Weird hand feel

[Three Putt]

I ran across this comment recently in a tread about the Dynamic Bounty:

Originally Posted by biscoe

I have not thrown one but my Latitude sponsored friend says it flies like a comet without the crappy hand feel.

I found that odd because I've throw Comets for literally decades and never noticed anything odd about the hand feel. biscoe has forgotten more about golf discs than I ever knew, though. It made me wonder because I noticed recently that after being the default answer for the "like a Firebird" question for 15 years, the Predator has all but disappeared from that conversation. A lot of the comments I could find again would mention the grip:

Originally Posted by armiller

I've always been skeptical when people try to go between Champ Firebird and Z Predator. There are too many differences in every way. Yes, they're a natural parallel in that they have been the staple meathook speed 9 of the two biggest manufacturers for a long time. But the parallels end there. The Pred has a ton more glide, which can be a plus (and maybe another reason they beat in so well) but means they don't always work for the same lines. The grip is also very different, so it's hard to switch between them and people will have definite preferences for the feel of one over the other, even if it's just forehand or just backhand. The Firebird skip game is also way stronger or at least more user friendly.

So I find myself as an old, out-of-touch player. We had few options before, so grip was just something you go over if you wanted options. I think I taught myself not to be picky. New players have so many options that they can be picky, so why wouldn't they?

So what is weird hand feel? Is it mostly personal, or are there discs that are universally hated for hand feel? I'm assuming it differs backhand to forehand, but I don't really know that for sure. The two examples I have are older discs; is there and old disc/new disc difference in how rims are generally designed now that restricts this to older models?

Just curious; I recommend discs to people all the time on the course so if I'm trying to avoid recommending discs to people that they are going to hate.

[Twmccoy]

"Weird" hand feel for me just means the disc doesn't sit comfortably, or you don't feel like you're getting a proper grip on it because of the rim.

Hand feel is a thing, and I won't use certain discs if they don't feel right in my hand.

I agree the Comet has a weird hand feel. It doesn't sit right, and has a strange rim configuration. I think some people avoid beaded mids for that reason.

A lot of drivers have lousy hand feel too. Usually its because of an overly sharp bottom edge of the rim (Avenger, Predator).

I never liked the hand feel of the Leopard or Stingray either. The Groove also feels awful when you grip it.

[Moose33]

For me it’s one of two things, when you grab it your normal grip does not feel right or if it has some feature that don’t feel right to the hand.

The prodigy M5 comes to mind with its weird groove on the bottom, or the Predator with its mini bead.

Comet has a combination of enough dome(on most of them) and a chunky enough rim it’s not the easiest to grip disc.

[Jay Dub]

For me it just seems the Comet will not "cuddle"(?) up to my hand like other discs do. I can get a throw or two off OK then it goes to hell. To me it feels like I have to hold the comet with my fingertips.

I LOVE the flight of the Comet when I see a Comet thrower throw one. Makes me jealous.

[Monocacy]

Originally Posted by Three Putt

. . . So what is weird hand feel? . . . I'm assuming it differs backhand to forehand, but I don't really know that for sure.

^ This, for me anyway. When I threw exclusively backhand, Roc - Comet were the only midranges I carried. But when I started throwing forehand I found that I could not get a clean release with those discs.

Forehand a Buzzz, no problem, but I could never FH a Roc without significant wobble. The bead just seems to catch on the nub of my finger. And a Comet FH, fuhgeddaboutit.

Same thing with my putter at the time - Warlock - where the sharp-edged bead would give me a wobbly forehand release. Warlock is still my all-time favorite putter to throw backhand, and my brother still throws some of my old Warlocks. But now I throw the Stud and Harp, which work well FH and BH.

In contrast, I have trouble holding on to some shallow discs like the Fuse or Tern when thrown backhand. So for backhand, taller discs are fine and shallow, rounded-grip discs can give me problems.

Dunno if that helps or not but I feel better now.

[armiller]

Originally Posted by Three Putt

So what is weird hand feel? Is it mostly personal, or are there discs that are universally hated for hand feel? I'm assuming it differs backhand to forehand, but I don't really know that for sure. The two examples I have are older discs; is there and old disc/new disc difference in how rims are generally designed now that restricts this to older models?

Just curious; I recommend discs to people all the time on the course so if I'm trying to avoid recommending discs to people that they are going to hate.

"Weird hand feel" is no more than that. It feels weird to a player. It's obviously very subjective.

I'm a Comet bagger who admits it used to feel weird. Maybe it still does? Something about the bead and the shoulder. To be fair, throwing putters also used to feel weird. In that Firebird and Predator post, my main point is that they frequently get compared, but I think they're very different discs. Overstable staples, sure, but the flight paths are quite different. The feel is also significantly different, but I would easily bag one over the other if it flew just like I wanted. Ultimately, that's why the Firebird is in my bag over the Predator at present. I have other discs that can cover those Predator shots.

I bag several discs that have "weird hand feel." In particular, the Comet and Polecat fit the bill. But they have exactly the flight characteristics I want, so they're in the bag. Beaded putters also used to feel weird to me, but I've been way more consistent with KC Pro Aviars than I ever was with McPro, and an Ion has also snuck into my bag.

Ultimately, feel is personal preference. The Comet does seem to be a popular mold that is recognized as feeling "weird" to many, even some that bag it. But I agree with you that I throw discs because of how they fly, not because of how they feel.

[R-Ogre]

I think it’s because more recent disc design has left the skinny, shallow rim type mids behind. If you’re new to the game and you grabbed a buzzz and a destroyer wrapping your fingers around that relatively skinny, shallow comet rim feels like you’ve got more finger to grip with than there is rim to grab. If that makes any sense.

[elmexdela]

domey discs are just gross

plus molds feel like you get half the grip for fh

beads dont matter and its a psychological issue if it bugs you

[jmdaire27]

There are definitely discs that don’t feel quite right. The comet, similar to the harp, feels deep and the perpendicular inner rim make it feel “weird” but I don’t like deep discs in general. Some discs, like the gator, feel boxy in the hand, FH and BH.

Although hand feel is completely subjective, it is an important aspect to me when picking discs I throw. We are saturated with so many molds these days that you can get the flight you want out of different options, so I think it’s ok to be picky.

[wims]

The Ion feels horrible with its rounded inner rim.

I'm not a fan of very shallow discs like the Tern or the Mamba for backhand. The shallow rim makes it feel like I'm rock climbing and im just barely holding on. A shallow rim doesn't inspire a lot of confidence for me