Naming convention cancelled; moved to online only.

[jdm0514]

Names of prodigy discs don't bother me, but the god awful flashing on every disc I've touched does.

 

[spinachd]

What's a RocX3?

Everybody knows that the 3 means flat top and the X means more stable. And we all understand the difference between DX, Star, G*, Champ plastics.

The Trilogy line-up uses the X designation as well for more stable plastic.

Discraft uses SS and OS. Pretty easy to understand.

Prodigy has used combinations of letters and numbers for both molds and for plastics and it's a complete mess. Beyond that it has no personality, and personality goes a long way.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

The naming scheme is the primary reason I don't throw their discs. I get that it's modeled after ball golf, but when each club/disc slot has various options across the slot, it becomes a little much, and that's before all the disc revisions they've made.

H1V2 means nothing to me. Is that an HVAC unit?

What does Meteor mean?

Same thing it always has.

Meteor is memorable and distictive. HIV2, HVAC, H1X and R2D2 are not distinguishable in my brain.

I have hardly any prodigy. I inderstand the names as well as I understand any other brand disc names. Anyone could understand them if we wanted to.

I get the sentiment of disliking prodigy naming, but isn't it all a little nonsensical? A disc called the panther doesn't tell you anything about what it does. It all requires context.

The pearl clutching ITT and elsewhere over the Prodigy naming system is among the silliest things I've seen on here that wasn't posters being intentionally obtuse (for the record, by the tone of the replies, I'm not sure this isn't that). I throw exactly one Prodigy disc and have for several years, as it is a proto stamped PA4. Not because of the name or stamp, but because it has a unique and essential flight for me. I feel like people here largely bash Prodigy, and some of that may be deserved, but using the name as a basis to take a shot at them is absolutely ridiculous. It's no less intuitive than any other company's scheme. Yeesh.

I had a line in my original post about how all disc golf names don't mean anything. But, for me, the Prodigy categories don't work for me for recall. My brain just doesn't hold onto the meaning. Disc golf goofy names (panther, cloudbreaker, etc.) provide me better recall, but also don't help if you have no idea what they are. I think some of that recall is because I hold onto a visual clue of how a pro on video or another player in person uses a goofy named disc but don't have the same verbal+visual recall with the prodigy names.

Some of the responses were uncalled for. It's a matter of how people's brains work. I guess I really just need to want to, and stop clutching my pearls, and probably grow a pair (right, manly disc golf men of the Internet?), although none of that will change how my brain works.

Throw prodigy. Don't throw prodigy. It's a %#^*+%^ disc. I just find the naming to be unhelpful and stressful. Just describing my experience, which some think is nonsensical.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

I had a line in my original post about how all disc golf names don't mean anything

Sorry that should read "I had a line in my original post that I ended up editing out before posting..."

Missed the editing window.

 

[txmxer]

Sorry that should read "I had a line in my original post that I ended up editing out before posting..."

Missed the editing window.

I can see your point. I'm not familiar with Prodigy discs, but it sounds like they tried to be too smart using codes for characteristics.

Still, if a disc does what I want I'll throw it regardless of name.

 

[Moose33]

Hmmm, DD3... is that a Dynamic Disc and if so, which one is #3?

Discmania disc, they are opposite to prodigy in that the higher the number goes the overstable…in theory.

 

[foxdawg10]

I can see your point. I'm not familiar with Prodigy discs, but it sounds like they tried to be too smart using codes for characteristics.

Still, if a disc does what I want I'll throw it regardless of name.

I agree, it's all marketing. Once it is in my bag and I know what it does, I don't think about name or plastic type. I think in terms of which disc do I use in which situation.

 

[Monocacy]

In artificial languages, similar things with notably different properties often have similar names (alkane, alkene, alkyne). In contrast, natural languages use very different words for similar things with notably different properties (bull, cow). Very important to distinguish between male and female bovines when milking.

This may explain why some struggle with Prodigy's or Discmania's naming schemes. Similar-sounding combinations of letters and numbers are not quite as memorable as animals.

Caveat: I have approximately zero brand loyalty, which is why this thread drift caught my interest more than the original subject.

 

[wims]

Discmania disc, they are opposite to prodigy in that the higher the number goes the overstable…in theory.

The DD is more overstable than the DD3 tho

Sent from my M2004J19C using Tapatalk

 

[Emoney]

Discmania disc, they are opposite to prodigy in that the higher the number goes the overstable…in theory.

This is also part of the problem for Prodigy. Discmania was already using this type of naming scheme. So it muddied the waters even more.

400G H1V2 is hard to market.. then add a bland stamp to it...leads to no interest.

To a seasoned disc golfer, flight should be prioritized BUT to a newb/casual it won't sell...then add the fact that other companies have molds and plastics that feel and fly the same..... you fall behind the trends.

Prodigy was hoping to use all their pros to push plastic. It didn't work. Not to mention they were $5-$8 more per disc when they came out(while having terrible QC problems).

