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Newbie Driver Advice

I would lean toward an S-line FD...I would look at Gstar or Pro in a Leopard or Leopard3

I am OCD about data and do not want to waste money on this amazing disc I am about to purchase.

I notice a slight contradiction in your plastic suggestion. If Gstar is best for Leo's, why not go G-Line for FD?

I do want a slightly understable disc and I am worried the FD might be too stable or not as understable as the Leo.

This infinite review site says the FD is classified as stable. https://infinitediscs.com/Discmania-FD-Jackal

While the Leo3 is considered understable. https://infinitediscs.com/Innova-Leopard3

Do you think the G-Line plastic would allow the FD to be more understable?

Is the extra grip good for a driver? Seems like it would grip the ground and not skip as much, losing distance?

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
I have not thrown a G-line FD, but I have read people on here say that they are far less stable than the S-lines. I have only thrown S and C in the FD, and the S is more mellow...don't go with C at this point for what you want (still a great disc). Perhaps the G-FD is what you want, but I haven't tested it so I can't say. The S-FD though is very close to a speed 7ish Mako3 flight in my opinion, while understanding that the speed 7 characteristics do change a disc. When you go up in speed, they will be a bit more nose angle sensitive, and as well there will be more low speed stability than a slower disc, no matter what.

The Leopard3 can be more overstable than people anticipate. But, if you have the power to make one turn then it will hold the turn. I remember the Gstar Leo3 being a good Leo type of flight, whereas a fresher star or champ may be more overstable than some people anticipate. I have not thrown a ton of these, just going off of a few generalities I've seen.

This is tricky, because I remember when I started out I bought a Pro Leopard from recommendations here as an understable disc. It was a laser beam for me, like a -0.5/1.5 type of stability when I threw it 275-300'. Eventually it became understable, somewhat from wear and somewhat from me getting better...and I lost it because it flipped too far right. So these discs will become less stable with time and experience. Also I now throw fairways in the 350-375' area so I am trying to keep in mind how these discs handle lower distances, but also powered up so they are useful for a wide range of skill. If I threw a Pro Leo at power now, I'm sure it would be a turnover/understable driver, but that doesn't change the fact that ~300' it's a laser.

As far as Gstar, it makes discs less overstable than Star and they do skip less. As well they don't kick quite as badly off of trees. In normal situations the less skip is often a good thing for placement shots, although some discs the skip is a good tool to have. For a straight fairway driver I wouldn't really plan on it for skip shots anyways, so I would buy the plastic that has the stability you want regardless of the moderate difference they have on impact. If you hit the ground early it won't slide as far on some terrain, but I'd count that as missing my intended line anyways.

The FD and Leo are very similar discs, I'd say that overall the FD is a little more neutral, and a bit faster/longer. They are both like a fairway driver of the Mako3...straight but with a bit of wiggle and they will have some ending fade when thrown under 300'.

If you want a fairway driver that turns to the right for either a turnover shot or "full flight" type of shot for under 300', you will need to look at another mold such as an Underworld perhaps. Also you could throw something like a DX Leopard (they are super fun) for a cheap way to figure out how a driver works for you and what you want out of it...as long as you don't play rocky courses that would chew up the low end plastic immediately. However, when you gain significant power these discs are farther on the understable end and would then just be useful for rollers/trick shots, etc. most likely. This is fine though...discs are not that expensive so getting the right one as a learning tool is useful too.
 
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Also, just keep in mind that a disc will have a full flight (say a drift to the right then drift at the end just left of the initial aim) for a specific velocity. As you keep improving discs will act differently...especially moving from 250' to ~300', then another significant difference ~330'. I also think that if you throw a disc that has a little turn vs. a disc with a lot of turn, there often isn't that much distance change in a straight line from your starting point, but there is a lot more unpredictability in the throw overall. Keeping that in mind, a disc with a moderate turn like -0.5 to -1.5ish will be very predictable but still give you some glide, and not become unpredictable as you gain some power. Also this type of flight can hold a variety of lines to make sure that you can throw a lot of shot types and you aren't doing anything wonky with your throw.

Basically what I'm saying is that a straight-ish fairway is very useful, if it has a -1/1.5ish type of flight compared to a slightly more distance at the current time but inconsistent -3/1 or something. Especially if you're starting out and throwing in the 250' range, you can add some distance relatively quickly by doing some form work/practice, and the straight discs will react to that very well. One of my longest fairway drivers is a very mellow Teebird, and it barely turns at all...but it goes just as far as discs that turn more than it (I'm not recommending a Teebird for you at this point though, unless it's DX, but it still won't turn). My point is that there are some discs that just react to throws a bit more consistently over different power levels, and it's hard to get that across in the current 4 number rating system we have on discs.
 
Thank you for your insight Slowplastic. Great responses. I will ponder this further. Excited to try one of these!
 
Here is more to read through:

https://allthingsdiscgolf.com/discmania-fd-review/

https://allthingsdiscgolf.com/innova-leopard3-review/

Also look up "PLH" or "parting line height" with respect to stability if you want to learn more about disc to disc variation.

If you are wanting to get something that is as max distance as possible while being controllable, then I'd look to a star/Gstar Roadrunner or Gstar Sidewinder (these are all interchangeable depending on the exact disc's stability). Very long for their speed class, and long discs for most players' arm speed. The downside to these is that they are faster so at the lower end of distance they are a little less controllable, and as you stretch out your distance the turn will get more and more (whereas the FD will remain pretty neutral for a wide distance range).

