Tournament bag - weak armed beginner, narrow wooded course

[Karhumies]

I am putting together a bag of 8-10 discs for an upcoming couples tournament in a 18-hole narrow wooded course. I throw mostly RHBH and tomahawks. My form is bad but improving rapidly, RHFH lacks consistency, rollers are a weakness. I would like to receive some opinions from more experienced players about
1) whether my current plans for the tournament bag are feasible. especially the driver lineup.
2) what you would recommend as my "third midrange" disc
3) if there are some very good beginner-friendly discs outside of this list you would recommend me to buy & try

I do not have very much arm strength, so please take that into account when making suggestions. Average putter drive (ECO1 Swan2) is currently around 55 meters accurate, around 65 meters MAX losing the accuracy. My distance is constantly improving.

Putter plan:
OS / S 175 Super Soft Wizard - headwind only
S 175 Soft Warlock - workhorse putt & approach. Currently, I prefer Swan2 for putt drives. love the feel of the Warlock mold in my hand, but dislike how much the disc rolls upon approach landing or after missed putt.
N / US 174 ECO1 Swan2 - my favorite putt driver (no wind only) & understable approach

Midrange plan:
N 173-4 Elite Z Comet - this and the DX Gazelle are my "money discs" in wooded corses.
174 KC Pro Roc - probably choosing this disc as the "predictable fade" midrange
Midrange #3: ???

Driver plan:
OS 167 Champ Banshee - recently traded for this disc, but have not received it yet. headwind driver and forehand disc.
WORKHORSE DRIVER 170 DX Gazelle
S 169 Opto River - recently traded for this disc, but have not received it yet. has the potential to become a workhorse driver.
US 165 DX Leopard - on my shopping list

Distance driver plan:
Planning to play without any. Accuracy beats distance in wooded courses.


"THE RESERVES"

NEUTRAL MIDRANGE
170 Opto Fuse - overlap with Comet, liking Comet more ATM

SECOND MIDRANGE - "FADE"
176 Opto Pain - overlap with Roc, liking Roc more ATM
171 Basic JOKERi - not enough distance and too much fade for my liking
170 DX Spider - I just personally don't like how this disc feels in my hand.

THIRD MIDRANGE - "SOMETHING DIFFERENT"
176 C MD2 - fighting for the "third midair slot", but I think I should had got the disc in another plastic with less fade
168 Basic Midari - recently traded for this disc, but have not received it yet
…also contemplating the potential purchase of a Core or Aurora MS or P-line MD2 or Buzzz SS for the "third slot".

WORKHORSE DRIVER
171 DX TeeBird - way too much fade to be accurate enough in the woods
172 Champ Leopard - stable driver with my arm power, quite a lot of sideways movement -> I prefer DX Gazelle
171 M JLS - I like DX Gazelle more

UNDERSTABLE DRIVER
150 Champ Leopard - too much fade due to Champ plastic to be understable and predictable enough -> planning to purchase a 160-165 DX Leopard to replace it
147 Opto Diamond - also competing for the Leo slot.

DISTANCE DRIVERS
172 DX Valkyrie
170 Star Roadrunner
169 DX Viking

[Karhumies]

167 Star TL might also be a nice addition to my bag in the near future.

[Wordgie]

I've got a TL and really like it. It carries a bit more distance and has a little more predictable fade.

[Karhumies]

Placed an order for 165-169 DX Leopard and 165-169 DX Valkyrie. Not planning to use the Valkyrie in the woods, though.

[nohr]

Please Please Please go to a field and throw your drivers you are getting in a trade before your tournaments. Personally I would not put new plastic in the bag without throwing it a bunch of times before tournament time.

[JR]

Mikä rata ja paljonko sulla on aikaa ennen kisaa treenailla? Leo and Gaz overlap and if you have a used Gazelle you could ditch the Leopard. You may not need a third mid if you use underpowered throws with drivers or throw hard with the Banshee. It is not friendly at your power level. It dives hard left early even for a 136 m thrower max usually 120+. DX Valkyrie dies with the first hit to a hard object and flips like crazy after that if given power. Leopard will end up flippy slower but it will do it. Neither disc may fly the same in the end of a round on a wooded courses.

[Karhumies]

Time to update:

On the putter front, I have fallen in love with Gateway putters. After getting the Warlock, I haven't reached for the Roc all that much for approaches anymore. Therefore, I feel like I should be throwing putters more & getting a longer mid. Tried 175 C-MD2, but didn't like it. Was possibly too heavy, might try 170ish P-Line in the future. Anyway, have placed an order for 170-2 Z Buzzzz SS. Hopefully, it will work out for me. Other than that, I am thinking about picking a X Comet due to recommendations. Is there a big difference between Z and X Comets? For putting, I am currently using Magic. But might also try out Ion or Voodoo in the near future.

