Putters - how far before mids?

[Aim For The Chains]

I like throwing putters far but not sure it equals a better score lol. Fun? Oh yeah and i getz all the ladies! :| I can hit just over 300' with a lot of putters but often no point. Some of the biggest advantages of being able to drive slower discs far is more control on long downhill shots which drivers will always fade out or reduce the skip on harder landing areas.

Distance has less impact on my disc selection at sub 300' its more about ceiling height, wind, and the line.

 

[tbird888]

This is a question you'll answer on your own when you start adding mids into the fun. It took me a couple months to really figure out where a mid is a better choice than a putter.

I throw putters up to my average max distances for them. Generally that's ~235'. I can throw further than that but not consistently.

 

[MrDarkHorse]

One thing to keep in mind if you throw putter exclusively for a while is that putters generally require a little more air under them to get a longer flight. So if you wait to throw putters out to like 300' (which is something I worked on for a while) you may have some trouble adjusting to the fact that mids, and especially drivers, need to be thrown at a flatter trajectory.

Just something to keep in mind.

Having said that, you're mostly doing the right thing. 225'-250' and in a pretty straight flight seems like a decent place to be throwing just putters and a safe zone to "add" mids.

 

[sumo21]

My max putter distance is around 200 feet. But the way I started was kinda the same way you putt. However, your in close distance would be 50 feet, then work your way out.

 

[INTP]

I'll be the contrarian and say that the muscle memory of launching a putter 300' (grip, release angle, aiming higher, whatever) can be detrimental to your in-game form, because that is not how you'll be launching the other discs at your disposal.
If you want to get better at something, practice that something, not something else. It usually works that way.

I understand the theory behind driving with sensitive discs like putters, but I believe you subconsciously make adjustments to your form to accommodate throwing putters. I'd be more inclined to recommend throwing the disc you want to improve with, and just dial back the power to maintain control as you practice ramping up.

 

[DG_player]

There's a certain amount of power I can apply to the disc, maybe 80%, where I can be consistently accurate. So if I walk up to a straight, flat, 275ft shot, even though I could power a putter out to that distance, I'd rather just disc up to a mid and throw closer to my target power of 80%.

A 250ft putter shot is definitely a solid drive. But instead of bombing a putter 250ft, It's usually more accurate to just throw a mid a bit softer.

:thmbup:

I agree.

If the line allows me to throw a disc around 75-80%, I'm choosing that disc over a slower disc every time.

 

[AzteC]

Honestly, I'm only throwing my mid if I have a ceiling and I need more glide out of the disc and for it to stay low. If the top is wide open, I'm more prone to throw my putter.

 

[Nick481]

I'll be the contrarian and say that the muscle memory of launching a putter 300' (grip, release angle, aiming higher, whatever) can be detrimental to your in-game form, because that is not how you'll be launching the other discs at your disposal.
If you want to get better at something, practice that something, not something else. It usually works that way.

I understand the theory behind driving with sensitive discs like putters, but I believe you subconsciously make adjustments to your form to accommodate throwing putters. I'd be more inclined to recommend throwing the disc you want to improve with, and just dial back the power to maintain control as you practice ramping up.

In the very little amount of time I have spend playing disc golf since 2012 when i started a lot of it has been field work with putters. I can throw them over 350 and up to 400 on anhyzers and personally I can just grab a driver and make it do whatever I want. And i am not very good at disc golf I just spent almost all my time working on form and distance with mostly putters and a beat in buzzz. So I think throwing putters far can have it's place. It has helped me get a lot of D in little playing time.

 

[Nick481]

Honestly, I'm only throwing my mid if I have a ceiling and I need more glide out of the disc and for it to stay low. If the top is wide open, I'm more prone to throw my putter.

This is also true. Its a lot easier to throw putters far in a field because of the unlimited ceiling.

 

[Kodachrome]

I'd say that if you are purposefully restraining yourself with the end goal of making sure you have solid technique before you add something else, 250' is a good marker.


Otherwise do wtf you want. You're throwing far enough to see some gains by discing up.

And you launch a putter for d in a manner very similar to how you throw any other disc. And you throw lines with putters similar to how you throw other discs. You might throw lower with a faster disc...big whoop. Not gonna bite you long term. You won't throw putters that much higher than your other discs.

 

[BrotherDave]

With Challengers I'd say hitting 215-225' accurately on various lines with a max D over 250' is a decent benchmark. Once I start getting in the 275'+ range with putters it feels more like I'm practicing a distance line than a golf line but the farther you can get the better, turns into a multiplier effect for mids and drivers.

So... 500' :|

 

[scarpfish]

There's a place for practicing drives with slow speed discs, but I think if anyone is fixated with a distance benchmark before they move up to a faster one, they're misconstruing the point of such an exercise. I would be less concerned with how far I'd get said disc, than how I got it to go there.