Need help eliminating overlapping discs from my bag

[brittwink]

Years playing/experience:2-3 years of experience, 1-2 years serious play
Right/left-handed/ambidextrous:*right handed
Throwing Style: RHBH, occasional flicks
Golf Distance (avg/max*) for putter/mid/driver:*Ion/Anode: 200-250'; Axis/Vecor: 220-280'; Valkyrie: 280-350'

Optional:
Age:21
Sex:F
Injuries/handicaps?:None
What do you like/dislike about your current bag?: I have a disc for pretty much every shot, but I'm trying to make my bag more concise, and I would like to eliminate discs that overlap too much
Specific areas of desired feedback:*Want to see which discs others prefer for certain shots, and have a complete but reasonably sized bag. Willing to trade discs I have for discs I don't that may be better suited. Also, perhaps some tips for backhand form to increase distance
Immediate and long-term goals:*More consistency and more distance


Bag:

Drivers (weight/plastic/model/(condition)/use):
150 DX Valkyrie, (in fair shape)- main driver, annys, distance driver if no wind
170 Gold line Saint, (new)- stable/slightly overstable control driver
165 Millennium PLS, (new) – stable fairway driver
162 SOLS, (slightly used)- stable distance driver
171 Millennium JLS (slightly used)- stable/slightly understable fairway driver
175 S-line PD (slightly used)- stable/overstable power driver, hyzer shots
172 FLX Predator (slightly used)- overstable driver, extreme hyzer shots, skip shots
172 Gold line River (new)- stable fairway driver, slight annys, straight tight shots
175 Star teebird (slightly used)- stable fairway driver, wooded shots, s-curves
174 Gold line Trident (new)- overstable slow fairway driver, skip shots, extreme hyzers

Mids:
172 Neutron Vector, (new) – overstable mid, straight shots with fade at the end, hyzer shots
172 Proton Axis (used) – main mid. straight or anny shots

Putters:
174 Neutron Anode, (new) - main putter
174 Proton Ion, (used)- trick shots, short hyzer upshots

[ferretdance03]

What do you like/dislike about your driver selection? You have a multitude of pairing options with what you have, but what you choose depends on your preferences.
I suspect you could pick one of each of these subsets and be fine.
You could also build a bag around the LS's, adding an overstable compliment and a pure D driver.
River/PLS/JLS/SOLS
PD/TB/Saint
Trident/Predator

[discmonkey42]

Two quick observations...

-Saint, PLS, JLS, River, Teebird... I'd pick one, the one you feel most comfortable throwing a variety of shots with, and bench the rest for now. With your distance, I'd say keep the PLS, but I'm biased as that's the one of those I like the most. Others will disagree.

-Valk and SOLS can fill the same spot depending on wear.

Also, honestly look at your discs. Anything you only throw once or less per round can probably come out.

[brittwink]

Two quick observations...

-Saint, PLS, JLS, River, Teebird... I'd pick one, the one you feel most comfortable throwing a variety of shots with, and bench the rest for now. With your distance, I'd say keep the PLS, but I'm biased as that's the one of those I like the most. Others will disagree.

-Valk and SOLS can fill the same spot depending on wear.

Also, honestly look at your discs. Anything you only throw once or less per round can probably come out.

Do you think the LS's and River have that much overlap with the Saint? The Saint has more glide than the others, and a higher speed. I agree with you about the PLS, JLS and River...they're definitely similar. love my River so I'd have a hard time parting with it. I'll have to throw them all one day and really look at them closer. I haven't thrown my PLS a ton, although there is one course that I play where it performs beautifully. What do you like about the PLS vs the JLS?

[allsport1313]

Is there a sort of general consensus that overlap is bad? Now that I stalk DGR all day I realize noone really does this... For instance, I use Buzzzes and Rocs. I don't think I've seen a single signature that mentions using both. They probably could be used interchangeably but I find there are shots where I do prefer to use one over the other. Is the argument that less overlap leads to more familiarity with your discs? Also, I sometimes pick Disc-X over a very similar Disc-Y just on a whim, is this bad? Serious questions from a new dg addict

[brittwink]

Is there a sort of general consensus that overlap is bad? Now that I stalk DGR all day I realize noone really does this... For instance, I use Buzzzes and Rocs. I don't think I've seen a single signature that mentions using both. They probably could be used interchangeably but I find there are shots where I do prefer to use one over the other. Is the argument that less overlap leads to more familiarity with your discs? Also, I sometimes pick Disc-X over a very similar Disc-Y just on a whim, is this bad? Serious questions from a new dg addict

