xjohncandyx: in the bag 2013

[xjohncandyx]

Getting an early start to 2013. I have only played 10 holes in a 25mph+ wind but was surprised at the lack of rust, most notably on drives which usually take me a bit to get back. With a new year comes a new (well, different) bag.

Years playing/experience: 4 years
Right/left-handed/ambidextrous: right-handed
Throwing Style: RHBH, OH/FH only to get out of trouble (100-150')
Golf Distance: Pure: 200/240'; Warship: 250/280'; Teebird: 280/320' (keeping the TB distance there until I throw Saints a bit more)

Age: 27
Sex: M
Injuries/handicaps: None
Other sport proficiencies: Well-rounded but don't play anything regularly.
Additional Information: I started playing a little more seriously last year and improved a lot. I par'd my local course for the first time and lowered my overall score on one of the tougher formats. I got much better at putting from about 20' and polished my drives to a pretty accurate 300'ish.
What do you like/dislike about your current bag?: I want to expand my bag a bit. Last year, I exclusively drove with 11x Teebirds with a River and PD for a couple holes. Instead of beating up more expensive discs and because I coincidentally amassed a number of them, I want to switch to Saints as my main driver with Rivers to complement while keeping PDs as my max distance option (rarely an option at my local wooded course).
Specific areas of desired feedback: Overlap. I know it's there, so yell at me.
Immediate and long-term goals: I would still like to push out my drives to about 350' and expand my putting comfort zone to 20-25'. I'd also like to find the molds I want to stick with for the long haul. Being able to not pee down my leg in tournaments would be nice. Utilizing mids a little more too.

Drivers:
166 Opto Sparkle Saint - S-curve loveliness, something about the sparkle run is magical
171 GL Saint - I just want to beat this thing in for some reason, slight turn but a straight flight
168 Opto Saint - much more stable
168 GL River - seasoned with a good amount of turn
??? Opto River - used but I don't think I'd call it seasoned (I have a few other Opto Rivers too)
157 P-PD - some turn but still pretty straight
168 S-PD - brand spankin' new, plan to replace the P once seasoned
171 C-PD - straight with a hard fade, great into the wind
175 Champion Firebird - meathook/overhead/forehand/anger punt

Mids:
168 GL Fuse - understable
172 Opto Pain - overstable
171 VIP Warship - straight/workhorse mid/drives

Putters:
176 EZE Pure - putts
176 Opto Pure - driving/short mid shots
175 RGL Pure - approach

I feel like I probably have some overlap in the drivers but haven't played enough to feel everything out.

These are my concerns going in:
- The Opto Sparkle Saint already flies like a seasoned 11x Teebird so should I bother with the GL?
- Do the GL and/or stable Opto Saints overlap with the Opto River?
- Do the C-PD and Firebird overlap? Looking back, the C-PD wasn't quite the meathook I expected but does great into headwinds.
- Will the S-PD be stable enough to take on the OS duties itself while it's being broken in?

I'm fine with my mids but want to learn to utilize them more. The Pure is also staying with one slight change: keeping the Opto as a driving putter and using the RGL in its place for approach shots. That way the Opto can retain its stability for drives.

 

[bradharris]

First of all...

Being able to not pee down my leg in tournaments would be nice.

What?!

Secondly...

I think you're going to see some overlap between the Saints and your PD lineup. Especially the S-line as it starts to break in.

As for FB vs CPD, I notice quite a bit of difference between these two discs personally. For me the CPD has a bit more turn at high speed with similar low speed fade as a FB. They serve slightly different purposes, but they're close enough that I usually only have one in the bag. Which one I carry varies based on the course.

 

[xjohncandyx]

What?!

Just a bit of humor about how badly I do in tournaments. I'll play the same course the day before and shoot +15 come the tourny.

 

[Streets]

Just a bit of humor about how badly I do in tournaments. I'll play the same course the day before and shoot +15 come the tourny.

I feel your pain.

Solid bag!

