Swirling Winds - What to throw?

[Timeetyo]

I've seen a lot of threads for dealing with a variety of wind conditions - but what do you do when the wind is swirling and unpredictable? Prepping for a tourney and step up to a hole and see the following:

~400 ft, slightly downhill
OB far left (should be out of play but one in our group did get there)
OB buildings on the right (hyzer would have to go over them to be parked)
Otherwise wide open all the way.

With no wind this would be an easy shot - but it gave our group major issues. When standing there I can see leaves blowing in 3 different directions....then 30s laters those same leaves were blowing in a completely different direction....and it wasn't a light breeze.

I watched shots turn over that shouldn't have. I watched shots get rediculously stable and end way left.

So - what to throw here when you have no real idea what the wind will be doing 100' down the fairway or a 1/2 second after you release?

 

[BuzzzChief]

Throw something slightly overstable, very low.

 

[DavidSauls]

A prayer.

 

[DavidSauls]

I watched shots turn over that shouldn't have. I watched shots get rediculously stable and end way left.

That said, the second group is less like to find real trouble than the first. A disc that flips when it shouldn't, or more than it shouldn't, can really find trouble.

If RHBH, an overstable disc down the right side of the fairway is probably the best bet. It won't flip but if the wind hits it as a headwind or left-to-right, it'll be okay. Otherwise, it'll fade left bigtime, but still be in the fairway.

 

[jamesp123]

Firebird....nice and low to the right of the fairway

 

[Kodachrome]

Overstable, play for placement. Don't be a hero. Don't put the flight plate at an angle where it can act as a sail. Throw it low and flat and way right.

 

[whitefedora]

A prayer.

That disc is called a wing and a prayer, lol, which ironically would be a good disc for this shot.

Like others have said, overstable right and play for placement.

 

[slowplastic]

Yeah I'd go as overstable as I can that won't cut my distance to nothing or put the left OB into play. So a Firebird would cut too much D and fade a lot, a bigger driver like an XCal or Destroyer may fade too much, so I would likely throw a PD (even though I won't get it all the way there, but it should be in bounds).

 

[Mixed Bag Madness]

An Enforcer low flat and right. What wind?

 

[Dan Ensor]

Massively overstable on a flex line. It defeats turning over and fading off too far due to stability. Turning over for obvious reasons, and fading off because when it starts fading, it fades hard and gets to the ground more quickly.

 

[clard]

Overstable, play for placement. Don't be a hero. Don't put the flight plate at an angle where it can act as a sail. Throw it low and flat and way right.

This. I wouldn't go with a really fast disc either. Something like a Firebird would be ideal so if it goes off course it doesn't go WAY off course.

 

[MountainGoat]

This. I wouldn't go with a really fast disc either. Something like a Firebird would be ideal so if it goes off course it doesn't go WAY off course.

Make sure to play to the full reach of your shot too. Massively overstable discs that are played too low (find the ground with too much speed) have much more of a tendency to flair up from a big skip. This is the opposite of what you want in wind, especially with OB toward the natural precession of the disc. Firebird sounds nice here but this is where I would throw that brand spanking new flat-top KC Pro/G* Roc or a Titanium Wasp or whatever mold you throw that you can comfortably admit is a copy of a Roc. Every company has one, and there is a reason for that.

 

[mashnut]

Yup, one more vote for something moderately overstable on a very low flat line. If you keep it low and straight and don't get the nose up, no matter what the wind does it can pretty much only knock it down to the ground, that's a lot better 'worst case' than putting something on a higher riskier line that has the potential to go OB, I'll trade distance for that safety in windy conditions most of the time.

 

[Timeetyo]

Yup, one more vote for something moderately overstable on a very low flat line. If you keep it low and straight and don't get the nose up, no matter what the wind does it can pretty much only knock it down to the ground, that's a lot better 'worst case' than putting something on a higher riskier line that has the potential to go OB, I'll trade distance for that safety in windy conditions most of the time.

This is what I ended up doing after watching the weirdness with the others in the group. Threw my thunderbird low down the right and played for the safe three. We are supposed to have some good winds this sat for the tourney so it should be interesting to see some more bad choices.

 

[Jimb]

Throw the towel!