Billy's bag

[Billym]

I an a noob who has been playing very regularly (7-10 rounds a week) for the past five months.
I have worked down to this;

Drivers;
DX Firebird 174G (super stable/headwinds)
DX Cheetah 175G
DX Cheetah 165G (the Cheetahs are my main driver sand I use them for hyzer, anhzer, turn overs and hyzer flips. Trying the lighter 165 because I think I throw discs that are a bit too heavy so I just bought it to see.)
DX Leopard 175G (was my first driver now it is for big turnovers)
DX Gazelle 175G (a little more stable than my Cheetahs; I am beginning to use this instead of the Cheetahs for windier drives and more fade)
JLS 175G (found it with no ink; like a faster cheetah-leopard mix. just experimenting)
Star Eagle-(X?) 171G (also found this w/o ink. Seems like a faster Gazelle; just experimenting)

Mid-range;
DX Rancho Roc 176G (just got it to move up from Sharks)
DX Shark 180G (this has been my meat and potatoes mid for the past months)
Star Shark 175G ( I play this at heavily treed courses to save my DX shark)

Putters;
Champion Classic Roc 174G ( I just got this to try instead of a DX version. I loved the DX C Roc as my upshot and distance putter. Also for windy puts. But DX version but it was getting beat up fast.)
Wizard SS 172G (just got hthis and love it but I have only played 2 rounds. I like it for approaches and chain bangging.)

So there it is. I have been tempted to get some faster more exotic disc and plastics but resisit the temptation and stick with good discs for newer players.
Based on what I am throwing (Cheetas/Gazelles 300 feet) how long should I stay with this set up? What should I change? And what should I think about moving up to next?
Thanks
Bill

[Billym]

So what gives? Good quiver or not?
I am just learning so I would love some feedback?
Should I loose either the cheetahs or leopards?
Is Gazelle/Leopard a good way to go or am I better with cheetahs that are broken in as opposed to leopards?
Also I have a few 165-166 new cheetahs on hand should I be throwing these?
Is there something between gazelles and firebirds for me at this time or should I beat the hell out of a few more firebirds?
Any help is great.
Bill

[cmlasley]

I think the bag looks good. When you find you are flipping your new Cheetahs too much, move up to the Gazelle as your main driver.

When you are consistently throwing the Gazelle about 315-320' get yourself a 165-170g DX Teebird or DX Eagle-X as your main driver and start using the Star Eagle as your headwind driver. The nice thing about Teebirds and Eagle-Xs is that you never really grow out of them. They're useful no matter your power increase. When you get those consistently out to 340-360' you should be able to easily transition to the newer, wide-winged, high-tech discs and you should then be able to throw a Valkyrie or SOLF pretty far. I can't help you past there, because I only consistently throw 340-360' and throw the SOLF for big D.

As for the other questions, I prefer a beat Cheetah to a Leopard in DX, but if you've got one that really turns right, I wouldn't take it out until you have a replacement Cheetah (or Gazelle) that will execute the turn. Leopards are also good for learning hyzer flips.

[Midnightbiker]

If you want to lighten the midrange load, I would say replace the Star and DX Shark and get a Champ Shark. That way you wouldn't have to carry two discs of the same kind. A Champ Shark should fly like the DX but not get beat in the trees.

[cmlasley]

Is there something between gazelles and firebirds for me at this time or should I beat the hell out of a few more firebirds?

Do you feel a big gap there? I can't imagine you are getting the Firebirds out there very far. Fantastic headwind and overhand disc, though. Are you beating up Firebirds too fast or something?

If you want to lighten the midrange load, I would say replace the Star and DX Shark and get a Champ Shark. That way you wouldn't have to carry two discs of the same kind. A Champ Shark should fly like the DX but not get beat in the trees.

I think a better solution is to use the DX Shark for turnover duties and then shelve the Star Shark so that you play with that new DX Roc until it gets nice and straight, then get a new DX Roc for overstable duties. Then when your straight Roc gets understable, replace the DX Shark with it, and rotate them all down and get another new DX Roc. With this rotation, you'll have Rocs in various stages of wear for different shots and you will be able to beat in backups eventually so that if you lose a Roc, you won't die from heartache. You may even be able to trade that Star Shark for a couple newish Rocs if you found the right person.

[Billym]

Thanks for the input guys. I feel pretty good about my bag.

cmlasley;
I don't get the firebird out very far or straight consistently but I have began to pull off a few 300 foot straight shots with a big fade at the end. I use the firebird mostly for what you mentioned. I may have beaten up one of them recently playing a course that had some very rough roto-tilling recently so there are hard dirt bombs all over the ground. I will start playing a new firebird to slow down the wear on the other one.

So eventually I will move away from the sharks toward rocs? Is that almost universal among improving new players? Right now my mid game is money and it is mostly due to my sharks going straight as an arrow. I suppose they will start to turn over in time.
I bought two moderately used KC rocs; should I start to play those sometime soon?

Thanks for the idea of beating up a few more cheetahs and gazelles; I have a bunch on hand! I like leopards too so it is a hard choice as they will all overlap more as I improve and gain power. So maybe I will stop buying the leopards and focus on the other two molds.
Thanks
Bill

[cmlasley]

I will start playing a new firebird to slow down the wear on the other one.

Even though the general consensus around here is that DX plastic is probably the best for most discs, your very overstable mold can be in a premium plastic to help it retain its very overstable tendencies for longer.

So eventually I will move away from the sharks toward rocs? Is that almost universal among improving new players? Right now my mid game is money and it is mostly due to my sharks going straight as an arrow. I suppose they will start to turn over in time.
I bought two moderately used KC rocs; should I start to play those sometime soon?

It's certainly not universal. I know a guy who has been playing for 15 years that still throws Sharks alone for all his midrange shots. The thing is, Rocs are magical. No, I'm kidding. The real thing is - Rocs are capable of flying a larger variety of lines, are more consistent in headwinds, and in varying stages of wear, can fill the very overstable, moderately overstable, straight with no fade, and turnover midrange duties. All with the same mold, and really good durability, even in DX. Because of this, you gain consistency because you really get to know that mold as you play with it on every third shot of every round. This is a good outline of the reasons the Roc is so beloved. You could do the same with Wasps, MRVs, Sentinels or any number of other beaded midranges.

As for whether to get out the KC Rocs, how do they fly for you? I don't imagine they will fly much different from your DX Roc, and you probably want to make that your main mid so it can get to that straight-as-a-Shark phase with no fade.

[Billym]

Thanks again.
I will get a Star firebird or two to add to the quiver.

I played Delaveaga for the first time today; great course.
I kept my drivers to only cheetahs and gazelles with pretty good results. It was not windy so I did not throw the firebirds.

I just bought 3 new DX rocs to start my collection!
Bill