After getting the Star TL, my fairway driver line-up has become full of overlaps. I love the Z Predator as a truly overstable sidearm driver. Other than that, I should really pick a specific mold and get more of the same disc in different stages of wear. My favorites are TL and Gazelle...but the plastic options for those molds are very limited. Since my range has been increasing, I have finally started using my 170 St Roadrunner for D. I am more confident with that than with the River, at least for now. Still contemplating between the Roadrunner and Valkyrie, though.

S Magic 175
HPP Warlock 175 - wind
Considering S Ion or SSS Voodoo for strictly putting purposes (replacing Magic).

Z Comet 175 - neutral (thinking about X Comet 170-172)
KC Pro Roc 173 - stable, overlaps with Warlock (will try to replace it with Z Buzzz SS 170-2 once I pick that up)

St Roadrunner 170 - distance only (contemplating between this and my DX Valkyrie)
Z Predator 170 - sidearm, very overstable BH

STABLE / UNDERSTABLE OVERLAP PROBLEM - going to pick 1-2 from the following:
---Preferred---
167 Ch Banshee (moderately overstable)
166 St TL (straight line, moderate fade, longer than Gazelle...which might be only due to weight difference)
170 DX Gazelle (straight line, slight fade)
150 Ch Leopard (stable, curved line)
---Less favorite---
147 Opto Diamond (slightly understable)
160 DX Leopard (very understable)
159 Opto River
169 DX Viking
170 DX Teebird

Will try to go out in a field with the "control drivers" in the near future to help solving the overlap issues.

[vtbuzzz]

Hyzer flip through the woods is your best bet, throw your most understable discs in the woods and you should be rewarded. It's how I navigate our tight woods courses up here in VT.

[JR]

It is difficult to recommend specific plastics in specific weight ranges in a mold without knowing how far and how cleanly you throw now. Generally i recommend more grippy discs than Champ/Z for moist and cold conditions.

X Comet flips a hair more when new and fades less than the Z but the X will break in fast to flippier and perhaps a little less fading. P MD2 flips more than the C when new so it might suite lower power better. But i wouldn't buy a new mid before testing the Buzzz SS thoroughly -you might like it. But you should get a Coyote next if the Buzzz SS doesn't do it for you. Gazelle starts out more overstable than the TL and could beat into like a TL. Since the Gaz becomes rough with use it is a matter of preference which to pick. Neither Gaz or TL will stay in the tightest fairways on a perfectly straight line. Champ Leo would be the best bet at 172-175. The Roadrunner has room to grow so i'd keep that. Putter advice depends on your putting style. Lasers or push putts or something in between. Clear Ions fade more than clear Anodes and opaque Ions. All are slippery when wet to the point of uselessness so a less wind handling soft APX would be good in non stormy conditions but even less wind ruins the putts if the wind is head on.

[Karhumies]

<3 the TL. Very predictable fade. Has made me improve my drives a lot, especially forehand control drives in the woods. Already made a new personal 9-hole course record, mainly using just TL + Magic.

Drive length is currently about 75m and increasing (TL 166g). I feel that I am still not getting TL up to its full cruise speed, so there is some room to grow. Lots to improve with the technique, especially with body rotation and follow-through. 166g seems to be around the appropriate weight at the moment. Still preferring 1-step throws for control drives; x-step only in open fields for distance because it is not consistent enough. Practice, practice, practice...

The wooded courses around here are mainly 60-80m par 3, so no need to start hyzer flipping for extra D. Just flat release, straight cruising and let the fade do the rest.

Agreed that Roadrunner has room to grow. Also got a 172 Champ Leo, which seems too heavy for the time being -> room to grow there as well. However, the 160 DX Leo I currently have in my bag might be a tad too light.

Will pick up the Buzzz SS next week. In the meanwhile, I am getting my younger brother to try the sport.


Current bag:
175 S Magic (slightly too understable for my liking for straight putts)
175 HPP Wizard (slightly too overstable for my liking for straight putts)

175 Z Comet

170 Z Predator
167 Champ Banshee
166 Star TL
160 DX Leopard

looking to pick up next week:
172 Z Buzzz SS (stable long mid)
Ion / Voodoo (putts only)

other notes:
Slight overlap between Banshee and TL. I feel that a TeeBird or Champ TL might replace the Banshee altogether? Hmm.

[Karhumies]

Today, I was introduced to FD Jackal. I thought my TL was straight-ish, but FD beat it hands-down in the woods. My brother, who just started playing today, was throwing consistent 70+m very straight low ceiling forehand drives with the Jackal with ease, so we ended up buying him one as his first disc (S-line, 170-172g) together with a P1 Maniac 175g. Now I kind of want a Jackal, too. :-\

[JR]

The banshee and the TL are normally very different discs Banshees at my power fade hard and the TL flips. DX Leo beats into way more understable than Champ and fast so it's not the weight as much as the beatness level in that mold. Leos break into way understable but it will take years to a decade to do that to a champion. I'm thinking you have off axis torque to keep the Banshee straighter than it should be. It should be more overstable than the Predator. My donated away Jackal fades more than my TL and is longer.