Well I know most pros are in the camp of using like 4-5 discs of the same mold in different stages of "beat" since they fly differently the more beat-in they are. But really I'm trying to narrow it down because I feel like it will honestly make me a better player to try to force myself to use one discs for several shots rather than having a disc for every single shot. I don't minding some overlap; I love Valkyries but I also love my Saint, and they're pretty similar once you learn how to throw both. But I use them in different situations. I'm more familiar with how Valks fly, so I use a Valk when I'm in an uncomfortable position, whereas I tend to rip my Saint when I'm in more of an open area. It depends on your preference I suppose. So I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with overlap; since I started I've always had more than 6-7 drivers in my bag at a time, and only recently have I added overstable drivers into the mix. I just feel like being able to truly learn what my best discs can do will make me a better player ya know? The disc shouldn't make the player, the player should make the disc work for them.

[allsport1313]

Well I know most pros are in the camp of using like 4-5 discs of the same mold in different stages of "beat" since they fly differently the more beat-in they are. But really I'm trying to narrow it down because I feel like it will honestly make me a better player to try to force myself to use one discs for several shots rather than having a disc for every single shot. I don't minding some overlap; I love Valkyries but I also love my Saint, and they're pretty similar once you learn how to throw both. But I use them in different situations. I'm more familiar with how Valks fly, so I use a Valk when I'm in an uncomfortable position, whereas I tend to rip my Saint when I'm in more of an open area. It depends on your preference I suppose. So I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with overlap; since I started I've always had more than 6-7 drivers in my bag at a time, and only recently have I added overstable drivers into the mix. I just feel like being able to truly learn what my best discs can do will make me a better player ya know? The disc shouldn't make the player, the player should make the disc work for them.

For sure. I think right now I just must be in that experimental phase where I want to throw any and all plastic

[brittwink]

For sure. I think right now I just must be in that experimental phase where I want to throw any and all plastic

Yeah I definitely understand. I have probably 20-30 discs that I've removed from my bag, because every time I found a disc I potentially liked I was like "oh yes I'll love this!" And I usually did. But now I'm in kind of a minimalistic stage where 1) I want a lighter bag haha and 2) I feel it's time for me to learn how to better myself. But there's nothing wrong with chunking as much plastic as possible when you first start out. That's how you learn what works best for you

[eric40817]

Im in the exact same boat. I need to focus on my form, and better myself on the course with a few discs that I am comfortable with and really get to know them, and how to use them in various situations. Right now my bag is similar to yours, Britt, in terms that I have many discs, all waiting for that one shot to come up. Theres nothing more annoying than being about to grab a disc, looking down at your bag and they are all staring at you, taunting you into choosing that disc. And then you end up picking a disc and not being too comfortable with your decision because there are other disc you like to through.

[discmonkey42]

Do you think the LS's and River have that much overlap with the Saint? The Saint has more glide than the others, and a higher speed. I agree with you about the PLS, JLS and River...they're definitely similar. love my River so I'd have a hard time parting with it. I'll have to throw them all one day and really look at them closer. I haven't thrown my PLS a ton, although there is one course that I play where it performs beautifully. What do you like about the PLS vs the JLS?

I think they are all control drivers. There are a lot of variables, though. Things like plastic type, version, stage of wear, line you throw on, etc. all contribute to different flights. For me, I want an overstable, stable, and understable control driver in my bag. Whether that is a set of the same mold in different stages of wear, or 3 different discs/molds is up to you. Long term benefit of fewer molds outweighs "that one shot on that one course where this one disc is my favorite to throw" type of approach imho.

I think that players that honestly look at a bag that is filled with overlap can group their discs into 2 groups. One is discs that fly well, are useful, have a place, and are reliable. The other is discs that you really wish were all those things, but their performance doesn't always agree. That second group can come into existence because you see someone throwing a certain disc well, read a lot of praise here, see a pro using one, or simply pick it up at the store and it feels good to you in your hand.

I like the PLS because a loooooooot of field work has shown that disc to fill my stable and understable control driver slot the best for me. The JLS had too much dome for my taste, but that is just me. A ton of people like the JLS more than the PLS. I think the PLS is the most controllable on your list for the distance you are throwing, but your field work may show differently. The is one of Blake's lessons that he posted about taking your control driver to a field and throwing different lines with it. That's the exercise I used to pick my control drivers. There really isn't a substitute for field work.

Another fun way to whittle down discs is to go play some single disc rounds. Take out two competing discs and only those two discs and play some rounds with them. Keep each discs score individually. It's often really obvious which is the winner and should be kept.

