Bardu's Bag

[Bardu]

Hi, I've posted my bag before at DGCR, but I thought I would post it here and see what kind of feedback I can get. I am, in my opinion, relatively new to disc golf. I feel like I have alot to learn and a long ways to grow. I am 31 and I started playing seriously/competitively since last year. I'd played a round a summer before that, never gave it much thought. In May last year I played a round with a good friend, and I decided this disc golf thing was alot of fun. I picked up a few discs and played in a tournament in July.

I read up on here and DGCR and tried every different disc I could get my hands on. That really didn't help anything, I would have been much better off sticking with a mold and learning it, but I felt I had to find the right discs for me. At various points last year (and a few this year too) I tried Wizards, Aviars, Ions, Anodes, Zones, Buzzzes, Rocs, Pains, Fuses, Comets, Axii, Vectors, MD2s, Leopards, TeeBirds, JLSs, and PDs. I might even be forgetting a few.

First of all, I throw only RHBH. I decided pretty quick that I had no place throwing high speed drivers. The more discs I tried, I decided I preferred baseline plastics. And eventually I learned mold minimalization, to try to build my bag around certain molds that I could really spend some time with, and hopefully ones that would reward me by both teaching proper form and also being useful discs for me to have learned how to throw for the future. My philosophy is basically to throw the slowest disc I can that the shot will allow. I prefer discs that are "finicky" such that they will punish poor form.

In October of last year I bought a pair of S Proton Ions, 3rd run, non-textured, Stormtroopers. I love them and they have been in the bag ever since. I had picked up Rocs when I first started throwing, but I've been throwing them exclusively as my only midrange since January this year. Recently I have added Comets to compliment them and I am looking forward to my new midrange setup.

Right now, I am basically concentrating on improving my form and I am mainly throw mids and putters only. i plan to add a few Pro Leopards to the bag once I really feel confident with my midrange throws or perhaps just for more competitive rounds. I do have a 175 Pro Leopard lying around but at that weight, it isn't very wieldly for me.

So just for reference, my Rocs are pushing but not surpassing 300 ft. My Ions are somewhat shorter than that. I had been concentrating on straight shots and hyzered shots for the bulk of my time playing disc golf. But recently, I've played with some better players and after watching what they do, I have been working on anhyzers and s-curves.

So without further ado:

Putters
2 S Proton Ions- seasoned, putts, approaches, drives, anhyzers, hyzers

Midrange
173 12x KC Pro Roc- seasoned, hyzers, wind, straight shots
172 DX Roc- main midrange at the moment, working it in, hyzers, straight shots
171 DX Roc- seasoned, straight, anhyzers, great line shaper
172 Z Comet- newer, straight shots, anhyzers
174 X Comet- freshy, straight shots, anhyzers

[keltik]

Looks good. I see that Comet I sent you went straight in the bag

[Bardu]

Absolutely, and it won't be coming out any time soon. Rocs and Comets are a sweet combo.

[Fightingthetide]

I'm new to Rocs, been throwing them for a few months now, and I keep hearing that Comets are a good compliment. I feel like this is such an age-old combo that I should know the answer, but what is it about Rocs and Comets that they work so well together?

And I like the way you are setting up your bag. It looks great so far. I think Pro Leopards would be a great addition in the near future, followed by a Star or Champ Leopard, then Teebirds or Eagles. Of course, there's a bazillion options (as you know) but those are some molds that I have come to know and love over the last few years. I still have a stack of Teebirds that I'll use for shorter courses, though I mainly throw PD's and Leopards. And Teebirds should get you to 400' should you chose to stick to them for distance lines.

[Bardu]

Well the best part about rocs and comets together is that the grip is so similar. You can switch discs without skipping a beat.

Once I feel I've really learned pro leopards I'll probably pick up a champ too.

After I feel like I am ready for a distance driver I'll probably go with pds. They power down well enough if there are fairway shots my leopards can't cover.

[Fightingthetide]

Yeah, I'm throwing PD's with Leopards. There's no gap there.

What about the flight of Comets makes them work well with Rocs? ex: what lines do they take that Rocs don't?

[keltik]

Comet was made to copy the Ontario roc. Like Bardu said grip/feel is identical. Comet fies straight and finishes straight if you throw it pure. It will take any line you put it on and can do all this with little power or a lot. It's flight is glide based so it is a slower disc. It is quite beautiful. You have to beat the dog shit out of a rancho to make it fly like a comet.

