disc weight

[baydgplayer]

I am very new to disc golfing. I have only played about five rounds but i have found that i enjoy the sport very much. I am looking to purchase a new driver and am wondering how to choose the weight of my new disc, and which would be best for me.(I am thinking about purchasing an Avenger SS ESP.) your advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[honkeytiger]

I am interested in this disc as well. I have contacted all the big boy disc stores and nobody seems to have any Anvenger SS's in the 165-167g range.

 

[thatdirtykid]

http://www.discgolfreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=679 <Check that out, theres a couple topics listed that discuss weight.
Depending on arm strength mold is more important than weight.
to really give you any help we would need to know if you:

throw BH or FH (backhand or sidearm)
how far can you throw what disc
what do you want the disc to do
ect.

generally I like to reccomend 160 class discs, ideally 160-167, to new players regardless of strength (unless they are of minimal strength then 150 class may be better)

you may also want to read up on some of the links about disc plastics and disc speeds.
the ESP Avenger SS would not generally be reccomended for beginners here because the ESP and the Avenger parts. ESP plastic is not as conductive to learning as DX/ProD/S ect. (Baseline plastics) and a disc as fast as an avenger will not yield very predictable performance. It may give you a longer throw than most any driver, but it wont be consistantly long and it wont be consistantly accurate.

 

[baydgplayer]

what disc would you reccomend? I am looking for a disc that i would be able to get good distance out of and that is pretty stable.

 

[Aaron_D]

gazelle, cyclone, cheetah, xl

 

[thatdirtykid]

what he said. And you still didnt answer the ?'s

 

[baydgplayer]

i throw backhand and i throw my surge esp about 300 feet but i bought it before i knew anything about how weight effects the distance of a discs flight, and when i looked at it i saw that it is 174 grams which i now know is way too heavy for my skill level.

 

[presidio hills]

it can't be reitterated enough, too, how right these guys are recommending the slower drivers. you should take their advice... these discs are very condusive to learning correct form and will be much better choices on pretty much any hole that isn't wide open and really long.
too many golfers jump right into the "newest, fastest, longest" crap the manufacturers are putting out over and over again. it is longer, but not by much, and it won't teach you correct form and in the end you'll have to unlearn a bunch of bad habbits.

 

[baydgplayer]

thank you so much for all of the advice you definetly saved me from continuing to just buy what ever websites said was the latest and greatest. I'm think of buying either the xl, or the cheetah. Do you think that one would be better than other. I am leaning towards the xl because of the distance that it provides. Is there anything that i should know about the cheetah that might make me choose it over the xl.
Thanks

 

[garublador1]

thank you so much for all of the advice you definetly saved me from continuing to just buy what ever websites said was the latest and greatest. I'm think of buying either the xl, or the cheetah. Do you think that one would be better than other. I am leaning towards the xl because of the distance that it provides. Is there anything that i should know about the cheetah that might make me choose it over the xl.
Thanks

I think the Cheetah is easier to control and fades more predictably than the XL. I found that the X XL got kind of squirrley when it broke in some (i.e. it was hard to control how much turn it had and didn't always fade), but the DX Cheetah didn't get that way. I will say that the XL definitely did go farther, though...when I threw it just right. IMO, the consistancy of the Cheetah makes it more worth while than the extra distance you might get from the XL. By the time you can throw either of them really well you'll be able to control a lot wider selection of discs and chances are you'll find something else for your distance shots.

 

[justin main]

Avenger ss is only marshall street from 167-169 I know yall were saying 165-167 but thats the lightest I found don't know if you looked there yet.

 

[MrTasses]

But always remember that a Fairway driver is a VERY important part of your bag. I switched to driving all T-birds over a year ago as a method to improve my driving accuracy and distance. They haven't left my bag since and I don't see them leaving any time soon.

 

[Tmason]

Hey BayDGPlayer, I am real new to the sport as well. I have the advantage of living in Minneapolis and visiting with Blake from time to time. I have learned a lot from him. I recommend reading anything he has written... sometimes pretty technical for beginners but he knows what he is talking about. Having said that I would recommend two discs to you that Blake likes but is not real wild about... the ACE and the LEOPARD. I'm not a real long distance guy and am a little older than some (I'm 47) but I went out today and threw my Buzzz's, Ace and JLS.... and found the ACE outfllying all of them. It is a little understable as is the leopard... but I like it. They are all 165 grams. Not the prettiest girl at the dance but a pretty good beginner disc.
take care man,
Tom Mason

 

[baydgplayer]

Thanks for the response It's very nice to hear that I am not the only newbie on the forum. I hope that i can become friends with one of the many very skilled players at my home course like you have I think that i will benefit from another players experience. Thanks for the advice. Take it easy.

