Tips for Playing Disc Golf in a Foot of Snow

My brother lives in Ohio, so it's not often we get a chance to play disc golf together. He was here in Utah for the Holidays, and we desperately wanted to go out and let the plastic fly. The problem was that we had more than a foot of snow. The snow was fresh powder, light and fluffy, and discs sunk beyond visible unless thrown perfectly flat.

Unless you enjoy playing paleontologist, digging through a foot of snow is not exactly a fun way to play disc golf.  So don't even try right?

Wrong.

Playing disc golf in the snow can be very fun, and tromping through a foot of snow is even better exercise than regular disc golf.

Here are a few tips to make disc golf work when there is lots of light fluffy snow:

1. Use Bright Color Discs - Yeah, this one is probably a no brainer, but just in case your common sense didn't register, don't use white discs. I find that the best color discs for snow play are bright red/pink. These discs show up well, and seem to have a little glow to them under an inch or so of snow.

2. Tape a Ribbon on Top of Your Discs - I read on a forum somewhere that tying a ribbon on discs was a good way to find discs in the snow. While the discs themselves go feet into the snow, the ribbon leaves a nice trail that usually stays on top of the snow, making it easy to find your disc.

On rare occasions, both disc and ribbon submerged below the snow. Even when this happened, the bright disc and ribbon were still partially visible through the thin layer of snow.

Using packaging tape, I simply taped a three foot long ribbon on top of the disc. After sixteen holes (using just the one disc for every drive and mid range shot), my tape fell off of my ESP Surge. The ribbon stayed on for the entire round for the Pro-D Buzzz and Surge that my brother used. Perhaps Duct tape would hold the ribbon better in the elements, and from our experience, the tape did seem to stay better on cheap Pro-D plastic discs. When applying the tape, make sure you do it inside to a room temperature disc with room temperature tape.

Once my ribbon was gone, my drives went a lot farther, but It was substantially harder to find my disc. Well worth the loss in distance for a more enjoyable round of snow DG. I'd estimate the riven reduced my distance by about 30%.

3. Be the first group to play after a new snowfall. When there were no footprints around, it was easy to see where discs went in the snow. When footprints were around, not so much. Especially after my ribbon fell off.

4. Bring a Towel and Keep it Dry. While the snow I played in was fairly dry, it was still nice to dry the disc off before each throw. The only problem was that my towel kept getting dragged in the deep snow. For other rounds of snow disc golf I've played I wore a jacket with a big pocket in the front. This made the perfect place to hold my towel, and my glove while I threw. When the snow is so light that your bag sinks 4 inches, chances are your towel will get wet.

You can play Frisbee golf when there is lots of snow on the ground, you just need to be prepared so that you will have fun.

Top Rated Disc Golf Discs

At the Disc Golf Test Lab, we primarily focus on our experiences testing different brands and makes of plastic. And while testing discs is a great way to determine the best, user experience from a multitude of different players, is also a good way to determine good discs. Infinite Discs recently launched a retail disc sales website.

In the last week, Infinite Discs has received more than 500 reviews by disc golfers from all over the country. While there were a good share of discs reviewed from the "big dawgs" Innova and Discraft, some of the highest rated discs come from manufacturers such as MVP, Vibram, and Latitude 64.

Here are the top rated discs according to InfiniteDiscs.com:

Top Rated Distance Drivers

Surprisingly, none of the super fast distance drivers are rated the highest. Probably due to the fact that the average disc golfer doesn't throw hard enough take advantage of the thick rim and speed. The top rated distance driver is actually the Innova Roadrunner. This understable disc has had 7 reviews and a rating of 4.8 out of 5.

The Latitude 64 Saint received the most reviews, 11, and had a rating of 4.75 out of 5. The Saint is the only distance driver with a glide rating of 7. The Westside Sword was another popular distance driver. It had 7 reviews and an average rating of 4.5.

Top Rated Fairway Drivers

Without question, the top rated fairway driver is the Innova Teebird. With 11 reviews, this disc had a perfect 5 rating. Everyone who reviewed the Teebird absolutely loves it and rated it as a "must have." This must be a great disc if everyone who has rated it thinks its better than "very good." Several commenters said that this disc is the single greatest disc ever made.

