Noobie Question Thread (Dumb Questions answered here)

[Mattallica]

Here's a newbie question.

Why would I pay $10 to play "league" doubles? I mean, I get that it's a good way to meet people and hang out. I get that it's good to watch other players play, to learn from better players, to play from the lie of a better player, etc. Maybe I'll do it every once in a while for those reasons.

But, why pay $10? Why can't it be a free event?

Even if it's some kind of random draw, or even a seeded pairing, what's my best outcome as a new player? I get paired with someone who can win on their own, and I'm in the cash, while not using any of my own shots? Why should I pay $10 into a betting pot that I'm almost guaranteed to be the least likely to win?

Because people like to play for stakes, I'm just expected to subsidize the game if I want to hang out with the cool kids?

I get what you're saying, but if it was free way less people would come out, there would be no prize. Also a lot of times a certain portion of the take goes to course maintenance etc..., not just paid out to the winners. And trust me, if you start playing with better players you WILL get better and quick. Also it's cool to be in a club cause if a member finds your disc you will get it back, it helps to put a face to a name.

 

[deBebbler]

Why should I pay $10 into a betting pot that I'm almost guaranteed to be the least likely to win?

It is called "the carrot". It is the type of incentive I, personally, prefer to "the stick".

After a long time of sporadic involvement, I've been pretty religiously going to leagues over the past three years. For a long time, I considered myself "least likely to win." I think I finished in the money about three times total, until the last two weeks when I have taken money each week. Once in singles, and once in random draw doubles.

I wouldn't have pushed myself to improve as hard as I do if there wasn't the incentive. Bragging rights alone aren't enough for me, I guess.

That said, $10/week is steep.

 

[thrembo]

I love playing in doubles. You can contribute, by playing it safe and giving your partner a chance to go for it!

 

[madman1101]

So Another question i have... I see guys on here throwing Champion discs in the 150's, i see people who prefer lower/lighter weights, I seem to throw 167-170 discs the best... is there any reason for this? does it make a difference? is it just personal preference? does it even matter?

 

[Star Shark]

Lighter weights glide more but also tend to be alot more susceptible to wind. Also, they are often more understable than their heavier counterparts. Personally, I like my drivers right around the 170 mark also.

 

[rootofthechord]

For a weaksauce thrower such as myself (250'), is a Blizzard Katana a viable option to throw? Just curious; I'm expecting a chorus of no's here.

 

[curveball4]

For a weaksauce thrower such as myself (250'), is a Blizzard Katana a viable option to throw? Just curious; I'm expecting a chorus of no's here.

Maybe a River, Leopard, Mamba if you just HAVE to go faster

 

[GLong]

For a weaksauce thrower such as myself (250'), is a Blizzard Katana a viable option to throw? Just curious; I'm expecting a chorus of no's here.

what are you throwing 250' with?

 

[cfair]

For a weaksauce thrower such as myself (250'), is a Blizzard Katana a viable option to throw? Just curious; I'm expecting a chorus of no's here.

a blizz katana won't get you much more distance if any... Go to the technique section and check out the sticky there. I bet you will get to 280-290' easy from that. Then you will learn the more basics of disc selection for players who aren't "throwing far" yet. Because faster discs aren't the answer.

 

[Huk Finn]

Been a long time since I threw a dx teebird . I picked up a glow dx teebird and a '06 tourney stamped, both are CAL on bottom. Are current dx teebirds CA? If so have you noticed much of a difference? Tourney stamp is flatter. Glow has a dome.

 

[rootofthechord]

what are you throwing 250' with?

171 DX Leopard and 150-class DX Beast. The putters and mids are about 10-25 feet behind.

a blizz katana won't get you much more distance if any... Go to the technique section and check out the sticky there. I bet you will get to 280-290' easy from that. Then you will learn the more basics of disc selection for players who aren't "throwing far" yet. Because faster discs aren't the answer.

Thanks for the reminder. I figured that the Blizz disc wasn't a magic bullet for my obviously bad technique, but I was curious if it was even a viable option at the kind of distance I'm throwing right now.

