minimal discs and you

[tigel]

So, my bag used to be the whole 9 yards. 2 midranges, 3 fairway, about about 6 drivers with different stability ratings. I've only been playing for about 6 months and my bag as of the past 3 weeks: 2 Dx teebirds, and my putter.

I have one "new" teebird for my distance shots and overall flight disc. My other teebird is beat the hell and is my tomahawk/roller/turnover disc. This setup works like a charm. Even in 20 mph winds I can still throw my "new" teebird with 100% confidence. I think as I've learned how to play, I've learned what lines I can throw with what discs I have. I've just simplified everything. I can play the wind much better than I could a month ago, and that really helps me out.

I really like hammer/tomahawks as well. This is usually my under 300 preferred throw (if there's a line allowing for this). I use my putter on 150ft~ throws now, which replaced my midranges. My putter and I are like soul mates. Again, a month ago I used a putter to putt.

I guess I'm making this topic to ask others their opinion. Obviously the industry wants you to buy different stability discs for different situations. I'm not going to knock that idea down, because it's logical, and works. However, the more I improve, the more I DONT want to increase my bag. What are the advantages of having 8+ discs of different speeds and stabilities to having two molds that ultimately do the job better for me?

I was going to ask "am I doing it right?" but I really don't care for an answer. Obviously if it's working for me, I'm going to stick with it. I can't throw over 400ft so of course I'm still progressing. I'm just curious if others only throw with minimal discs like I'm doing now. And i'm not talking about minimal being 6 discs either. It's more ignoring the idea of ignoring "categories" (midrange/putter/fairway/driver) and using what works for you.

I'm really interested in this because pro's I know act like their life depends on it when you ask them whats in their bag and they tell you the 20+discs they have for each shot of each hole of each course.... I doubt a company would want to sponsor a pro who only through a teebird. Then that would show the customers they really don't need all of these discs to be successful.

Just a thought

 

[Blake_T1]

i'd recommend at least A midrange, but depending upon how far you are throwing your putter and driver off the tee, that may or may not be a need right now. the farther you throw, the more mid(s) and an overstable driver become important.

part of the trend nowadays is that people gravitate towards high speed discs, and most high speed discs are rather squirrely when wind comes into play, and many of the popular models are quite LSS, so people try to add more discs to cover the shots that were once able to be covered by 1 workhorse driver.

if you go back in time 5-10 years it was quite common to meet pros who carried 15 discs and it would be like 5 teebirds, 5 rocs, 5 kc aviars, and a firebird.

 

[colombo117]

I think if you can simplify your bag and your shot selection, then thinking through your shots becomes easier and the game can be more enjoyable. If the teebird/putter thing works, then fine. As you progress you may find a need for a midrange, who knows.

 

[dgdave]

Didn't Ron Russell win the worlds with 2 cyclones, 2 Comets, and 2 Magnets? And John Brooks did the same with a viper, roc, and aviar?

 

[colombo117]

It would be awesome to see a guy win the worlds with just three molds, especially nowadays.

 

[discspeed]

I see 4 tiers of speed that you need these days. Putter, mid, fwy, and D. You could axe the D driver if you played at really short courses, but I would personally still want one for forehands, skip shots, wind, etc where speed makes things simpler.

Hardcore minimalism is good for learning, not necessarily so good for scoring. This is probably why no touring pro is that hardcore. Guys like Feldberg & Nikko seem to be going in the other direction altogether. It makes a lot of difference when you play all over the country. When Ron plays these days he's got a couple of more modern D drivers in there that were not available when he won worlds. Also, high speed drivers are more specialized, less versatile, and often get squirrely when broken in. This means that many prefer more than one mold of high speed driver in their bag even if the rest is pretty minimalistic.

 

[Dogma1]

I really like hammer/tomahawks as well. This is usually my under 300 preferred throw (if there's a line allowing for this). I use my putter on 150ft~ throws now, which replaced my midranges.

How far are you throwing? Do you play a variety of courses, or mostly one course?

You said you're using your putter to 150. That means everything over 150 you're using a Teebird. That's probably not ideal. One major advantage of a midrange is that it will give you more control on tight courses (especially courses that don't really offer overhand lines). I know a few people who love to throw overhand shots. It's a great to be able to, but if you do it because you are UNcomfortable throwing traditionally then that's a different story.