The Latitude 64 River is the only other fairway driver that has received double digit reviews. Like the Saint, this fairway driver has an incredible glide rating of 5. The 10 visitors who rated the River gave it a rating of 4.38 out of 5. The common complaint with this disc is that it doesn't handle wind very well.

Top Rated Mid-Range Discs

The Discraft Buzzz is clearly one of the most used golf discs on the market. It has received 22 ratings and 17 reviews -- almost all of which are very positive. The Buzzz currently has an average rating of 4.86 out of 5... Impressive. I might want to consider throwing this disc again.

Other highly rated midrange discs include the MVP Axis, ABC Flying Squirrel, and the Discraft Comet.

Top Rated Putters

While there are many highly regarded disc golf putters, the MVP Ion is the only putt and approach disc with a perfect 5 star rating. This disc is especially popular as an approach disc, and for making long putts.

The overstable Discraft Zone putter had some very high ratings,  and rated 4.71 out of 5 by its reviewers. I guess it's safe to say that this is the top rated overstable putter. The Gateway Wizard, and MVP Anode are also very highly regarded disc golf putters.

While we haven't personally tested several of these top rated discs, there are many disc golfers out there who swear by him. This data is very valuable to people who really want the best possible frisbee golf discs.

Frustrations of Forehand Throws

So Kirk and I have narrowed down or forehand test discs to the final six, these are discs that have all performed well for test throws in the past, so I should be able to consistently throw them right?

That's what I would have hoped. I've literally done thousands of forehand throws while we've done our tests, and the sad thing is that not only have I not improved my average distance, but it's actually decreased.

After twelve throws each with our top six discs, my median and average distances went down...

Oh well, at least the positive is that my backhand distance has substantially improved over the summer, so my game hasn't totally diminished. It's just evolved to a different primary drive.

From our results, the top 5 discs for backhand distance throws for intermediate disc golfers right now are:

1. Innova Star Destroyer
2. Innova Champion Krait
3. Latitude 64 Bolt
4. Latitude 64 Flow
5. Innova Champion Monarch

We still have about 16 more throws with these discs, then we'll get to 100 total throws and will publish our results.

Best Forehand Distance Driver for Beginners/Intermediate Players

For the last few months Kirk and I have been testing out different disc golf drivers for the sole purpose of finding which one we can get the most distance with from our forehand drives. We haven't focused on accuracy, just pure distance.

While we have some discs that have been consistently good for both of us, the different throwing styles and techniques have a lot more to do with getting distance than do the discs you're throwing. With that said, there are clearly some golf discs that perform better for distance driving, especially for forehand throws. For me to get 300+ feet of distance from my forehand drives, I need a high speed disc with the right sized rim (not to thick, not to narrow) that is overstable, but not too overstable.

When I throw discs that have a high degree of turn, my sidearm drives turn over and crash into the ground without getting very significant distance or glide. My sidearm throw naturally goes anhyzer on my flick release, so in order to get maximum distance I need a disc that will recover from the anhyzer angle with a highly overstable fade.

While most discs with high turn ratings don't fly well for me for forehand throws, my two best discs, the  Latitude 64 Bolt, and the Innova Monarch are actually fairly understable but these discs resist the tendency to turn over.

When disc rims are too thick, (Like the Innova Boss, Dominator, and Discraft Nuke) I have trouble releasing them and they turn over. When rims wing length is too thin, the same thing happens. After our first round throwing 70 different disc golf drivers, here are my top 10 drivers after the first round:

Alan's Best Distance Drivers for Forehand Throws

1. Latitude 64 Bolt
2. Innova Monarch
3. Latitude 64 Flow
4. Innova Destroyer
5. Discmania DD2 Frenzy
6. Discraft Flash
7. Westside King
8. Discraft Wildcat
9. Innova Krait
10. Westside Giant

We're taking our top 20 discs and doing additional throws so that we can narrow down the results and really answer the questions, "What is the best driver for disc golf?" at least for beginners and intermediate players who throw similarly to Kirk and myself...

Stay tuned for more results...

More Putter Test Results

From 20 Feet, I've now completed 30 test throws. My results are, as they should be, better than from 25 feet overall. The weird thing is that some discs were actually more accurately for me from 25 feet, than from 20... Really weird. Anyways, the results are no where close to being finished, I still have thousands more putts to throw before really answering the questions, what is the best disc golf putter?

