Good Stable-Understable Fairway Driver

[optidiscic]

I suspect the TL+ mold is what you are after...although I have not seen one or thrown or see any thrown yet...they just came out last week

 

[harold king]

sidewinders get to be a great turn over

 

[Sid the Kid]

Chalk up another vote for a premium plastic Leopard. A TL will likely be too long and more touchy than a Leopard.

 

[UKfan]

I really have trouble with this slot and I have never liked the Leopard I have used. My favorite straight fairway driver is a Striker but I am not sure that is what you are looking for in this thread.

I have tried the following that may work for you: Cyclone, Stalker, Xpress, River.

Having said all of that, I have had the most success with my beat-in Sidewinder. It is a little longer but I also like my beat-in Wraith.

 

[craftsman]

Imo, you have to spend some time with whatever mold you choose for this slot. I find discs that are flippy out of the box to be less trustworthy, but sadly, most will find their turnover driver is one of the most lost types. The brightside is that most picks are best in baseline for this slot.

If i was to go a step further towards minimalism, my fairways would be esp cyclone & sp tsunami (pred).
If you really are impatient, you can find good pro d and elite x. A tp would be best but they take a search and take a while to break in.

The gazelle would be a notch slower, but ideally cyclone like. I heard cfr's are faster(?).

If you are a power player, an elite x avenger or tb could fill this spot. The avenger's feel is so simillar to the pred's, that i give it a nod towards mold minimalism.

The clone/gazelle/eagle all turn and fade but can be easily manipulated in flight and beat to desired want. They can fly straight, but in a different way.
The other (possibly more) popular catagory is the straight as an arrow drivers, the leo/jls/elite x xl/tl.
What didnt you like about the xl? What plastic and weight did you use?

 

[BrotherDave]

Over this season, Z Preds have taken over my bag. I carry 3, ranging from flat and red/pink for uber-overstability to super beat yellow for straight shots. I'm a mold minimalist when possible, and so am looking for a disc to fill the rest of my fairway duties.

I need something that starts dead nuts straight, erroring on the side of understability, that will beat into a control turnover. I've tried XLs, Eagle-Ls and TLs, but both start out at a similar stability to my beat Z Pred, and so I never end up throwing them enough to beat them into a turning driver.

Am I not reading this right? He wants something to pair with his Preds, which are a lot faster than Leopards. I still say something like a Valk is what he's looking for. Leopards do rock though.

 

[craftsman]

Compliment and pair are quite different. Imo, for a mm bag, a slower but sneaky long (i personally am as amazed by the leo as others but i include it due to flight and popularity) disc will give it the ability to power down easier then a valk. The slower molds will also take the anny/tover on a larger span on distances- paticularly on the shorter side (the clone/gaz are better at this aspect imo). While the valk is faster, its really not that much longer then the xl or jls.

I think especially for a mm bag, the real factors are what other discs are being used and if the op wants to match similarities or broaden type. Depending on how minimalistic and what speed the other molds are could also help choose.

 

[BrotherDave]

While the valk is faster, its really not that much longer then the xl or jls.

What disc holds the distance record again? j/k

I agree but if I'm throwing a Pred as my go to driver, powering down to a Leopard would be annoying. The Valk I could throw essentially as hard as the Pred without much adjustment.

 

[Sid the Kid]

I disagree. My Champ Leopard is more straight stable than my Star Valkyrie. The Leopard flips up to flat and tracks right, where the Valkyrie flips up and tracks right but then fades. The Valkyrie has more drastic movements in it's flight where the Leopard just gently glides to the right (or straight, or left, depending on what I tell it to do). Equal speed does not necessarily make for a good pairing, especially considering the wide speed range of today's "fairway" drivers.

Any player with a reasonable amount of skill shouldn't have a problem powering down on a premium Leopard. They start their life exactly like slightly shorter DX Teebirds, but they beat to turn gently not violently. I think they would make an excellent pairing with a handfull of Preds, they can certainly every bit as long.

 

[craftsman]

What disc holds the distance record again? j/k

I agree but if I'm throwing a Pred as my go to driver, powering down to a Leopard would be annoying. The Valk I could throw essentially as hard as the Pred without much adjustment.

Stupid xl only being capable of 792' :doh:

 

[craftsman]

Sid, why are you suggesting the leo when you have chose the jls for your minimalistic bag?

 

[Craton]

I am going to back you up on the Roadrunner; if you are comfortable down-shifting your power and playing diff. angles of hyzer and committing to learning the disc, roadrunners can shape some killer lines.

However, they ARE a speed 9, and because of that are going to have a tendency to want to bomb. If you want a bit more distance control, leopards are great; I personally don't like them in the heavier weights when they are in star because I don't feel they are very predictable. I feel like they intermittently will lock into a dead straight line OR the understable line when new; if you put them on an anny there's no way they're fighting back. Hard to explain, but you should totally be fine going LEO FO SHO

 

[Sid the Kid]

Sid, why are you suggesting the leo when you have chose the jls for your minimalistic bag?

That's an easy one. I shanked my beautifully broken in Leo into a lake :wall:. The SJLS I had laying around behaves like a broken in Champ Leopard, maybe just a touch faster. I'm currently unemployed so buying discs for me right now is not really an option.

They are similar, but I'd rather have the Leopard.

*EDIT, my bag is not really minimalistic. I have a wide variety of discs and stabilities. My true minimalistic bag is a SPD, Z Buzzz, ESP Buzzz, and D Challenger.

 

[Matt O]

CHEETAH!!! I just got a Star Cheetah from the Innova Factory Store. Hopefully it never breaks in. I can throw a new DX Cheetah straight as an arrow or a reliable turnover that never goes into a roll. I have a 150 Leopard that turns over nicely, but I have to throw it with a TON of hyzer (rhbh).

 

[plastic cannon]

Edit: I was dumb and read wrong.

 

[basketcase15]

CHEETAH!!! I just got a Star Cheetah from the Innova Factory Store. Hopefully it never breaks in. I can throw a new DX Cheetah straight as an arrow or a reliable turnover that never goes into a roll. I have a 150 Leopard that turns over nicely, but I have to throw it with a TON of hyzer (rhbh).

love cheetahs

 

[ZDotHalbach]

Gazelle is a great disc for this slot

 

[notBOB]

star teebirds break in oober quick. if you like limiting the molds in your bag, teebirds are great cuz of their versatility esp. from champ to star, + molds, tl's, etc.

 

[Rol6566]

How about a river?

 

[SteezeOG]

I have a lot of molds that I choose from to fill this role but you already got plenty of stuff to consider. I'm prone to a z avenger ss cause I like to use it as a roller too.