 

[twmccoy1]

I really like hammer/tomahawks as well. This is usually my under 300 preferred throw (if there's a line allowing for this). I use my putter on 150ft~ throws now, which replaced my midranges.

How far are you throwing? Do you play a variety of courses, or mostly one course?

You said you're using your putter to 150. That means everything over 150 you're using a Teebird. That's probably not ideal. One major advantage of a midrange is that it will give you more control on tight courses (especially courses that don't really offer overhand lines). I know a few people who love to throw overhand shots. It's a great to be able to, but if you do it because you are UNcomfortable throwing traditionally then that's a different story.

I'd actually ditch the putter before the mid. Mids are far more versatile IMO. I putt well with a buzz.

 

[tigel]

I throw 400 on a good day.

my putter is going 300ft pretty easily +- 10ft here and there.

My numbers were kind of wrong.

1-100 I putt.

100-200 I use my putter for backhand shots. usually anny lines.

200-300 I use tomahawks. Of course some courses there are holes this isn't needed, but I'm learning to either use my putter if I like the line, or just go for my teebird if I like that line.

300+ teebird.

I throw overhand on a lot of my shots because I just feel comfortable that way. I can throw my buzz very well, but I like my tomahawks and hammers better for placement purposes. Trust me, I don't go for the overhand because I can't throw that range with backhand/forehand

I think as my max range increases I'll add something else. I dont know if that will be a midrange or a wraith (my old go to disc). I'm not going to be stubborn about it either. If I find I need a couple more discs, I'll get a couple more discs. it's that simple

Also I play at 5 courses.

2 are all in the 200-300 range. At one of this courses there are 2 350 holes.
The others are all "typical" tournament courses. Not many below 300, most 300-600.

 

[optowesome]

I throw 4 basic molds and it works fine for me.

Stalker(enjoying this, but it is usually a teebird)
Predator
Roc
Voodoo

I haven't run into any issues or shots I cannot perform. Just remember there is no true distance driver so you must focus on accuracy to make long holes easy.

 

[PhattD]

if you go back in time 5-10 years it was quite common to meet pros who carried 15 discs and it would be like 5 teebirds, 5 rocs, 5 kc aviars, and a firebird.

I'm just amazed that no one has pointed out that 5 teebirds 5 rocs 5 aviars and a firebird is 16 discs :lol:

 

[discspeed]

I guess I'm making this topic to ask others their opinion. Obviously the industry wants you to buy different stability discs for different situations. I doubt a company would want to sponsor a pro who only through a teebird. Then that would show the customers they really don't need all of these discs to be successful.

Ok, I'll admit the "industry" does want you to buy discs and their business (and our sport) depends on it. That being said, we are a grassroots sport where a huge percentage of the financial support, embassadorship, and promotion comes from the manufacturers. They are more responsive to what people choose to buy than to what they "want to sell us". They barely market (only in a single DG magazine and through there sponsership and team members at tourneys) and certainly don't put much thought as to how many discs their touring pros throw. They want winners, period. The fact that they make premium plastic discs of different stabilities hurts their business, if anything. If they really wanted simply to make money then we would only have a couple molds and only dx. Then we HAVE to constantly buy new discs because they beat up so fast and we NEED different stabilities. Our DG manufacturers are a LONG way from being "the man".

What are the advantages of having 8+ discs of different speeds and stabilities to having two molds that ultimately do the job better for me?

If you've only been playing 6 months it makes sense that you've only really got a grasp of 2 discs. As you improve you will be severely limited if you choose to not learn anything else. Like Blake said, you should learn a mid as well...this will become more useful as you improve. With each new level of skill, so of those other molds/stabilities will have more to offer you than they do currently. For example you most likely learn better mechanics and how to throw faster/harder. At some point your Teebird is not going to be able to fly in the wind as well as other discs can (especially on tight hyzers). As you improve the complexities of the game become clearer, and the simplicity that you cling to now will prove to be an illusion.

I'm really interested in this because pro's I know act like their life depends on it when you ask them whats in their bag and they tell you the 20+discs they have for each shot of each hole of each course....

You should not dismiss the advice of pros if you are lucky enough to be able to play with golfers of this caliber. Not all pros are good teachers or people that you desire to become similar to, but if they are playing at that level they are doing many things right. Try to key on what those things are. Anyone with pro level skills could play better than most with 3 discs or 50, from any company, etc. What they have in their bag is what they feel can help them take advantage of a few opportunities a round (situational, wind, etc), which can make the difference of a couple strokes, and in the OPEN division every stroke = $$$$. They have most likely played 100s of round at dozens of courses in all conditions, so they know when to use certain tools and when others will fail. Besides that almost every pro has a core of 4-5 discs that they throw 90% of the time.

