I'm off the wagon!

[Working Stiff]

It started innocently enough...I was field throwing SL's, thinking about replacing Valkyries with them. Results were inconclusive, so even though they were pretty similar I stuck a couple of each in the bag. "No big deal," I thought. "I'll figure it out in a couple of weeks and be back to one mold in that slot."

That's how it started.

A few weeks later, I stuck some Magnets in the bag to go throw with my daughter. I try to get her to throw her Magnet most of the time, but she likes to throw what I throw. So I figured I'd go throw Magnets with her. I'd forgotten what a good disc the Magnet is, I was having a lot of fun throwing them. So I stuck them in the bag for good and have been throwing them on short drives and upshots. I'm stuck on the Wizard for putting, so now I've got two putters in my bag to go along with two similar drivers.

Wait...it gets worse.

I go back and forth with mids a lot...Roc, Buzzz & Sentinel are all in the mix, just not at the same time. Anyway, I have a sweet Buzzz that is straight as an arrow but I can't turn it to save my life. So I figured what the hell and put it in the bag with the Rocs. Then I figured that if people do that Wasp/Buzzz mix it was OK to do a Sentinel/Buzzz mix, so I pulled out the new Rocs and put the Sentinel back in. Of course I still have a beat Roc for tunovers...Argh! THREE mids?!?!?

So I've already got overlap all over the place when I get real attached to throwing a Gazelle. Problem is, the reason the Cyclone always ends up back in the bag is that they beat into great turnover rollers for me. But now that I've already got a disc selection that looks like a two year-old picked it out...Hey! Why not? So the beat Cyclones stay! The Gazelles stay! It's a party, I'm carrying everything!

Right now I have ten (10!) molds in my bag. Many of them stupidly overlap (Magnets and Wizards? Buzzz and Rocs? Cyclones and Gazelles?) However, I'm not really finding myself confused over which disc to throw when, as they all have pretty well defined roles based on how beat the particular disc is. And I'm not playing any worse (although it would be hard to play any worse that I normally do, minimalist or no!)

So I've decided on a stupid bag full of discs that do the same thing. I'm off the minimalist wagon, baby!

Can anyone talk some sense into me?

[tumpsi]

If you feel comfortable with all those molds, why not? I'm happy with my 3 drivers, 1mid, 1 putter state of mind.

[cmlasley]

I voted "Get a Life."

You know how to work a minimalist bag and you aren't having trouble with disc selection, so do what you want.








(send me your Rocs)

[SkaBob]

Lasley's got a good point...If you're not coming across shots where you're like, "Well, I COULD throw this...but maybe I should throw this?" then I say keep with what works for you.

I have more molds than minimalists would say I should in my bag. Rogues and Surges together - but my Surges are for distance crushes where my Rogue is for turnovers, rollers, short skip ace-runs and tailwinds. Wasp, Buzzz and 3 different Comets...Each is thrown for very specific purposes.

Any time I find myself arguing with myself as to which disc to throw on the same line, I make myself re-evaluate both discs...Eventually if you DO happen across those moments enough, you'll weed out some of your discs and keep the ones you're most consistent with.

Just don't let yourself fall into the trap of only throwing a disc for one shot. If it's only useful for one thing, you have something else that'll do that same thing already in there. In the long run you'll do better to learn how to make what you have do that than keep a disc in for one shot. About the only place this isn't true is rollers, because it is good to have a dedicated roller disc.

[marmoset]

I should probably be asking you for advice... not the other way around.

For the most part I adhere to minimalism- even before I started reading DGR. But I find my bag usually has 1 or 2 *extended auditions*. XLs and Leopards come to mind... I usually have 2 Leopards and 3 XLs in the bag. And I'm about to audition a SJLS and QJLS. How's that for overlap?

The way I see it:
I am not vying for any NT podiums so who cares what I throw? I'm out to have fun... and I have fun with XLs, Leopards and probably JLSs. I do well in some tournaments and not in others but I always have fun.

I realize that I probably would shoot better by adhering to strict minimalism but having fun is what keeps me coming back.

[dgdave]

I voted get a life. If you're at the point where you can shape lines and have confidence in your shots, I think it doesn't reallÝ matter what's in the bag if you're comfortable.

I can go out with Teebirds, Rocs, and Aviars and shoot about the same as a bag with 15 different molds. I like to mess around with new plastic so my bag is usually a hodge podge of stuff. Most of the time its the 3 discs mentioned earlier with a few other molds to supplement if I feel so inclined, but some times, like right now, its a bunch of stuff that's been in my bag less than 5 rounds.

This is a game. Have fun with it.

[Working Stiff]

I think it doesn't reallÝ matter what's in the bag if you're comfortable.

