What driver should I get?

[1x1wraps]

I'd say, who told you that?

i consistently out drive people throwing nukes and destroyers with teebirds. if you can't get them up to proper speed, you're not going to get more distance from distance drivers. its pure facts.

 

[Nick481]

OK, last minute last question here, 153g Champ Leopard or 167g S line FD Jackal? I just realized that's the lowest weight they go on the FD.

 

[plastic cannon]

leopard.

 

[desertstormvet]

I would go with the leopard, I have been discing for a year now, I bought all kinds of speed drivers from a nuke, to a boss, ect. Like it was said, I maxed out on distance at around 275-300 ft. I have been working on discing down, in which I have totaly eliminated all 10 speed drivers and higher from my bag, and I can tell that using these slower discs is starting to help me shape up my form=more distance. ITs up to you, but I totally beleive using slower drivers to get good form is the key to getting more D

 

[SteezeOG]

People recommend slower plastic because it exposes form flaws and lets people progress correctly from the beginning. He can take your advice, buy a faster driver, get that easy distance and mask his form flaws. He will then eventually hit a distance plateau where he will have to go back to the beginning and start over to develop his form correctly.

I love that you make it sound like we're all jerks for suggesting that someone progress correctly rather than continuing to make the same mistakes everyone else has already made, or at least that it's unnecessary. Technically a neutral putter or mid is really the best call unless all you want is more "distance", but something slow and stable, like a Leopard, is a somewhat decent way to have fun with a driver without doing too much damage as you progress. I will agree with you however that most people recommend mids and putters because it's a stock answer, not because they understand why they're so important.

OP, distance is in no way related to disc speed. Buying something slower, like a Leopard, will more than likely provide you with more consistent and longer distance because it's better suited to your current arm speed. It's not the easiest thing to accept or understand, but if you must pick up something faster like a Wraith (Blizzard or not) or Valkyrie, please ALSO buy a Pro Leopard and give both of them a try.

1) I didn't make a suggestion. I said he'd get a lot of answers and gave him a few of my favorite drivers that are easier to throw. Like a diamond light which is exactly made for his purpose.

2) I said nothing about the validity or accuracy of anyones answers it's simply what happens week in and week out when a new player posts this exact question. A bunch say stick with putters or buy a leopard. In the first two posts other than mine those were the exact replies and I thought it was easily prophetic and I commented on it. Tongue in cheek about my physic abilities basically joking about me no one else or their response...l guess you're just on the defense about it. Not my issue.


Had you taken the time to read my response instead of get your panties wadded I told him getting a light weight leo was a good idea. Just like any other starter fairway would be, Avenger SS, Diamond light, etc. I simply told him to go to a disc shop and feel them up. How is that saying anyone is wrong or acting like a slow driver is bad? I've literally told 50 people the same thing. I didn't tell him to ignore everyone and buy a nuke...

 

[desertstormvet]

I would go with the leopard, I have been discing for a year now, I bought all kinds of speed drivers from a nuke, to a boss, ect. Like it was said, I maxed out on distance at around 275-300 ft. I have been working on discing down, in which I have totaly eliminated all 10 speed drivers and higher from my bag, and I can tell that using these slower discs is starting to help me shape up my form=more distance. ITs up to you, but I totally beleive using slower drivers to get good form is the key to getting more D

I did want to add some thoughts on what I just said, I still use several 9 speed drivers, I have couple of valks, one light weight and one max weight that i use, but I have fell in love with the roadrunner, i'm working on getting the hyzer flip down with this puppy. I have also heard good things about the striker. I also like using the TL which is a 7 speed fairway driver, its super straight.

 

[deadbody]

F these idiots. Max weight Ape.

Go big or go home.

 

[Imbadatdiscgolf]

my friends and I started playing about a year ago. One of them only throws Nukes. In fact, he has around 8 discs. 5 nukes, a katana, and 2 putters I think. Myself and all my other friends have zero high speed drivers and always outdrive him. Obviously, he's the stubborn type that thinks he knows it all. Round after round he watches us out drive him with fairway drivers, mids, and even putters but he's too blind to put 2+2 together. Lol.

