Official bag for 2017 season

[VictorB]

My tournament season starts up in about 4 weeks, and I've settled in to a good lineup after messing with an all trilogy bag over the winter.

Vitals:
Years playing/experience: DG 11+ years
Right/left-handed/ambidextrous: right-handed
Throwing Style: RHBH, some RHFH
Golf Distance (avg/max*) for putter/mid/driver: Judge (225/275) Mace (250/300) Convict (325/350) Giant (350/400)


Optional:
Age: 35
Sex: M
Injuries/handicaps?: No ACL in left knee, 4 past surgeries on it. Bone on bone arthritis in there now.
Other sport proficiencies?: Powerlifting

Additional Information: Over the last 4 years, after my last surgery and a couple of years off of regularly playing disc golf for an adventure in powerlifting, I lost a lot of my athleticism. Trying to get back my flexibility and be more nimble. Currently trying to rework my throw so I'm not strong-arming everything, and get my legs and hips back into it. Throwing off of slick rubber tee mats over the winter didn't help at all, as I was subconsciously protecting my knee from slips by throwing with all arm.

What do you like/dislike about your current bag?: I feel like this setup can cover whatever I need on the course in any conditions.

Specific areas of desired feedback: Possibly looking for a stable non-beaded trilogy putter to be my driving/hyzer upshot disc. Right now most of the drivers in my bag are in pretty new condition.

Immediate and long-term goals: No immediate goals. Long term, I'd like to add distance to my on course range (hence trying to rework my throw) and perform consistently well over this season in my first year playing open (no sub 910 rounds)


In My Bag:

Distance drivers
174 Elasto Giant - pretty new
173 TP Giant - brand new
170 TP Giant - newish
170 TP Giant - worn enough to flip

What can I say, I love Giants. I find the grip more comfortable than most other discs this speed and depth, feels very similar to a boatman. The elasto is almost a different disc - very overstable and less glide than the TP version. Having this eliminated my need for something like an enforcer or scythe for long distance hyzers in the wind. I'm kind of a mold minimalist so having a range of stability for this slot with one disc is really appealing to me.

Fairway drivers
174 Lucid Felon
174 Lucid Convict
167 Lucid Convict
173 Opto Fury

The felon is a natural fit here, as the overstable compliment to my most used driver, the convict. Prior to the convict I was not interested in a trilogy bag because I didn't like most of the speed 7-9 stable fairways they were offering. It does what I want it to - has enough stability to be dependable in low to moderate wind, and a slight high speed turn when you get on it that makes it a very workable disc. I like having a lighter one in the bag also simply because it can hold a turn longer, or glide out farther than the heavier one. The Fury is a sort of new addition in the understable slot - I was throwing a river here but didn't like the differences in feel between the flat moonshine I had that flipped too easy, and the domey opto that didn't turn enough when I wanted it to. So now I'm just going with the one Fury to cover long turnovers and rollers.

Midranges
177 Recycled Mace
178 Zero Hard Mace - light wear
176 Zero Hard Mace - moderate wear
174 BT Medium Harp - newish
174 BT Medium Harp -worn in

So you can see I've got a couple of cycles of discs in this speed category. The Mace is my workhorse midrange and probably sees the majority of throws off the tee on shorter courses. The recycled is plenty overstable for me. I'm not familiar with how the plastic wears in though, so might go with an opto in that slot if need be. In a month or two I'll likely need to add a fresh zero hard mace also. My harps are my dependable approach disc, where there's room to throw a hyzer. Backhand or forehand, just a very dependable disc. The worn in one saw a ton of use last year and has finally lost some high speed stabilty.

Putters
174 BT Medium Swan2 (2)
174 BT Soft Swan2
174 Classic Blend Judge
173 Classic Hard Judge

I don't switch putters very often, but my putting style is a little more spin and a lot less push than it was last season. Sometimes when your game changes you need to change your lineup to evolve with it. The swan2 is going to be my primary putter this year. I love how it's just a very straight putter, and doesn't really move off of line much even on longer putts. Really reminds me of a Magic, but with a more comfortable feel in hand to me. Right now I'm using BT medium, but will likely switch to hard when the warm weather rolls around. Currently I'm looking for a beadless/smaller bead trilogy putter that would pair well with the Swan2, possibly the Marshal? Maybe the Warden, or even the Crown when it comes out later this month? I'd like a tick more stability than a Judge, so I'm leaning Marshal/Crown. Something with a slim profile would be preferable, no deeper than the judge.

I'm looking forward to this season quite a bit, as I've been able to settle on a lineup pretty easily, and earlier than most other years

 

[Buiscutboy]

You may want to try a Shield for your stable non beaded upshot putter. Not alot of glide, but a little os and reliable.

The only other non beaded that comes to mind is the Mercy. Not as OS as the shield but more glide. You can find opto ones now too even though it's a pain.

I don't have a Swan or Judge so I couldn't tell you if the Shield is deeper. Doesn't feel deep to me.

 

[VictorB]

Picked up a shield and it's what I wanted. More overstable and less glide than a judge without being too beefy like a harp. I don't throw harps off the tee so the shield is completely different use for me. Went back to rivers for the turnover fairway slot, the fury was just a little too fast and didn't power down as well.

 

[VictorB]

Tried out defenders on a whim yesterday - might be a good disc to have if the wind is really ripping, but otherwise won't be in the bag. Giants hold firm in the stable to overstable distance slot.

The shield is so good. It has taken my beat up harp out of the bag. Doesn't sidearm for me as well as a harp, the added depth makes it harder to release cleanly, so I'll likely always have a harp for utility approaches. Love the shield though, can hammer it off the tee and it stays straight with a strong finish. Granted I'm only throwing them off the tee at <275' most of the time, but they have met and exceeded my expectations, even after reading reviews and praise for the disc.

