How to Build a Bag

[prerube]

This should be locked as a quality sticky without debate. Once Garublador has spoken the issue is over!

 

[GameDayTested]

I really like this post but I totally clicked it thinking it was building a disc golf bag for carrying discs.

 

[kerplunk]

I am curious what you think about baseline plastics for players located where the courses are tougher on discs. North Carolina, where I first learned to play, has a ton of courses that are covered with trees and have lots of rocky ground. Thus, a baseline plastic disc may lose 2 points in high speed stability during a single round. Not so much a problem for putters I realize, but midranges and drivers do suffer. Would you recommend getting a slightly more understable disc in better plastic, like maybe a Star TL? Or maybe Pro or X plastic, since they will be more durable than baseline but can still be beat in?

 

[Lithicon]

I live in a place just as bad and disc aren't going to loser that much stability in one round. Plastic runs vary greatly, but most will generally hold up 2 seasons. Most people have disc in their bags that are well over 10 years old in base line plastic. Most of my bag is comprised of such.

 

[garublador]

I am curious what you think about baseline plastics for players located where the courses are tougher on discs. North Carolina, where I first learned to play, has a ton of courses that are covered with trees and have lots of rocky ground. Thus, a baseline plastic disc may lose 2 points in high speed stability during a single round. Not so much a problem for putters I realize, but midranges and drivers do suffer. Would you recommend getting a slightly more understable disc in better plastic, like maybe a Star TL? Or maybe Pro or X plastic, since they will be more durable than baseline but can still be beat in?

Courses with lots of trees shouldn't beat up discs too fast. If you're hitting trees that are close enough to the tee pad to damage your discs that bad it doesn't matter what you throw, something is seriously wrong.

I still stick by my suggestions. If you read the driver suggestions you'll see that one of them is actually pro type plastic. They may beat up faster than normal, but that's probably a good thing. I'd recommend starting with a more overstable disc in low end plastic (e.g. Gazelle instead of a Cheetah) rather than going more understable in higher end plastic. You'll get the extra longevity, you'll save money and you'll get all of the advantages of throwing the most reliable, easy to control plastic.

I know what hitting rocks, asphalt, fences, metal electrical boxes and trees do to low end plastic discs. I've hit all that stuff many times. It doesn't ruin your discs after a couple of hits unless you puncture the flight plate, which I've only done once. I believe the benefits you'll see from throwing the more controllable discs in lower end plastics outweigh the "downside" (some might call it an advantage at early stages of development) of your discs beating in faster.

 

[Sagecoast]

Eagles and Gazelles?

First, thanks so much for this great resource.

Unfortunately I didn't find it till I bought a bunch of the fancy stuff, worst being a Vulcan I'm sure I'll never use. :\ It works great for a friend though.

My question is, is it counterproductive to learn the Eagle and Gazelle together? The Gazelles are beat enough to turn over for me.

Play a lot on a park object course with friends, lots of trees, brush and most holes 350+, with a couple 600 and 500 footers. Hilly too! A real secret gem here in North San Diego County.

Throwing putters 175, mids 220, drivers 260+ on a football field. Those are numbers nobody would lie about.

59 yr old carpenter.
Grip strength, check. Tired elbow, check. Desire to get better, check.

Magnet, Roc, Gazelle, Eagle, Banshee

 

[T Strat]

putter molds

Is it completely wrong to carry 2 molds of putters? I find that for 30' and in I like the beaded wizard. However from 30' on up to around 200' I like to throw an Aviar. Big problem here?

 

[jtbingster]

Is it completely wrong to carry 2 molds of putters? I find that for 30' and in I like the beaded wizard. However from 30' on up to around 200' I like to throw an Aviar. Big problem here?

No. Many people throw two different molds for putting and driving, and it's totally fine.

 

[maxim2112]

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question.

Does the Aero fit into the prescribed category of 1st putter? Second, is the newer SS line from Discraft productive or counter-productive for the beginner?

 

[garublador]

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question.

Does the Aero fit into the prescribed category of 1st putter? Second, is the newer SS line from Discraft productive or counter-productive for the beginner?

The Aero will work, especially if you're using it to learn to drive. You'll probably find it doesn't work the best for upshots or putts, especially when there's any wind. You'll likely want something that fades a bit harder.

I'd look at it in terms of individual discs rather than entire lines. In general, I'm not a fan of purposefully flippy discs, especially when they get faster (e.g. Avenger SS). They tend to be more difficult to control so you don't always know if you're actually throwing faster or just with a bit more OAT. They're designed to turn over either way. Some discs aren't so they'll just go farther with more speed but turn over more with OAT.

However, the Surge SS is a pretty good distance driver if you aren't full hitting it and/or like something on the understable side for that shot. I found that in Z plastic it's kind of like a Pro Wraith that doesn't beat up as fast.

 

[blwnbwtie]

Thanks for the awesome thread. I have been playing for about a year and a half and have not been improving at all. I have no control over where my discs go and my distance is terrible. I am going to start over and use this as guide. I do have a question though. Do you think it would be a good idea to play a few round with the just the midrange then move up to the drivers or should I just start out with all 4 discs? Thanks.

