Fairway driver

[drock2k1]

Well I am definately going to pick up a Leopard. I will probably pick up a Teebird or a TL...any suggestions?

 

[Disc Dog]

Well I am definately going to pick up a Leopard. I will probably pick up a Teebird or a TL...any suggestions?

I learned with a Leopard and would still have it if didn't disappear at Dorey. It's a great disc and is good at turnovers and annies.

If you want something that is overstable, fly's well into the wind or a high hyzer a viper is great.

For something real stable then a Tee bird or gazelle are good.

 

[Ewb46]

I carry the leopard in the star and DX plastic. I love them both I have aquired an Eagle and a Tee bird as well I have found uses for all those discs on many mid shots. I am still using them but Love the crap out of all 3.

 

[TalbotTrojan]

I love TLs, just sayin. I also heard a rumor that TLs never go into water, that is unless I did it myself once, which I did. The person who told me this rumor also threw a TL into the water today as a matter of fact. I also picked up an Eagle for the first time and love that as well.

 

[SpringDgLover]

Well I am definately going to pick up a Leopard. I will probably pick up a Teebird or a TL...any suggestions?

Get both trust me they wont leave your bag.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I think when I practice Friday night, I am going to give the TL another try.

 

[ShaZaun]

leopard or banshee work for me......

 

[Three Putt]

What purpose do they serve today? Well, to people who don't have the mitts and fingers to properly grip a Boss, Force, Destroyer or whatnot or the arm speed to fling them, fairway drivers still fulfill the purpose they once did for everybody.

The dirty little secret is that well over 50% of us on this board fall into this category. The actual figure is probably a lot higher than 50%. Really, most golfers who throw a high-speed driver can't get it to do what it is supposed to due and would be better off throwing a slower control driver. Right now an XL is the fastest disc in my bag, and I'm not really sacrificing much distance. I gain a lot of accuracy. I'll take that trade-off.

Really, I almost never throw the XL either. I've been tracking my throws this spring, and I'm at about 90% of my throws with a putter or midrange. I throw a driver 6 or 8 times a round. It varies from course to course, but even on long courses well over 2/3's of my throws are with putters and mids. When selecting a disc, I'm going to go with the slowest disc that I think will get the job done.

If the shot is outside of my range, I'm going to think in terms of two throws and use the slowest discs that fit that progression. For example, on a 500' hole I need two shots to get into putting range. I could throw a driver on the first shot, but I'm still going to be outside of any reasonable putting range. If I throw a mid off the tee, I should be in good position in the fairway and still looking at a shot with my putter from the fairway to be in putting position. I'll give up the 30' I might gain from throwing the driver on a lot of holes to avoid ending up in the shule with no second shot. The distance I give up might force me to go mid/mid to the hole instead of driver/putter, but unless the hole is wide open with not a lot of penalty for getting off the fairway that is a trade off I'll take.

It drives people bonkers when I pull out a mid on the tee of a 500' hole, but that's how I approach the game. As a result, drivers really make up very little of my game. The few shots I do take with a driver are made with a control driver. High-speed drivers do very little for me, and really don't fit into my game at all. Certainly if you are getting 400' drives consistently in a variety of conditions with them, they fit your game. I wasn't getting anything close to that. If I had started this thread, my first sentence would have been "So I have looked at high-speed drivers and often wondered what on earth their purpose is, other than limit your options and put you in the shule."

 

[YonderScott]

TeeBird and Eagle! I only carry 2 "distance drivers". One is a 150g valk, and this is only good when there is no headwind. I only use it on holes that are more open, if it's tight I use either the teebird or eagle. The other higher speed driver is a sidewinder. I only use it for overhand to get out of trouble, and every once in a while as a understable driver. If I'm playing a course with several left turns(like Killborne) I toss the 150g champ leopard in the bag. I throw rhfh by the way.

Anywho, yesterday I played with a group of friends at Hornet's Nest. On hole 4 from the original teepad I threw last. Each guy in front of me threw Bosses, Grooves and an Orc. One guy hit the trees on the right, one went in the ball field, one went past the basket and down the hill. The other 2 where laying up against the fence. I threw a beat in 147g dx Teebird and was sitting 5' directly in front of the basket.

I'll also toss a roc or my panther off the tee depending on what the hole looks like.