 

[JSurmann]

F these idiots. Max weight Ape.

Go big or go home.

^^^
Throws 150' :thmbup:opcorn:

 

[jtreadwell]

1) I didn't make a suggestion. I said he'd get a lot of answers and gave him a few of my favorite drivers that are easier to throw. Like a diamond light which is exactly made for his purpose.

2) I said nothing about the validity or accuracy of anyones answers it's simply what happens week in and week out when a new player posts this exact question. A bunch say stick with putters or buy a leopard. In the first two posts other than mine those were the exact replies and I thought it was easily prophetic and I commented on it. Tongue in cheek about my physic abilities basically joking about me no one else or their response...l guess you're just on the defense about it. Not my issue.


Had you taken the time to read my response instead of get your panties wadded I told him getting a light weight leo was a good idea. Just like any other starter fairway would be, Avenger SS, Diamond light, etc. I simply told him to go to a disc shop and feel them up. How is that saying anyone is wrong or acting like a slow driver is bad? I've literally told 50 people the same thing. I didn't tell him to ignore everyone and buy a nuke...

Folks get butt hurt really easily when you question the all powerful disc down as the answer to all threads that start with "I'm new and want driver recommendations". The problem is, nobody asked the OP what his long term goals were. If he's looking to stand over Klimo and gloat about beating his championship record then yes, he'll need to put in the tedious practice sessions and shelve his drivers for a long time to perfect his technique. If he's just looking to have fun with his friends and throw a fun new disc that will be easier to get some cheap distance on, then he should entirely forgo discing down and get a blizzard wraith or Jackal or whatever. Not everyone is bound for the majors or has time to spend their 1 - 2 games a week throwing a g-ddamn wizard. /end rant.

 

[Mr. America]

^ I agree with this guy. Either way, getting something like a Leopard, light weight Valkyrie, or a Diamond, would help get more distance and be good for teaching good form.

 

[Nick481]

From what everyone has said my 150g Leopard will be the one that teaches me better form and will be consistent, but the 135g Wraith is going to be my "fun disc" that will give me cheap distance for fun at the field.

 

[jtreadwell]

From what everyone has said my 150g Leopard will be the one that teaches me better form and will be consistent, but the 135g Wraith is going to be my "fun disc" that will give me cheap distance for fun at the field.

Atta boy! When I was your age (disc golf wise) I was throwing a 175g Star Boss (OATing the heck out of it for 275 - 300ft. of "cheating" distance), a 175 champ Banshee (OS as heck), and a Sonic putter, and I had a lot of fun despite having terrible beginner discs and bad form. Eventually I realized I wanted to get better and transitioned over to slower discs and bought some Mids. Now I'm doing just fine. If you get into the tourney scene and want to improve your stuff, THEN you want to disc down and do drills and field practice, etc. Until then, focus on having fun so the game doesn't become a chore. Folks that have been playing a long time often give advice based off of what is most likely to create a DG prodigy. They reason that if THEY got the advice they are giving you 5 - 10 years ago they would be telling Avery Jenkins he needs to get better before challenging them again. The truth is, if they took the advice they are giving out they probably would have quit the sport out of boredom and frustration a long time ago. Have fun with your new disc, and when you inevitably lose it, have fun with the completely different disc you buy to replace it that flies differently and messes up your score for a month.

 

[Murderous Monkey]

My two cents from someone who started recently. I thought going big with the 12s etc would be what I wanted, then I lost a BRAND NEW Star Katana because I shanked it hard left because it was nowhere near up to speed. Now I have both a Star Leopard and TL and love them as they go super straight. I will gladly take shorter distance on a STRAIGHT line rather than a bit further somewhere crazy off to the left. Enjoy your discs.

 

[Johnny Depth]

Just bought a champ TL. Excited to try it out!

