Plastic upgrade

At what point do you know when to ditch the beginner disc and start working in more pro plastic?

[Jay Dub]

"So a disc is not a beginner disc or an Advanced disc or a Pro disc based on what plastic is poured into it or what the price tag says"

Completely agree and I would also add that I began with XDs, Aviars and Rocs when I was a beginner and still carry (1) XD and Aviar and (3) Rocs today, so be careful what you label a "beginner" disc. :)

[james lynwood balliet]

i didnt care for mark ellis in the begining but i love to go to one of his classes i liked what he said to you dirt about feel and grip i need somebody to put out a vid on grip, its like plumbing nobody wants to really show you how to do it

[Brandon Swanson]

I've been playing for 6 seasons now and I will always use a regular plastic putter. Here's a tip, no putter is really all that better than another. Use what feels good in your hand. If it happens to be a champion rhyno, so be it... Putting is all about a consistent form and routine that comes with countless hours of practice. Once you have the form, you'll find that you can putt with nearly anything (including a driver) and be consistent from 20 ft.

I will also always throw a dx roc, because I like the grip and I often throw that disc with finesse. I bought a champion roc and have since sold it because I didn't think it had as good of glide as the dx version. Here's something that nobody has said yet also... putters especially and midranges too take longer to beat up than a sharp edged driver. So that's another reason it doesn't matter as much what plastic you use for a putter and mid...just use what you like the feel and flight of. It's good to have a spectrum of a disc in different stages of wear for different flights anyway. Look at Climo...I think the guy carries at least 5 rocs because some are overstable, some are very straight, moderately flippy, and really flippy. Some people will say (including me) that a fairly worked in roc is the best kind.

Drivers I throw in premium plastic because they last so much longer. There's been plenty of good advice in this area, but i will add one thing: the same disc molded in a different plastic won't fly the same. So if you like a disc in dx, it doesn't mean you will like it in champion plastic. Champion and star tend to be more overstable than dx and pro. I'm starting to note that star has more glide than champ. Durability they rank as such, Champ, Star, Pro, then dx, then maybe r-pro...I don't know about the last one yet. All my drivers are star and champ with one exception: an r-pro boss. I ONLY throw that disc on shots without trees though, or where I know I'm not going to hit a tree.

Last bit for you Steve, if you're not throwing light drivers, you should be. Even though I throw 380-400 ft, I've found I can throw a 165g disc a lot longer, with less effort and therefore with more accuracy. Don't buy into having to throw only max weight, unless you throw 500+ ft.

[steve driggers]

Brandon,

Thanks for the great advice.Esp. about throwing lighter disc,today I was throwing a 167 JLS and was crushing it,instead of the heavier plastic I normally throw.When looking at the Innova disc chart you cant help but look for the longest fastest discs.Its hard to accept the learning curve and realize you have to work youre way up.

[AK Discer]

I'm going to be in the process of buying new discs in different plastics and weights. I've pretty much always bought champion, star, esp, and z and usually have bought them max weight. I've learned by playing with others a lot of them like their drivers in in mid 160s. I figured that maybe I would try some of my favorite drivers in pro plastic at heavier weights because of how they break in quicker. One thing I know for sure is that I like my mids in the high 170s. As far as putting, I'm all about what feels good in my hand, but it is still good to have putters that are stable and understable. I use putters for a lot of upshots when a mid is just to fast, I'm all about discing down for what I need.

[J.D.Guy]

one thing that i found important not long after owning nothing but DX drivers is that i needed premium plastic drivers, not only for grip, but for consistency and to be able to gauge my development more accurately. using DX, yea its cheaper, but as a newbie, you're naturally going to ding things more often and in doing so, your discs change daily if you're playing that much,and what you thought you knew isn't necessarily so because your disc just changed its flight pattern. i kinda feel dx drivers are a nightmare for beginners to learn. i know what its like to think that you "know" your disc and then a few weeks later it begins doing other things and you can't figure out if its you changing or the disc, and likely its both to a degree. its hard enough to isolate things you need to work on, don't add another variable. if you're serious about becoming great at the game, get premium, at least for drivers that is. you'll learn much more about your technique and your discs, much quicker.

[steve driggers]

I hear ya J.D.Recently working in some premium plastic and distance has tremendously improved,,do not know if its the plastic or form or maybe both,however I dont see ditching my dx sidewinder for a while

[Disc-O Golf]

Pros use all types of plastic for different conditions (grippiness) and different lifespans of beatness.
Breaking in a disc will give it "performance"...All plastics break in, some faster than others.
Here is how to break in your discs and create an arsenal of weapons:
Buy a new disc in your favorite plastic.
Throw it and use it how it flies until it hits the ground and trees enough that it does not fly like it did when it was new.
Now buy a new one...same weight and model.
Now you have the new one with the same flight you were used to and the other old one for the new straighter flight.
Eventually these 2 discs will get broken in to the point where the new one goes straight, the old one fades off opposite the direction of a brand new one.
Now buy a new one...same weight and model.
Now you have 3 discs that fly the same distance but cover three different areas of the course. Left, Straight, and Right!
You can do this with a putter, a mid-range, and drivers.
Eventually the disc does not want to fly anymore...this is when you use it as a roller (you try to fly it, but trust that it will roll because you know how beat in it is) and now you buy a new one...same weight and model.
So 4 lifespans of the same disc...left, straight, right, and roller. Sweet!
Also keep your discs sanded smooth with a Disc Sanding Sponge.
Most importantly is to remember that this is a game of accuracy, not a game of distance...if you really want to get ahead quickly try this...Set up for your next shot. Try to think a shot ahead of the shot you are on. Set yourself up to shoot the next shot from a clear unobstructed area that has a clean line to the basket. Set up for your next shot on long holes!

[steve driggers]

thank you disco for the ahaa moment,what about a really overstable disc,will it ever get beat enough to flip,even if it is in candy plastic?