 

[Lewis]

I've had an interesting experience with my current Leopard. 2 years ago I got a starter set with a DX Leopard in it that was always understable, and after I lost that one I replaced it with a Champion Leopard that was also understable. After I lost that one, I bought another Champion Leopard 'cause I wanted an understable fairway driver. Only this time I bought an X-out, and to my surprise got a slightly OVERstable disc. I figure this has something to do with it being an X-out, so watch out with those.

 

[drock2k1]

I've had an interesting experience with my current Leopard. 2 years ago I got a starter set with a DX Leopard in it that was always understable, and after I lost that one I replaced it with a Champion Leopard that was also understable. After I lost that one, I bought another Champion Leopard 'cause I wanted an understable fairway driver. Only this time I bought an X-out, and to my surprise got a slightly OVERstable disc. I figure this has something to do with it being an X-out, so watch out with those.

Great, I was just getting ready to order an X-out.

 

[dobsonr]

I'll take an Eagle over a Leopard any day.

 

[drock2k1]

This is great, I may end up carrying every disc ever I'm ok with that though.

 

[Dave242]

Anywho, yesterday I played with a group of friends at Hornet's Nest. On hole 4 from the original teepad I threw last. Each guy in front of me threw Bosses, Grooves and an Orc. One guy hit the trees on the right, one went in the ball field, one went past the basket and down the hill. The other 2 where laying up against the fence. I threw a beat in 147g dx Teebird and was sitting 5' directly in front of the basket.
I'll also toss a roc or my panther off the tee depending on what the hole looks like.

Yup, that always amuzes me when people throw long range discs on a 275' hole that has a fairway without enough width to plan for the natural hyzer and skip of a driver. Hopefully your friends are learning a little wisdom from you!

 

[Rbuzz9]

i realized i can basically throw a Buzzz just as far as my XL - which is my new "fairway driver"
before yesterday i realized i was rarely throwing my buzzz's during rounds and had been going with Tbirds or TL's with fairly poor results. I was making some really accurate shots through the woods with the buzzz- i think im going to stick with those for most shots where accuracy is a factor.

i think there is a legitimate gray area for what is deemed a fairway driver or a midrange shot.
Its probably better to go with the accurate shot over the one which may give u a tad more distance.

 

[Neophyte]

I agree with many of these posts. I am always surprised how I can get close to the same distance out of the XL and the Buzz. I am also surprised when people pull out a big driver on a shorter, tight fairway without anticipating the fade. I thought that I always factored that into my drives but really learned the importance at Giles Run (Lorton, VA).

 

[lko102]

The dirty little secret is...

Yes...I'm amazed at how many people I see on my home course teeing off with the latest and greatest warp speed disc, but then throw terribly because they have nowhere near the speed or power required to throw the disc properly. I do keep a Valk in my bag for some calm days, but I can get just about the same performance with better accuracy with a champ leopard or my gazelle.

 

[Chucktown]

Since I throw both my Distance Drivers and Fairway Drivers the same distance I can use either on each hole. But I really like to use my Fairway Drivers when I am on a course or hole that is wooded and I need to thread it through the trees, the fairway driver seems to fade less for me and doesn't require a huge throw. Also, at the course where I play, there can be trees immediately after the tee pad, so I can't do a huge x step and try to launch the disc, I have to be more controlled and not throw as hard. I think these are the situations where you really need a fairway driver. Buy a Gazelle.

 

[Dave242]

I use a fan grip and do not have necessarily long fingers (my index finger is 2.75' from crotch to tip). What I have found is that the widest rimmed discs (all the high speed drivers from Wraith on) are not grippable by me that produce any sort of consistent release. I am wondering if anyone else who uses a fan grip has similar problems. I notice most people who throw them well use a power grip.

I will throw one on a long open hole where the only way I can reach the hole is with the extra 20-40' I can get, but where there is no real risk of recovery shots needed caused by early release or griplock.

One thing I try to do to help me with my consistency is to carry very few molds - I usually carry 3 Orcs and 3-4 Rocs (all of varying stbility). Then I carry few specialty discs for downwind shots (Leopard & Sidewinder) and escape shots (Firebird and beat Stingray). Limiting to just 2 the number molds I throw on probably 90% of my throws helps me a ton with consistency and accuracy.

 

[Ryan P.]

I think of "fairway" drivers as my 3rd set of discs out of 4 possible distances. I have my putter, the shortest distance (speed 2), my mids (speeds 4-5), my slower drivers (speed 7), and my distance drivers (speeds 10-12). According to the distance, i'll use whatever I need.

Also Three Putt, you make an excellent strategy point.