[Help] Bag tips for a 2nd year player

[akray21]

I would love some quick thoughts and tips on the discs that I should be throwing given my current talent level. I have been playing almost a year and I have collected a few discs (probably a few too many :gross. I am continually working on my form and trying to get better and more consistent distance. While I improve my form I want to try to stick with discs no faster than 8-9 speed fairway drivers until I can extend those to 350'. At the moment I am only reaching around 280' with fairway drivers, and the occasional good throw goes 300'. Below is my current bag:

Main putter:
Calssic Blend Judge

Throwing putters (about 220'):
Opto Pure
Neutron Envy

Mid range (about 250'):
Opto Fuse (turns right, pretty under stable for me)
Opto Claymore (straight, sometimes turns)
Z Buzzz x2 (straight, with a small amount of fade)
Z Buzzz OS (good amount of fade, shorter than other mids)

Fairway drivers (about 280')
GL River (straight, and then turns right and holds, very leopard like)
Star Teebird (goes straight out of the hand with a decent fade)
Champion Teebird (acts like the star tbird, with a little more consistent fade)

Overhand disc:
Opto XXX (actually a great disc for my bag, throw this 300')

Discs that I own that may or may not go in the bag:
Opto Saint x2 (for me this almost acts like a teebird with little high speed turn and a good fade)
Ace Race 2014 - Heat (for me this goes fairly straight)
Star Beast (10 speed disc, but it is very beat in and goes straight to nearly 300' on a good throw)

Are there any other discs that people would recommend a 2nd year player throw? Are there any holes? The slot that troubles me the most is the stable (straight) fairway slot. Thanks for any input!

 

[AndyJB]

Keep throwing that Star Teebird! It will straighten out pretty quickly with regular play. I use Star and G-Star Teebird for my lightly understable slot; i.e. will turn over when forced, but thrown with hyzer will flip to flat and stay straight. Star Teebirds tend to hold the sweet spot for awhile so once you beat it up a little more it will fill that straight fairway slot you're looking for.

For driving putters, I would choose either the Opto Pure or the Envy. I prefer the Envy, but go with what works best for you and what feels best for you. They both fly a little different but can are essentially filling the same role.

With the Teebirds and River I wouldn't worry too much about the Saints for now. I'd keep the Heat and the Beast out of the bag, but if you're ever out doing field work it might be a good idea to throw them as well.

Most important advice: keep having fun!

 

[grotto]

I think your bag is pretty solid as it is.

Two discs that you might like to try that may make it fun are the Escape and/or the Valkyrie. Both very controllable discs at speed 9.

I'm sure you'll get a ton of other suggestions, but these were the two that worked for me.

 

[akray21]

Keep throwing that Star Teebird! It will straighten out pretty quickly with regular play. I use Star and G-Star Teebird for my lightly understable slot; i.e. will turn over when forced, but thrown with hyzer will flip to flat and stay straight. Star Teebirds tend to hold the sweet spot for awhile so once you beat it up a little more it will fill that straight fairway slot you're looking for.

Thanks for the response. And having fun IS the most important thing! :clap:

What are your opinions on the TL? What plastic would be best if I were to get one of those?

 

[scotnt73]

You bag looks good. I used to throw rivers. They have awesome glide but are hard to control. Just try a legacy icon patriot or a gstar leopard for that slot and you will be hooked.

Also learn to throw a hyzerflip. You will be able to throw laser beams with fade with the teebird and laser beams with almost no fade with the leopard or patriot.

 

[Monkeypaws]

Yep - good looking bag.

 

[PeterMonk]

I am only 20' longer than you so here is what works for me for having a decent chance to hit 350' - the Star Sidewinder. Hyzer flip it and it will go.

 

[akray21]

Been looking at discs to fill the straight fairway slot until my star teebirs beats in a bit more. What's everyone's opinion on the FD vs TL at my 280' power level? Also any thoughts on the DD thief, or Discraft Stalker?

 

[DiscDraft]

For me the FD has a little more turn than a TL. Ideally TLs are dead straight out of the box, but that is with 330+ power on a fairway driver. Try an FD at your power level.

Honestly though, and I don't mean to be a bummer, you just need to go out and do some field work. Get a few hundred throws in with your fairway drivers, and those distances will climb. It is easy to go hunting for that perfect disc when really you should be concerned with that perfect throw.

Back to discs, maybe go lighter weight, like 160s. Or, go for an understable disc that you can hyzer flip for a nice straight shot (give your River some hyzer angle).

Stalkers are more stable/overstable than either a TL or FD from my experience. Never thrown a Theif.

 

[skizzle34]

I honestly believe that trying out a bunch of different discs hinders growth. I have my bag set with relatively neutral stable discs and have found that my game is growing leaps and bounds faster than it was when I was constantly changing my bag around. I jumped from 920ish rated to 954 in about 2 months after simplifying my bag and learning to actually manipulate the disc instead of hoping for it to turn or fade thrown flat.

 

[akray21]

Honestly though, and I don't mean to be a bummer, you just need to go out and do some field work. Get a few hundred throws in with your fairway drivers, and those distances will climb. It is easy to go hunting for that perfect disc when really you should be concerned with that perfect throw.

Trust me, I want to get out and throw, but it has been cold her in Kansas for a while. When it's warm out (40's and up), I will be throwing 5-6 days per week.

I honestly believe that trying out a bunch of different discs hinders growth. I have my bag set with relatively neutral stable discs and have found that my game is growing leaps and bounds faster than it was when I was constantly changing my bag around. I jumped from 920ish rated to 954 in about 2 months after simplifying my bag and learning to actually manipulate the disc instead of hoping for it to turn or fade thrown flat.

That is exactly what I am trying to do, I have too many discs right now and am trying to pair my bag down to around 10 throwing molds (not counting my chains putter). I just don't have something that, at my power level, I can reliably throw long and straight in that neutral fairway slot.

I have a two $10 credits at my local DD shop, so I think I will try out an FD at about 168-170g to try to fill this slot for now. This will put me at 9-10 molds for the spring and early summer.

 

[desertstormvet]

Been looking at discs to fill the straight fairway slot until my star teebirs beats in a bit more. What's everyone's opinion on the FD vs TL at my 280' power level? Also any thoughts on the DD thief, or Discraft Stalker?

This is funny, as i read these posts i felt like you was talking about me. I have tried so many different discs between 8-9 speed discs from just about every disc company. I did finally find that perfect straight disc for me out of all of the different discs I had tried. The JLS in millennium plastic has done the trick around 165g. Every time i get a new disc i end up going back to the JLS. A close second to the JLS is the Bandit. Just keep in mind, what may work for me may not for you, but I say with confidence, the JLS is a perfect disc for what your looking for.

 

[DougCrawford]

I like the lucid Thief- the trilogy challenge biofuzion one was a hair too understable for my taste- the lucid with just a tiny bit of hyzer flies dead straight for me.

 

[skizzle34]

If you are planning on going FD I would recommend s line plastic in the 165-170 range. I throw c lines for anything up to about 400' and even at that power they are relatively straight with slight turn and slight fade. Make sure you are picking up one with a slight dome. You will not like the 2nd run if you accidentally pick one up. They are flatter and more firm which makes them way more stable.