Is brand loyalty stupid?

[bthoma1]

I play with just one brand(discraft) and see no problem with it. I don't see myself being limited as I have a disc for all shots. Some people say it is negative to do this, some others say positive. But either way I'm happy with my golf game and don't have any complaints.

 

[AdamE]

I mainly throw Innova and have a couple Discraft in my bag. I'm open to trying other discs and manufacturers, but nearly everything seems to fly like something Innova already makes. I don't buy or throw something just because it's new.

 

[smyith]

brand loyality is dumb if you blind deny the quality of another brand or its discs.

however there is an advantage to brand loyalty. an article i read a long time ago talked about how each company designs their discs to be released at a certain angle or range of angles. because of this throwing one brand can be beneficial because you are able to familiarize yourself with that release angle and have consistency across all that brands molds.
the disadvantage. it will never matter how many discs one company has, they will never have the complete answer for 99% of the disc golfer population. being able to pick and choose from all that is available can give the player all their best options for each given 'spot.'

 

[Dave242]

I have a couple Discraft discs in my bag because I found them (unmarked), threw them, and I like them. I am otherwise totally Innova. I have every reason to not like Innova after some business interactions that went badly, but I am too lazy to learn all the names and associated flight paths of other discs. I do not throw much of the wide rim stuff (speed 11 on up) and that is where most of the new molds are.

I am fine with my Aviars, Rocs, Firebirds, Orcs, TL's and Sidewinders and sticking with them. My game does not suffer from not having other molds, but rather from inconsistently throwing what I have well enough. If there is a disc that could consistently take 2 throws off my round, I would love to know about it.

 

[snowren24]

I have a couple Discraft discs in my bag because I found them (unmarked), threw them, and I like them. I am otherwise totally Innova. I have every reason to not like Innova after some business interactions that went badly, but I am too lazy to learn all the names and associated flight paths of other discs. I do not throw much of the wide rim stuff (speed 11 on up) and that is where most of the new molds are.

I am fine with my Aviars, Rocs, Firebirds, Orcs, TL's and Sidewinders and sticking with them. My game does not suffer from not having other molds, but rather from inconsistently throwing what I have well enough. If there is a disc that could consistently take 2 throws off my round, I would love to know about it.

if you want to ditch innova you bag would probably be something like
Magnet, Wasp/Buzzz, Predator, Flash, XS (maybe), x-XL, but that's probably another thread.

 

[GLong]

If there is a disc that could consistently take 2 throws off my round, I would love to know about it.

for me that disc is the Zone. Only disc I can say that about. Especially in windy conditions.

 

[snowren24]

for me that disc is the Zone. Only disc I can say that about. Especially in windy conditions.

agree, great disc that it seems everyone who throws one loves instantly. :thmbup:

 

[Kaijinbo]

Get out and throw already!

A lot of great molds out there to be missed if you're only throwing one brand.

 

[i_throw_bricks]

I love Innova discs on the whole, but love my Ridge and Buzzz, too. I think that brand loyalty can cause you to miss out some pretty awesome discs. But I do like the constency of using the same plastics and getting used to how they feel, etc.

 

[slowRoll]

No option for me to respond. I don't think its stupid. Its like anything else, some folks won't drive anything but a Ford, or only use Titelist golf balls, It's gotta be Nike running shoes... Brand loyalty is what gets a brand recognition & sustains them. Myself I'm not particularly loyal to 1 brand. I have 5 different brands in my bag.

If "stupid" is the right word, then its just as "stupid" to jump someone's s**t for being loyal especially if its working.

I intentionally didn't include a "Meh..." or "Whatever..." option because I have seen polls become skewed with over 30% of the reponse going with that sort of bs answer. I wanted to know if brand loyalty is important to the majority of us, and seemed to have overwhelmingly gotten my answer.

 

[waynewf]

i used to throw only innova years ago but now most of my drivers tend to be innova, mids are discraft, and putters are gateway. to me that's what each manufacturer tends to excel at. i have thrown a bit of discmania and have tossed a little lat64, but i'm trying to minimize my bag at the moment so i haven't went buck wild with other brands.

You and I have a very similar philosophy. My drivers are mostly Innova, discraft mids, but instead of Gateway putters I have moved over to Vibram. Gateway would be a close second though!

 

[atay87]

Here is a video of David McCormack, owner of Gateway, talking about brand loyalty. I saw a while ago on another thread and thought it was pretty good.

 

[ElementZ]

Eh...I'm not really liking that David McCormack said that it's "pathetic". I only throw Latitude 64 discs and I've never had a problem of not having a disc that will work for me. I'm a pretty big believer of having a few discs in your bag and knowing exactly what they'll do under any condition instead of having 20+ discs where you kind of know what they're supposed to do.

 

[snowren24]

Eh...I'm not really liking that David McCormack said that it's "pathetic". I only throw Latitude 64 discs and I've never had a problem of not having a disc that will work for me. I'm a pretty big believer of having a few discs in your bag and knowing exactly what they'll do under any condition instead of having 20+ discs where you kind of know what they're supposed to do.

I think by pathetic he meant that companies sponsoring players and only allowing them to throw one brand was pathetic, not that 1 line of discs was pathetic.

he's looking at the growth of the sport and probably figures that the more brands the pros throw the better for promotion as a whole. And being a smaller company than Innova and Discraft, I can see why he woudl feel that way, and I can also see why those larger companies would only want people throwing their discs.

 

[Connor Jones]

I use what is in my sig,so..

Innova,Discraft,Gateway,Millennium & Lat64.

 

[jasonc]

When I started, I only used Innova b/c that's what was for sale at the gas station by my home course.

I mixed in some discraft drivers for a short time, but didn't have much success with 'em. Then I wanted to try out everything possible until I realized that if I wanted to improve my game, it would be wise to reduce the number of molds in the bag and learn to throw what I already had.

I decided to try out the Gateway putters b/c some local pros were using them and I wanted to...still want to improve my putting game. The Wizard is now my #1 putter.

Not sure exactly how many discs I have but it's probably somewhere between 130 and 150. At least 80% of those are Innova. However, my slowly increasing stack of gateway wizards & magic putters have been tipping the balance.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I have a mix in my bag. Most of my bag is Discraft, but I do also carry a Coyote, and Roadrunner, a Hydra and Wahoo, because I havn't found any Discraft that fly just like these do. I also carry a Polaris LS. I just throw what works for me. It just happens that I have found that Discraft works in most cases.

 

[sgamerp]

Here is a video of David McCormack, owner of Gateway, talking about brand loyalty. I saw a while ago on another thread and thought it was pretty good.

I hate that he calls them Frisbees as an owner of a disc golf company

 

[thrembo]

I've only thrown Discraft for years, nothing against Innova, Discraft works for me. You gotta throw what works for you.

 

[mashnut]

I'll try anything, I have no loyalty to any brand. In my opinion, it's a little silly to restrict yourself when you're not getting anything in return from the manufacturer.