One fairly conclusive piece of evidence is that from 20 feet, my number one putter once again is the Vibram Ridge. I'm sure it's part psychological, as I just believe that I'll make my putts with that disc every time because I always have in the past, but the fact is that of the 26 different putters I'm testing, it lands and stays in the basket more than any other disc.

Here are my 20 ft putt test results:

Best Disc Golf Putter from 25 Feet

Okay, so the results are in (well, some of them)....

The best putters for putts from 25 feet are the Innova Dart and the Vibram Ridge.

Well, these are at least the results for me. After 54 rounds of 25 foot putts, these two discs currently tie for first place as the best putters. With these discs, I have been able to make more than 70% of my putts.

The Vibram Ridge is nice and firm, with that great rubber grip that only Vibram can provide.

The Innova Dart is a super reliable straight flyer that rattles the chains. After my first 1,188 test putts, these two discs stand out as the best, the cream of the crop.

I plan to complete another 46 throws at this distance, then move on to another. I'm also working on getting some putter test results from some of the other workers at my office, some of which don't disc golf. This should be a great way to help us determine the best putter for a beginner.

But for now, if you are a disc golfer who wants to improve your game, go with the Innova Dart. Not only is it a great putter, but it's also our #1 rated approach disc. A super straight flyer with no turn or fade. One of the best things about this disc is that it's also super cheap. The Dart comes in Innova's inexpensive DX plastic. You can literally purchase a dart for less than $7.

Choosing the BEST weight for your golf discs.

When you go to purchase a disc golf discs, one of the options is weight. Now how are you supposed to know the best weight? Some discs come in "light weights" less than 150g, while the heavier discs usually weigh between 175-180g.

So what is the best weight for your discs?

The best weight really depends on the type of disc you're using, and how fast your arm speed is.

To try and determine the optimal weight I am testing the Innova Wraith, Roadrunner, and Leopard in each of the different weights available.

With the way I throw, the best weights with the Innova Leopard are the heavier ones. Any time I try and throw the 150 gram leopards, they turn over and don't get nearly as much distance as the discs that are 168g and up.

For beginning disc golfers, light weight discs are best. The hardest thing for most disc golfers is that disc golf discs fade too much. Lighter weight discs do this less. Once you get so you can throw about 300 feet, the heavier weight discs will fly best. The weight will also depend on how stable a disc is. The Leopard is a fairly stable disc, so for my throwing speed it turns over more easily. However, the Wraith is mostly overstable and at my skill level a lighter weight disc is best.

Once I have completed 100 test throws with each of my different weight discs, I will come up with my exact results that show which weight discs are ideal, at least for me.

Best Disc Golf Putter

I just got a new Mach 14 portable disc golf basket delivered by UPS this afternoon, and began my tests to help determine, "What is the best disc golf putter?"

Now Kirk and I did some tests with both putters and mid range discs to determine the best approach disc. For that test, our initial round of results determined that the Innova Dart putter is the most accurate approach disc, as in, it's a good disc go help you land near the pin and have an easy putt.

But what is the best disc for actually putting the disc in the basket? What disc golf putter is going to provide the most accurate results and have the lowest number of missed shots.

Now obviously everybody's hand size, and throwing style are a little different, but by performing tests we can determine the disc most likely to be the most accurate for the greatest quantity of people.

I have about 25 different putters I'm testing made by Innova, Discraft, Millenium, Westside, Latitude 64, Ching, and Vibram. So far I've thrown each disc 14 times from 25 feet out. While this sample size isn't big enough to determine anything yet, there are two discs which stand out from the pack thus far. The Millenium Omega Super Soft and the Vibram Ridge have been my two most accurate discs after one day of testing. Stay tuned for more results....

Disc Golf Flight Ratings Chart

Innova has the rating system Speed/Glide/Turn/Fade that they use to rate the flight path of all their disc golf discs. But what about other disc manufacturers that don't use this system? How do Discraft, Millenium, Ching, and Vibram discs compare?

Altitude Disc Golf put together this chart that compares the flight path of nearly every disc golf disc currently made. Check it out.

Latitude 64 Disc Golf Test Throws

On Thursday I received a package of disc golf discs from Latitude 64. These are some good looking discs in premium plastic. The only other discs I've been more impressed with by initial appearance and impression our Westside Discs, which are actually manufactured by Latitude 64.

