Looking for Tips on Disks

[going up]

I am somewhat new to the Sport. Started with the standard Innova 3 disc set that included a Leopard Driver (6,5,-2,1), Shark mid range (4,4,0,2) and a Aviar Putter (2,3,0,1)
Along the way we have picked up a couple other disks. Typically I throw about 200-220 ft with the driver. Actually if I throw all 3 they all go about the same distance... Is this typically for a beginner?

I have a couple questions for starters:

1) Is there much a difference in brands of disks? Or is it a Ford/Chevy thing? Is any one brand going to be better for a beginner or easier to throw?

2) I am left handed and having trouble keeping the driver straight. I am looking for something that may be a little better that the Leopard I have.
I bought a Sidewinder (9,5,-3,1) Thinking the -3 would help me out but it was worse. I was told this has much to much speed for me right now. I should be sticking with something with a much smaller speed rating.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for the input

 

[grotto]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but at this point, no disc is going to miraculously give you what you want. The Shark and Leopard easily can break 250 and 300ft.

I suggest spending some time looking into the forums for throwing advice before you start spending money trying to fix a throwing problem.

Best of luck

 

[DesertFox]

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles/choosingadisc.shtml

This helped me out big time a few months after I started playing.

Keep in mind that the article is pretty old so it doesn't include newer brands and discs. While you're at it go ahead and read up on the articles about technique (The "Resources" menu on the left side of the site) and it will help you so much in the long run. And since you're left handed remember to flip the flight of the discs because it is the opposite for right handers.

In fact, i'll reference you to http://www.inboundsdiscgolf.com/content/?page_id=431 so you can see the difference in a visual graph, just scroll down and find your discs and click the small links on the right in the "position" column to put that disc on the graph. Make sure to change the settings to your style of driving whether its Left Handed Fore Hand (LHFH) or Left Handed Back Hand (LHBH)

 

[BirdieMachine]

Yep your discs are fine, get that Leopard to 300 then break out that Sidewinder. It's all about technique.

 

[DavidSauls]

1) Is there much a difference in brands of disks? Or is it a Ford/Chevy thing? Is any one brand going to be better for a beginner or easier to throw?

Mostly a Ford/Chevy thing. No company's discs are particularly better for beginners. That said---

Innova, Discraft, perhaps some others make disc in a base plastic, which is cheaper and all you need starting out. The premium plastics cost more, don't fly better (at this stage of your game), and their main virtue is that they maintain their flight characteristics longer.

There are very devoted fans of certain discs, and you may be too once you've played a while.

 

[simpletwist]

Stick with the Leopard. Best beginners driver on the market IMHO. Over 7 years later and I still have one in my bag although I prefer the premium plastics.

Chevy vs Ford is a good analogy. You will find some single manufacturer fanatics, but it's purely a personal thing.

I'm a lefty too. That has nothing to do with how straight a disc flies. Improve that technique and you'll be able to make that Leopard do just about anything.

My guess is those beginner discs are 150gs. I would recommend something a little heavier for a mid and especially your putter.

Good luck and welcome to the madness.

 

[bobmcnelly]

Stick with your Leopard and Shark and Aviar for a while. They are great discs to start with, just keep at it. Watch some training videos and check the forums for advice. Your distance will come with practice. Same with putting. Welcome to the site and the sport!

 

[DavidSauls]

Oh, one other tip.

It may seem a minor thing, but in the long run you'll want to get it right. Trust me.

They're discs, not disks.

 

[JedV]

Welcome to the addiction. There are some excellent videos on YouTube, many of which are from DGCR regulars such as MikeC aka TheDiscGolfVids.

https://m.youtube.com/#/playlist?list=PL3AC295CD56519888

 

[metallicafreak121]

I would suggest watching the Discmania "Deep In The Game" video series on Youtube if you're dedicated to becoming a better disc golfer. The backhand video helped me so much.

Best of luck, and remember to have fun!

 

[PeterMonk]

If your itching to buy some disc, buy a couple more Aviars to practice putts and approaches. Never a bad idea. Maybe even an extra Shark and Leopard.

 

[shalomar]

Rubber discs for the lefty..

I am relatively new to the sport too (and a LBH) and have found that the Vibram Ibex stays super straight and true.