[JR]

Bardu 300' Roc is very respectable distance and it translates close to or even to 400' with light Blizzard warp speeder of little enough fade but enough HSS to keep it usable. and my standard reply is that if properly light Quasar doesn't do it for being too much then a Katana or Wraith should. Throwing drivers is a different matter and requires more from form and you won't learn it without doing it. So i implore you to take the Leo to a practice field and working with it until it works for you and if it doesn't read up on nose up angles and avoiding it here.

FTT i get a very different flight and wind fighting performance from the Leo and the PD and in s-curves more D from the PDs. Not always with throws that fly flat. The Leo is sneaky long thrown right with the small and very late fade. The PD is sneaky long s-curved not otherwise. The PD has a higher power requirement for control. Being longer the PD can survive some underpowered throws out to the max D of the Leo so it is a matter of semantics how you define power requirement. Overall for golf needs the PD has a higher power requirement. It ain't always smart to pound out the Leo at 100 % even if you can do it all the time. Or almost and that is the voice of experience. And i'm usually good with the Leo but every now and then it bites back. So i upgraded to the more LSS and faster and longer River that also can do surprising tricks. Like on a great throw go suddenly a lot farther than normal for me. Meaning i'm borderline on the power generation for long distances with one but if i intentionally power down for control it won't overfly ever for me. It fights back better from accidental overturning than the Leo. For golf control the River is a great step up in wind performance while being fairly straight and not overly more power hungry than the Leo. As long as you don't try to push it to challenge distance drivers in distance with only a little over 400' of D with warp speeders. The wicked thing is that my record with the River on rare perfect rips is 410' when normally i'm more in the region of 360' in cold weather and 370-380' in the summer. Not good enough for distance control to staying within the circle if it is pushed to over 380' in the summer at my power.

[Fightingthetide]

Without doing too much thread hijacking, I'll say that "no gap" between PD's and Leo's for me means that they aren't spaced out too far that I need another mold to work the distance between the two. I know I have every shot needed from 300' to 350' between PD's and Leopards, in both calm or windy conditions.

Thanks for letting me take up some space on your thread Bardu. And thanks for your comments on Comets...I might pick up a ligher X Comet for some field work.

[JR]

Agreed 100 % with the no need in between the PD and the Leo.

[Bardu]

JR, I have a couple questions regarding your post. First, I'm not really hitting 300 with my Rocs I'm just approaching it. 280 would probably be an avg throw, and my Ions are pretty much right behind given enough space.

Second, you suggest that I take my 175 Pro Leopard out to the field? I have trouble getting it up to speed long enough to do more than hyzer out. I need to get a couple lighter ones to work with, I was thinking a 168 and perhaps a 166?

[JR]

A 166 Leo would be the better bet because you already have the 175 for times when more fade is needed so to avoid overlapping too much the weight difference needs to be large. Also for keeping it straighter longer. So if you can find a 163 it might be even better.

[Bardu]

Yeah, I'm thinking thats a great idea. I found a couple 164s online, I'll probably grap one of those. Is there any point in getting another in a different weight as well? Or perhaps a Champion?

[JR]

I would test one at a time to see how it suits you and then decide if it is something you'll use forever or if you are unsatisfied with some aspect saving money for the next disc that should be closer to your preferences. The question of the Champion plastic comes down to how rough the courses are around you and whether you want to have a version that won't wear. I've thrown my 170s Champs to 380' on line drives at best and they have been used on mostly granite course among others for years without change. Don't expect a break in and changing of flight characteristics out of Champ Leos in the next season. It can be a great thing (money saving and not flipping like worn DX) but is it what you want? Only you can decide.

[Bardu]

Updated bag.

Putters
2 S Proton Ions- seasoned, all putts, approaches, and drives

Midrange
180 Japanese Nationals McBeth Champ Roc- brand new
173 12x KC Pro Roc- seasoned, hyzers, wind, straight shots
173 DX Roc- freshy, hyzers
172 DX Roc- seasoned, main midrange at the moment, flex shots, hyzers
171 DX Roc- pretty beat, flex shots
172 Z Comet- newish, point and shoot, anhyzers
174 X Comet- new, point and shoot, anhyzers

Drivers
165 Pro Leopard- pretty new, flex shots, gentle hyzers, annys, s-curves, hyzer-flips
165 Champ Eagle-X- new
165 DX Eagle-X- new

Dropped the heavier 175 Pro Leopard for the time being, I have problems getting it up to speed. I bought one of the McBeth Rocs and its pretty heavy, but I threw it in the bag anyway. Also picked up a couple Eagles, I'm excited to start working with them. Any advice or suggestions appreciated.