 

[black udder]

I'm not a pro by any stretch, but here's why I carry multiple discs:

2 SOLS - I carry one for flat with late turnover, 1 new for hyzer flip to flat.
1 champ leopard for hard anhyzer or dead flat with no turnover
2 star wraith - one slightly worn for distance, 1 new for wind
1 P PD - straight with hyzer finish - slightly worn
2 Star TL - one for hyzer flip flat 1 new for flat in wind
2 ESP XL for control shots around 250'-275', 1 newer for flat, 1 more used for more turnover

I carry more, but I know many of these overlap and could be replaced with a couple molds. However, I know what all of them do. If I lost one on the course, I could replace it with another and survive, but having these I use them for specific situations so that they all last longer. It's sort of the theory of carrying multiple dx discs in one mold. The PD may go eventually, dunno yet, but the others should last at least another year (already one) and I'll basically keep the same discs for a couple years (as long as I don't lose them).

As for a midrange, I'd say they're valuable, but I know folks that don't throw them, so it just depends on how you throw. If you can power down on a driver and stay accurate, more power to you, for me, I need something like a buzz or a comet for situations when I want to throw a full stroke and the disc will go straight and pretty much drop within 20' of my line. I can't find a driver that will do that and I sure can't power down on a driver with any confidence. Considering my issues with nose up shots, midranges are more forgiving for me, too.

If it works for you, go for it. Sure is less weight to carry around. But I suspect that at some point, you'll find yourself lacking for certain situations. If not, good for you... cheap and easy to play anytime anywhere

p.s. I carry two voodoos, one for driving and one for my longer putts and this past weekend, I lost one for a round... two holes later, I needed it to throw over water and used my buzz instead. Took what should have been a birdie and took a three. Sometimes, having another disc is important. If you lost one of your two teebirds in a round, or broke your putter, how would you compensate for the round? I know it's just for fun, but it sure would suck.

 

[Guurn]

I tend to stretch the idea of disc minimalism to a more general thing. There are a lot of rims out there but many feel pretty much the same in the hand. A Roc is obviously different from a TL, but how much different is a Pred or Orc from a Tl. I would argue that there really isn't that much difference. I never found it hard to pick up a new disc and learn to throw it unless the rim was a lot different from what I normally throw. A Groove is much different from a Teebird in the hand. I know disc minimalism means learning to throw a variety of different shots with a few molds and I have stated that I used to limit myself to 3 molds. Once I got a hold of those I added as I wanted. Eventually I realized that more important that a few molds (meaning different discs) was limiting how different the rims are on my discs. I wish I could find a midrange shaped more like a Teebird that fills the slot of my Roc.

I played with a guy today that carried 2 discs. His driver, which he used probably 4 times was a Destroyer, and his every other shot disc was a blowfly. He used his Blowfly on every shot that Beato uses a Roc for and for everything less that that also. He played great, seriously. It was a nice reminder for me to step back a bit next year and simplify in the spring.

 

[black udder]

To me, one of the great things about this sport is that you can throw 1 disc or 30 and neither is necessarily wrong after a point. We've seen folks do things worlds apart and be successful.

 

[bike2disk]

tigel: Sounds like a good setup to me! I love me them teebirds! I have a new 167 champ teebird for hyzer shots and fh drives and a beat 165 dx one for straight bh shots and fh turnovers. They are all the disc I need right now because I only throw 300'.

Question: what weight teebirds are you throwing? Mine suck into the wind if it is blowing hard. They turn right over and fly a mile in the opposite direction that I want... Oh and what putter do you use?

I am being turned on to minimalism more and more these days. I met a guy on the course a while back that used to play with a 20 disc bag and now carries three discs: Star Xcal as his driver, star beast incase he loses his xcal, and an x soft challenger. He could do anything with those disks, throw any throw, and he was ripping up the course. I was struggling to keep par with my bag full o plastic. I realized thereafter that I was only throwing 3 of my discs the majority of the time, the others were for "well lets see what this one will do shots... I am still experimenting with different molds and weights but I am down to: teebirds, 150 flick for super crazy get out of trouble shots(because I get into that kind of trouble troublingly often...), a mid and/or a putter. I still suck at the game, but my scores have improved as a result of worrying more about the shot than which disc to throw and massive improvements to my for as I learn how to throw the teebird well.