As for you Roc/Buzzz question.... IMHO this is one of the biggest fallacies of disc selection out there, that you can't carry both. They are totally different discs. Roc is more comparable to a Wasp, not the Buzzz. Buzzz is more like a Shark. Roc is a line shaping disc that glides well and needs height for distance. Buzzz is a line holding disc that is faster, longer, and doesn't need as much height. Both have their place and there's not a thing wrong with carrying both as far as I can tell. There are super successful players that only carry one or the other, but for now, if you like both, carry both.

[brittwink]

Im in the exact same boat. I need to focus on my form, and better myself on the course with a few discs that I am comfortable with and really get to know them, and how to use them in various situations. Right now my bag is similar to yours, Britt, in terms that I have many discs, all waiting for that one shot to come up. Theres nothing more annoying than being about to grab a disc, looking down at your bag and they are all staring at you, taunting you into choosing that disc. And then you end up picking a disc and not being too comfortable with your decision because there are other disc you like to through.

That's definitely my problem right now. I sit at a hole and just stare at my bag and think "gee, Valkyrie, PLS, OLS, Saint"... it's starting to get old. and it was worse when I had several discs in different stages of wear. I know a lot of people prefer to just use one mold in different wear stages, but I prefer to give equal love throughout the industry (I have a bit of everything), and with everything out there I refuse to tie myself down to 1-2 discs. Glad to know there's someone out there who feels my pain

[brittwink]

...I like the PLS because a loooooooot of field work has shown that disc to fill my stable and understable control driver slot the best for me. The JLS had too much dome for my taste, but that is just me. A ton of people like the JLS more than the PLS. I think the PLS is the most controllable on your list for the distance you are throwing, but your field work may show differently. The is one of Blake's lessons that he posted about taking your control driver to a field and throwing different lines with it. That's the exercise I used to pick my control drivers. There really isn't a substitute for field work.

Another fun way to whittle down discs is to go play some single disc rounds. Take out two competing discs and only those two discs and play some rounds with them. Keep each discs score individually. It's often really obvious which is the winner and should be kept....

Yeah I agree with the dome on the JLS... but my bf just gave me his old beat up JLS, and it's flattened out quite a bit, and it has become so understable that it has become almost a novelty disc that is so unlike anything else I throw. So I suppose it depends on the person, the run of the disc, and its wear. I definitely won't get rid of my PLS, but it'll probably come out only when I play certain courses. As for the JLS... it may end up losing to my Valk.

I definitely agree with you that field work is the best way to narrow down your bag. I just went out to a park the other day and threw several rounds of discs, and my PD won out over my OLF and I was able to narrow down to 1 Valkyrie (I had 3 in my bag). I think field work is the best way to practice lines and really become familiar with what's in your bag.

[JR]

Welcome Britt or should i say välkommen because Britt is a Swedish name? Since you love the River, the Saint and the Valk how about playing a round or two with the shortest and the longest one of those for the least overlap? Dropping the middle one. The reason for disc minimalism beside learning the disc thoroughly and forcing you to throw each line with it is to eliminate the ambiguity of disc selection when you come to a hole. And the easiest way to achieve that is to use discs that are clearly flying out to different distances. or different stability. Usually two discs of the same class are fine for most situations. One for straight and right shots and one for left and s-curves.

[brittwink]

Welcome Britt or should i say välkommen because Britt is a Swedish name? Since you love the River, the Saint and the Valk how about playing a round or two with the shortest and the longest one of those for the least overlap? Dropping the middle one. The reason for disc minimalism beside learning the disc thoroughly and forcing you to throw each line with it is to eliminate the ambiguity of disc selection when you come to a hole. And the easiest way to achieve that is to use discs that are clearly flying out to different distances. or different stability. Usually two discs of the same class are fine for most situations. One for straight and right shots and one for left and s-curves.

Actually Britt is just short for Brittany. Unfortunately I'm not Swedish, although I'm dabbling in the language but yeah I definitely agree with you about dropping the middle and keeping the long and short. I'm even thinking about replacing my Valk with something (different thread topic), but my Saint might be enough to replace it with. As soon as the weather clears up I'm off to the field for some hard-core testing.

[JR]

Det finns mycket Svensk musik och litteratur så kanske det kan motivera dina Svenska studier. If that was too difficult an easier crash course to Swedish is to say skål and drinking up

I wouldn't wonder if the Saint could replace the Valk. I haven't thrown my 167 GL Saint much and have not had a direct comparison to a Valk. My Saint flips a lot vs Valks and the fade is harder. It was worse for me with a straight shot preference and local courses favoring those that the Saint overlapped with other rarely used discs. sSo no dice for the Saint in that variation. Maybe a heavy Opto would work better for me. I love my River way more.