Putters and Driving?

[brussolino]

So I am relatively new to the game, but I feel like I am picking it up pretty fast, I am settling in on my bag, and now I need a few putters. I have a SSS Voodoo, and love it. When choosing putters, what should i be looking for in various discs...How many putters do I need, and what circumstances would I need a different putter than normal?

Also, I get confused when reading threads and people talk about putters they use for driving? Why is this common practice? Why would anyone use a putter to drive over a disc designed for driving? Is it because they don't move much off the line? windy days? Could someone shed light on this for me?

Thanks.

 

[Jesse B 707]

putters are used to drive on holes that are too short for drivers or midranges, usually i'll use a putter on most holes 250' and under

 

[Star Shark]

Many people carry 2 putter molds and some more.

1 - Your main putter
2 - Off the tee putter <usually a more stable putter like a kc aviar or wizard>
3 - Some carry a less stable and often lighter putter for longer/jump putts

The real deal is just to find a putter that feels good in your hand and flies in a manner which you have good control over and consistency with.

 

[discspeed]

One of the funny things about this sport is that our putters were originally designed as distance drivers. In the 80s the distance record was set with an Aviar (most popular putter today). So even though we call them putters now, they were designed to fly far. Putters do hold a truer line than any other disc as well.

 

[colombo117]

Also, I get confused when reading threads and people talk about putters they use for driving? Why is this common practice? Why would anyone use a putter to drive over a disc designed for driving? Is it because they don't move much off the line? windy days? Could someone shed light on this for me?

Thanks.

People choose putters over drivers on shorter holes (250' and under) because slower discs like putters are easier to control, will not skip far after landing, and tend to fade less after they slow down from cruising speed.

 

[brussolino]

Makes sense...I guess I didn't think of it because I cannot consistently get 300+, So 250 is my Buzz...Once I get a little more distance I will see a larger variance between discs.

So on average, how many throws in a round (or %) do you guys use a "putter" disc for?

 

[Roy]

Makes sense...I guess I didn't think of it because I cannot consistently get 300+, So 250 is my Buzz...Once I get a little more distance I will see a larger variance between discs.

So on average, how many throws in a round (or %) do you guys use a "putter" disc for?

Depends on the course, but probably atleast half of my throws are with a putter.

 

[Koffee]

I use a putter out to about 250 less in league play. I like the putter for the control aspect of the game it just makes it easier to put it where I want. It also holds tight lines and does not skip/roll as easy as other discs. I would guess at my local course about 40 percent of my shots are with the putter. This is one of the reasons I carry 5 putters with me. Two of the putters (soft wizard) I use for putting. The other three putters (vibram) I use for tee and upshots so I do not damage my putting putters.

CHEERS - Koffee

 

[Ryan C]

I use putters on more shots than I even use drivers for.

I throw an ESP Focus, or a wizard, for my driving slot. I putt with challengers, which despite their rating are far less stable than a Focus.

Inside 200 feet, and usually even inside 250, I'm going to be choosing a putter. I would lose so many strokes if I didn't.

 

[Star Shark]

I like really soft putters so I don't throw putter off the tee much at all. That being said, I'll say 50-60^ of my shots are putter shots as all my local courses are drive and putt. If I have an upshot, it's easy enough to do with a putter.

 

[brussolino]

Ok...So this is my bag as it stands now...for mids and putters. I have narrowed it down to this after trying out a bunch of mids...have not had too much experience with putters, other than my voodoo and my GF's Banger GT (soft)...

Mids
-FLX Buzzz
-Elite Buzzz
-FLX Drone
-Elite Comet

Putter
-SSS Voodoo

Making a trip to Marshallstreet tomorrow for a round and to buy some more putters...need some suggestions.

I love the mids I have, if that helps.

Thinking about some rhyno's for drives/approaches and maybe a couple more voodoo's or wizards and such?

 

[Jeronimo]

Someone put a Pure in this mans hands!

 

[KJDog19]

Making a trip to Marshallstreet tomorrow for a round and to buy some more putters...need some suggestions.

I love the mids I have, if that helps.