 

[jdw80550]

Drivers:
166 Opto Sparkle Saint - S-curve loveliness, something about the sparkle run is magical
171 GL Saint - I just want to beat this thing in for some reason, slight turn but a straight flight
168 Opto Saint - much more stable- Pick 2 that will be smooth hyzers, S curves and straight shots
168 GL River - seasoned with a good amount of turn
[U]??? Opto River[/U] - used but I don't think I'd call it seasoned (I have a few other Opto Rivers too)- I would drop this one, because one of the Saints will cover these shots
157 P-PD - some turn but still pretty straight-Drop it, your Saint/River will do the same thing
168 S-PD - brand spankin' new, plan to replace the P once seasoned
171 C-PD - straight with a hard fade, great into the wind-These should be your wind/know it's coming back discs, you could probably just do with one, but 2 ain't gonna hurt and you have different lines with the C vs the S
175 Champion Firebird - meathook/overhead/forehand/anger punt-Drop this throw, not the most useful shot in your bag

Mids:
168 GL Fuse - understable
172 Opto Pain - overstable
171 VIP Warship - straight/workhorse mid/drives

Putters:
176 EZE Pure - putts
176 Opto Pure - driving/short mid shots
175 RGL Pure - approach

.

I like the bag, I would just look at making a few minor tweeks.

As for tournaments, find a disc that you can throw great no matter what, even if it's your Pure! You'll find that even on a super long hole, just having "contolled confidence," will improve your score.

Also, find an, "I don't know what to throw here disc." It's almost like the one above but it works better for all distances. If you find yourself going to hole and thinking, "hmm...what do I throw," automatically pull out that disc.

Last thing that helps me a ton, grab your headphones and practice upshots some where away from everyone else. Get into your own frame of mind. To many time we go to tourneys and get excited to see and talk to people and friends. Remember, you're there to kick ass, you can socialize later. They'll understand.

Good Luck:thmbup:

 

[xjohncandyx]

Thanks for the advice so far. Does anyone notice anything completely lacking? Too bad my planned bag overlaps so much...I guess those discs will go back to collecting dust.

 

[Scouser17]

I don't think you have too much overlap. you have 8 molds.... If you like saints and pd's and they fly differently for different shots I would keep them.

 

[xjohncandyx]

I think I need to do some field work to distinguish between the Saints and PDs. I do plan on dropping at least the stable Opto Saint and Opto River since I feel the same shot is covered by the GL Saint. My bag was too full anyway.

 

[xjohncandyx]

Drivers:
166 Opto Sparkle Saint - workhorse
171 GL Saint - slight turn but a straight flight
168 GL River - seasoned with some turn
157 P-PD - some turn but still pretty straight
171 C-PD - straight with a hard fade, great into the wind
175 Champion Firebird - meathook/overhead/forehand

Mids:
168 GL Fuse - understable
172 Opto Pain - overstable
171 VIP Warship - straight/workhorse mid/drives

Putters:
176 EZE Pure - putts
176 Opto Pure - driving/short mid shots
175 RGL Pure - approach

I played this bag today with some weird results. Both Saints and the P-PD were turning over right out of the gate on drives. The few times I threw the River it was a straight shot, often turning less than I wanted.

I know what you're gonna say: OAT. I don't think so though. I had a massive hyzer flip drive with the Opto Saint (easily one of my longest ever) and when I threw my C-PD the only issue was it came out low (low drives was kind of a running theme for the day). I also threw 90% of my shots using Pures and had absolutely no issues with them, other than running long :doh:. My one throw with the Firebird was dead straight...but into a tree. It was VERY cold today and my hands ended up numb so I don't know how much that played into anything.

So what does this mean? I don't know yet. I'm going to play the Saints at least one more round but in the back of my head I'm curious to see how the Teebirds would do with PDs. I'm also anxiously awaiting an 8/10 S-PD I have coming in the mail.

 

[xjohncandyx]

In an attempt to lock down my drivers, I'm going to try out a few configurations this season. I'm planning to use PDs as workhorses since I can throw them pretty well and cover several shots with one mold (different plastic). I want to try out Rivers, Saints, Teebirds in the slower speed/fairway slot.

