Newbie in the Riverside, Ca area

[Daniel T]

Hey gang,

I recently got the Disc Golf bug, I've been playing for about 3 months. I'm having loads of fun playing at a lot of my local courses, I have about 10 courses within an easy 30 min drive of my house. I'm a RHBH thrower, but I'm having lots of fun but not really getting the distance or control I'm hoping for, I struggle to get a 200ft straight throw regularly. Im regularly using a 4 step approach (1 step leading into a 3 step cross step) I know I need to work on my technique but again I'm still having fun. My profile is up to date on my discs in my bag (Im Can, the gf is Cyn).

I have a few basic questions:
1) what are the basic categories of discs? I know putters, mids, and drivers but im seeing all kinds of different drivers.
2) is one brand of disc better than another, I have discraft and Innova.
3) is there a good beginner weight? the discraft are the high 160-high 170s so I put them aside and im using the innova which weigh in the mid 150s.

 

[Casting Timmy]

I'm a beginner too. Start with discs that are understable has really been helping me with form and getting good throws. I've also just been throwing a lot in fields to work on my driving. I like to do 5 discs and throw them all and then my arm gets a break while I walk to get them and then throw them back to my original position.

 

[armiller]

Hey gang,

I recently got the Disc Golf bug, I've been playing for about 3 months. I'm having loads of fun playing at a lot of my local courses, I have about 10 courses within an easy 30 min drive of my house. I'm a RHBH thrower, but I'm having lots of fun but not really getting the distance or control I'm hoping for, I struggle to get a 200ft straight throw regularly. Im regularly using a 4 step approach (1 step leading into a 3 step cross step) I know I need to work on my technique but again I'm still having fun. My profile is up to date on my discs in my bag (Im Can, the gf is Cyn).

I have a few basic questions:
1) what are the basic categories of discs? I know putters, mids, and drivers but im seeing all kinds of different drivers.
2) is one brand of disc better than another, I have discraft and Innova.
3) is there a good beginner weight? the discraft are the high 160-high 170s so I put them aside and im using the innova which weigh in the mid 150s.

First off: welcome! So Cal has all kinds of awesome courses. Enjoy. I'm sure La Mirada is a bit of a drive, but it's worth a trip down the 91 sometime.

1) The main thing to understand with drivers is the concept of disc's speed (one of the ratings, unless you like Discraft, as I do. In that case, you can find the disc speed on online stores). They range from speed 6 (usually called fairway drivers) to speed 13/14 (these are the extreme end of the spectrum, the "high speed" drivers). If you're throwing around 200', you probably won't benefit from throwing anything over speed 9 or 10, and you might pick up some bad habits if you get used to high speed discs.

One thing about disc golf's growing popularity is that there are tons more manufacturers than there used to be, and even the classic companies have lots more molds than they used to. It makes it fun, but also more confusing for players just starting out.

2) I don't think one brand is better. I throw mostly Discraft, with Innova being a close second. And I've found plenty of discs from other newer companies that are also great. Some say Discraft is more consistent, and I suppose that's my excuse for going back. However, I'm not sure how true that is.

3) For me, disc weight is not as important as the mold (how overstable or understable) and the type of plastic. (Which specific discs are you throwing? I'll try to check your profile, but I've never done that before.) For my wife, on the other hand, she is able to do much better with discs around 150-160.

Hope that helps! Keep having fun! If you throw the "wrong discs" the "wrong way" and have the most fun doing it, don't let anyone tell you you're in the wrong. On the other hand, part of what makes this game so fun and addictive is that constant quest for improvement. DGCR is a pretty good place to find info to help along that journey.

 

[Daniel T]

I'm throwing Innova, due to proximity. Innova factory store is about 5 miles from my work.

The discs I'm throwing are listed below, first list is go tos and next lest is testing out. I'm always testing out other stuff.

Disc mold - plastic type - disc type
Archangel - dx- driver
Leopard - gstar - forehand
Classic Rock - DX - mid
Whale - DX - longer putts
Soft magnet - unknow plastic - close putts


Valkarie - DX - driver light winds
Wraith -dx - driver into headwind only
Monarch - glow champion - understable driver still learning this disc
Avenger Ss - unknown plastic - I'm told it's similar to the Innova sidewinder.
Mako3 - champion - mid straights
Roc3 - metal flake champion - distance limiting mids (hard fade disc)
Foxbat - DX - mid for left to right shots.

 

[Plastic Thunder]

Welcome, the best part about where your from is you can run over to the Innova store and grab some really nice stuff. Well there are loads of great things about your area but the disc factory is cool.