I would still lean toward the FD type of disc as it'll be close in distance to anything else currently for you, and will keep you on good throwing habits.
 
I bag a GL River and an S Line FD. River is more straight to fade and FD is more straight to turn. I use them both quite a bit. I also bag a Leo but my Archer is taking more and more of it's duties lately.
 
I have almost lost 33 lbs and I was going to reward myself with an $80 boardgame: Viticulture with Tuscany Expansion. But now I am discovering all these discs! I'm thinking of buying plastic instead.

I have bad shoulder pain from throwing and typically get lighter weights to make things easier. Here are my top understable picks. Let me know if these are bad or if I should get a different version?

Discmania G-Line FD Jackal 165-170g - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017PGCQP8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ukAyzbFM184EW

Latitude 64 Gold Line River 160-169g - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AILDU3E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rmAyzb6ZC07AZ

Innova Champion Roadrunner 165-169g - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G2BY3OU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_noAyzb1T8BCF7

Legacy Patriot Icon Edition 165-170g - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BK817JE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fqAyzbRJ2N3GS

Reading the reviews on Infinite Discs, these sound like great drivers. I am restricting myself to 2 discs still on the course, so hopefully one of these will be a perfect single driver. I'm not sure how else to decide without buying them all and seeing what my shoulder can handle.

For my "excalibur" midrange/putter 2nd disc, I am going to upgrade my Chamipion Mako3 165-170g disc into a Gstar Mako3 175-180g. My lightweight Mako felt okay as a single disc, but now it's only for approach/putting, so I think a heavier and grippier Mako would be better.
 
Congrats on the weight loss, that's a bit number to commit to there.

Unless you don't like how the Mako3 is flying at this point then going to a second one in heavier/Gstar won't be much different. 10g is right on the edge of where I think it actually makes a difference (PLH is most important I think, until you start getting to really significant weight changes). Both champ and Gstar Mako3's fly straight and awesome. If you want a second one for practicing similar lines, etc., go for it. But if you're expecting a drastically different flight, that shouldn't be the case.

If I was going to pick two of those discs you listed, it would probably be the Roadrunner and one of the other 3. That way you get a fairway and something that will keep going further with practice, but is throwable now. Consider a less overstable plastic in the Roadrunner though like star...I haven't thrown a fresh champ Roadrunner so I don't know if they start out more OS than expected, but I do know that is the case with Sidewinders. However, it wouldn't be unthrowably overstable or anything, and will definitely work in to act like its stated flight numbers.

The other discs are kind of a toss-up. All are great. A lighter Goldline River will definitely be a good chance of understable flights (my heavy Opto fades at the end....lighter Goldlines tend to hold the turn). The G-FD is likely pretty understable and great...the good thing with the FD is if you like it you can bump up to S/C FD's in the future as your arm speed grows. Patriots are a good blend of Leo/mellow Teebird/TL type of flight, feel good and fly nice. You're not going to make a bad choice with these discs.
 
Just to add...you should not have shoulder pain (excessive!) from throwing...if you are in that <300' range you are likely trying to smash on the disc with a lot of arm strength, which can definitely lead to arm strain. I highly recommend looking at your form to prevent injury, as well as to get the most out of your discs. Video + the form subforum is great.

Also instead of adding a second Mako3, how about a putter? Putters can be thrown very far with clean form, are great for approaches...and of course they are good for putting once you adjust to using it instead of a midrange.
 
I want to thank everyone and Slowplastic for your help. After playing a few weeks and throwing the Champin Tern, DGA Sail, Gstar Leopard3 and G-Line FD side-by-side, I've concluded the Discmania G-Line FD Jackal is the BEST!!!!

I should add some caveats:

My champion plastic Tern is overstable, but people are saying that is not the case with star plastic Terns.

My Gstar Leopard3 is too understable for me, but it sounds like the champion plastic has a straighter flight.

The FD actually flies how I imagine a TL disc flying i.e. very straight but with the ability to fly different curves as well. That might be a better disc comparison despite having numbers closer to a leopard.

I am still tempted to try a Sidewinder for a slimmer DD that has the FD's flight but goes further...Wishful thinking. I'm going to purchase a champion plastic in heavy weight, so it is less likely to be too understable.

Whelp, the FD is everything I dreamed. It flies further than anything with the most control. It's my "Excalibur driver." Thanks again!
 
I highly suggest the Dynamic Discs Breakout, I could never get a consistent flight out of a "driver" type disc till I started using it. I throw it exclusively as my driver for now as I rebuild up my form after nearly 20 years off from playing.
 
I think that the Star TL is pretty stable as it starts off...a bit less glide but more stability than the FD. You could definitely pair a Star TL or a C-FD with your G-FD for a more stable complement in a similar range (in my experience those discs in those plastics are very similar).

The last Champ Sidewinder I threw that was fresh was like a -1/2 flight...pretty stable for a Sidewinder. I think you can go to Star or even Gstar in that and be happy, especially if you like the G-FD. The Champ Sidewinder would still be throwable and break in eventually, but I don't think you will need to worry about the Star being too flippy from the get go.

I'm surprised the Gstar Leo3 is that much more understable...but I have never thrown one. Interesting to hear. You certainly have the proper disc to compare it to with the G-FD.
 
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