old guy/newb bag disc selection

[aerohusker]

Hey Everybody,

I'm 54, been throwing for 13 months. LHBH also some LHSA, but not as far. Here's what I carry, please tell me what I'm missing.
(All Innova)
167 Star Vulcan -best disc. for distance appx. 300'
156 Bliz Katana -bout the same, also good side arm 275'
170 Champ Archon -straight drives 270-280ish
159 Bliz Boss -long hieser throws
165 Champ Orc- side arm
156 Bliz Krait (leave at home?)
157 Bliz Tee Devil leave at home?)
168 Champ Monarch -go to driver for straight 260-275 throws
Mid Range
Mako -love it
Spyder- throw a lot
Roc+ don't throw as much, but should?
Fairway Driver
165 Teebird - since i don't throw much over 275 pretty much every hole is reachable with Mako or putter?
169 TL -so so, i don't use much but should?
Star Avair -straight, long putts
Yetti - putts i want to heiser in
Thanks!

[JR]

At your power i'd use less fading fast drivers and at much lower weights. Katanas get way flippy sooner with less weight but my 137 Boss is fading out on me at 400'. Light Beasts are probably easier to get than light GL Rivers so the Beast could be a good option. My 145 Starlite Roadrunner is mongrel shaped and flies as poorly being flippy as hell. A light Star Roady could work too but the straightest driver, although shorter than the discs i've mentioned so far, is the Leopard. Even a Champ 175 shouldn't be too much of a disc to throw straight at your power and it is very controllable and the most nose angle insensitive driver out there. For more fade the TL is ok the TB might be too much at times so pick one.

You could drop the molds you doubt easily. Archon, Monarch and Vulcan overlap and you said you use both the Archon and the Monarch for straight shots. Why? Overlap central. Roc+ is the worst variant there is of that disc and all you'd sacrifice by dropping them would be distance in windy weather. Because the Mako can't handle so much headwind and the Spider is shorter than the Roc.

Have you thrown the Boss anhyzered for maximum distance and how far it goes in a lowish s-curve?

[7ontheline]

165 Teebird - since i don't throw much over 275 pretty much every hole is reachable with Mako or putter?

If a mako gets the job done then no need having to learn all those hard to control fast discs too. I like teebirds and eagles for windy days so I'd suggest adding your teebird to the frequently thrown short list. If you have to have something faster I'd stick with the Orc as I've read that replacing a monarch that flies similar to another monarch is not easy to find.

[keltik]

It's a bit harder to do a bag check for a beginning Grand Masters age player. I'm gonna say stick to the Blizzard drivers. figure out which ones you throw the most and just put the others in the closet.

as for the TB and TL, if they don't do anything that your other drivers don't then don't use them. The recommendation for people to use the slower drivers is mainly for younger guys trying to develop monster distance. I doubt at your age you could get up there with the young guns having started the sport later in life. but it doesn't mean you won't enjoy the game any less. I hope you enjoy it more.

Just remember young guys make more mistakes than older guys and that's where you can capitalize. and practice your putting as often as possible.

[JR]

There is another good reason to throw slow drivers and it is keeping them straight longer so Stalker and Leopard then TL then Teebird are good for shots fly much of the time in a straight line. Not knowing how pure your form is makes it more difficult to recommend mids that are fairly straight at your power but go far. The Mako is certainly up there in distance and a Coyote won't be adding much at all to that at my power so it might actually fade out and be shorter for you so i can't recommend buying one but you should certainly loan one to try if you can to see for yourself. Coyote won't flip as much. Warship flips fairly similarly to a Mako at my power and is a few feet longer but is it worth the hassle of getting one? The kings of lower power requirement while flying far are Comet and the little more power hungry Axis both of which demand pure form and a clean release from the hand. Or they'll flip like hell and always differently. So again i'd loan those if you can. The Comet in Z especially is a good teacher and a yardstick. The highest rated round ever certainly had some Comet shots in there and getting the Comet to fly without flipping is a certain mark of good throwing technique. Until you achieve that it is more of an anhyzer flip disc and it is valuable in that role too. But the real benefits of it are being a cruel no nonsense teacher and indicator of what you did wrong. Yes you not the disc. Sorry but that is how you learn the fastest if you won't gouge your eyes out in frustration and there the need for form improvement steps in. And we can help in that if you post a video of your throwing.

[7ontheline]

I'll be 46 in November and have played DG religiously for two years now. I've thrown frisbees for most of my life and played Ultimate frisbee on a competitive level for over a decade off and on. On a good throw I can hit 450' with my beat star bosses and seasoned esp nukes but on most golf lines I'm very happy with 380-400' with my Orcs. I've tried several 150 bosses and a couple lighter mid 130 bosses and definately would not recommend a 156 boss to a player barely reaching 300' unless the shot called for a 90 degree right turn (LHBH). I play with another pro masters player, 48, that swears by his blizzard katanas who throws over 400' with them but his skill level has been aquired through 14 years of leagues and tournaments. A 56 y/o grandmaster runs our Sunday league and he's added some distance with his blizzard teedevil but again his skill/experience level is from years of playing. Bottom line with blizzard is that they can add some distance to slower release speed throwers but in my opinion learning a slower more controllable driver very well will lower your scoring quicker. As JR suggests, the best way to get better with a driver is to get better with a mid first and as keltik recommends putting is the real score equalizer. I recommend buying several putters so you don't have to go pick one up after each practice putt.

Post a vid, read through the technique section, and buy/borrow used discs to save some buck$.

[aerohusker]

165 Teebird - since i don't throw much over 275 pretty much every hole is reachable with Mako or putter?

If a mako gets the job done then no need having to learn all those hard to control fast discs too. I like teebirds and eagles for windy days so I'd suggest adding your teebird to the frequently thrown short list. If you have to have something faster I'd stick with the Orc as I've read that replacing a monarch that flies similar to another monarch is not easy to find.

I better clarify, i meant if i can throw 275-300, that would leave me a short to 100-150 up shot!