 

[JTdisc]

Play some putter only or putter + mid rounds. There is no point throwing anything faster than a midrange if you can't throw it consistently where you're aiming with at least mediocre distance. IMO.

 

[blwnbwtie]

Thanks, I am going to give that a try.

 

[garublador]

Thanks for the awesome thread. I have been playing for about a year and a half and have not been improving at all. I have no control over where my discs go and my distance is terrible. I am going to start over and use this as guide. I do have a question though. Do you think it would be a good idea to play a few round with the just the midrange then move up to the drivers or should I just start out with all 4 discs? Thanks.

As long as you're sticking to the disc I mentioned starting out with, it probably doesn't matter. You'll need at least a minimal amount of proficiency before disc selection makes a difference. You just don't want to start with something that will teach you bad habits right off the bat once you do start figuring a few things out.

 

[Alexplz]

I have been trying to hone my bag to a place that will allow me to stop obsessing over disc selection and spend more of the time I devote to discing to working on form.

I'm digging max weight S Wizards for circle putts thanks to the more consistent releases over SS etc. I actually own multiple wizards including HPP, softs, and SS, along with a SS warlock. Would it be beneficial to build my approach game up with the S wiz plus either the SS wiz or warlock? What about the HPP for drives?

The first mid I bought after the 150g shark that came in my beginner pack was a 170-172g Z buzzz - awesome flyer. I also picked up an FLX buzzz of the same weight for tightly wooded shots expecting that it wouldn't bounce as far. The FLX seems to have significantly less glide which is terrific - less likely to hit branches.

I had a champ leopard for a while and always had a hard time making it really turnover - I lost it one day and in my rage decided to beat in a DX teebird and I've never looked back. I also picked up a star teebird and recently traded for a champ version, on top of a champ banshee to round out my fairways. These are all 165-170g.

I feel like the biggest thing I'm missing is a shot-shaping disc that I can turn over with smooth, slow form and finish left on a hyzer flip. Should I be looking to fill this role with a mid?

I own a couple DX leopards which would likely not have a healthy enough fade after being beat in a bit to fulfill this role. I have also been considering continuing to beat in a proD buzzz I've got, but again, not enough fade.

I am considering picking up a lightweight (160ish) cobra to fill this gap. Also on my radar is the X Comet (maybe not enough fade), DX stingray (not enough fade) or possibly a cheetah (seems like it might either A. overlap my DX teebs or B. not be enough different than my leopards).

Any other suggestions? It might also be the case that I just need to work on my forehand shot rather than picking up new plastic, eh?

 

[garublador]

I'm digging max weight S Wizards for circle putts thanks to the more consistent releases over SS etc. I actually own multiple wizards including HPP, softs, and SS, along with a SS warlock. Would it be beneficial to build my approach game up with the S wiz plus either the SS wiz or warlock? What about the HPP for drives?

I'd just use all of them for every purpose and then figure out which ones you like for which slots.

I feel like the biggest thing I'm missing is a shot-shaping disc that I can turn over with smooth, slow form and finish left on a hyzer flip. Should I be looking to fill this role with a mid?

I own a couple DX leopards which would likely not have a healthy enough fade after being beat in a bit to fulfill this role. I have also been considering continuing to beat in a proD buzzz I've got, but again, not enough fade.

My guess is you're right about the Leopards. You're also right that just about anything you pick will overlap with the Teebird some, and I believe that's generally OK. The Teebird is super good at flying straight so you're really picking it for one, specific shot, but because it's so good at that and because that specific shot is so useful, it's probably worth carrying. Depending on how far you're throwing a DX Cheetah, D Cyclone or DX Gazelle will all work really well for that spot once they beat up some. I'd just use a beat version of your mid for midrange shots that require that line. I wouldn't worry about a special mid for those types of shots, yet. Once you're happy with how you can perform that shot you can think about specialy discs, but picking the disc before you know the shot is putting the cart before the horse.

 

[mutteriwiritys]

I'm planning to throw only MVP next summer, but I don't know which discs I should get from their line-up as I'm a disc minimalist..

Suggest me a minimalist MVP bag. Two things I know for sure; I want only Neutron plastic, and Anode for putter.

 

[garublador]

Unfortunately I am not at all familiar with MVP discs.

 

[Jaxully]

Good post this helped me a lot. I really stick by your only throwing 4 molds suggestion and its working out great for me.

 

[BrotherDave]

I'm planning to throw only MVP next summer, but I don't know which discs I should get from their line-up as I'm a disc minimalist..

Suggest me a minimalist MVP bag. Two things I know for sure; I want only Neutron plastic, and Anode for putter.

Depending on power I'd go either:

Shock - Volt - Amp
Vector - Axis
Anode for guys with decent power (reach 300-350' pretty easily)

Resistor - Servo - Switch
Tensor - Alias - Tangent
Anode for modest powered dudes (max out at 300' guys)

and with the new distance drivers who knows.

They've got enough drivers now to fill all your slots pretty easily but the mids is where it gets kind of murky. I really like the Vector & Axis combo b/c the Vector is probably their most versatile stable-overstable mid and they're a similar speed and feel in the hand.