Introducing Women to Disc Golf – Disc Selection
March 2, 2011
Part 2: Disc Selection 
Story Contributed by Bill Belanger
Have you ever looked through a new female player’s bag and found a bunch of old beat up drivers that her boyfriend, husband, brother, or friend couldn’t throw? It is more common than not and probably hurts her game way more than it hurts yours. But where do we even start? Hopefully you took part 1 to heart and are now getting some pretty decent distance with whatever you already had, now let’s go back and tweak those discs and get a useful bag going.
Drivers
I personally feel that a fairway driver should be the fastest disc that anybody should throw unless they are throwing over 250’ regularly. There are a lot of good discs that you can get in this range and I recommend using the base plastic or one step above (pro for Innova, x for Discraft) until you get a feel for what you want and what works for you. I would also recommend using the marketplace at Disc Golf Course Review to trade or buy used discs for even more savings.
You will note that I will recommend Innova more than any other brand. They have been great supporters of my clinics and they have probably the largest variety of discs that can be bought anywhere discs are sold. I will never tell anyone not to try other brands, there are many great discs out there by other companies, but for beginner discs I feel they have the market cornered.
The best beginner disc to me is a toss-up between a leopard and a stingray. The stingray is now called a mid-range but it used to be the ‘boss’ of its age. A stingray will be an excellent all around disc for a lower powered player (the ones where 150’ is a good throw right now). As you progress the stingray can be used for turnovers and rollers so it can stay in your bag a long time.
The leopard is a disc that can stay with you throughout your career and you will probably end up with one in your bag anyways so you might as well start now. It is a long, straight disc that can be turned over by more powerful throwers or finessed into a straight line. As you get more power then you will probably want a premium version of the disc but there are many pros that carry leopards so you will not grow out of it.
If you are a forehand thrower I highly recommend the gazelle as your starter disc. It can be thrown straight for a very long distance, it can be forehanded with moderate power without a problem, and the best part of all, it is great in the wind. The gazelle is another disc that you probably will not grow out of.
If you live in an area with a lot of wind you will understand the frustration of trying to throw well into a headwind. The banshee will perform this task with great aplomb and you can also use its heavy fade to turn corners.
Honorable mentions: Millennium Polaris LS, Innova cheetah, Gateway sabre, and the Discraft cyclone are all awesome discs for beginners.
Weight: The more power you have the better off you are with a little more weight. A lot of people will recommend that women start with 150 class discs but they are very wind sensitive and sometimes do not fly like their heavier brethren. If you are low to mid powered I would recommend 163-168g. Most people will be fine in the 169-171g range. If you are a beast you can go with max. weight but keep in mind you might get fatigued earlier.
Midrange
With a lower power player I recommend this is be used as your only disc besides a putter. You will find the midrange a little easier to grip with smaller hands. And will find that you can get it up to speed and control it better than a driver. If you want to have a simple game then carrying a good fast mid and a putter is the way to go.
We already talked about the stingray in the driver section so I will not go into any more detail about it but we can talk about some of its sister discs:
The cobra is a beaded stingray. The bead is the little round thing on the bottom lip of the disc, it helps a disc be more stable so if you have problems with stingrays going the wrong way (turning right if you are a righty) then the cobra is probably for you. This disc could easily be your only driver as it glides forever and is very straight and controllable. I carry one in my bag and it amazes me every time I use it.
The kite is a specialty disc that is similar to a stingray with a huge dome. It is probably the glidiest disc out there, hence its name. It is very vulnerable to wind so I would only recommend it in a calm environment. If you throw 150’ with a stingray you will probably hit 175’ with this disc.
If you are a forehand player then something a bit more stable is in order. A roc, Discraft wasp, Latitude 64 core or pain or Gateway warrior might be the right choice for you. These will probably not fly nearly as far as the glide monsters listed above but they will have the stability you need as a forehand thrower. Don’t buy into the need for massively overstable mids for forehand, you CAN forehand a cobra, you just have to have a smooth throw.
The Discraft buzzz, Gateway element, Latitude 64 fuse, Discraft stratus and many others are also excellent choices as well but the ones listed above will probably get you the most distance and versatility for the newcomer.
The midrange becomes very important as you start reaching out past 200’ because you will run into situations where your driver is too much and your putter is not enough. The good news is there are tons of midranges out there and with a little experimentation you will find the one that fits you best.
Weight: Mids are generally heavier than your drivers. However, if you are using your midrange as your only disc then I would recommend keeping in that lower power range of 163-168g. Mids used for approach shots should be heavier and a lot of mids can go up to 180g. You are not throwing these as far or as hard as your drivers so the fatigue factor is lessened. Weight also helps you fight wind so I would pick a weight that feels comfortable in your hand.
Putters
I am not even going to pretend to tell you what putter will work best for you. This is a highly personal decision that only you can make. I recommend going to the store that has the biggest disc selection in your area and hold every putter they have until you find the one that feels “right”.
All discs act the same for a standard putt, it is beyond the 30’ circle that you will start seeing flight differences. Just like before a forehand thrower will want a more stable putter like a rhyno or big bead aviar while the backhand folks can use a less stable disc like an aviar P&A or an XD.
My wife always recommends the XD because the shallow rim fits her well, the Vibram summit and ridge are also pretty shallow and fit smaller hands well. Again, go to a store and hold every putter that catches your fancy. I guarantee you will find one that feels right and with putting being comfortable is all that matters.
The lazy approach-
Backhand bag- Leopard, Latitude 64 fuse, xd
Forehand bag- gazelle, Latitude 64 core, rhyno
These bags will get you started right but going through the process of picking your own discs will give you a more personal connection to them and being one with your discs is key to getting them down the fairway clean.
Next up is Part 3: To Compete
Did you miss Part 1? Read it here.
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4 Responses to “Introducing Women to Disc Golf – Disc Selection”
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As I said on your other write up I have found a lot of success in not giving the ladies drivers first. People seem to feel more comfortable starting with something more like a lid because they’ve probably thrown them before. And starting someone on a disc like a stingray or comet does wonders for people’s form. That and starting with drivers, from experience, shows that people tend to develop bad form from the start. I personally will never hand a driver to another new player again.
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