Building a Bag

[muchachogrande]

I’ve been playing for four months. My home course is Kentwood in Raleigh, but I work one mile from Middle Creek in Cary. I’ve only played these two courses. I have a seven week old son and, currently, my leash is short.
I can throw a DX Valkrie 280 feet with a one step throw. I can throw a Pro Leopard about 250 ft. and a X Buzzz around 200-250. I stopped throwing side-arm for every throw and I stopped doing a run up after watching the Beto video. I practice the right pec drill standing in my office during phone calls (just the power up and kick, not the actual throw) and I’ve just developed the confidence to add the single step up recently.
I late release issues, but I’m reading stuff on discgolfreview’s instruction articles and on the forum to see if I can find a solution for it before I start posting questions.

Ok, regarding my bag….

Drivers:

167g DX Valkyrie: new, but dinged heavily
170g Pro Valkyrie: almost new
174g Pro Valkyrie: new


Fairway:

150g DX Leopard: bought used. Flippy.
174g Pro Leopard: new
???g Pro Leopard: I want to say this is beat in. regardless, it’s my favorite disc.

Mid:

167g X Buzzz: newish
175g X Buzzz: new
174 FLX Buzzz: new
174g Esp Wasp: used
167 DX Stingray: beat, holy cow I love throwing this thing on anything with a right bend.
180 DX Stingray: new
173 X Comet: 2 weeks old and my second favorite disc.

Putter:
167g Soft Banger GT: I drive with this on anything under 200ft.
174g Soft Banger GT: goto for upshots
174g Soft Wizard: I love the way the weight and grip feels in my hands


Discs that I bought before I read anything here about disc golf:

171g Champ Sidewinder
174g Champ Wraith
174g Champ Valkyrie

167g DX Aviar:


Discs that I picked up and really wanted to work, but don’t yet:


167g FLX Avenger SS: new
171g X XL: new


I have no brand loyalty. I prefer to use what works best for me and I understand that will take some time to figure that out. But I really like Blake’s ideas about mold minimalism. I throw the pro Valkyrie better than any other driver, so I’m hunting used pro valks down because they are no longer in production.

So... do I have a good beginner bag that can develop into an intermediate bag later?
Do I need to modify/add/delete any discs? And finally, is it ok to have that many mids?

Thanks for your consideration.

[Earl]

Welcome to DGR!

I can offer a little advice.

First of all, I would recommend you build your bag around discs that are not Out of Production (OOP). The Valkyrie is an awesome mold, and I'm glad you like the Pro Valkyrie...the only problem is that you are going to have lots of trouble trying to keep your bag stocked with them. I would strongly suggest that you build your bag around molds/plastics that are easy to come by. OOP molds/plastics are a lot of trouble to hunt down and tend to be much more expensive.

Since you love the Valkyrie so much, I would throw the Champ and DX. It's hard to recommend the Champ Valkyrie, however, because it doesn't have as much glide as the other plastics. When you wear out the Champ Valkyrie, buy a Star Valkyrie to replace it. Yeah, I know your DX Valkyrie probably looks like a dog's chew toy, but it should still fly okay for awhile. Once the DX Valkyrie gets really beat up it will still be useful to you as a long distance roller.

I love the Leopard, too. It's a great disc, especially for someone new to the game. As you get better throwing, though, and are able to deliver more power into your snap, that Pro Leopard will start to turn way to the right. At some point you will have to purchase a more stable fairway driver, and I would recommend the Teebird. Keep throwing that Leopard, though.

***Here's a tip: Throw that Pro Leopard straight down the fairway as often as you can. If you do you will find that, as time goes by, that Leopard will require more and more of a hyzer release angle to keep it going straight. Keep throwing that Leopard with more and more of a hyzer release angle until you reach the point where, even if you are throwing the Leopard at a nearly vertical angle, it just won't go straight for you anymore. Use your X Comet the same way. Follow these instructions and you will become a master of the hyzer release, the most useful shot in disc golf.

Your X Comet and your Stingrays are very similar discs, too similar to keep both in a good bag setup. I would definitely pick one mold or the other, and I would strongly suggest you pick the X Comet. The X Comet is not only a great disc, but a great teaching tool, as well. As your X Comets break in, they will fly similar to Stingrays. Stingrays are good discs...there just not as useful as Comets.

The Wizard and Banger GT are very similar, too. I would pick one or the other. I like the Wizard, but putters are a very personal choice. Whichever feels better in your hand is probably the one that you will have the most confidence in. The Aviar flies differently than a Wizard or a Banger GT--I would keep the Aviar in the bag.

The Wraith is too much disc for you right now. Keep it in the closet. Until you are able to throw 350' consistently, there is no reason to keep it in your bag.

The FLX Avenger SS and the Sidewinder are so close to each other that they are nearly the same disc. Choose one and throw it. Your DX Valkyrie will fly very similar to both these discs. Since you like the Valkyrie so much, why throw anything else?

Also, I would get a very overstable driver for your bag. For a very overstable driver, I would highly recommend the Z Predator.

Your X XL is a great disc, too. Some people on this forum might disagree with me, but I think that the XL, especially in the X plastic, is too similar to the Leopard to warrant carrying both. The X XL can fly a little lower and a little farther than a Leopard, but not enough that you will notice a huge difference between the two. Since you like the Leopard, there is no reason to throw the XL. As you develop more power, though, you might find that the XL suits you better than the Leopard. Keep it in your closet next to your Wraith.

So, with my recommendations, your bag should look like the following:

Distance Drivers:

Champ Valkyrie (get a Star Valkyrie)
DX Valkyrie


Fairway Drivers:

Predator
Teebird
Pro Leopard (Try a Champ or a Star Leopard, too)


Midrange:

ESP Wasp
FLX Buzzz
X Buzzz
X Comet

Putter:

Wizard (or Banger GT, pick one or the other)
Aviar


In the Closet:

Wraith
XL

Once you are throwing farther I would add your Wraith. This bag would be all you ever need until you turn pro.

[muchachogrande]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Earl. I feel good about the content of the bag. I think confidence in what you reach for is secondary to confidence in your form, so I have some work to do in other areas.

what plastic do you recommend getting the Predator and Teebird in? Its rocky/tree-y around here. I like X fine in terms of grip, but my ESP wasp is near about bulletproof.

thanks again,

Jason

[Earl]

Sorry for the late reply.

I like all of my overstable discs to be in Champion/Z, so I would go for the Z Predator. I've had my original Z Predator for 3 years now, and I only just recently bought a new one. Pick one that you like a lot--it will be in your bag for a long time.

Teebirds are more tricky. I've got 2 Teebirds, 1 Champion and 1 Star. My Champion Teebird isn't as long off the teepad as my Star Teebird. The Champion Teebird, however, flies better on higher lines. Since this is my designated control driver, I like the option of having the different flightpaths that each plastic offers. DX Teebirds are good, too...just not for me. I'm kind of frugal with my money, so I like the long life that premium plastics offer.