Disc golf's explosion during the pandemic.

While tons of businesses are struggling during the panic. Disc golf is not one of them. Frisbee golf is a great social distance activity that is played outdoors using your own equipment. What more could you ask for? If you're looking for some great disc equipment, try clicking from this link.

With Blank

No Restrictions

No Follow
 

Best Portable, Foldable Disc Golf Practice Basket

We performed another round of disc golf tests to help determine the best portable/foldable disc golf basket.

There are currently three canvas style disc golf baskets available at InfiniteDiscs.com.

• Dga Mach Lite
• Innova Travler
• Innova Skillshot

Because of its light weight and high portability, we also included the DGA Mach 14 in this round of tests.

By far the highest rated of these three portable targets is the DGA Mach Lite. While the Traveler and the Skillshot are slighly lighter weight and more portable, by far the DGA Mach Lite has a more realistic catching experience.  If you're looking for a portable basket that is highly portable and provides a somewhat realistic course quality experience, this is clearly the way to go.

For this putting test we had 5 different disc golfers putt 30 times at each basket from three different distances: 18 Feet, 25 Feet and 33 Feet.

Results of the Basket Tests

Percentage of Putts Made:

	%Putts Made	Spit Outs	% of Spit Outs
Mach Lite	71.67%	3	0.83%
Mach 14	63.89%	6	1.67%
Innova Traveler	75.56%	10	2.78%
Innova Skill Shot	60.00%	20	5.56%

Rankings

Basket Value:

1. Innova Traveler
2. DGA Mach 14
3. DGA Mach Lite
4. Innova Skill Shot

Despite the fact that the Innova Traveler doesn't catch very realistically, the $109 price tag, the light weight and portability yielded the Traveler the best value.

Portability

1. Innova Skillshot
2. DGA Mach Lite
3. Innova Traveler
4. DGA Mach 14

Of the different portable baskets, the Skillshot is the smallest and therefore the most portable. 

Catch Ability

1. DGA Mach Lite
2. DGA Mach 14
3. Innova Traveler
4. Innova Skill Shot

From our test results as well as our reviewer ratings, the Mach Lite is the best catching ultra-portable disc golf basket.

Quality

1. Mach Lite
2. Mach 14
3. Innova Traveler
4. Innova Skill Shot

Our reviewers felt that the DGA Mach Lite was the most quality of the four tested targets.

Use as a Practice Basket

1. Mach Lite
2. Mach 14
3. Innova Traveler
4. Innova Skill Shot

Despite the fact that it's made of Canvas, the double chains helped the Mach Lite to be rated as the best practice basket due to its superior catch ability and more realistic putting experience.

Best Catching Disc Golf Practice Baskets

There are more than a dozen different practice disc golf baskets on the market today. While the general idea of them all is essentially the same, the functionality, advantages, and quality greatly differ.

In our efforts to determine the best disc golf practice basket for less than $200, we are testing the top disc golf baskets.

We have four of the best putting local disc golfers testing out the different portable baskets while comparing advantages/disadvantages of each. We are keeping track of the number of makes, chain outs, made-misses (bad throws that still happen to go in) and make percentage of each basket.

During our first basket test section, we tested the:

• Dynamic Discs Recruit Basket
• Westside Black Basket
• MVP Yellow Jacket Hive Double Chain
• Discmania Lite Basket
• Gateway Bullseye
• Dynamic Discs Marksman

Each tester threw 30 putts on each basket from 18, 25 and 33 feet. A few notables from our first round of more than 2,000 test putts.

We made more total putts on the Dynamic Discs Recruit basket than any of the other baskets in the set. The Westside Black Basket placed second followed by the Yellow Jacket Hive and Discmania Lite. To no surprise, the DD Marksman and Gateway Bullseye yielded the least made putts.

In terms of "spit outs" to no surprise the  Dynamic Discs Marksman one. For the "traditional size" baskets the Discmania Lite was the least reliable basket with a 5.5% spit out rate. The Dynamic Discs recruit was the most reliable with only a .83% spit out rate.

Dynamic Discs Only Bag

For the limited number of discs they have, and the sheer quality of the available discs, I'd say that Dynamic Discs has the highest quality discs. The Nice thing about throwing a DD only bag is that I got to take every mold they currently manufacture with me. In fact, I had to throw a few extra discs in my Fossa Disc Golf Backpack just to take up some of the space so that my discs would stand up vertical.

Nearly every disc in the Dynamic line is quality, and something I'd consider using. The Justice, is my personal favorite disc, and one that cannot currently be replaced by anything made by any other brand.

The only shortcoming that the limited Dynamic line has for me is an understable midrange, but that will likely be alleviated this week with the release of the Evidence in the Trilogy Challenge. If I had waited one more week, my Dynamic bag would have been almost perfect. The reality is though that I rarely use understable mids, and the Lucid Truth worked adequately enough for my needs.

