Emotional attachment putter dilemma. Need help.

[Stud Muffin]

I have been putting with the Wizard since the moment I bought my first one. I am very impressed by not only it's ability for consistent flight, but it's ability to be driven without worry of flip overs.

Since I have bought a practice basket, I have worked very very hard on my putting game, and have got a lot better. Only one problem, I believe a good problem has developed.

When I am putting 30'+, I used to whiff the basket all the time and my Wiz would practically chip hyzer into the dirt. Now I am hitting the basket way more often, which has resulted in quite a number of rollaways. Usually 2-3 a round. These rollaways usually end outside of my confident circle, about 20', and has been causing extra strokes. About a week ago I was at Jefferson Barracks, and on #2 I had hammered a drive down the center, and I was about 35' from the basket, and thinking birdie. It hit the rim, rolled away another 30', missed that, and got a bogey from 35' away. That was the last straw, and I decided to look for something better to make those long birdie putts with.

So I bought a max weight Aero. It didn't have the hard turning stability, and had the extra glide.

So, now I notice that the less turn and extra glide of the Aero actually takes a bit less energy to get the disc to the basket. Also, because it does not fall hard, I do not have the rollaway problem that I did with my medium flex 175 Wizard.

Only, instead of just using it for outside the circle putts, I noticed I am just money on approach shots with it on calm days. Also, it works just fine inside the circle as well on clam days. So I told myself I will keep my Wizard for windy days. Well, windy day came, and on 2 holes my Wizard was getting pushed really far, and I moved to my star Roc to putt, and it held the wind much better.

So now, I am in a emotional dilemma, because I love putting with the Wizard, but I no longer need to carry it in the bag.

Anyone else go through this? I hate surrendering the Wizard.
BUT, I am not down with carrying discs I have no reason to throw during a round.

 

[THE GOV'NA]

i am having the same dilema..but instead am leaning towards a simple aviar p&a..but i have to many nice wizards

 

[dgdave]

Throw what works. If it doesn't work, put it out to pasture like a fat ex girlfriend

 

[Stud Muffin]

Throw what works. If it doesn't work, put it out to pasture like a fat ex girlfriend

That's what I know I 'have' to do.

Just I own about 15 Wizards.

 

[Stud Muffin]

i am having the same dilema..but instead am leaning towards a simple aviar p&a..but i have to many nice wizards

Exactly.

And I considered the Magic, but I wanted the extra glide, and it is nice (the Aero).

 

[cali]

Soft putters hate rolling.

 

[Stud Muffin]

I just can not putt consistently with a softer putter. But you are right.

...changing signature.

 

[GLong]

That's what I know I 'have' to do.

Just I own about 15 Wizards.

i had about 20 when i stopped using them. keep a few if you have an 'emotional attachment' to them and deal the rest. it's just a disc and it's made to be thrown. re-home them and get some different putters.

have you tried putting with any wizards besides medium 175s? that plastic/weight is not very forgiving. a slightly lighter soft might give you some extra confidence on longer ones and may not roll away quite as much.

 

[solomon.trenton]

that is me and the star dart right before I got injured. i took it out of the bag in favor of the 4x jk aviar which is just money. it took between 3-4 strokes off my average

 

[Stud Muffin]

i had about 20 when i stopped using them. keep a few if you have an 'emotional attachment' to them and deal the rest. it's just a disc and it's made to be thrown. re-home them and get some different putters.

have you tried putting with any wizards besides medium 175s? that plastic/weight is not very forgiving. a slightly lighter soft might give you some extra confidence on longer ones and may not roll away quite as much.

Yes, I started with lighter and heavy Wizards SSS, then SS, which in all honesty, I did not have the roll away problem with those Wizards, but even though I try to have a light grip, I tense up when I get competitive, and it was like I would get the putting yips when the pressure was on. That went away when I started using Medium flex. My nervous pressure was not effected by it. I could give it a grip of death, though I was not intending too, and it would hold form and fly right.

I have 3 Medium Wizards that are still practically brand new, and one lighter glow Wizard, I think 160, that is still new. I am going to try and trade or swap in for a few more Aeros.

But, as you said, I really do have that attachment, so I am keeping my E plastic Wizard in the bag in case of a shot that might tear up the dx plastic of the Aero. It is a less stable Wizard than normal, so the flight is very similar to the Aero anyways.

Still, this leaves me with about 8 Wizards that I have been practicing with, and I figure, I already have them, they are beaten to a pulp, so I might as well keep using them for practice, since it is getting cold, and my putting practice is done indoors, so it will be 20' puts at most anyways.