I think it all comes down to if you are comfortable with a certain disk and can make it do whatever you want it to. If not, carry a few more molds for hitting those different lines. If you need a bag with 20 discs to hit the shots you want, then thats what you should play with. IMHO, more power to ya for getting by on less discs!

 

[discspeed]

hmmmm...Midranges overrated? :lol:

 

[JimW]

hmmmm...Midranges overrated? :lol:

They sure are! I threw that round yesterday morning only throwing a midrange once and that was on a thumber :lol:

These guys are basically in the same boat as me though, not throwing far enough to reach holes with midranges but ending up close enough to the basket to throw a putter on nearly every drive. Personally I wouldn't like going without them though, yesterday was a rare time when I don't feel like a midrange was best suited for a shot at least a couple times per round.

 

[grizzles]

First off, if it's working for you, keep doing it. I do agree with Blake that a mid will be a nice addition once you feel you've got the power to make good use of it.

Didn't someone say, "throw the shortest disc that will get there", or something to that effect?

Personally, I waiver somewhere between strict minimalism and mold junkie. I do see the benefits of minimalism. I've tried to pare down the molds in my bag to: Wraith for most all distance drives, Leopard for fairway duties, Buzzz for midrange stuff, Firebird for overstable fairway stuff, and a putter, of course. However, I also have a Drone in there because it does one type of shot exceedingly well, and I end up using it at least 3x a round. I could probably accomplish the same shot by backing off my Firebird though. I also keep a Surge in there because it's flippy and good for long drives that need to finish right, or tailwind stuff. There's also an Orc that I can't seem to get rid of, I just have confidence in it for hyzer flips and uphill shots where the Wraith is a bit too nose angle sensitive. I carry two Tee-Rexes for reasons not entirely clear to me, they're coming out less and less. In time, one of my Pro Wraiths will break in enough to replace the Surge, and I could probably get rid of the Orc without much ill effect. I cannot imagine getting rid of any of: Wraith, Firebird, Leopard, Buzzz, Putter though. So, 5 molds is the bare minimum for me, and I like carrying 6-7. I may even add a Force soon since the TeeRexes are not nearly as overstable as I'd like, but my new 12x Star Wraith is plenty overstable at the moment.

It all comes down to what works for you. Disc minimalism is helpful in that you learn to throw a lot of lines with one or two molds, and that helps your game immensely. However, if it's a higher probability shot for me to throw a Drone at 100% power than a Firebird at 70%, I'd be a fool to drop the Drone. Likewise, if it's higher probability for me to throw a flat shot with a TeeRex that will finish hard left, versus a hyzer with a Wraith. If I need to finish right at 420' with a tailwind, my Leopard won't get there and the Wraiths will get stable too soon... thus the Surge. You can surely think of your own situations like this.

Personal disclosure: I also do not drink the DX Kool-Aid.

J

 

[garublador1]

Ok, I'll admit the "industry" does want you to buy discs and their business (and our sport) depends on it. That being said, we are a grassroots sport where a huge percentage of the financial support, embassadorship, and promotion comes from the manufacturers. They are more responsive to what people choose to buy than to what they "want to sell us". They barely market (only in a single DG magazine and through there sponsership and team members at tourneys) and certainly don't put much thought as to how many discs their touring pros throw. They want winners, period. The fact that they make premium plastic discs of different stabilities hurts their business, if anything. If they really wanted simply to make money then we would only have a couple molds and only dx. Then we HAVE to constantly buy new discs because they beat up so fast and we NEED different stabilities. Our DG manufacturers are a LONG way from being "the man".

Yeah, I'm sure if the manufacturers had it their way we'd all carry 20 copies of the same disc in the same plastic rather than 20 different discs in different plastics. It's a lot cheaper and easier to manufacture that way and you don't have to put money into R&D. Because of that, my guess is that Discraft's Ultrastar sales are way more profitable than their disc golf sales. One mold, one weight, minmal plastic blends when compared to disc golf (differnt colors, glow, UV). Perhaps I just haven't heard it, but I don't normally hear people complain about different Ultrastars flying differently like they do with golf discs.