Another Newbie question.

[txmxer]

I think two things are true here:

1. It's better work initially with much slower discs (which doesn't mean that the discs themselves are slower but rather that they don't have to be thrown as hard to fly right. Throw lots of putters (and buy a practice basket for actual putting).
2. Honest folk will often admit that they ignored this advice at first, bought some fast discs, then went back to slower discs when the faster stuff was flying all wonky.

Personally, I've only been playing since late May. I started with a few mids and putters (good), bought a practice basket (very good), and then started accumulating drivers (hella fun, but not so good).

I've been working pretty hard on my game, and now I'm going back to the beginning a bit. I'm still bagging some understable drivers, but it was pretty obvious to me that the mids and putters where more likely to land on the tighter fairways, whereas the drivers only made sense on holes where being 60 degrees off target wasn't too inconvenient.

You'll probably find out that the putter you like to putt with will also fly reasonably well. Get a few of them. You'll find a mid that gets you out of trouble once or twice a round. Go there. Take those discs to an open field and throw them a lot.

The slow stuff can be great fun. My 2 latest acquisitions are a 1-speed (Glitch) and a 5-speed (Tursas). Experienced players find the latter too understable but for older/slower arms it fills a need (plus I'm playing a tournament next week with 2 sequentially more overstable mids in the player pack, so I'll have a good spread).

I spent this afternoon working on the nose down thing these folks are telling you about. It makes a big difference.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Very common story.

Everyone starts out throwing "something" and it's amazing and addicting. Based on observation, we all seek the magic disc rather than recognize the vast majority of improvement has nothing to do with disc choice.

That said, putters won't go as far as "faster" discs (wider rims), but your technique and accuracy is much more critical to low scores than disc speed.

Strategy thought. Most holes are par 3 and 200-400 feet. If you drive 250', you will have a putt to an upshot within 200' on average. Accuracy >> distance.

 

[BillFleming]

I think two things are true here:

1. It's better work initially with much slower discs (which doesn't mean that the discs themselves are slower but rather that they don't have to be thrown as hard to fly right. Throw lots of putters (and buy a practice basket for actual putting).
2. Honest folk will often admit that they ignored this advice at first, bought some fast discs, then went back to slower discs when the faster stuff was flying all wonky.
<other stuff cut>

#2 !!!!! It's so hard....lots of people will tell you to start with a putter and maybe a midrange. And maybe you will, but it won't be long until you think "I've got this down and now I need a faster disc to get more distance". Then after a while, you realize the faster discs aren't getting you the distance you think they should and you go back to slower discs and working on your form. That's what I've done along with taking more lessons.

Another bad suggestion I got (or at least not helpful for a beginner) was to go to the local disc golf shop and buy a used putter and midrange. I didn't know about stable, overstable, understable, or anything about the flight numbers. So I bought a putter and mid that I liked. A P2 and a Roc. I could not get them to fly straight, no matter how much I tried. A disc golfer explained things to me, let me throw an understable disc and I got hooked. I now suggest that anyone starting out get a starter pack and put the driver on the shelf for at least 6 months. I wish I had been told that at the beginning....maybe then I wouldn't still be trying to break bad habits.

 

[Naenae]

#2 !!!!! It's so hard....lots of people will tell you to start with a putter and maybe a midrange. And maybe you will, but it won't be long until you think "I've got this down and now I need a faster disc to get more distance". Then after a while, you realize the faster discs aren't getting you the distance you think they should and you go back to slower discs and working on your form. That's what I've done along with taking more lessons.

Another bad suggestion I got (or at least not helpful for a beginner) was to go to the local disc golf shop and buy a used putter and midrange. I didn't know about stable, overstable, understable, or anything about the flight numbers. So I bought a putter and mid that I liked. A P2 and a Roc. I could not get them to fly straight, no matter how much I tried. A disc golfer explained things to me, let me throw an understable disc and I got hooked. I now suggest that anyone starting out get a starter pack and put the driver on the shelf for at least 6 months. I wish I had been told that at the beginning....maybe then I wouldn't still be trying to break bad habits.

I've gotten a couple other people going. I have been telling them to get a Buzzz and a putter, preferably in DX (i.e. see if something is for you before you plunk down $20 on a disc). At this point I would probably advise toward the Tursas and any of the -1/1 putters.

I do think it's okay to mess around with drivers though. I found a Bolt on a course with no name and number. It flies great for me, and has bought me a bit of reach on open holes. Wanting to throw my speedy stuff better is what has gotten me back to the slow stuff though, and that's such a hard message to hear at first.