 

[sonny]

So Another question i have... I see guys on here throwing Champion discs in the 150's, i see people who prefer lower/lighter weights, I seem to throw 167-170 discs the best... is there any reason for this? does it make a difference? is it just personal preference? does it even matter?

I do this and it works pretty well for me, but I'm just a noodle-armed old guy. I play with four discs and use a 150 champ and 170 star sidewinder combo for drivers a lot.

I can get easier distance with the 150 discs in premium plastic. In DX or Pro, I'll use mid 160s for distance. I can just get a speed 10 up to speed, so I tend to throw Valks and Sidewinders. The lighter discs glide better at the expense of being a little more touchy. Not a whole lot of difference though. Nothing a solid putting game couldn't overcome.

 

[thugjitsu]

how do i know if a teebird is an 11x? i have a tourney stamp one from the palm desert and idk if its 11x or 12x

 

[plastic cannon]

how do i know if a teebird is an 11x? i have a tourney stamp one from the palm desert and idk if its 11x or 12x

what year does the stamp say? and what tooling is on it?

 

[agibson]

Consensus around here seems to be that it's bad for new players to throw high speed discs. There's debate about the specifics (should I throw only a putter until I can throw it X feet? when and how and why to "disc down", etc.) but not much about the general principle.

But, why should a new player avoid these discs? Why is it bad to throw a "high speed" disc (boss, destroyer, etc.) at less than optimal release speed?

Does this analysis change if they're really light, like Blizzard?? In baseball I can swing a light bat considerably faster than a heavy one. I'm a little less convinced that my release speed is dramatically different for a 175 g disc and 135 g.

 

[Oklahyzer]

It's not bad, per se, but doing so does tend to limit building a good foundation of skills and form. One of the most common things is that as new players learn that when discs turn/flex/S they go farther, then they start to attempt to make those high speed discs do it. Since they don't have the power/form to make them do it as intended, they start to introduce anny. That generally doesn't give them more than a few extra feet of distance, and usually starts to creep in to their form such that they develop all kinds of torque/plane issues that will limit them from ever developing clean form, more power, and longer distance...until they realize it and then have to deconstruct - which is a total frustrating hassle for most people. It's also a good way to develop some injuries or strains, because proper form is pretty easy on the body for the most part, while torquing and strong-arming is rather harsh. Last reason is that because those fast discs are so underpowered, they tend to completely mask the form errors - the effective overstability from underpowering them causes them to recover quickly from errors so that they are barely or completely not visible.

People are often really surprised to find that they can throw, say, a Leopard just as far or even farther than a Valk or a Vulcan/Katana.

Light weight changes it just a little...not necessarily for the better. While lighter weights may squeak out some extra distance, they also will tend to magnify form errors, especially in wind. Blizzard tech is a neat development, but people with poor form seem to dislike them and/or not be able to use them to their full potential.


EDIT: If you haven't seen this thread, browse through it. There is a lot of good info in there, although as with most threads on here, you have to sift through the good and bad. http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60100

 

[Script]

several reasons, but a couple reasons are is the risk/reward and good habit forming.

risk / reward - if you don't put the required speed on a disc to optimize the flight pattern, your errors will be much greater. If you throw a boss 250 feet and your buzzz 230 feet, you will probably be better off putting the buzzz away as the boss will flare deeper in the woods, go OB, come out of your hand, etc... way more often.

habit forming - when you learn to throw lower speed discs greater distances, the chances are much better that you are doing something right. This easily will translate into drivers when the time comes. If you start with drivers, you miss out on some of the important spin vs speed aspects of throwing.

 

[Dookville]

how do i know if a teebird is an 11x? i have a tourney stamp one from the palm desert and idk if its 11x or 12x

Next time you see Jerry show it to him, he'll know.

 

[Dookville]

Arguably one of the best teachers in our sport, Mark Ellis, might have a different opinion on not using drivers when learning to throw. Don't think I'm advocating new players using a Boss as their driver, I'm not.

 

[thugjitsu]

Next time you see Jerry show it to him, he'll know.

i feel like we've met......I'll have to ask him.

How are you liking the new teepads on 5 & 6?