175 S-PD - seasoning to be workhorse (8/10)
157 P-PD - seasoning for turnovers/anhyzers (almost there)
171 C-PD - fresh, straight shots with hard fade

Now the fairway options:

A
168 GL River - seasoned (in the bag no matter what)
169 Opto River - still pretty fresh, stable line working

B
166 Opto Saint - straight with some turn
170 GL Saint - more stable

C
169 11x Champ Teebird - go-to driver, moderate turn
172 11x Champ Teebird - more stable, used for tighter drives

I think the Rivers paired with PDs probably makes the most sense because the difference between them is much more pronounced than using Saints or Teebirds with PDs. To make things more difficult, I have a couple Rivals and a Patriot on the way and plan to check the Stag out in a couple weeks. I'm kind of guessing a beat P-PD won't last in the bag too long either.

I'm set with putters and mids at least, but I kind of want to check out a TP Warship. The Warship is just a very comfortable mold for me so beating in a TP might give me some options. I'm keeping the Firebird around for max OS shots.

Now if the foot of snow would just go away...

 

[whentherainscome]

I have a similar issue with Saints. They're great, and straight and they overlap with EVERYTHING. This might sound a little crazy, but I carry them anyway. A 173g GL and 164g Opto. My GL started pretty stable but wore in to have a little turn to it. The Saints, like jdw80550 mentions above, are my confidence driver. I throw them without 2nd guessing my shots a LOT more a tournaments than I do in casual rounds, were I might use a Champ Sidewinder to get more distance.

I also have an Opto River, well used but hardly seasoned (had it about a year and a half!) that I like, but doesn't need to be in the bag. When I don't mind a full bag, it's in, when I want to limit my options it comes out.

Lastly, when you get that PD where you want it it's not likely to stay there very long. Unless you want to keep cycling them, I'd look into a dedicated long turnover mold. Star Sidewinder, Champ Roadrunner, TD2 maybe? The PDs can do it all, but they take a fair bit of curating in order to do so.

 

[filobedo]

Thanks for the advice so far. Does anyone notice anything completely lacking? Too bad my planned bag overlaps so much...I guess those discs will go back to collecting dust.

I would take out some drivers and add more mids but I am old and cannot throw the drivers the way you young guys do.

 

[xjohncandyx]

This might sound a little crazy, but I carry them anyway

Managed to squeeze a GL in the bag. It's a Fade Lite so I don't have a ton of room for extras unfortunately.

Lastly, when you get that PD where you want it it's not likely to stay there very long. Unless you want to keep cycling them, I'd look into a dedicated long turnover mold. Star Sidewinder, Champ Roadrunner, TD2 maybe? The PDs can do it all, but they take a fair bit of curating in order to do so.

I'm not expecting the P-PD to last in the bag very long past this season. I have a backup but I'm hoping the S-PD will get beat in quickly enough to take some of those jobs. I will look into a long turnover driver though. I've just been using the River mostly for that role. My course is wooded so control is key.

 

[xjohncandyx]

I would take out some drivers and add more mids but I am old and cannot throw the drivers the way you young guys do.

I have some trouble utilizing mids, I'm not always sure when to use them. My course is also a bit on the shorter side so typically I drive then reach for a putter. It's uncommon that I'm more than 50-70' from the chains on the second shot just due to the course. As long as I don't botch the drive, it's typically upshot time.

I want to keep the drivers at two molds though, 5-6 max. Simple is good.

 

[xjohncandyx]

Got to play two rounds after shaking up my drivers a little bit and feel very confident with this lineup (bolded new discs). I'm going to continue bagging the PDs even though I don't really use them in my typical short format course. I know as the season goes on I'll end up playing longer formats (4 different formats varying in length at my local course) so they're "in the bag" for now...collecting dust but still an option.

One of my short term goals is to use my mids more often so I started driving with them on a few holes. It's still something I need to improve but might take a longer format to really explore since now I typically drive-upshot-putt.

At some point when I'm happy with my snap/power/form, I also want to tweak my drive to throw at a slight hyzer. Right now, I throw flat 95% of the time because it works for me. Only time I really use angles is for anhyzers.

I'm pretty happy with this setup for now. In the far future I might end up with Rival/Stag and River/Underworld overlap though. The Rival is definitely my new go-to driver and I'm incredibly comfortable putting and approaching with Pures. I think those two discs will continue to be staples in my bag for a long time.

