Trying to much?

[lost in ohio]

This is my first year as a disc golf devotee and I was looking at my stack of plastic and realized I have 25 molds and no repeats. I have been thinking more and more about actually creating a bag of three or four discs that I use all the time.
So my question to all you vets, at what point did you stop experimenting with different molds? I know to completely stop trying new things would be foolish but I seem to be spending very little time on each mold before I move on to the next.

 

[roadtripstuff]

This is problem a lot of beginners have. I know I did. Your best bet is learn what works for you and narrow your bag down as much as possible, you will be surprised how much your game will improve when you can actually concentrate on the game and not, which one of 25 discs you should throw on this shot.

I know when I was just really getting into it I had 15-20 discs, most of them drivers, yet I pulled out my valk for nearly every drive. Once I realized my got to discs, I was able to really get a good idea of which ones to keep. Now my bag is made up of 11 discs, plus two putters, most of them being mids.

 

[TxDiscGolfBoy]

I think everyone has this problem. It's good to try a lot of discs starting out. You have to know what you like, right? When you find discs that you feel comfortable throwing and can throw well, get better with those.

I currently have 21 in my bag ---- lot's of doubles.....

2 destroyers
2 Wraiths
2 Firebirds
2 Valks
2 Rocs
2 Rhynos (Rhyno/Tank -- Almost same disc)
2 Magics

 

[Johnson]

List your discs and we can help trim down your bags overlaps and suggest what you might be missing.

 

[TxDiscGolfBoy]

I personally -- when trying a new disc -- will take a disc that I currently use for "that shot" (similar flight) and take it out of the bag. For upwards of 2-3 months. This forces you to try different molds, not just to try them, but to truly know what that disc will be doing for you. Then the comparison comes.

Example:

I'm all rhyno in the winds. Bread-and-butter baby!!! Then the Wizard came along. I took the rhynos out and the Wizards went in -- 3 months. I truely know how the wizard flies(all putting and approaching scenarios) and can use that experience to answer any ones questions about it or if it decides to jump back in the bag, I know EXACTLY how it flies.

GREAT DISC!!! ....but the Rhyno's went back in.

All-in-all, you have to know what every disc in your bag does, how those discs fly "shaped", and having fewer molds in your bag will better help you accomplish this. The better you know your discs, the better disc golfer you'll be.

 

[Technohic]

I have just in the past few months really settled in to a few select discs. Before that, my bag changed every week and I tried a great deal of the discs available. Ideally, you want to master as few as possible and still get the job done when first starting but you really do need to find what you like as well.

Best bet is to trade and try and you'll eventually start seeing discs click more for you than others.

 

[chrishysell]

you should see my stack of discs with the notes written on the bottom. I bought every mold available when I started. Most people have never even heard of a Texan.

 

[booter]

unless you know me ba-dum-tsshh

 

[chrishysell]

The disc. I might even send you a pic as a tease.

 

[cfair]

you could try something like I do in "The Process" thread. Select what range of discs your interested in checking out, try those molds and then make a decision.

EX - I'm auditioning Fairway drivers right now and I'm trying to get a hold of an ESP Cyclone, KC Gazelle, Z Stalker, and Polaris LS. They're all shorter fairway drivers as I am being a little specific right now. But lets say I want to try faster fairways I would look for a Teebird, Ascent, Eagle, XL. Or if I'm auditioning long overstable discs (XCal, Force, PD2, Teerex). For whatever reason I did groups of four... but you could do it in variety. You could also just say you want to snag the most popular fairway drivers, try them out, then decide.

but. good luck...

 

[bboykin]

I don't know if you go out and field test these discs but you should. Find an open field and throw them all the same way so you know more or less what they're prone to fly like on any given shot. This should help you narrow down which one's are relatively the same, best turnover disc, etc. Take a few of your favorites and play with those for a while.

 

[ilmcgee]

You haven't listed what discs you have, but search this site and you can find what the popular discs are pretty easily. There are reasons why these discs are popular. If you have any of these, concentrate on learning them. If they work for you, great, get a at least one more. If they don't, with the vast knowledge on this site someone will be able to steer you in the right direction. The main key is to learn each disc if you really want to get better.

