muck? Driver thingy on longer courses. Don't get me started :-D
I get the same percentages if I carried a QOLS or a Star Valk or a Straight PD for example they all work for me and while Roadrunner and DX Valk are the kings of straight flight for me out of distance drivers so what? I still can position them left, center and right often to different distances. Slight left is easy slight right ain't to every distance. What I think is that theoretical boundaries aside one should be able to play in any weather conditions to every distance and elevation hard left, medium left, slightly left, straight, slightly right, medium right and hard right after a straight flight or starting hyzer or anny. Plus S-curves and FHs plus overhands and many trick shots. With relatively few roles. Say 5 to 6 and trick shots and since every manufacturer with a full line up of discs makes discs for each role there are plenty to choose from. Given enough skill the differences between discs for the same role with the roughly same speed and stability begin to disappear in differences for many of the placement options. It's only slight left or slight right for me that really distinguishes discs on top of wind tolerance and the amount of fade. Fade would be a non issue on wider courses but we have tunnels aplenty.
Searching for the best discs for me for any given role has lead to a pile of discs with huge amount of molds that at this skill level overlap big time. Since I'm limited more by my ability deficiency than the flight characteristics of many discs for the same role and I have thrown every disc a lot in field practice I can throw each of the best bunch for any given role I've found out so far fairly interchangeably. Because for every role there are more than one well functioning discs. Apart for slight left or right for different elevations especially and doubly so if I'm pushing the boundaries of a disc. Like the Ion straight to 295' in slight rear wind yesterday. At 250' it gets difficult to throw straight every time and even more so slightly right -it tends to become medium to hard right real quick. 200' with an Ion is a no brainer with any sideways and elevation combination.
My core bag ATM is heavy Champ Rhyno, Soft Ion 173 for putts or the need to stop when landing or fear of hitting trees wanting to minimize kicks, Medium Ion 175 for driving and lazying about or short putts when I don't feel like switching from the medium to soft on a putt, Buzzz Z 178, Stalker heavy Z, Force ESP 168, and varying drivers depending what I wanna do. Valks and PDs mostly and for distance work Katanas and for suicide charge fun risk taking distance while throwing over trees ultralight R-Pro Bosses. If the course is long.
My mainstay driver of last year Roadrunner hasn't made it in the bag for a while thanks to PDs and Valks. There's only one hole locally where I need to retry a Roadrunner after gaining more power. It's up a ski jumping hill with 50' elevation for around 200' distance. I need to throw harder than the moist ground under the hill collecting water moving down to the tee area making it soft can support with full weight Valks, 166 P PD, 150 S PD of the too LSS kind for such a steep uphill, QOLS and too hard fading distance drivers such as Surges and Wraiths (another interchangeablish pair and that's a word now). A Katana with an s curve would be easy to reach height and distance wise were it not for the steep long drop off to the right of the basket with an anny needed to counter the LSS and OTOH the ground does not give me confidence to throw annies and the trees alongside prevent hyzers and flat throws fade too far left. I tested a 150 Champ Valk (403' on the field headwind yesterday) that reaches the basket easily but is so easy to flip over to the side of the hill far away from the basket that it's a low probability high risk shot. You know how I did trying to slightly s-curve to counter the fade of the Champ Valk. They fade too much at such a steep uphill angle if not turned past the point of flexing. And Champ plastic is a must due to the harsh landing area eating up softer blends of ESP and Star. Not to mention sissy Pro and softer plastics. Otherwise I'm pretty confident with what I throw where on every hole on the three courses I play most. Even fun alternative ways of driving the same holes. So it seems that I gotta try a Champ in the mid 160s for that hole when I get around to getting one. Those weights aren't available locally at least not in pro shop prices. General sport chains have stupendous prices it's better to order online elsewhere in the country or the States!
I never thought to say this but bag seems to be getting pretty set. I carry fluff and experiment and have fun but even then it's the few mainstays that do most of the work and I'm not suffering in scores. What's funny is that tweeners work if you use two tweeners of different roles that is putter and mid tweener making me club down all the time :-D I rarely reach for the Buzzz on my home course for the Ion/Rhyno combo and I don't carry a real fairway driver under distance drivers since the Stalker is so long and the PD powers down well. I'm much better with the Stalker probably due to the low profile and my affinity and experience with throwing flat lasers and so many holes benefiting from that. PD is often a longer s-curve through a tunnel or for fun bombing duty and Valks again flip to flat straight beyond Stalker D although on the field I've closed the gap between them with added pinch power thanks to training -odd. Because PDs and Valks fly far I rarely reach for max D discs just like Blake has analyzed with his role list. I only get about 10' more on average in field work with Katanas over Valks and not a whole lot more with best shots and not at all more in rear winds. I think I've been limited by finger strength especially thumb and now that it's improving less wide wings have benefited more than wide winged discs. Suggesting there's more gripper/tennis ball squeezing/weight static holds to be done.
Rant and muddying up the water off. For now.