Matt (BayDgPlayer)

 

[Will Aubrey]

I second the recommendation on the ACE and Leopard. Both are great discs for beginners and will fly a long way.

 

[TheBigKahunaNC]

The Avenger is a bad disc for newer players. It's going to frustrate most people, as it will turn hard left as soon as it leaves your hand, and won't fly as far as a "fairway driver" unless you are already throwing 400ft.

Stick with an XL or Cyclone in Discraft, Cheetah or Gazelle in Innova...or better yet throw a midrange for several months. For a long time, I threw midranges farther than I could throw drivers...with MUCH more control.

And to start things off, use the basic plastics...like DX Innova or Pro D Discraft. They are cheaper, they will fly like the charts suggest they'll fly, and as they break in they will get better. If you play long enough, you'll lose, and find, a number of discs. Try them out and experiment. But don't get hung up on buying the newest mold in the newest plastic. I've been down that road. Not only is it expensive, it messes with your throwing technique. I wish I had a place like this to get advice and info from when I first started. So I basically started over last summer. I had stagnated...wasn't getting any better. My drives were maxxed out at 250'. I was throwing every long range driver I could get my hands on, and kept going back to my midranges. Last summer I took a lot of info from this site, and applied it to my practice throwing sessions. I'm still bad, but i now throw over 300', with some semblance of control. And I've given up on buying every new disc that comes out. I've played with a bag stuffed full of drivers....15 or more drivers, and a couple of mids and putters. It's crazy. I've retty much narrowed down my discs to Valkyries, Sidewinders, Buzzzzs and Wizards...with maybe one or two overstable drivers like a Surge or Wraith. I still don't throw a Wraith like it's intended. I use it for dogleg lefts, or sidearm for rights.

 

[domromer]

i throw backhand and i throw my surge esp about 300 feet but i bought it before i knew anything about how weight effects the distance of a discs flight, and when i looked at it i saw that it is 174 grams which i now know is way too heavy for my skill level.

If you are already throwing 300ft, I'd say try a Gazelle. I think of it as a longer roc, It's great for the woods when you need to stay low.

 

[black udder]

The Avenger SS isn't as stable as the others, it will flip or fly straight fairly easily for somebody throwing 300-350' ( like me).

I agree it's not a recommended disc for beginners, but of the high speed discs out there, it has to be the least stable.

As for the XL or Cheetah, I wouldn't sweat distance, either of those discs can be thrown much further than you can currently throw (over 300'), so as you develop, they can as well. Pick the disc that you can control the best.

Another reason or plus for starting with dx plastic is simple economics. They're much cheaper. You can afford to try a couple dx drivers for $15 vs only 1 of the upper grade plastics.

This should allow you to do a little experimentation and find the discs that you like and work well for you. Plus, as they get beat up, you should get a good turnover and some added distance once you learn the hyzer flip.

If you're new, you may not realize that most or all of the sponsored pros get their discs for free, so they can afford to throw whatever they want at no risk. For us paying folks, we need to be a little more selective.

Once you have your form where you like it and the discs are flying well, you might want to check out some of the upper grade stuff for longevity. They will definitely keep their form/flight pattern longer.

Good luck!

 

[baydgplayer]

I have decided to go witht the cheetah. I have heard many people say that it is a very good disc for begginers and will allow me to learn to throw a disc correctly instead of developing bad habbits. I really can't explain how helpful this forum has been. The people on here are truely great. I have learned and hope to continue to learn so much from this site.

Matt (BayDgPlayer)

THANK YOU!

I have one last question. Should i stop throwing my Z Predator and ESP Surge all together until i have mastered the Cheetah. If i don't will it hurt my form in the long run. I don't throw either of them very well consistently. For some reason I seem to be able to throw them well on holes that are down hill. I don't know if this is a fluke or if there is a reason but that just seems to be the way they normally work. thanks again.

 

[black udder]

The predator rim isn't as wide as the surge, and it's a great headwind disc, so you might have some uses for that as you learn. It's also not as fast as the surge.

You can still throw the surge, you just won't be benefiting from the disc's natural flight pattern.

If you can sit it down for awhile, I'd do that until you feel you have a fair grasp of the cheetah. Once you start getting some accurate, fairly long pulls with that, you might want to see how the surge flies for you.

Might want to throw it a few times on film or in a field and mark distance/accuracy so you have something to compare it to when you come back to it.