 

[Nick481]

Well I'm gonna have to wait tilll Monday to get my new discs. But I did throw for about 3 hours today at the field. I never had really given my 175g Stingray much of a shot, but I threw it today a lot, and sadly enough I could pretty much throw it as far as my 175g Sidewinder and Starfire most of the time (in the 225 foot range) but was more consistent with distances. I guess this was a good discovery for me, because now I am entirely convinced that anything higher than 9 speed is going to taper of on distances for me, and obviously be a lot harder to throw. Still going to get the Leop, but considering getting a 150g Valk, Diamond light or similar instead of a 135g Wraith for my max distance disc.

 

[b-mart]

My two cents from someone who started recently. I thought going big with the 12s etc would be what I wanted, then I lost a BRAND NEW Star Katana because I shanked it hard left because it was nowhere near up to speed. Now I have both a Star Leopard and TL and love them as they go super straight. I will gladly take shorter distance on a STRAIGHT line rather than a bit further somewhere crazy off to the left. Enjoy your discs.

Based on my experience, your Leopard shouldn't fly anything like your TL. My TL does what Innova's flight charts claim it will, but my Leopard (and River) fly more like the Sidewinder or Roadrunner. I only have one Leo though, so I won't claim to be an expert on the subject.

To the OP: Find someone on the course and bend their ear. Then you won't get a bunch of responders fighting each other about whose opinion is right and whose is wrong. Do what feels right and have fun. Much like many others I started out with discs that were far too fast for me. My lone ace came on a 175' downhill, left turning blind hole, and it came with a Boss two months after I started playing... Which is just wrong on so many levels. But I had fun. Then when I did start taking the game more seriously with drills and advice from these forums, I did disc down. I typically throw mids and fairways in the field and have been working on correcting my flaws a lot lately. That does make the course more fun in the long run, but don't worry too awfully much about perfecting your game if you're just playing for fun. Keep that until you're entering tournaments. Or just enter a tournament for the experience and the camaraderie, and take what you learn there out in the field with some mids.

 

[humchris85]

A champ 150 Valk would be a good choice for geting some good distance, you just have to get the right form on it.

 

[Mr. America]

From what everyone has said my 150g Leopard will be the one that teaches me better form and will be consistent, but the 135g Wraith is going to be my "fun disc" that will give me cheap distance for fun at the field.

Keep in mind that the Wraith is still plenty stable and fast. At first it might not get you much more, if any, than the Leopard.

 

[tbird888]

Well I'm gonna have to wait tilll Monday to get my new discs. But I did throw for about 3 hours today at the field. I never had really given my 175g Stingray much of a shot, but I threw it today a lot, and sadly enough I could pretty much throw it as far as my 175g Sidewinder and Starfire most of the time (in the 225 foot range) but was more consistent with distances. I guess this was a good discovery for me, because now I am entirely convinced that anything higher than 9 speed is going to taper of on distances for me, and obviously be a lot harder to throw. Still going to get the Leop, but considering getting a 150g Valk, Diamond light or similar instead of a 135g Wraith for my max distance disc.

I'm glad you found that out before you bought something that was too much for you. While I may have ruffled some feathers with my posts, I believe that the slower end of the Fairway driver spectrum, like the Leopard (or a Discraft XL) truly is the better(ish) choice. You probably still won't see much more distance over your Stingray, but at least you'll stay in the fairway.

There really is a stigma attached to the word "beginner" that I think turns people away from these kinds of discs that are going to actually help you get better while keeping the game fun. In all honesty, I don't throw the same distance as my friends, but my approaches are good enough that I'm still able to stay competitive during rounds. Two good Leopard (Pro Leopards have amazing amounts of glide) throws and a putt score the same 3 as a big drive, 75' approach, and putt. The only difference is that if you work on your form and get good enough throwing the Leopard, when you do move on to faster plastic you'll be outdriving your buddies and dropping in for 2 while they're stuck at their same distances.