The Joy of a Single Discz`

[sonny]

Hi. My name is Sonny and I'm a disc golf addict. Basically, I play every day. In 2006, I played 233 games. Last year I played 287 rounds and have played 194 so far this year. That's a lot of games, but not once during all those rounds do I think I saw another experienced player who plays as I do - with a single disc. Surely I can't be the only one?

I play disc golf because I enjoy it and I've learned I enjoy it more using just one disc. How much fun is lugging a bag full of plastic around? Walking the course empty-handed is liberating and so much more fun. Not once have I had to backtrack a hole or two to find a disc I've left behind like my friends have to do now and then. You never hear me whining that I should have used the Roc instead the Wraith.

The amazing thing is, I believe single disc play has helped my game more than hurt it. Using a single disc has forced me to learn more control than I think I ever had when I used different discs for different shots. When I first backed off to one disc play, I used mid-range discs like Sharks and Cobras and yeah, that cost me maybe 40 feet in driving distance. But a couple years back I moved to using more aggresive discs (currrently a Champion Eagle) and now I feel I've lost that distance disadvantage. Even though I'm at least 20 years older than most of the local players (I'm 54), I'm still competitive with my one disc against their bag full.

So here's a shout out to any other single disc players out there: speak up! Tell me I'm not the only one.

[cloudstrife]

I've def heard of people doing this because I got a friend who only uses one disc, the Avenger SS. We poke fun at him when he misses a putt saying coulda made it with a putter, but overall he remains just as competitive. He states the same reasons you do, learning to handle the disc more, and saying that you shoulda used a different disc is just an excuse for not being as familiar with your discs.

[magictenor1]

While I do not use 1 disc I do believe most people have more than they really need in their bag. I carry a bag with some spares in case I lose one but in most rounds I will rarely use more than 3 different discs( driver,mid,and putter). The most important thing to me is that you are out there playing and having fun.

[Donovan]

Well, I have not went to a single disc for a couple of reasons. I do however play with just 3 or 4 and don't like carry a bag. I have done it and never play as well as when I am lugging just a a few discs in my hand alone. I have really considered going to 2 discs a few times.

I have no idea what kind of course you play or how good you are, but what determines me to take 4 discs on some rounds is, water. I will grab a Dragon if there is a possibility of me ending up having to clear a pond or a large creek. I just don't see the point of risking my good disc on a chance of a bad throw.

Otherwise, I take a Sidewinder driver that I use on the long courses off the tees. I too hate giving up distance on those courses. This is why I take 3 discs most of the time. As I do play lots of long courses.

I use a Stratus as my midrange or driver for really narrow courses and/or short par-3 courses. So when playing these type of courses I am down to 2 discs. To be honest, I would really go to just this one disc here I they made that disc in a more rubbery feeling plastic.

I do really like the feel and the weight advantage of a heavy Super-soft Magic putter. and the fact that it doesn't roll too much is a really good feature. SO I tend to take that to every course. I have seen people with hard plastic putters get skims and rejected putts, so a soft/rubbery feeling putter to grab the chains seems important to me. Although, I feel that Champion style plastic discs seems to work OK on the chains, I still like the heavier weight for putting and not for driving.

I am not a single disc kind of guy, but I am a 2 or 3 or 4 disc guy pending on the course.

[WillA]

Interesting topic. It cause me to consider how many of the 12 discs in my bag I used today. I got to 8 and stopped counting LOL.

[Midnightbiker]

I guess it all depends on what you like to have with you. I don't like to play unprepared. In my bag I like to carry : Bug Repellent, pain reliever, extra towels, pens, pencils , score cards, mini markers, bottles of water, rule book, and other things to help me in the game. I can't see playing with out a bag. Plus I like to have different discs to choose from. Can you imagine a regular golfer playing with only one club? It just wouldn't work for me.

[mike_riewer]

Midnight biker you bring up a good point - regular golfers using one club. I cant imagine not using a putter. I also think you would lose so much disctance by using the eagle instead of a faster disc. But, if it works for you - I would stick with it

[sidewinding]

Frisbees are to disc golfers like knives are to a chef. You can use a butcher knife for everything if you want but you will have a better end result if you use the proper tool for job. It is easier to peel an apple with a paring knife. Try slicing bread with anything but a bread knife. Dicing onions without a chef's knife is a real pain. Sometimes only a cleaver will do.

[ERicJ]

More power to you Sonny for travelling light and playing however makes you happy. In the end that's what matters.