I don't feel bad for Prodigy. They are right where they belong. Seppo coming back to the states and playing at a high level would help them alot.

 

[Moose33]

The DD is more overstable than the DD3 tho

Sent from my M2004J19C using Tapatalk

I always felt they were close, but DD3 is faster. Like 10/5/0/2 vs 12/5/-1/3

 

[Moose33]

This is also part of the problem for Prodigy. Discmania was already using this type of naming scheme. So it muddied the waters even more.

400G H1V2 is hard to market.. then add a bland stamp to it...leads to no interest.

To a seasoned disc golfer, flight should be prioritized BUT to a newb/casual it won't sell...then add the fact that other companies have molds and plastics that feel and fly the same..... you fall behind the trends.

Prodigy was hoping to use all their pros to push plastic. It didn't work. Not to mention they were $5-$8 more per disc when they came out(while having terrible QC problems).

I don't feel bad for Prodigy. They are right where they belong. Seppo coming back to the states and playing at a high level would help them alot.

I agree with a lot of that, especially their initial pricing.

Would love to see Seppo/Manabu/Vaino come over and see how they stack up these days.

 

[Hampstead]

I'm not a fan of Prodigy's chalky premium plastic. But I don't think this is the bash Prodigy thread so I'll stop there.

 

[Echota]

What Discmania has done right from the beginning that Prodigy still hasn't fully figured out yet is that you have to give the DD3's & M4's & P Model Ss' a "traditional" disc name to go with it like Freak or Iron Samurai or Night Strike. To me, they dropped the ball on maximizing the Robo Rooster FX-2. Seems like that's the direction they will be going in with these new Kevin Jones discs so we'll see. That will at least give people on here one less thing to complain about.

 

[nothinbuttree]

No dog in the hunt whatsoever, but if I am a Prodigy exec, I would be concerned about WHY plastic is not moving. If there truly is little difference in flight patterns/quality (I honestly don't know, never thrown any, but I am not good enough to discern such things anyway), then there has to be some other reason. If enough people don't like the naming system (whether justified or not), maybe they should consider changing it, OR discover the actual reason plastic is not moving, OR just be happy with the sales they do have.

FWIW, I am in the camp of "my brain can better remember the differences in discs when they have different names, like Roc, Leopard, Buzz, Sidewinder, Felon, Truth, etc--than PD3, DD2, FD4, etc (or whatever their discs are called). Not judging them, just pointing out how my brain works, and why I possibly have never purchased one of their discs...

If Simon rips a Cloudbreaker, I will remember that when I see it on the shelf. I quickly remembered the Tilt the first time I saw Eagle throw it upside down farther than I can throw anything normally. If KJ rips a DD3 (again, or whatever), I honestly will likely not recall that. Just sayin...

Some brains do work a certain way. Marketing peeps should at least be aware of that, even if they choose not to use that info to their benefit.

Even back in the early days of phones, people could remember radio5-4838 easier than RA5-4838. Mnemonics work.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I'm the opposite way with the naming convention. I found it very frustrating that, for example, an Ape is really fast and has lots of glide, whereas an Eagle really isn't. Oh you want something that stays in the air? Don't grab that Eagle. Grab a Leopard. Or even better, this River.

So both Discmania and Prodigy were very appealing to me as a newer player. But then I couldn't figure out Discmania because no one calls them by their names. I'd get to the store or look on Infinite and nothing is listed as Clown Jerker.

 

[seedlings]

Everybody knows that the 3 means flat top and the X means more stable..

But are you sure though? by a member with 3k posts:

 

[txmxer]

looking at it, it doesn't seem that complicated.

The H, X, and V2 are not intuitive, but having looked at it, I don't think it will be difficult to know what the disc are in the future.

I don't know the plastics, but I don't know the plastics of most MFRs.

 

[Keller]

I don't think Prodigy's name system is all that complicated. If you're going to try out any manufactures discs, you're going to have to do a little research. If I want to know what an M4 does, I'll look it up, same as a Mako3.

The naming system probably sucks for the newbie in a shop that has no clue, and Prodigy's discs are far from flashy enough to catch an eye.

But for me? I'm not paying their prices.

 

[Muddyboots]

I had a line in my original post about how all disc golf names don't mean anything. But, for me, the Prodigy categories don't work for me for recall. My brain just doesn't hold onto the meaning. Disc golf goofy names (panther, cloudbreaker, etc.) provide me better recall, but also don't help if you have no idea what they are. I think some of that recall is because I hold onto a visual clue of how a pro on video or another player in person uses a goofy named disc but don't have the same verbal+visual recall with the prodigy names.

Some of the responses were uncalled for. It's a matter of how people's brains work. I guess I really just need to want to, and stop clutching my pearls, and probably grow a pair (right, manly disc golf men of the Internet?), although none of that will change how my brain works.

Throw prodigy. Don't throw prodigy. It's a %#^*+%^ disc. I just find the naming to be unhelpful and stressful. Just describing my experience, which some think is nonsensical.

Stressful?