Advice for a newish player

[SniperZA]

I have been throwing at our local course about 20-25 times a year for a few years. I'm a right-handed thrower, and my distance throws are all forehand. My preferred distance driver is a Wraith, but I mix in a Boss sometimes. I tend to switch to backhand for approach/putting distances, because I currently lack good distance with those throws. The course I throw averages about 300-350' per hole, with a maximum of 532'. If I had to guess, I'd say my best drives are in the 250' range, but my average throw is probably closer to 200'.

I'm looking to upgrade my equipment this weekend, and was looking for some advice on the following:

1) I don't currently have a good midrange disc, I tend to switch to throwing backhand with the boss if I'm too close for the forehand, or throw the Boss/Wraith forehand and take something off of the throw. This doesn't tend to work very well, as both discs seem to hook very heavily if I don't throw with enough power. Is there a disc that you guys could recommend for midrange forehand? Do most forehand players tend to use a good midrange disc for those throws, or do they switch back to backhand for approach?

2) I think I need to add a backhand throw to my game. Can anyone recommend a good starter level disc for backhand throws?

3) Is there a disc you would recommend that I should pick up for forehand drives? I seem to get the best results with my wraith.

Thanks in advance for the responses.

[JR]

At your power even the Wraith is too much of a disc to fly straight. It is designed for much higher speeds and the Boss more so. I'd recommend getting just one disc a Z, Glo Z or a Ti Buzzz because it is great for both backhand and forehand shots and good at your power and much more distance too. At your power now i'd pick the Z Buzzz unless you want the disc to hook harder in the end but not Wraith hard. And if you think they are slick try putting the thumb outermost part almost straight down on the Ti to a rough spot. I haven't done a side by side comparison but the Ti Buzzz looks like the rim is slanted more than the rest have so in wet and cold conditions it may slip easier than the Z and the Glo Z. The Glo Z and the Ti handle winds better than the Z.

[turso]

Easy, light flick gets putters to 200' with forehand already, so wraith indeed is bit too much of a disc.

[JR]

Because Buzzzes are thin and less prone to turning over they are much faster to behave well than putters that need way more finesse and knowledge on how to throw purely.

[turso]

Yeah, wasn't suggesting he should throw putters for that distance, just used it as an example to point out that wraith is pointless for that distance.

[SniperZA]

Thanks for the responses, sounds like I need to pick up a Buzz this weekend. I'll also be trying out a much more challenging course than I am used to, so it will get an early test.

Do you guys prefer a particular plastic when throwing forehand vs backhand, or is it more of just personal preference?

[cubeofsoup]

Plastic is preference yet also a huge factor in how a disc will wear or beat in. Lower grade / softer plastics like DX or Pro-D will get beat up faster and the discs flight pattern will change to more understable. The higher grade / harder plastics like Champion or Z will hold their flight characteristics longer. The different plastics will also yield slightly different flight characteristics for the same mold disc brand new. Hence why a new Pro-D, Z, Glo Z, Ti, and ESP Buzzz will all behave slightly different, as JR mentioned.

[JR]

Most people have a grip with more fingers on the disc with backhands than forehands. For some grip may be an issue so if you sweat a lot or have dry skin i'd pick a not so slick disc which means you need to fondle the discs. Even though Ti and Z are hard and slick the Ti has an edge over other hard plastics with the roughened stamp. ESP often has less high speed stable (turns more) discs in it because their flight plate is taller. That may be a bonus depending on what you like or it can defeat the purpose of the Buzzz a little. A flat topped (perfectly flat) Buzzz will resist turning over much more than the easy to turn grippier but durable ESP Buzzzes that often have a slight dome and mild turn.

If you want to avoid getting a Buzzz that turns it needs to have a flat top, deeply concave wing and not drooping down outside edge on the side of the disc.