Articles | Disc Golf Equipment

Beat-up Discs Fly Understable

You're at the tee-off box looking down at a basket 300+ feet away. You pull out your favorite, most reliable disc thinking that you'll be able to put yourself in birdie range. You make a monster drive but at the end the disc starts trailing off right, not left. What happened?

Welcome to the world of understable discs.

Your disc WAS overstable but since you've hit so many trees, rocks or just the ground, the disc now flies differently. When a disc gets older the disc is less stable and thus flies understable. Note that this usually happens with the DX plastic rather than the newer more durable plastics like the ESP or Champion.

So, how do you actually use this to your advantage?

Is there a basket that's within your driving range but off to the right? Try throwing your beat-up understable disc. Throw the disc like you normally would trying to make sure if flies flat and far. Depending on how beat-up the disc is and how hard you through it the disc should trail off right instead of left at the end. How handy!

I met a disc golfer who once carried 7 of the same disc. He had 3 new and 4 used discs each with a different amount of understable-ness. Therefore, depending on the hole he would select which disc to use. This is a VERY extreme example but definitely a good example that disc flight can change depending on the use.

Ensure that you're aware of how used your disc is. It is extremely important to ensure your disc golf success.

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Homemade Disc Golf Target

I was at a disc golf course in BC last week and saw a neat homemade disc golf target. It's simply a homemade moveable tonal pole. How cool is that!

What you need to create this target.

3 - 6ft - 2" X 4"
1 Piece of stove pipe
Large Metal Screw
Washer
Nut
Nails

You simply cut about a foot and a half off of two 6ft pieces. You nail these pieces together and add the stove pipe.

You then drill a hole (the size of the large screw) into the bottom of the pieces. You take those two other 6 ft pieces and put the large screw through the bottom. Then nail the two 1 ft pieces on the top as seen in the image on the left. You can then place the target into the space made of these 1ft pieces.

The final product turns out pretty sweet I think. The best part is it's cheap, easy to make and light.

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Parkland Disc Golf Course in Calgary - Update

I was out playing the parkland disc golf course on the weekend. Man, what a great course. Every time I play it I'm amazed at the space and challenge that this course offers. This ranges from really long downhill holes to through the trees tricky-shots.

Anyway, the update is that I went with a friend who is a member. I'm trying to figure out when I can get my pass as the office hours are 9-5pm Monday to Friday the same time I work. Anyway, there is a sign at the door that says all guests must pay a $10 fee when entering the course. It is unclear where or whom to pay the money and hopefully this will be clarified in the near future.

I do believe that this is a terrific course. However, $10 does seem rather high for a disc golf course in my opinion. I'll gladly pay the $10, however, it seems as the community is just trying to make some money on disc golfers. Whereas, the park would have very little use without the disc golfers. Just my 2 cents.

Articles

Playing Disc Golf in the wind

When playing disc golf the wind can be a major factor in lots of your shots. When shooting into the wind the disc won't fly as far but when throwing downwind the wind brings the disc to the ground.

Throwing Discs Upwind

When you're throwing upwind it's important to point the nose of the disc down. You want to almost have the motion that the disc will fly down. With the wind resistance and the force on the disc your disc should stay between 3-6 feet from the ground for most of the flight.

Throwing Frisbee Golf Discs Downwind

When throwing downwind the wind tends to actually push the disc down. You want to ensure that you throw your disc slightly higher then normal. However, you shouldn't be throwing up. As well, depending on the distance of the throw you may want to remove some force from the throw. The wind should provide some carry on the throw and you can account for this when throwing.

Throwing Disc Golf Discs in a side-wind

When throwing discs in a sidewind you want to ensure that you don't expose the bottom of the disc to that wind. If you're throwing a hyzer and the sidewind catches it then your disc will travel a LONG way. You may want to try putting ANhyzer on the disc, however, don't over exaggerate this angle. This will make the disc die and not fly as far.

The basics of throwing into the wind can be broken down into the bottom of the disc. If you 'show' the bottom of the disc to the wind the wind will take over the flight of the disc. Always be sure to check the direction and strength of the wind before throwing.

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What Disc Golf Disc for Headwind

After you've determined how to throw into the wind. The next thing to do is to select what disc golf disc to throw. So how do you select what disc to throw?

There are certain characteristics that make a disc a good headwind disc. The first criteria is the stability. You want to have a disc that won't fall or turnover when you throw it. This is especially important because you're trying to really muscle and snap the disc with lots of power. Having the overstable disc really helps to keep your disc more level.

Secondly, you want a disc you're comforatable with. Lots of people can't throw a Monster very well. This is because of the high degree of overstability. You don't want to be throwing this into the wind. If you can't get the disc to fly properly in the first place then you don't want to be throwing this into a strong headwind.

So which discs are good into the wind?

Here are a few that you should consider trying.

Discraft Elite Z Flick Disc Golf 167G Dynamic Discs Dye

US $19.95

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