 

[VictorB]

Putters are weird, man. I loved the swan 2 for a short time frame, but I think the judge is where I want to be. I still have enough loft in my putts that the swan doesn't drop and I have to aim lower - never have gotten comfortable with that, and I don't know that I want to aim low honestly. I think I'll keep one in the bag for longer putts/spin putts, as they are definitely better than a judge for those. But inside 50' I'll likely use the judge exclusively again.

So my lineup rolling into my first tournament will be:

4 giants
1 felon
2 convicts
2 rivers
3 maces
1 harp
1 shield
1 swan
3 judges

 

[VictorB]

Bag has been pretty steady for the most part. Fully committed to swan2s, after waffling with the judges, and I feel like it's starting to pay off. Couple minor changes to the bag.

Distance drivers
174 Elasto Giant - pretty new
173 TP Giant - brand new
170 TP Giant - worn enough to flip

Giants are kind of a staple in my bag now. Not as overstable as advertised (except the elasto, it's like a speed 13 firebird) which works really well for my arm speed.

Fairway drivers
174 Lucid Felon
169 Fuzion Felon
174 Lucid Convict
167 Lucid Convict
173 VIP Stag
174 Opto River
174 Moonshine River
176 Opto XXX

The XXX has pushed its way back in the bag for my overstable utility disc. It's just silly overstable and does things I can't do with a felon or harp, so it stays.

The Stag is something I've been curious about for a while. I finally picked one up since the river pro isn't out yet, and it fits directly between my 167 convict and 174 super domey opto river (quite stable for a river) in terms of distance and stability. Not sure if it's good enough to keep this slot, but I think it has enough merit to hold onto for a while. I like the flight of the domey opto river I have but not the feel, the stag kind of fits the bill for this slot I think, but time will tell.

Felons, convicts, and rivers are my staple drivers, and see probably 75% or more of my drives total.


Midranges
177 Recycled Mace
178 Zero Hard Mace - light wear
176 Zero Hard Mace - moderate wear
174 BT Medium Harp

Not much has changed in this slot. Pretty comfortable with how these discs work for me and perform in a wear cycle.

Putters
174 BT Medium Swan2 (2)
174 BT Soft Swan2
174 BT hard Swan2
174 BT hard Crown

Committed to swan2s as my putter and it's starting to pay dividends. The mediums are what I'm comfortable with right now but in hotter weather probably will change to hard plastic. The soft swan2 is for spin putts and touch approaches. The hard is my right turning driving putter. The Crown is a solid addition for the Westside lineup, stable but not too overstable that is just a great driving putter IMO. Reminds me a lot of a challenger in most regards. For whatever reason I'm not a fan of putting with beaded putters anymore (after challengers and judges for many years) but if I was I'd very likely be using the Crown.

 

[VictorB]

Setup is almost the same, just over a week out from Mad City Open - the biggest A tier I'll be playing this year.

The one change I made was going to Wardens for putting. The lack of glide and my lack of confidence in swan2s was starting to affect me. I tried going to judges before and beads aren't working for me, so I switched to what is basically a beadless judge. So far it's worked wonders for me, I have a lot of confidence in my putting game again.

One swan2 will stay in the bag until I get a crown beat up enough to handle understable duties. And those might even go, if I can find some good premium plastic wardens for drives.

 

[VictorB]

Midseason adjustment. The trilogy thing isn't working out how I hoped so I'll be putting some other former staples back in the bag. I definitely won't be catching anyone's attention with how poorly I've played this season so time to get back to my basics.

Distance drivers
174 Elasto Giant - pretty new
173 TP Giant - brand new
170 TP Giant - worn enough to flip

Giants are still great for me. No changes here. Closest thing to a destroyer that I can handle and that fits my hand/grip correctly.

Fairway drivers
174 Lucid Felon
169 Fuzion Felon
174 Lucid Convict
169 Lucid Convict
174 S-Line FD
175 C-Line FD
174 Moonshine River
176 Opto XXX

The FD is going back in the bag. Never could find that sweet spot slow control driver in the trilogy lineup. The moonshine river will stay in the bag as my roller disc until I can get some S-Line FDs beat in to roller status. While the flight of the stag was great, it didn't power down so consistently and still had a tendency to fade out on higher shots (probably due to the slightly larger rim width)

The Felon and Convict are still the all-stars in this section of my lineup.

Midranges
178 Pinnacle Ghost
179 Protege Ghost, minimal wear
178 Gravity Ghost, worn in
174 BT Medium Harp

I tried and tried to like maces. I think the big problem with them that I had was how squirrely they got as they became more worn in. My most beat one would sometimes not flip, and other times flip way more than expected. I don't know if this is because they are more speed sensitive or what, but months and months of throwing them and I couldn't trust them to fly as expected when I needed them the most.

I fully trusted my Ghosts last season to cover all of my midrange needs, and they will find a happy place back in my bag for sure. The comet might sneak back in there even, to have a real finesse midrange in the bag again too. The biggest gap in the trilogy lineup is an actual Roc like disc that isn't in premium plastic only. Bards, anchors, etc. are all too overstable to really be the classic stable midrange.

Putters
174 blend Warden (x2), putting only
174 blend Warden, approach and short turning tee shots
174 BT hard Crown, stable driving putter

Wardens are the answer for my putting discomfort with Judges. Same flight, no bead. I have had a lot more pole bounce spits with wardens though, which is really weird. Really looking forward to getting some Prime Wardens to putt with. The crown is still a great stable driving putter. The swan2 didn't get used all weekend so it got cut from the lineup.