But I'm guessing you don't play many courses with water hazards... I'd be curious to see how long you lasted on the LINKS (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2576) which has water in play on 15 of 18 holes. The first time I played there I put seven discs in the lakes (I got my two floaters back). After that round I had to get Tim to up the "Lost Discs" pulldown count in the DGCR Scorebook from 4 to 5. the LINKS (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2576) has claimed 25 of my discs so far.... Even the best players lose discs on that challenging course.

[sk8architecture]

[QUOTE=sonny;3997] How much fun is lugging a bag full of plastic around? Walking the course empty-handed is liberating and so much more fun.
QUOTE]

Its a bag of fun lugging a bunch of plastic around. I love disc golf because I like to watch the disc fly and S turn through the air. The more discs I carry the better array of colorful options I have to watch. My girlfriend uses one disc and gives me junk for carry all mine, but she just doesn't understand. But to each their own, just go out and have fun.

[sonny]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Keep 'em coming.

My local courses do not have serious water hazards - just creeks where a disc can be retrieved. But I recognize the problem. I switched to using an Eagle over Memorial Day weekend when I was playing out of town and tossed by only broken in Beast into a lake. There are some fairly serious jungle hazards on my local courses though and it's definitely a drag to lose a disc when you're only carrying one. If I'm playing with friends, they've always loaned me one to finsish with. Last time I lost a disc I was playing alone, but I found someone else's lost disc while beating the bushes. Playing with an unfamiliar Goblin cost me a few strokes over using the Eagle I'd lost, but it's just a game after all. (Anyone lose a Goblin at Farmington in Rocky Mount? It was unmarked.)

I don't think I buy the golf club analogy. The difference between a wood, a sand wedge, and a putter are qualitatively larger differences than than the difference between say a Beast, a Cheetah, and an Aviar. Someone upline thought I must lose a lot of distance tossing an Eagle rather than something more aggresive, but the truth is I don't have a big arm. Is a Beast more aggressive than an Eagle? I used a Beast most of last year and I'm not seeing a loss of distance even though the Eagle generally holds its line better. I tried using a Orc briefly, but I really don't have the arm to make it work for me. The longest hole in my town is 550 feet and I play that one in 4 about 75-80% of the time. One of my big-armed friends regularly throws an old Aviar over 300'.

Maybe 1 in a 100 holes, I'll hit what looks to be a solid hit in the center of the chains that bounces out. That always pisses you off, but I've seen people using sticky plastic putters do the same thing.

I can understand the argument of carrying accessories in the bag. I accepted a beer from a buddy just yesterday that he was carrying in his bag. In general though, I'm OK with having bug spray, first aid supplies, and cold drinks back at my car. I do carry a towel when my disc might get wet, but I can tuck that in my back pocket.

In the end, I think it's all about playing a game you enjoy in the way you enjoy it most. So far I've heard one guy has a friend who plays single disc and another guy who has a girlfriend who uses just one. I knew I was in the minority in my preference, but it might be that I'm out at the lunatic fringe. But I also wanted to suggest that you give single disc play a try. You might learn, like I did, that you can simplify your game, enjoy it more, and- believe it or not - continue playing at the same level.

[compn]

i play single disc, always have, always will. nothing infuriates me more than watching a group of 3 dick around with 3 discs each, and having each of their shots go no more than 100ft. every time i miss a putt and think i should bring a putter with me, i think of those three guys slowing down the course.

i know some of the excuses that people give "oh , this disc goes left, that disc goes right, this is my putter..." a talented golfer will learn to throw his or her disc left, right and putt :) of course, i've talked to a pro (mark ellis) and he uses a bag of discs, so what do i know?

[J-Man]

Hey that's what we all did back in the 70s and well into the mid 80s. I use a small bag and 9 discs, letting some of this new technology in disc design make some of the long ones reachable for these aging muscles. A guy at my home course runs the course and uses only one. You are not alone.

[Ryan P.]

Hey Sonny, I don't buy into the ball golf with many clubs analogy either. I use to play with just one disc, but decided to switch after messing around with some others. However, I wonder about Pros. I have never heard of a single pro that plays with just one disc, or even two. granted, they are probably good enough to play with just one, but it seems like they play with more than one for a reason.

On a related note, I am writing from the perspective of a person who wants to have fun, but I really want to get as good as I can. You seem to play for more of the enjoyment aspect than I do, and I don't think you should stop using just one disc if you love playing that way. (I do hate it when I leave a disc behind on a hole.) keep having fun.