 

[lost in ohio]

As per suggestion my discs are:
drivers
150 sidewinder
172 dx whippet
16?champ groove (belongs to a friend)
161 dx wraith
175 z cyclone
175 champ Viking
175 champ valk (has the name mike cummings on the back at 8508038707 if your mike pm me)
167 flx surge
171 esp surge
171 z stalker
173 quarter k
170 dx eagle
mids
175 dm gremlin
? elite x comet
175 gold line core
180 rpro roc
166 dx wolf
173 star mako
177 flx buzz
putters
173 soft ion
171 soft magnet
17?dx rhyno
172 star dart
169 dx dart
174 med wizard
172 sp reef

I guess I do have two sets of repeats the surges and darts
I have been using the magnet and the roc the most. I figured out reading on here to steer away from the super fast drivers.

 

[snappyfingers]

First and foremost, trim down that putter list drastically. Learn one putter and become one with it.

 

[BrotherDave]

As per suggestion my discs are:
drivers
150 sidewinder (this is the only decent understable driver you have)
172 dx whippet
16?champ groove
161 dx wraith
175 z cyclone (glideless in this plastic)
175 champ Viking
175 champ valk
167 flx surge
171 esp surge
171 z stalker
173 quarter k
170 dx eagle
mids
175 dm gremlin
? elite x comet
175 gold line core
180 rpro roc
166 dx wolf
173 star mako
177 flx buzz
putters
173 soft ion (drving putter)
171 soft magnet (circle putter)
17?dx rhyno
172 star dart
169 dx dart
174 med wizard (driving putter)
172 sp reef (circle putter)

Here's 2 quick and dirty bag set-ups you could try (use the SW for understable but I highly recommend getting a Leopard, Polaris, light River, etc). I've given you a driving and a putting putter here b/c finesse putters typically don't like putting with putters that are well suited for driving but if you can make just one putter mold work it is the way to go. Rocs and Comets go great together, for the red bag you don't really have a good stable-understable compliment to the Core or Buzz but if the Mako is worn in really good it would work but I'd recommend a Fuse or Qms to pair with them. You also don't have a true overstable driver except the DX Whippet but being DX it won't stay that way for long, I recommend trading for a Banshee or Firebird just for practicing things like spike hyzers, flex shots, FH rollers, FH, OH, etc.

I went through this mess my first 2 years of playing, I'm just now getting my bag sorted out so don't worry, you're not alone. You just have to make the Marketplace your friend like I did.

 

[lost in ohio]

so sounds like I should slow down on trying out putters. Find an overstable driver an, understable mid and should not be discouraged to just keep trying out new discs. I am going to read through the process thread for some more info. Does anyone have anymore info on a trial period or is 2-3 months a generally good amount of time.

 

[BrotherDave]

If you're playing regularly (a few times a week), 2-3 months should be enough time to figure out if you like your discs. The problem with starting out in DG is that you don't really know what you like until you start figuring out how to get some snap and lose the OAT.

With trying out putters, it's virtually always better to find one you like okay and just stick with it. You'll try a new putter and it will seem like the best disc ever for a while b/c you're concentrating more but eventually you'll start missing the same amount of putts as whatever you were using last week.

 

[CwAlbino]

I don't buy new discs anymore. I throw other people's and trade for them. If I am buying a new disc, it's a copy or replacement of something I already throw. I can usually get a handle on a disc just by watching others throw it, and definitely in just 1-2 throws on my own.

 

[wolito]

One day it just hit me after buying all these discs and realizing that I just couldn't throw them as far as they can be thrown. I figured it was my form that was not allowing me to throw a distance driver 400+feet, that it isn't the disc. Field practice was also a good way for me to learn about how to throw a disc hyzer, flat and anny and doing this for a while I figured I can make the disc work for me the way I wanted it to. I now enjoy a fairly moderate sized bag with roughly 8 molds and don't have a desire or need I feel to go out and load up with a bunch more discs.

 

[wolito]

so sounds like I should slow down on trying out putters. Find an overstable driver an, understable mid and should not be discouraged to just keep trying out new discs. I am going to read through the process thread for some more info. Does anyone have anymore info on a trial period or is 2-3 months a generally good amount of time.

Listen to Bro Dave on this in his reply. He says just to pick one putter and stick with that. Learn it. Like many others before you, trying to buy a disc to do something that your form and technique can't do will only hurt you in the long run. Pick one putter and go with that. If after a fairly long time, at least six months, you realize that it might actually be your putter and not your form then switch things up. The more consistant you are in your molds, then the more consistant are your lower scores.