[Question] So you throw "control" drivers?

[Spike Hyzer]

Hey all! I am curious to see what people's opinions are about "control" drivers. Those 9ish speed discs such as thunderbirds, PDs, culverins, etc.

I know a lot of people don't throw faster than these and use them for distance, but I am curious about those people that do throw faster (speed 12 and up) drivers as well.

Do you bag control drivers? Why or why not?

What do y'all think about "control" speed drivers?

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[riltim]

Orion LF is my furthest flying disc so I don't bag anything faster. I bookend them with predators and a roadrunner.

 

[casinnova]

I bag a Firebird, Thunderbird, Valkyrie, and road runner. They go farther than fairway drivers and are more controllable than distance drivers. I bag teebirds and a Leo3 for fairways. I bag a defender, wraith, and Tern for long distance.

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[Spike Hyzer]

I bag a Firebird, Thunderbird, Valkyrie, and road runner. They go farther than fairway drivers and are more controllable than distance drivers. I bag teebirds and a Leo3 for fairways. I bag a defender, wraith, and Tern for long distance.

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What would you say is your distance spread between each category?

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[Stable]

Started playing around in 2004. After only playing a couple of years I found my bag going from mids (Rocs) to Wraiths & Monsters with nothing in between. Stayed that way for years. Really delayed my progress. 4-5 years back I forced myself to throw a speed 12 combo (Destroyers/Terns) but never saw any distance gain from my Wraiths.

My main distance driver setup now is FD3-Thunderbird-Valkyrie. I will add a Wraith if the course calls for it. Usually for wide open FH bombs. I get so much more control and consistency from the speed 9's. My next two B-Tier's will cover 3 courses total and there is only 1 hole out of the 54 where I'll use the Wraith (distance driver) off the tee.

Control and consistency are the reasons here. I think a lot of players don't gain any actual distance from throwing 'distance' drivers over 'control' too. Up to the individual really. I've got plenty of strength and am athletic but a lot of it comes down to slow twitch vs fast twitch muscles as well. Can your body fire fast enough to get those warp speeds going?

I think speed 9-10 drivers are the best and highly recommend them.

 

[PMantle]

I carry high speed as well as several 9ish discs. I do not refer to them as control drivers. To me, they are golf clubs. I don't hit my driver to a spot that I can reach with my 22* hybrid. I pretty much throw the slowest disc I can that will reach my target.

 

[casinnova]

What would you say is your distance spread between each category?

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My bad... It posted before I was done....

I throw my wraith or teebird off the tee for the majority of drives. Mostly out of comfort with those discs. Depending on the wind (tail wind, go with Tern) or if I need to hit a long sweeping left hook (defender) or if I need a long turn over to hit a narrow wooded window (Valkyrie) or if I need a very dumpy forehand skip or spike hyzer (firebird). Etc... I don't think of the speed alone too often. I throw the firebird on short upshots alot because of how predicable it is. Road runner is great for short tomahawks.

I can get all those discs out to 350 comfortably in an open field. Past 350 I go with the wraith or Tern. Hitting that distance on the course when navigating trees and bushes is a whole other thing.

I will throw the wraith on short slicing hyzer forehand shots due to the way it glides and skips. It's not as dumpy as the firebird.

So, to give you a straight answer, I will drive a putter under 200. 200 to 300 I'll drive a teebird. 300+ I will drive a wraith or Thunderbird. 350+ it's wraith or Tern. My other 9 speeds are mostly situational discs.

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[casinnova]

Started playing around in 2004. After only playing a couple of years I found my bag going from mids (Rocs) to Wraiths & Monsters with nothing in between. Stayed that way for years. Really delayed my progress. 4-5 years back I forced myself to throw a speed 12 combo (Destroyers/Terns) but never saw any distance gain from my Wraiths.

My main distance driver setup now is FD3-Thunderbird-Valkyrie. I will add a Wraith if the course calls for it. Usually for wide open FH bombs. I get so much more control and consistency from the speed 9's. My next two B-Tier's will cover 3 courses total and there is only 1 hole out of the 54 where I'll use the Wraith (distance driver) off the tee.

Control and consistency are the reasons here. I think a lot of players don't gain any actual distance from throwing 'distance' drivers over 'control' too. Up to the individual really. I've got plenty of strength and am athletic but a lot of it comes down to slow twitch vs fast twitch muscles as well. Can your body fire fast enough to get those warp speeds going?

I think speed 9-10 drivers are the best and highly recommend them.

I have thrown my Valkyrie and Thunderbird up to 400 feet... ONCE during field work. Lol it takes quite a bit more effort to crush those. My wraith and Tern can hit 400 much easier. 2018 goal is to hit 500. I'll be happy with a consistent 450 too.

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[BenHaavisto]

I carry a few Culverins with me, as well as some high speed drivers. I tend to throw the Culverins more if the line or gap I need to hit is more demanding. I don't throw very far so the distance spread between these and my big wings are marginal unless wind is a factor.

 

[Moose33]

I throw the Ahti/Firebird in this class a lot. I use them for FH drives usually in the 330-375 range but can throw them over 400 if I want to. Usually I'll move to a DD after 400 ft though, it's easier to get that distance without trying as hard.

Also use the for doglegs and skip shots Bh up to 350.

I also carry the Stag, but it's only an 8. It can bomb though, I've hit low 400 a few times and can hyzerflip to 375 with ease and accuracy.

