***If you like my reviews, please follow my posts to get the newest ones. Thanks!***
I'll admit it, I am one of those people you see with the giant tour bags spilling-over with discs, complete with backpack style straps for easy carrying. On average I carry anywhere between 24 and 26 discs (including 4 different putters). The side pockets are pushing capacity with my golden retriever (I'll tackle in a future post), marker discs, golf balls, sharpies, a towel, a mini clipboard and pencils, a knife, and a lighter. Yup, a complete kit ready for anything that comes my way. See the pictures at the bottom of this post, the only difference is the bag I have is Innova, not Disc Craft; but either one would work.
My golden retriever is an amazing tool that will have it's own post dedicated to it later on, but for now those who don't know what it is, it's for getting a disc out of water. Many people ask me why I carry golf balls (approximately 5 of them) in my bag. Well these have saved my discs a number of times. We've all seen the guy who becomes an instant moron when he gets his disc stuck in a tree (normal) and tries to throw ANOTHER disc to get it down, or better yet a shoe (moron). There was one case where I saw the kid throw his entire bag up to get it down. Then Murphy's Law kicks in and, surprise surprise, they too get stuck in the tree. My secret: golf balls. They are small, cheap (if not free), lightweight, easy to throw, have good weight behind them, and I have never gotten a golf ball stuck in a tree after having to use it. It may seem weird, but I have never had to leave a disc in a tree after I started carrying these.
The other stuff just makes up random things that may or may not be needed during the course of a round. the sharpie is for signing posts when I Ace a hole; marker discs for tournament and league play; a towel for drying/cleaning discs (rain, snow, mud, etc); a mini clipboard and pencils for score cards (the pencils are left over from real golf courses, or mini-golf).
The knife and lighter are always interesting to see what people assume I use them for. In reality they are used for mending damaged discs. When you first start throwing especially, you realize there is some sort of magnetic force that attracts the disc to trees, or even the singular tree that may be on the course. If you are using a softer plastic like Innova's DX, or especially Pro plastic, they gets chips and nicks really easily. I skim off any really bad pieces with the knife. I'll then heat the remaining area with the lighter and smooth it out with my thumb. Voila! The disc's shape is semi-back to normal, and it won't effect the flight pattern because of the drag.
One of the most common questions that I get is: "Do you really use/need all those?". The short answer: "Yes!". I favor Innova discs because I feel like I have the most control over my throws with them, and I am used to their lines of products. This is not to say that I don't throw any other type of plastic, but currently there are 26 discs in my bag and all of them are Innova except for my Flx Buzz by Discraft. There is a large selection in my bag, including 4 putters, and about an even split of drivers and mids. In that group of mid-range discs there are 4 different Rocs, my favorite being my Glo Roc which I currently have 8 Aces with. This is pretty much my go-to disc because I can make it fly any direction or distance I want.
I have so many different discs because I play similar to how real golfers play; I have a possibility for every type of shot I can think of. I have different discs that are for long distance, head wind, tail wind, hyzer, anhyzer, forehand, backhand, etc. I know how each of my discs fly in any situation, and that only comes with throwing them a lot. That is one of the biggest pieces of advice that I can give people looking to play: throw every disc as much as possible.I will have another post later on about Ace runs, and getting primed from those.
Once you understand how your discs fly and are comfortable with them, it makes your game so much more effective. But just like anything else, this takes time and practice. So get out there and throw some plastic. Try different lines, grips, styles, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised and find a new favorite.
No comments:
Post a Comment