[garublador]

However, I wonder about Pros. I have never heard of a single pro that plays with just one disc, or even two. granted, they are probably good enough to play with just one, but it seems like they play with more than one for a reason. Some discs just won't hold flights that other discs will. It doesn't matter how much skill you have, you can't make an Eagle fly 250' on the exact same line as an Aviar.

For rec level golfers I'll almost always bet on the guy with the fewest discs for the reasons mentioned in this thread. Once you get past that level it gets to the point where you will pick up strokes and skills by learning more discs. At the pro level they have to rely on an extra stroke here or there to do well. They already have the skills to make any disc fly how they want, but if they're able to find a disc that flies just that much better for any given shot, that could mean the difference between winning money and going home broke.

Really it's a matter of probability. Taking distance out of the equation a lot of shots are much easier to perform with one disc over another even if it's possible to perform that shot with multiple discs. It can be taken too far the other way too and it gets difficult to know what disc to use if you have too many to choose from.

No matter what, I'll agree that minimizing the number of discs you carry is the optimal way to learn more skills, however, taken too far you can limit how well you're able to play the game.

[magictenor1]

J-Man is right . Back in the day it was one frissbee, a 165G for me.

[DGtourist]

It sounds like bangin your wife in the same position everytime........... No thanks. Discs fly differently, and they are fun to learn.

[mike_riewer]

It sounds like bangin your wife in the same position everytime........... No thanks. Discs fly differently, and they are fun to learn.

Ha, Interesting analogy. The main thing is to know you disc or discs. You can have as many as you want if you know what they do.

[Midnightbiker]

I have to agree with that point. I have played with a friend who carries about 20 discs, and doesnt know what half of them will do. I carry 11 discs, but I know exactly what to expect from each one, and that comes from hours at the practice field.

I will say this, I have never seen someone at a tournament carrying one or two discs, but if I ever did, I think that would be cool. That is a guy who is confident in his game.


Sonny, have you ever played in a tournament? If you haven't you should, because you said you love the game. Tournaments are a great way to make new friends and fellowship with other people who love the game, and fun way to put your skills to the test.

[garublador]

I will say this, I have never seen someone at a tournament carrying one or two discs, but if I ever did, I think that would be cool. That is a guy who is confident in his game.If I'm not mistaken, Nikko Locastro played the Minnesota Majestic last year with three discs and was in the top card.

[sonny]

Sonny, have you ever played in a tournament? If you haven't you should, because you said you love the game. Tournaments are a great way to make new friends and fellowship with other people who love the game, and fun way to put your skills to the test.

Oh yeah, I play tournaments. In fact, I'm the organizer and TD for the local monthly in my town for almost three years now. This is just a low-key local, but I do OK with just a single disc. Details about my local tourney (including my scores) at: http://hometown.aol.com/RMdiscgolf

Playing on an unfamiliar course is a real challenge with only one disc; so if I'm playing in an out of town tourney, sometimes I'll drag out a bag and carry 6-8 different discs. I'm not fanatical about one disc play - I just want to enjoy myself.

Like others said up-thread, back in the day we didn't have the variety of discs we have available today. I too remember using a Wham-o World Class 165 as a driver because I could get the most distance with it. But I had a golf disc then too (a Lightning). As I kept playing and got more serious about the game; I collected the usual slew of discs, got a bag, and wouldn't think of going out for a round without my bag. One day I was out of town visiting with old friends and we went out to play some disc golf. I didn't have my bag with me, so I just borrowed a disc to play along. And I found I really enjoyed using only the single disc (and not carrying the bag around). When I got back home, I went through a few months of personal testing, playing single disc and playing with a bagfull. I'd play a couple weeks using a bag-o-discs and then a couple weeks playing single disc. Then I tried alternating daily. In the end, I realized, that for me, I enjoyed playing single disc more AND it did not make that big a difference in my scores! All that was in the late 80's through the mid 90's. In 1996, I moved to a town without a disc course and except for the odd round when visiting old friends, I didn't play again until my town built a course in 2003. For the past five years, I've been a single disc player. So that's how I got to this point.

[Donovan]

Thanks for the background story sonny. That does explain alot. When I have taken a bag, I find myself trying to figure out what disc I am going to throw instead of really visualizing the shot over and over in my head. Having more than three discs does this to me, so I tend to stay at 3 unless there is big water.