I used to carry Wtaiths and Jun/Napalm, but I can make a Stag or Teebird go almost as far as those so I don't bag them anymore.

 

[VLaForce2002]

Putter (Anode) 180-220'
Midrange (Matrix/Alias) 220-270'
Control (Inspire/Crave/Clash) 260-280'
Distance (Vanish) 280-320'
I hope that I will get more distance to add to all those this year, but so far that's it (50+ year old). Lower numbers represents wind affected and "I have know idea what's going on today" flights. Upper numbers are the rest of the time

 

[VictorB]

I guess most of my 'fairway' drivers fall in this category since they are all a little faster.

I carry the punisher, predator, and mantis. The punisher is my actual controlled distance driver. I have been throwing predators long enough that I have several beat in and fit more in the 'faster teebird' type slot. The mantis is a little more finesse for me, I like hyzerflip lines and turnovers with it. Even though it's like a speed 8, it's my main fairway driver. I tend to like to throw a little lower line with my hyzerflip style, so a slightly faster disc works better in almost all cases for me.

I also carry the Crank. A 167 ESP is my longest flying disc. I really only throw them when the benefit of an extra 20-30' over my punishers has little trade off. Essentially, I only throw them on longer bomber holes that are pretty open.

 

[GripEnemy]

Over the years I've thrown and bagged all sorts of combinations. Teebirds and Craves get just about everything I can't reach with a Buzzz...they go plenty far for me. On occasion an Xcal or Cannon makes an appearance but I rarely ever find myself out of Teebird range.

My favorite control driver is definitely the Orion LF, but the distance I gain over a TB isn't worth the accuracy loss to me. YMMV

 

[discerdoo]

Interesting topic that I've been pondering a bit lately. Been thinking about dropping Wraiths and just going with a C/S/P PD combo for OS/S-OS/S-US slots. Generally not seeing more than an extra 20' with the Wraith and definitely have a bit more control with the PDs. Coming up on 2 years playing and still working on form.

But I love my Wraiths......maybe I'll just keep my perfectly beat E-star in the bag for FH rips.....and maybe my 165g champion for BH distance, and.........sigh

 

[GripEnemy]

^Thurman Merman? Nice avatar.

Don't let a post like mine get in the way of carrying Wraiths. We're all very different with our play styles...do you carry anything faster than the Wraith or is that your maxD bomber?

 

[mentos]

i consider a tesla a speed 10, the upper end of the control driver category. and they go farther with better placement than the shocks i was carrying.
I have a fireball (firebird) for windy days but mostly just use a tesla.

dropping down speeds i have lightweight recycled sparks, opto sparks and an underworld.

so really the sparks get thrown for 310-335 holes the tesla for anything above. underworld for long sweeping anny's / rollers. i do have some trace's for what a beat wraith can do as testers right now. i have had favourable results, but too domey for me to flick with any consistency or accuracy (that's why I have a tesla/fireball).


I do this because the rims fit my hand and I can get a good grip on all of these. anything above 2.3cm rims (i am looking at you destroyer) and I just can't get them up to speed.

 

[discerdoo]

^Thurman Merman? Nice avatar.

Don't let a post like mine get in the way of carrying Wraiths. We're all very different with our play styles...do you carry anything faster than the Wraith or is that your maxD bomber?

Santa, would you like a sandwich?

Yes , Wraiths are my max distance drivers and I have them in all stability levels. Typically if I throw a really wonky shot, it's when I try to mash a Wraith for max D. I have a Thrasher and a champ Shryke that I field throw every few months but I need to improve form before I get the desired flight out of. I also don't love rims much beyond 2.1.

Banishing my Wraiths for a bit would be self imposed for form improvement sake. I love PDs equally as well.

 

[brutalbrutus]

InB4 elmex starts praising the Volt...

 

[GripEnemy]

InB4 elmex starts praising the Volt...

Muh Plaz Ion

 

[SD86]

Hey all! I am curious to see what people's opinions are about "control" drivers. Those 9ish speed discs such as thunderbirds, PDs, culverins, etc.

I know a lot of people don't throw faster than these and use them for distance, but I am curious about those people that do throw faster (speed 12 and up) drivers as well.

Do you bag control drivers? Why or why not?

What do y'all think about "control" speed drivers?

I bag Terns for high-speed max d. In the Speed 9 arena, I bag a Gold Line Fury and an Opto Falchion.

The Fury is for rollers and for when it absolutely, positively cannot go left on my RHBH throw.

The Falchion has tremendous glide and is fun to throw. It's what I throw when I'm in the fairway, especially when footing is not ideal, and am not comfortable being able to get the high speed discs up to speed. I do throw it off the tee, as well.

Lately I've been working with a Pro Thunderbird, as it fits a particular hole on my home course. When they change the basket position, it's very possible I'll replace the Pro Thundy with a Sexton Firebird for utility and wind fighting purposes.

Also, I've been throwing a (speed 10) Star SL lately... more often as a driver off the tee than a control driver. It's fun to throw. Someone talked about liking Wraiths; I think they should keep those discs that are FUN to throw in the bag and throw them! The SL is that for me, even though I don't get it as far downrange as I do the Tern.

Overall, to answer the OP's question, I think control drivers are great if they fit the user's needs. For some, the speed 9 range might be caught up between other speeds; while for others, it'll be a sweet spot for them.

(Good post for No. 6000.)