Understable only for beginner?

[Monarch]

hey guys, new to the forums and disc golf in general. Ever since my buddy took me out the first time, I like most of you, have been hooked straight off the bat. I'm really enjoying picking it up and not afraid to admit I'm not very good. So at the moment I have three discs, my midrange being the only disc I put research into before I bought it. As a driver, I have a Champion Wraith, Midrange is a Discraft Stratus X, and a Discraft Puttr X. So far my favorite disc is the Stratus hands down.

Basically my question is as a new player should every disc I throw be understable? When I bought my wraith I knew it was a good driver but for me the thing wont go straight to save my life. I just dont have the power/form yet. Now the stratus is a different story. It flies perfectly almost every throw I have with it. So for my next driver, should I pick something very understable like a monarch (hence my name ) or maybe a fairway type driver like a roadrunner or something similar.

thanks for the help guys, one thing Ive certainly noticed about disc golfers is their willingness to help the new guy .

 

[billnchristy]

Keep throwing the stratus until the only thing you can do with it is make it go the wrong way (like if you are RHBH it starts going right).

 

[XxInnovaxX]

def man!!! go with the monarch, i think its more stable than a roadrunner and its prolly one of the straightest discs i own.... most people dont have much respect for them, and i didnt at first, thinking it was just for weenie arms....well i throw about 300'+ consistant and ive absolutely fell in love with it...i believe its a disc for all levels of players, you just have to play around with it and figure it out....another good disc to try, and im sure many will agree, is a leopard....

best thing to do is start with slower discs, get your form/technique down, and as you start to improve distance slowly move yourself up to faster discs....

 

[tbird888]

Keep throwing the stratus until the only thing you can do with it is make it go the wrong way (like if you are RHBH it starts going right).

My thoughts exactly. It's so hard to not buy a new disc when you're hooked. My buddy is in the same position. We've gone rounds about whether he should buy a new disc (throwing a TeeBird and Avenger SS). He's fairly consistent with both, but still isn't throwing very long. Every time he talks about "moving up," I tell him he needs to consistently outdrive my forehand (300-375') before moving up (he's still about two throws to my one but occasionally rips a big one out there). I bought so many discs when I was starting, thinking it would help my game, and they just wound up in the unused pile.

Just keep at it. The more confident you are with your Stratus, the more you'll be able to focus on your form and refine it. You'll see improvement much faster as a result of not having to worry about your disc and how to throw it.

 

[Adaven]

Sir put the wraith down and step away. That's a lot of disc for a beginner, I am with the rest of the crowd stick with the mids. I think the overstable disc isn't hurting as much as the speed of the disc. The Wraith is really fast.

 

[mickas]

Ya i would not touch the wraith until your turning over understable drivers, i would try the roadrunner, sidewinder, monarch, lat. 64 vision, or leopard and just drive with one of those for while, if you don't feel like buying a new disc just keep throwing the stratus on drives, it never hurts to start with just a putter and a mid range disc. good luck

 

[Monarch]

Thanks for the replies guys. I assumed this would be the general consensus. That being the case, is there anything I can do with the wraith, i.e., tomahawk or thumber? I guess what I want is the stratus with more distance. I dont have much of a arm just yet and I probably can throw the stratus maybe 150' consistently but I feel like with the right disc and throw, the power is definitely in me to get a disc 250'. So should I skip buying a understable driver and just play with my midrange/putter till I'm driving 200' with it or maybe go for something longer range. If technique alone will get me to the pin, I have no problem saving money.

 

[XxInnovaxX]

everyone is gonna say stick with the mid...but very few of us had the patience to actually do it ourselves ........i know your gonna want to get a new driver and just start bombing somethin out there 250+ .......i made this mistake, as did many others, and you get to a point to where you max out your d and then wont be able to throw any further without drastically changing form... so why start off the "wrong" way when you could do it right from the start and continually throw further without having to change anything big, just tweak something small...

but who listens to advice?......

 

[`cjc]

everyone is gonna say stick with the mid...but very few of us had the patience to actually do it ourselves ........i know your gonna want to get a new driver and just start bombing somethin out there 250+ .......i made this mistake, as did many others, and you get to a point to where you max out your d and then wont be able to throw any further without drastically changing form... so why start off the "wrong" way when you could do it right from the start and continually throw further without having to change anything big, just tweak something small...

but who listens to advice?......

good post!

 

[Traver]

Just because you can't get a disc to do what it's "supposed to do" doesn't mean that it isn't useful. I rarely turn over my champion wraith but I can throw nice long hyzers with it. I guess for starters it's best to learn to adapt your game to the disc. As long as you can get a disc to do SOMETHING consistently then it's worth using. That being said a fairway driver (innova) or long range driver (discraft) might be what you're looking for. They'll do what they're supposed to do without you trying to rip your arm out of the socket.

