When It's Time To Change The Discs In Your Bag

Hey! Wait a second Andrew, you're just trying to trick me into buying new discs!

Nope, I assure you that bag stagnation can be a problem for anyone. To me, this occurs when you’re throwing the same shots with the same discs and not getting better. This happens to players regardless of skill level or years played and here is what I think you can do about it.

One of the first causes is that newer players don’t know what they need. I see them come in and dump their bag out to look at it and find it full of overstable high speed drivers, a mid, and 8 different putters. This random assortment is usually because they’ve been given 5-8 discs by friends to start. Now their shoulder bag is full and they haven’t bought a new disc because they don’t know what to take out.  If you’re a player like this, I’d be happy to help you out anytime; or have another seasoned player look at your bag with you. This lack of rotation is easy to break and will help improve your game immensely.

Another cause for amateur players is when you first started throwing you probably realized that understable fairway drivers curved in an S pattern and gave you maximum distance. That 150 DX Leopard was one of the first discs you ever crushed in an open field. It's one of the discs I recommend all players start learning with, but if you were to go throw it now you'd see that disc flip to the right and roll without getting much distance. If you haven’t thrown it in any round you can remember in the last year, why is it still in your bag?  It’s 150 grams you’re picking up 60 times a round unnecessarily, make it worth it.

As you get better, faster, and stronger, or sometimes even slower, you need different discs. The player I was at 19 is not the player I was at 22, and is definitely not who I am at 30. In fact, I know that I've lost a little distance in the last year from not playing as frequently, so I've removed the Discraft Force from my bag. It's not my go to crush disc anymore, and I've moved to the Innova 2019 Tour Series Madison Walker Wraith. If I get out in 2020 more, I might move back up to throwing something more overstable with more speed. I won’t let my go-to distance driver stay on top just because I like it, I want the most distance every time.

It's important to take a good look at your bag by pulling out and assessing all your discs. Make sure you know what disc is your workhorse for upshots, and what driver is your favorite for forehand and backhand. But also look at that slightly understable mid range and think about the last time you really needed it. Would it be better to have a putter in that spot, or a fairway driver?

It doesn't have to be a new disc you add to your bag either. If you're like me, you have a few dozen in your garage/basement/car that you don't throw. Think about which disc you used to love to throw and now can't remember why you don't have it in your bag anymore. Maybe it deserves a second chance and can make its way back in your bag.

Another reason to change the discs in your bag is that they’re not consistent anymore. A good beat in disc is reliable for a long time, but sometimes a disc has taken too many whacks, and it’s not doing what you need anymore. We carry many different discs here in the shop, so if you’re looking to replace a disc click here to search for it. If it’s from Innova or Discmania, chances are we have it. We also have a smaller selection of Discraft discs as well.

I also want to point out that the "In the bag series" done by pros can be deceiving. That's their bag in that moment of their career, and it varies from tournament to tournament. So if you're playing a tightly wooded course take a couple of those drivers out and maybe put in an additional mid range or throwing putter that you'd use. I recommend keeping a few spare favorite discs in the trunk of your car to be swapped out as needed. If you read my blog about windy days you’ll hopefully start carrying a couple overstable max weight drivers in your transportable collection just in case.

I guess the answer to the title of this blog post is: it’s always time to keep the discs in the bag changing. Don’t think that you’re locked into the same disc forever just because you bought it. If it’s not working out, replace it with a different one and maybe come back to that disc later when you need that shot again. The key to disc golf is to keep practicing and to make sure that you don’t become complacent with your disc selection. Demand better from yourself and your discs.