Initially I struggled putting with the Judge. It's a little more shallow than the Money putter I'm used too, and I couldn't get it right. Once I switched the the beadless soft Warden, my putting was acceptable. Even with the higher than normal amount of missed putts, my average DD only rounds at the Fairgrounds crushed my average rounds with every other brand. I averaged a 56.8 with Dynamic, which even bested my Discraft results.

Besides the awesomeness of the Justice, one of the main reasons I scored best with DD is the Witness. This understable driver worked flawlessly for me as I drove on hole #1 at the fairgrounds. It turned sufficiently for me, but always came back nicely making the mando while giving me excellent distance to set up my second shot.  I birdied hole 1 four of my 5 rounds thanks to this great driver.

Another disc that soon became my favorite is the Breakout. This is a light weight "understable easy to use" disc that does an amazing job holding any line. The light weight straight flying abilities of this disc gave me easy distance and excellent control. I think I threw the Beakout better than I do other discs because I was able to focus on smooth control rather than power. This disc flys effortlessly. Because I liked the Breakout so much, I rarely even pulled out the Thief, which is another disc I actually like.

The Truth is a super solid midrange I found myself reaching for on all my mid distance drives, and for most of my midrange backhand throws. The Suspect is a disc I carry in my normal bag anyways, and is ideal for straighter forehand approach shots, and short backhand drives that need to finish left. The Trespass wasn't quite as consistent as I would have liked, but I was able to get some bombing distance out of forehand drives with it. I found myself flicking the Trespass in many instances where I would normally throw backhand because I was able to get better distance out of the Trespass.

For backhand distance, both the Renegade and Freedom excel for me. At speed 11 and slightly understable, the Renegade is one that I definitely feel comfortable throwing. Even as a speed 14 the Freedom is understable enough for slower arm speed like mine.

The only other area where I felt want of another brand was with forehand throws. The Felon is an adequate flat top overstable driver, but I just found it a little bit harder to control than my MVP resister and Discraft Flick. If I had to use only the Felon, I could survive, but there are other drivers I would prefer.

I rarely ever pulled the Enforcer, Verdict, or Fugitive out of my bag. The Enforcer is plenty beefy, but is too domey for my likes as a forehand driver. This is a disc that I'd probably only use in monster headwinds, but the rounds I played were always moderately calm wind conditions.  With the Justice, there really just isn't much reason to throw the Verdict. It is another disc that would likely come in very handy on very windy days.

If I had to throw only Dynamic Discs, I would be very content with my disc golf lot.

Westside Only Bag

Westside is the first Trilogy Only Bag I have selected to throw only one brand of. With the recent addition of the Bard, Westside now has almost everything I need to feel confident with on every throw. The one lacking piece, that has had a very adverse impact on my average scores, is the lack of a very overstable flat top fairway driver for control flick shots that need to finish right.

The Stag is supposed to be overstable, but that disc is really domey and not nearly as overstable as the flight characteristics indicate. This thing turns on me all the time, even occasionally on backhand throws. The Giant and World are overstable, but they also are too domey and a little bit too fast for the consistency I have at the technical Providence course.

What I Like Best About Westside Discs

Westside discs are among my favorite. The Trilogy plastics are outstanding, and who doesn't like a disc with some story artwork on it? Even though discs of another brand might perform just as well, I prefer Westside because I like the fact that they have artwork on the premium plastics.

Favorite Westside Discs

My favorite Westside discs are the King, Hatchet, and Shield. The King is about perfect for big distance for me. While this disc is really fast, the Rim isn't so huge that I can't wrap my fingers around it. This is a great backhand bomber for me. The Hatchet is an awesome driver if you are looking for an easy 300 feet. This is a great turning driver that glides well and goes the distance with moderate controlled throws. The Shield is just a solid putter. It's tall and bulky, and the medium blend is about right for me. Because a lot of my drives aren't as on point as I would like, I've had to make some big putts with the shield to pull out a respectable score.

I also find that I use the Tursas a lot for my low power understable needs, and I think I would really like the Harp if it was in a stiffer plastic. The Harp I have is in soft plastic, and while I like the fact that the soft reduces skip, it sticks to my hand a little bit to often for me to throw this disc consistently.  The World is another disc that I like most of the time. For an overstable driver, this disc has much glide as anything. I use the World for my distance drives, and as long as I don't turn it over, it usually works as good as anything. The domeyness of the World just makes this disc a little bit to fickle for me and gets turned over, or released too easily in my efforts to try and keep it flat.

Westside Discs That Get Forgotten

While Westside has a pretty versatile line, there are a few discs that just get forgotten for me. If I'm going for big D backhand, I reach for the King. Forehand, the World. If I'm looking for control drives, I reach for the Stag if I want Stable and Hatchet if I want something a little bit understable. For even more understable, I would throw the Underworld, that is until I lost it. But then the Seer is almost an identical disc, so if I want something that will be really understable, I'll use the Tursas.

