Strong arming my throw...anything else?

[JHern]

nothing wrong with an aviar or challenger. everyone has different preferences for the feel of a putter and how it should fly. i would advise that you just use mostly what pros are using, because more often than not they've tried a lot of discs.

most pros use aviars, wizards/warlocks, or challengers. some use magnets, magics/voodoos, rhinos, or pigs (the last two are mostly for driving or windy conditions). beyond that, it's really only amateurs that use the other putters out there. that should tell you something. i've met one pro who throws bulldogs for putting, but he also putts overhand so he's kind of an oddball.

You want to hear something crazy? My most successful putting disc ever was an old beat up Banshee that I used to throw forehand on drives (though I putted backhand always). I was nailing tough putts all the time. Nowadays if I park a driver near the basket on a drive then I sometimes putt it out for birdie with the same driver since more often than not I have a better percentage with it. To me, this means I should avoid putters with high profile rims. This makes me want to use an XD, but that is of course more of an approach disc. Maybe if I start throwing without my index finger embedded deep under the rim, I can possibly get better results with a high profile rim. Practice practice practice.

[JHern]

Funny, just after I submitted that last message, the post knocked on the door with the Putt'r and XD that I had ordered before. The Putt'r is soft, but not quite as soft as my soft Magnet. Maybe good for laying up on some approaches and sticking to the ground to avoid roll-out...I'll have to try it out to see.

The XD looks more like a more putter-esque version of the Stratus in shape but without a huge profile rim (just slightly more blunted than the Stratus). If this disc also flies like a Stratus but with more putter-like qualities, I see all sorts of interesting applications for approach throws. Also, the Strat is one of my best for making extra long putts (50' range), even if it is still a low percentage (10%-ish).

[presidio hills]

i think if you pick a putter, go out and but 2... then learn it, you won't have issues with it feeling uncomfortable in your hand anymore.
i started out with the birdie for about a year. and honestly i was putting just fine with it, but i figured out it wasn't the best putter out there so i forced myself to learn a champ aviar. i also realized that a champ aviar is not the best putter out there (because the champ plastic is rather slippery, you tend to have more putts slide off the chains) that took about a year and a half. finally after reading on here blake's schpiel about wizards i ordered 5 from gateway for $35... the plastic was MUCH stiffer than my champ aviars and thus very hard to get used to... but i did, and i wouldn't go back EVER! now i'm all about having a medium wizard for putting and i swear for my style a stiff putter sticks more than a soft putter.

all that being said. you need to figure out if you're a pitch vs. a spin putter. check out in the video critique section of DGR and find bob graham's putting clips... he has two distinct putting styles; a pitch vs. a spin. it's more about the trajectory his discs are traveling vs. his form per se. in any case, i believe firm discs are more suited for a pitch putt and soft discs are more suited for a spin putt... this has to do with how they hit the chains and how the discs drop when they slow down.

i would stray away from the XD and the Putt'r, personally and force yourself to learn a putter that is considered one of the best. it's worth the effort! be patient!

[presidio hills]

one more thing;
i would stick with baseline plastic for putters. it is what you want in terms of flight characteristics (slow turn, slow drop) and texture for hitting chains. pros use baseline plastic putters for putting... pretty much always. it's for a reason!