Beginner compiling a bag of discs

[rodman]

Hey guys, love the site and thought I'd try to contribute. I have now played 5 or 6 rounds of disc golf and have brought my score down to a most recent score of 74 from a 91 the first time i played (on our narrow forest course where par is 56). I have bought a bunch of discs and also been to a local soccer field 4 or 5 times to practice. I'll turn the soccer goal to face me and I'll pace off 250 or 300 feet and try to hit the goal. It's a little wider than most of our fairways here but it's a start.

My current bag is as follows:

2 Arch Angels
1 Tee Bird L Pro
1 Tee Bird L Champion (tie dyed)
1 RoadRunner Champion
1 Quarter K
1 Sabre
1 Beast DX
1 Leopard DX (fantastic disc, it gets many of my tee shots)
1 Roc Dx (the best disc in the bag and it gets much of the action off the tee and elswhere too)
1 Stingray DX (this is an awsome glider)
1 Eagle DX (so-so)
1 Champion Aviar putter

My strategy is to try a bunch of drivers while i learn to throw the longer discs. The shorter discs from the leopard, roc, stingray, and aviar are pretty much set. I have huge amounts of confidence in all those. I can throw over 330 with the Tee Bird if i can get that nose down but for some reason i usually hit between 250-295 with most of the drivers due to poor form.

I have much better form and control with the Roc and Leopard and often can get as much distance from those. I've just started using the leopard and roc off the tee exclusively since i was tired of going into the deep dark forest chasing whichever ultra long distance driver i happened to throw 30 yards into the trees.

Any advice, comments etc... are welcome. Hello and I look forward to discussing this awsome sport with you.

[Thatdirtykid]

I would reccomend throwing just the pro teebird and the sabre for drives. They will teach you more about your form than the rest. The roadrunner coule be very long for your power when thrown with hyzer, however its not the best disc to learn from.

How far can you throw your leapord, and whats the flight pattern like for it?

[rodman]

I can throw my leopard about 250+ from a tee (walk up) shot. The flight is really quite straight with the slighest fade the last 20 feet. It has become one of the more dependable discs in the bag. I use it and the Roc the most from the tee. Right now I'm just experimenting with the drivers.

[Thatdirtykid]

I would say where you are you may want to experiment with tecnique more than plastic, I would say throw the lepoard, teebird and sabre in the feild alot. You should be able to get a bit of right turn out of the lepoard if you are throwing hard enough to get the teebird over 300'.

By the way, welcome to the fourm, Blake is the moterator here, and is probably one of the most educated guy you will ever talk to about the physics and flight of a disc, and knows all the technicals about form and everything else. Hes helped many of us solve many problems just via this fourm.
Welcome!

[DAllen]

I would totally second that. I've been playing for a little over a year and a half and I wish someone would have told me right off the bat to only use 3 disc for a year or so. That way I would learn good technique with each disc really well before spending more mullah on more plastic. As it is right now, I carry a bag with a bunch of plastic in it but only use 4 or so discs over the entire round. The other discs are just for looks.

-DAllen

[rodman]

Thank you, that seems to be the way I am going anyway. I throw in the open field in the mornings to work on form and the last 15 minutes of that I specifically work on the discs that I'm actually going to use the next round (which happens to be today at 4).

Today I had only 3 discs in my hand. The leopard, the Roc and the Stingray plus my putter. I was getting the teebird to 300 ft this morning as well as the beast but i also had the leopard around 275 feet but i can throw it lower with much much less fade.

Thanks for the help. I look forward to talking with Blake.

[rodman]

I read about the 2 differing deliveries and was working on bringing the arm straight across the chest this morning. Thats a small change from my natural delivery. I think I might loop out a bit too much. It feels a little wierd at first but just like anything (the grip for example) once you get used to proper mechanics then it's second nature.

[Frank Delicious]

Are you playing at Buckhorn because a 74 there is pretty freaking impressive for a beginner. You should trying playing Kentwood a little if you haven't, the holes are shorter and a little more open. Very good for practicing putter and midrange drives.

Good Luck and I'll probably see you out there.

[garublador]

It sounds like you're learning rather quickly. Keep up the good work! I found that when I was only able to throw a Leopard 280' or so it was one of the most dependable discs I had as well. Try throwing it higher for more distance.

I'd say that while it is good to focus on the older, easy to control discs, it's also definitely worth experimenting with the others as well.

[rodman]

I've played 5 or 6 rounds there (91, 82, 88, 80 and a mish mash 74) I didnt play the entire course but made sure i played 18 so i could give myself a progress report during that 18 hole round. I think i was 18 over after 18.

I am somewhat fanitacal about things and this sport seems to have caught my fanaticism. The 74 was played from the pro tees and I think I only threw driver on 2 or 3 holes. The rest were leopards and rocs. I'm also playing very conservative around the basket. I never go for a putt that's too far for me to realistically make so I'm getting a lot of drop ins.

I'll try the Kentwood course. Where is it?

I will say that I had lots of breaks and made some shots during that 74 that i'd never made before. I just figured it's from lots of practice which i've been doing a lot between rounds.

[Frank Delicious]

http://www.pdga.com/course/courses_by_city.php?id=623

Those are pretty good directions. It is the first right after you exit off of 440 and the next turn is at the end of the road. You have to watch out though because for some reason people don't believe in yelling four out there and a lot of the holes are close together.

Also at Buckhorn you should try to play a round or two from the Am tees, they are still challenging but give you more realistic looks at some birdies. Also #16 from the blues is just stupid.

[roadkill]

I have much better form and control with the Roc and Leopard and often can get as much distance from those.

A couple things:

I think it is a big mistake to play with too many different molds, especially given that you've only played a handful of times. I think knowing your plastic is one of the key ingredients to having control and being consistent. (the other ingredient is good form and tempo).

At this stage of your game I'd advise you to carry no more than four discs. Stable driver, understable driver, multipurpose midrange and a putter. For example (among the discs you listed)the following would work:

teebird
stingray
roc
aviar

Secondly I would recommend making slower, forgiving discs (roc,coyote,champion panther,leopard) your bread and butter discs (go to discs) and reserve the faster high tech stuff (wraith,starfire, avenger) for wide open distance drives.

Distance is highly overated. Control,consistency, good putting and course management is what leads to lower scores.

[rodman]

Good advice roadkill, I'm well on my way to doing that. There are only 2 or 3 holes that actually need a driver (if you aren't expecting to be by the basket in 1 shot) and so i find i'm using those you listed plus the Leopard.

Thanks.

[rodman]

I played 2 rounds today and shot 77 on both rounds on buckhorn. I found a true love for tee shots... that Champion road runner is made for ME.

I am anAddict. Help!!

[rodman]

Oh yea, the list showing my current bag is correct..... minus the beast... she is swimming right now.. buying a new one tomorrow.