The Boatman, Sword and the Northman have been used very little for me. In fact, I couldn't even tell you how they fly differently from each other. The Sorcerer is kind of like a slightly more overstable King, and I would probably use it for headwind throws, but it has never really been windy during my Westside rounds. The only time I ever pull out either of the Swans is if I have a short anhyzer shot, which they do do a pretty good job of staying straight and holding an anhyzer line.

Throwing Only Innova Discs

Now Innova is the leading disc golf manufacturer, by a long shot. They have far more disc models and plastic types than any other disc golf brand. You'd think I'd be able to find at least one Innova disc that fits the job for me, and this is mostly true. The tricky thing is that because they have so many discs, it's hard to narrow down the best, and figure out which ones are right.

During my first few Innova only rounds I chose the Max, and the TeeRex as my overstable forehand driver. The Star Max I chose was a little domeyer than I like for my flick shots, but the TeeRex felt good. Unfortunately for my scores and round frustrations, the TeeRex just didn't work for me. I consistently turned the TeeRex over. This disc wasn't nearly as overstable as I needed. The Max also didn't do it for my forehand shots. I found that a new Star Destroyer was more overstable and worked better for my flicks than did the TeeRex.

After about three Innova rounds I pulled out a max weight Glow Champion Firebird. This disc finally provided the stability I need for consistent forehand throws. Originally, I didn't choose the Firebird because a Champion Firebird was one of my original discs when I first started playing three years ago. The original Firebird I had was quite domey, and not very stable. The flatter glow firebird I am now throwing is far more stable.

The other issue I had with finding an Innova disc I like is with the putters. From past experience, I know I don't like the shape of the classic Aviar, and the way it feels in my hand for my putting motion, and Innova has so many "Aviar" discs, I didn't know which ones to try. For my first couple rounds I chose the JK Aviar-X, I like the plastic and feel of this Aviar, but it wasn't quite as deep as I like in a putter. Then I grabbed the R-Pro pig, a much bulkier putter, but this one is a little bit too bulky for what I like.

I also grabbed the Nova for approach shots, which I absolutely love, awesome disc for fan grip style approaches, and found myself actually putting with this disc as well. I like the nice stiff feel of the Nova.

Now that winter has come and gone, Innova has released a new disc, the Whale which finally fits the putter feel I like. This putter gives me the confidence I need to make all of my short putts, and is the right depth and stability for what I am used to. The XT plastic is just awesome. Grippy enough, but not too sticky, and unlike base line plastic, it actually is pretty tough and will last for years.

Discraft Only Bag

Discraft is the first disc brand I've thrown where I can confidently say that I'm not really missing anything when my disc choices are limited to only Discraft. Part of it has to do to the fact that several of my normal go to discs, like the Flick, Buzzz, are already part of my normal mixed bag. The Buzzz is just a great midrange, and the super flat top of the Flick makes it my favorite disc for forehand shots.

Discraft is one of the original two "big" disc manufacturers. They have multiple discs of just about every variety and stability in a plethora of plastic options. I'm able to more consistently get a bit more distance with some non Discraft discs, but when it comes to doing a more than adequate job for every shot I've needed on my two test courses, Discraft has filled that need, and my average scores prove it. Thus far, my best average scores on both courses are obtained when throwing only Discraft. 

Because Discraft has so many discs to choose from, and there are only so many slots in my bag, I selected the following discs for my bag:

Distance Drivers:

Z Flick - Big forehand drives that need to finish fading right.

ESP Crank - Long Distance Drives that need to stay stable and fade to the finish at the end of the flight.

X Wildcat - Max Distance shots where I want a little high speed turn action to kick in. 

Z Surge SS - Pretty much the same as the Wildcat. I'm not sure which of the two I liked better.

ESP Avenger SS -  Understable Driver

Control Drivers:

ESP Predator - Shots that needed to hook hard.

Titanium Mantis - Controlled drives with consistent fading finish.

ESP XL - Straight Drives with a little turn.

X Xpress - Understable Driver

Midrange:

Z Buzzz OS: Forehand Approach Shots

Z Buzzz: Workhorse Mid

ESP Meteor: Straight midrange shots.

Putters:

Soft Challenger: Putting Putter

Ringer & Zone: Overstable Drives. Not sure which of the two I liked better.

Pro D Banger GT: Approach shots of all varieties. Short Drives.

I also carried a Focus and Magent in my bag, but didn't like these putters nearly as much as I liked the Challenger. 

Not only did throwing only Discraft satisfy my adequate disc needs, but by testing the Discraft only bag, I also discovered a new "must have" disc -- The Banger GT.

I'd originally tried this putter with the unique groove on the top a few years back, but I only ever really used it as a putting putter. When it comes to approach shots and really short drives, I absolutely love the Banger. The thumb groove allows me to get more spin, and have more control when I hold the disc with my fan grip. After my test rounds, I had to use the Banger in my recent tournament. 

Around here locally, Discraft gets a lot of bad rap. There are a lot of disc golfers who feel it is inferior plastic and refuse to throw it. The reality is that most of their discs are at least as good as any other discs out there, and the best thing is that they are actually a little less expensive than most of the other popular brands.