Drivers:
169 Pinnacle Rival - stable with some turn, similar to a seasoned 11x Teebird
171 VIP Stag - more stable but still has a tiny amount of turn thrown flat, harder fade and more prone to skips
168 GL River - definitely seasoned but not beat, turns over to finish straight when thrown low
168 TP Underworld - easier to control turnover/anhyzer shots with automatic turn
168 S-PD - still pretty stable, got a lower weight in the same condition
157 P-PD - seasoned with some turn
171 C-PD - moderately overstable, wind
175 Champion Firebird - overstable

Mids:
169 Opto Fuse - understable, switched to Opto because my GL blended with the snow too well and was pleasantly surprised, enough to where I think this is a permanent change
172 Opto Pain - overstable, still don't use this much but plan to test out a GL in this slot for science, also have Maces
171 VIP Warship - stable, might try a TP here but love VIP

Putters:
176 EZE Pure - putts
176 Opto Pure - driving/short mid shots
175 RGL Pure - approach

 

[xjohncandyx]

- Took out S+P PDs to give more room to work with mids and fairways...will probably just keep either the C or S in there from now on
- Rival still a beast, ordered a 175g hoping for more stability...sold 11x Teebirds
- Lost my RGL Pure *sadface*
- Liking the GL Pain more than Opto so far, Opto Fuse still a winner over GL
- Will be testing a new run Champ Teebird against the Stag/175 Rival and giving the 10th Buzzz a trial
- Adding D Zone for OS putting/utility/slower OS
- Did much better with the River than the Underworld, probably going to use the Underworld as an s-curve driver exclusively

 

[xjohncandyx]

Very happy with my bag. Shot +1 today, which is pretty good for the 4th or 5th time out this year. Still trying to work out what to use for mids but I feel like I'm getting close.

Drivers:
169 Pinnacle Rival - stable with some turn
171 Brinster Champ Teebird - more stable, maybe slightly OS
168 GL River - seasoned, turns over to finish straight when thrown low, holds anny line, hyzer flips straight with slight turn and fade
165 shield stamp S-PD - stable
175 Champion Firebird - overstable

Mids:
169 Opto Fuse - understable
169 GL Pain - stable/overstable
177 Lucid Suspect - slow tweener, overstable
177+ 10th Buzzz - workhorse

Putters:
176 EZE Pure - putts
176 Opto Pure - driving/approach
175 RGL Pure - approach

- Buzzz vs Warship battle waging...although I kinda realized I don't throw either too often. I'll probably really give the Buzzz a workout next time.
- Suspect is almost a putter, feels very slow. Seems to just die and not really meathook like I expected it to.
- Rival/Teebird combo works well for go-to driving.
- River booted Underworld back out. Just more controllable for me probably because I'm used to it. Also started hyzer flipping it with awesome results.
- Found my RGL Pure, but traded for a backup anyway.
- Pleasantly surprised by the shield stamp S-PD. It has a much lower PLH than any of the freak stamps I own and flies much more like a "longer Teebird". I think it still doesn't benefit me enough to throw it often but I have space so I'll carry it. Maybe by the end of the season I'll push it further. I have another with the same PLH but more dome.
- Have space so will probably throw a C-PD for wind duties in the bag.
- Used my Opto in place of the RGL and remember why I loved it before.

I think this is the bag for now and I just need to work more mids into my game. Hopefully as my form gets better I'll be driving with them on shorter holes or using them more often on longer formats.

 

[ajsteggs]

If you really want to work out your midranges, play a round using only them (and putters) without drivers to lean on you can really get an idea for how to throw them. I usually try to do that when I start using a new one

 

[xjohncandyx]

- Got an ace...all by myself...on April fools (but really I did).
- River is NEVER leaving my bag. The key is hyzer flipping it, it turns too immediately when thrown flat.
- Suspect worked well in wind.
- Tried to use the Buzzz more, ultimately sucked at driving for 17/18 holes. Fairway lineup is working well.
- Bag solidified for a while but added a TD2 as a long turnover option. Curious to see what it does.

 

[xjohncandyx]

- simplifying things to dial in my drivers. PD out, Teebird will be fine in wind. Distance will be the same.
- trying the Patriot over the TD2 first. Slower, more controllable. Looking for more delayed turn than the River, might just try out an Opto River instead or bag a fresh GL.
- Tursas probably replaced the Fuse. Feels more controllable and responsive. Does the same stuff but easier. Got a nice Glopto unique from DGC.
- added a ProD Zone to mess with