Thinking about some rhyno's for drives/approaches and maybe a couple more voodoo's or wizards and such?

I love my Rhyno for short drives and because of the low profile of it, it makes a great disc for forehands as well. Also, hold an MVP Ion while you are there. Amazing putter.

 

[garublador1]

Thinking about some rhyno's for drives/approaches and maybe a couple more voodoo's or wizards and such?

If you like the Voodoo just buy another one in soft or medium S plastic. It should be great for driving.

As was suggested eariler, many putters can take more speed out of the hand than most mids and drivers.

 

[charris414]

speed yes ... but not arm speed ... I have to be super careful not to use too much arm otherwise I will just OAT my wizard directly into a roller ... concentrating on acceleration and snap yields much better putter drives

 

[Maks]

i usually only carry a handful of discs when i play. and it is usually....
a putter (kc aviar)
a mid (some kind of roc)
1-2 drivers (leopard and teebird)

i dont drive with a putter unless its 200' ish any more than that and id rather use a mid.
my second shot is almost always with the putter.

putters are very easy to control and have less margin for error than faster discs. I think that is a big reason why you find so many people using them off the tee.

ALSO.... If i were you i would find a putter you like buy a few of them and use one or two for driving and keep one or two for just putting. getting different putters can mess ya up so i would just stick to one kind.

 

[Mike C]

I use a putter for about 90% of my disc golf game. If I was given one Wizard and nothing else to play a tourney with, I'd expect to do well. In fact the last time I played around with my one friend, we laughed because I told him my favorite driver in my bag was an Evo Wizard, and I joked about how no one else would call their putter their favorite driver.

Everyone listed the reasons why putters make nice drivers. Little fade to compensate for, the most controllable / accurate discs in your bag, less chance of blowing past the intended target etc. They also make great learning discs because it's easier to get them up to their intended power range on a throw, meaning it's not going to want to fade hard left like most any driver would when your still throwing under 250-300.

Barring unusual circumstances they're my go to discs for anything under 300, and if it's calm or tailwind I'll drive 320-350 holes with them and usually get good drive placement.

So far all my aces and metal hits have been with a Wizard, except for one basket hit with a Teebird. Most of them were over 250 feet too.

The Voodoo is a great disc. Try using it for everything under 200 feet for a while. It's a disc that can easily be made to go in any direction you choose, at pretty much any range, whether 30 feet or 300. I brought my 1st run voodoo out the other day and performed a nice drive with it on a 375 foot hard right turning hole with an elevated teepad. It did all the work for me, I just threw it flat and hard through the gap in the trees and it turned beautifully.

 

[jubuttib]

So on average, how many throws in a round (or %) do you guys use a "putter" disc for?

If I play a par round on the course I'm frequenting at the moment I've most likely thrown the putter about 75% of my throws and open with it on five holes. I'd probably could/should use my mids more, but I've been having release problems with them, and the VP and P2 have been picking up that slack. =)

Someone put a Pure in this mans hands!

Mmmmm, I love me some Pures.

 

[18pukas]

As a noob having only played about a year so far it's nice to read this stuff and not feel like I need to be hucking a super fast driver. I played a round with only two discs (a Gumputt and a Valk) this past week and did surprisingly well compared to what I typically carry and throw! When I first started a local long-time vet told be about a pro that used only Aviars to win a championship. Really makes me think hard about how many different types of discs I really need to carry

 

[jubuttib]

I've been preaching at a local sports store that finally brought a serious amount of DG discs in about proper disc selection for beginners (part of the deal between them and our discing club) and one thing both I and the salesmen over there have been worrying about is that while they understand why slower discs are better for beginners and most would benefit just from throwing putters and perhaps mids until they get the basics down, the rack and selection of discs that they received is really heavy on distance drivers, and while not full of XCalibers and Bosses, there aren't that many Roadrunners or Sidewinders either (last time I was there I counted only three DX fairway drivers, all Leopards at least). So they know what they should be selling to beginners and why, but they just don't have those discs in stock as much as they'd need.

There around as much distance drivers there as there are putters and mids combined. =P