 

[sidewinder22]

Slower discs are typically better to learn with however the Wraith might be a decent BH headwind driver for you. Its also probably a good FH, tommy, thumber disc for you. The Stratus is similar to the Leopard, so that would be kind of redundant. A lightweight Teebird may be a good disc for you to try out since its not like anything you have. Once you know how a Teebird flies for you, you get a better idea of what other discs should do for you because its right in the middle of everything else. I'd hold off on the Monarch for awhile, besides the Roadrunner or Sidewinder are more beginner friendly anyway.

 

[RustyP]

Picking an understable driver can lengthen your drives a bit, but the better route would be to pick a slower driver. The reason your Stratus is flying straight has more to do with the speed of the disc than the disc's stability.

Think of it this way: the faster the speed of the disc, the faster you have to throw it in order to get the intended flight path, which will vary from disc to disc. I refer to this minimum required speed as a disc's "cruising speed"...the speed at which the disc actually starts to glide. A disc like the Wraith is intended to be thrown with 400'+ of power...and if you aren't throwing with that kind of power, it will fly very overstable (instead of straight, like it was intended to fly).

You might be able to get a fast & understable disc to fly straight for a little way, but then it's going to dive hard to the left...because you never got it up to "cruising speed". If you tried a slower disc that has a cruising speed you can match, you'll be able to make it fly the way it was intended to fly...

That being said, I'd recommend something like a Polaris LS, Cheetah, or Cyclone...anything in the stable fairway driver category. Learning proper form is going to take you much further in the long run.

 

[Camgolfer]

The Stratus is a great disc to have regardless in your bag. I know that I have thrown it straighter and farther than some other drivers. Build up your arm speed with the Stratus it is a great disc. As mentioned Things like the Avenger SS, Surge 150 class, Xpress, Sidewinder, Latitude 64 Vision are all good drivers for your next step. Work your way up in small steps until you can control the bigger drivers. Good luck! I have two Stratus's for sale if you need more.

 

[Ryan P.]

If you really want my advice, just throw your stratus all the time, and slowly get another, slightly faster disc after you learn that one. Then learn the new disc. After that, get another, slightly faster one. You'll be happy with how good you are with the Stratus and other discs if you play all the time with only that disc.

 

[Monarch]

Everyone thanks for the advice, being new, its awesome everyone is so helpful on and off the course. Rusty thanks for the layman's version of the disc speed, makes perfect sense, and im gonna pass the info on to a buddy of mine thats starting with me. just fyi, at the moment im only throwing RHBH as my RHFH is atrocious. I think I'll take your guys advice and throw my mid and putter a few more rounds before I decide to make any purchases. that said, I've got my next 3 or so discs lined up.

 

[skurf]

The Monarch is probably gonna be too fast and will act overstable at the speed you're throwing. The best starting driver I've found is the JLS by Millennium. It's not a disc you're gonna be able to bomb once you advance (like the Wraith), but it's a good disc for someone throwing in the 250'-300' range.

 

[lovely09]

Hello everyone!I'm also new with the disc golf sport.I just got one disc for a start since one one of my friend introduce me this activity.Please share some tips that i can do in throwing the disc successfully.

 

[mambrose]

The wraith is my favorite disc hands down, i can make it do what ever i need it to, that being said, its prolly your worst disc choice other than a boss right now. keep that disc, dont ding it up, and save it until your better. pick up an eagle, leapord, or valkrie and throw that, you will see your game inprove quickly

 

[BrotherDave]

One word: Impact. Just trust me. It's a wonderful cross between a driver and a mid and it's just so easy to throw. I started throwing mine when I started playing with my left arm when tendinitis flared in my right, meaning I was basically a noodle armed noob again, and I was pumping the Impact out there 250+ consistently, even getting nice s curves out of it. Seriously, get one.

 

[NDABRUSH]

Picking an understable driver can lengthen your drives a bit, but the better route would be to pick a slower driver. The reason your Stratus is flying straight has more to do with the speed of the disc than the disc's stability.

Think of it this way: the faster the speed of the disc, the faster you have to throw it in order to get the intended flight path, which will vary from disc to disc. I refer to this minimum required speed as a disc's "cruising speed"...the speed at which the disc actually starts to glide. A disc like the Wraith is intended to be thrown with 400'+ of power...and if you aren't throwing with that kind of power, it will fly very overstable (instead of straight, like it was intended to fly).

You might be able to get a fast & understable disc to fly straight for a little way, but then it's going to dive hard to the left...because you never got it up to "cruising speed". If you tried a slower disc that has a cruising speed you can match, you'll be able to make it fly the way it was intended to fly...

That being said, I'd recommend something like a Polaris LS, Cheetah, or Cyclone...anything in the stable fairway driver category. Learning proper form is going to take you much further in the long run.

the mil polaris LS is the straightest flying disc that I have thrown. and when it starts to curve to the right then you can move up. T-bird is what I moved up to after polaris Ls.