 

[mark996]

Also a new player, just in a weeks time I've learned real quick that power right now doesn't make my discs go far, it's form and smoothness. I'm a big dude, competitive power lifter, ex Div 1 football player so I want to crush everything without finesse. After watching form videos, most recently and largely the Beto video, I've put a consistent 50 feet on my drives taking them from 225-250 to 300 with relaxing, taking some power off and making sure form and the body is doing exactly what it needs to do. May want to take a bit off and focus on form, get that fixed and solid before moving on to shooting for distance. Right now, as long as I throw it flat and straight, I don't care how far it goes, distance will come. Spending time in an open field also helped me a ton, regardless of what I'm throwing, just throwing it flat and straight figuring out what it's supposed to feel like and doing that over and over again.

 

[zeerobb]

I just started about a month ago, and I started out with the innova starter set. Stay with these till you can get them out to 250-300 or till they hit the ground at 200' and roll away. Thats when you know you can upgrade to more weight, (160-168) but stay at a speed 9 or 10 (1st number on the innova disc). Trust me, do not go over your head with the pro stuff right now, stay with it and practice everyday..watch the vids, I'm a LH and throw forehand, I didnt even know how to throw that way and took to it like a fish in water.

 

[TAFL]

What I would recommend is this: buy an Aero.

Take that out to an open field and practice driving it. Throw it flat and straight and as fast as you can. Toss it back and forth until you get a really consistent distance (which will increase with more practice).

Then throw it at targets, working from about half of the range that you can drive it out to the longest range you can throw it. If you consistently throw the Aero 160 feet, start aiming at a tree 90 feet away until you can park the disc (or hit the tree) consistently, then move back 20 feet and do it again.

Once you can consistently throw it on target at long distance, you'll be able to see how different discs fly by throwing them at targets at that range. The Aero is a stable, neutral disc, so it'll hold the line you put it on with minimal fade at the end. Throwing the Aero will help you develop a consistent delivery for flat, straight lines to the basket.

If you throw a Shark after developing straight line accuracy with the Aero, you'll easily see how the Shark will fade at the end. More importantly, you'll be able to gauge how much fade you'll have on a consistent basis using the Shark.

Then throw with your Leopard and compare it to the Aero.

 

[Dthunderchicken]

Is this typically for a beginner?

Yep

1) Is there much a difference in brands of disks? Or is it a Ford/Chevy thing? Is any one brand going to be better for a beginner or easier to throw?

Nope. But you will find molds and plastic types that you like better brand to brand.

2) I am left handed and having trouble keeping the driver straight. I am looking for something that may be a little better that the Leopard I have.
I bought a Sidewinder (9,5,-3,1) Thinking the -3 would help me out but it was worse. I was told this has much to much speed for me right now. I should be sticking with something with a much smaller speed rating.
Any suggestions?

Throw the slowest, most controllable disc that'll get the job done. I've had to start over twice due to injuries. The first time I tried and failed to pick up where I left off. The second I didn't touch a driver for about a year. I had much better results that way. And even today I throw drivers much less frequently because slow = control. (And I've never regained my form or power.)

 

[Dthunderchicken]

What I would recommend is this: buy an Aero.
.

Wish I'd said that.

:clap::thmbup:

 

[leath]

One newbie's approach

I started playing about a year ago with just a putter (Aviar P&A) and a mid-range (Cobra). I played with only these two discs for about 4-6 months, until I could consistently get the Cobra to fly close to 200 ft. in the intended S-curve. This worked well for me because it forced me to work on good form to get the most out of each disc, and it also made me pretty good with approach shots.

I recommend taking the time to understand how each of your discs is intended to fly, and then practice until you feel good about how you throw each one. Get a good handle on your low-speed discs first. You can always add distance with faster drivers later after you develop good form. Enjoy the journey!

 

[Aim For The Chains]

One thing to really consider is just finding a disc you like in the 6-9 speed range which is stable to understable and just learning how to throw it many different ways from a pure hyzer, straight, turnover, hyzer flip to finish right or left, rollers etc. Learning to throw fewer discs on more angles and lines before trying to add in different discs to cover certain shots will be much more helpful early on in your game.

 

[TAFL]

Wish I'd said that.

I'd not played more than a handful of rounds in each of the past several years. My doc has been pushing me to get more active, so I figured renewing my acquaintance with bad golf would take care of part of that effort. I quickly figured out this year that my "new" discs were all actually fairly old, so new plastic was in order. (Most of the discs listed on my profile are fairly new to me.)

Part of the effort was to buy a new Aero. It let me know my short game is still in order, which is good. I may take it out and throw some rounds using only it to see if it helps me rebuild my long game. Taking it out to an open field and throwing it for distance as I mentioned above is in the plans, too, as that will likely help.

Which goes to show that what helps develop skills for newbies also helps hone skills for fossilized veterans.