I knew somebody would say something that clicked. The bag is fine. However, I've been a minimalist for a dozen years, preach it to new players and believe in the basic principal. So the bottom line is that the bag as I have it might work fine, but I'm not comfortable with it. I don't want a new player looking in my bag and seeing a hodge-podge of this and that. I want them to see an example of what I'd recommend to them...a minimalist bag. To carry the bag I have now I'd either have to be a hypocrite or keep my mouth shut and not give any advise. You guys by now should be clued in to how well I keep my mouth shut.

The bag was bothering me, I just could not figure out why. Thanks, I knew somebody would help me understand.

[dgdave]

I don't think you'd be a hypocrit to tell a noob to only throw 3 or 4 molds and you have a ton in your bag. Not a lot of people learn to shape a line nowadays with the flood of plasic out there. They see FAST! MEGA D! YOU NEED THIS!!!!! DESTROY THE COMPETITION!!!!! And go for those. They get them and can't throw them worth a shit. If they got a Gazelle or something along those lines they could learn something, but 99% of people would buy a disc called the Destroyer over a disc named the Gazelle with a picture of a frolicing deer on it. You've done the minimalist process to learn and if you want to build a bigger bag, ala Borg, you can do that in confidence because you know how to throw a disc.

Just say as my dad, and probably yours, said.....

DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO



I think the more you think about it the more it will effect your game. Just go out and toss some plastic.

[GorillaTactics]

Yep. What matters is whether you can make the shots you need to on the course. And in an even more general sense, what truly matters is that you're having fun. So, I guess you should ask yourself, are you having less fun or making any less shots with more discs in your bag? I would say probably not.

The minimalist mindset is nice and sexy, but.....really.....who gives a flying f-k how many molds you have in your bag, if you already know how to throw a golf disc? It's YOUR bag, man! Put 18 different molds made with woven unicorn hairs of varying lengths if that's what works for you.

[JR]

Learning curve is what we're talking about. For a new player disc minimalism is a great learning tool that cuts down on the time needed to throw. Can also push beyond plateaus that could remain unbreachable otherwise in some cases. Maybe even in many cases. It's a different ball game for someone who can throw anything once he knows the characteristics of a disc.

It's very possible that a player with a high skill level throws a disc once at high power level and knows it well enough to manipulate that disc on all distances and all lines that the disc is capable of performing. And he also knows which lines he doesn't attempt with the disc because it isn't suited as well to them than other molds. Once you learn enough it isn't that difficult. It's happened to me enough times although it usually takes me about a dozen throws to get a general picture. And in some cases a lot more tho really get comfy with a disc. I'm by no means a highly skilled thrower. Getting to know a disc requires more knowledge than throwing ability and that helps me along

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread that does sometimes but not often enough surface here on DGR is the fact that incredibly many discs are different looking but exactly similarly flying. Many manufacturers make discs for similar requirements and surprise surprise the discs fly identically or close enough to be identical in practice.

[cmlasley]

There is something satisfying about carrying a minimalist bag, though. For one thing, it is cheaper because you are using the same discs for different shots throughout their life cycle.

There's also an understated elegance to pulling out the same mold over and over for very different shots. I love when people ask what I just threw. "An old beat Teebird." Next hole I need a big hyzer. "What did you throw that time?" "A Teebird."

[Working Stiff]

It's just a function of what I've been doing for the last few years. I don't live anywhere near a course, so I field throw a lot. In field throwing I'll break out several overlapping discs and throw them all for comparison sake, so I'll appreciate how good a disc like the Buzzz is even though I'm a long-time Roc thrower.

Now it's not much of a stretch to realize that if you have 6 Rocs in your bag various stages of wear and 5 Buzzz in your basement various stages of wear, you can take Rocs out of your bag and replace them with Buzzz from you basement that will replicate the shots you are using those particular Rocs for. So I can easily mix my bag up with Rocs and Buzzz and I'll know what each disc is good for. So I CAN mix these discs up, no problem. Hell, I can even use a Buzzz for straight shots and keep a Roc as my backup for the same shot if I want.

BUT...as Yogi Berra once said, it's 90% mental and the other half is physical. I can use a minimalist bag or I can mix the bag up. Whatever. But the mixed-up bag got in my head. I kept flipping the cover closed or pulling my towel over the discs to cover them up. Nobody cared what I had in my bag, but it was bothering me. Obviously it's bothering me, since I made a post hoping someone would talk me out of it. If it bothers me (even if it shouldn't) and I have a viable alternative (which I do) then I should not do it.

Case closed. I'm back on the wagon.

[cmlasley]

Case closed. I'm back on the wagon.

Welcome to the fold.

[Jesse B 707]

even one disc of a mold i dont usually throw in my bag will really bother me, every time i look down at my bag i'll subconciously see the out of place disc "what the hell is that in between my eagles and cyclones?" and i'll feel like my bag is not right all day long

[garublador]

Being able to brag about not needing a bunch of discs is one of the rarely talked about advanages of minimalism. I'm glad to hear that someone else appreciates it.