 

[discmeister]

Exactly.

And I considered the Magic, but I wanted the extra glide, and it is nice (the Aero).

The Magic pushed the Wiz out of my bag the same way.

 

[burdphil]

I had a weirdly similar experience just this morning. Went out for a round and left all of my putters in my basket at home, so I had to use my 180 Star Mako for putting. I couldn't miss. Everything went in, no matter how far out I was. It was crazy. The only thing that didn't fall for me was a 50+ foot putt that hit dcc and popped out right under the basket. Now I have to figure out if I was just having a flukey good putting day or if I really need to start putting with a mid-range...

 

[discddwn]

I went through this a couple of weeks back. Wizards seemed to drop too soon and I would get a lot of cage hits outside the circle. I had over 25 Wizards to unload after I made the change to the Sole. Big mistake. I use my putter a lot off the tee and the Sole didn't work for me there so I tried the KC Aviar.

I'm done looking now, great driving putter and putting putter. It also feels like a Wizard in the hand..bonus! I'm a push putter inside the circle and I spin putt outside.. for me it works well for both styles. I've been using the Yeti for straight to anhyzer shots until I get a KC beat in to cover those shots as well. Same profile just a concaved top and grippy, which is great for touch/finesse approaches.

 

[Stud Muffin]

I had a weirdly similar experience just this morning. Went out for a round and left all of my putters in my basket at home, so I had to use my 180 Star Mako for putting. I couldn't miss. Everything went in, no matter how far out I was. It was crazy. The only thing that didn't fall for me was a 50+ foot putt that hit dcc and popped out right under the basket. Now I have to figure out if I was just having a flukey good putting day or if I really need to start putting with a mid-range...

The Mako is one more in speed, 4 to Aero's 3, and one less in glide, 5 to Aero's 6.

What do you normally putt with?

 

[BrotherDave]

Suck it up, it's not the Wizard's fault. Get like a 170 Soft Wiz for longer putts, a few grams less can make a world of difference.

 

[UKfan]

I have used an Aviar P&A from the almost the beginning. My first three discs included an aviar and a challenger. Without understanding the difference I clearly leaned towards putting with the aviar. I eventually got a Star Aviar and it has been my primary putter.

I got a SSS Wizard that broke in really well about 6-8 months later and really liked the way it would flop and not roll away as much as my aviar or soft banger gt that I was using for that purpose. I then tried a SSS Warlock because it felt like my Aviar. I have carried either a SSS Warlock or Wizard for most of the last two years as a soft putter or for longer putts. Recently, I tried a XG Champion Rhyno for the same purpose and it is even better for hillside or potential rollaways putts. Although I really like the Wizard or Warlocks, it seems that the XG has taken their place in the bag.

I think if you really like the feel of a Wizard, then try a softer or more flexible putter for potential roll-off issues.

Also, I have been using a Champion Aviar lately rather than my Star Aviar in windier conditions. The point is that sometimes a new putter or feel is a good thing. Most of my putters feel very similar to each other (other than the Rhyno).

 

[ENold]

I've got a sweet purple/black blended yeti pro aviar that's getting a little dinged up but I can't bring myself to stop using it. It's so buttery.

 

[Mike C]

Just I own about 15 Wizards.

I owned about 30 when I ditched them for Ions. Just throw what works best for you. With your Wizard putts it sounds like you'd have the problem fixed if you just gave it a little more push. Sounds like you were missing low?

 

[Jukeshoe]

Keep the Wizards and get better at hitting the shots outside your "comfort zone."

I don't have too many problems with rollaways, but once I started getting better at putting (after I bought a basket) I noticed if I missed, I was missing long. That's a good thing because it means I wasn't missing low. It led to a lot of comeback shots that were outside my comfort zone. I didn't switch putters, I just kept practicing the comebacks during rounds and after a couple of months, those comebacks shots were more or less all within my comfort zone.

So, maybe it's not the disc, maybe it's you needing to stick with it for a while longer and you'll eventually see gains in consistency and range.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Stud Muffin]

I owned about 30 when I ditched them for Ions. Just throw what works best for you. With your Wizard putts it sounds like you'd have the problem fixed if you just gave it a little more push. Sounds like you were missing low?

I was missing low and high. I am not meaning to say I was not making a number of them, I was. I am not complaining about the flight of the disc, just the effect the roll away has. During the tag tourney, I know at least 5 strokes was lost because of rollaways.

I would not consider switching if I didn't see a real difference in my game. I love the disc, Wizard, and I am keeping one in for driving, but around the green I am going to give the Aero a fair try, because so far I have scored well with it.