Now, good looking golf discs are one thing, but what's more important is good flying golf discs. Driving home from work on Friday night I stopped by Skyview High, and amazingly, the football field actually wasn't being used. So I tried my new discs out.

I wasn't disappointed either. On my first round of throws I got both the Latitude 64 Bolt, and the Lightweight Diamond to travel more than 300 feet on backhand throws. Those are excellent throws for me.

I haven't been able to take these discs for a round yet, my local course was being used for some kind of Soccer tournament today, but hopefully soon.

The light Diamond is an understable disc of very light weight. My first few throws with it went straight and far. After I tried to get a little more power, it kept turning over on me, which leads me to believe I might be beyond a beginning disc golfer. That's a good feeling.

For beginners, this is the best driver I've ever tested. The Leopard and Roadrunner are good beginner golf discs, but this Diamond, and its lighter weight, makes this disc even better.

Test Lab Intermission Should End Soon

As a big fan of the Olympics (even though disc golf is not an olympic sport), and the fact that my test lab partner Kirk broke his rib, the disc golf tests have been a bit slow over the last two weeks...

Well, the Olympics are over now, and Kirks rib feels much better. We even got a round at Brigham City in last week. Things should start picking up, and we should have more great tests with results showing which golf discs are the best.

Today I ordered a DGA Mach 14 Disc Golf Basket, and it should arrive via UPS within the next ten days. I plan to put that disc golf basket at our office and perform putter tests every day during our work break times. We should see some serious results and should have dozens of good putter reviews very soon. Stay tuned for some great results from the Disc Golf Test Lab....

3 Tips I've Learned from Throwing Hundreds of Golf Discs

We've been doing forehand throw distant tests now for several months, and we're almost done. We have about seventy different drivers that we're throwing, testing, and attempting to review.

Everyone has a slightly different form, technique, and grip when it goes to throwing golf discs. The fact is we are all built differently, and its easier to get results for some than it is for others. Here are a few observations I've made, and things I've learned from throwing hundreds of golf disc drivers.

1. Good Discs for Backhand Throws Are Not the Same As Good Discs for Backhand Throws

For someone of my skill level, less stable, or discs with high "turn" ratings are usually best for distance back hand throws. My favorite backhand discs include the Innova Roadrunner, and the Millennium Astra. For forehand throws, overstable discs are best. With forehand throws, so much of the power behind them comes with the big wrist snap. This snap causes understable discs to turnover and crash into the ground well before you want it to.

More overstable discs, will stay level for much longer and will then fade at the end of their flight.

2. Hard plastic is better for forehand throws, grippy plastic is better for backhand throws.

At least with the way I throw golf discs, the hard Champion, or Z-Plastics perform best for me for forehand throws. I guess it works best to have a nice quick exit release. For backhand throws, I like a soft grippy plastic. Discrafts ESP, Millennium's Sirius, and Skyquest's, and even Innova DX plastics are my favorites. With my backhand release I really like a disc that I can grip to and hold on, that won't slip out of my hand.

3. Throwing with all your might, does not equal max distance.

My best throws are the ones where I am under control and have nice level releases.

I'm still learning the game, but by experimenting with more than a hundred different golf discs, and trying thousands of different throws I'm getting much better and learning some valuable insight.

The Plastics Test....

After performing a few dozen test throws forehand I came to the quick conclusion that I could not throw discs with grippy plastic forehand. Every time I tried, they flipped to the side and became rollers. Now at times these discs rolled really far, but unless you're playing a course with flat even ground, you don't want your disc to do this. And lets be honest, I live in the Rocky Mountains, there aren't many courses around here on flat level surfaces.

It was really interesting, the discs that came in Star and Champion plastic, I was usually able to throw forehand.

I soon came to the conclusion that with the way I release my sidearm/forehand throw, a sticky grip lead to my discs doom. The statistics clearly showed that my Star Plastic, Champion plastic discs just plain flew further. But the question arose, was it just this certain type of disc that lead to the crash and burn? Or was it actually the plastic?

So I went out and purchased 4 Innova Valkyries, and 4 Innova Beasts, of the same weights in each of the major plastic types that Innova Makes: Star, Champion, Pro, and DX.

Sure enough, for my forehand throws I could throw my Valkyrie just fine with the Champion/Star/and usually the Pro plastic discs, but the grippy DX plastic nearly always rolled out on me.

But what about Backhand throws?

Most disc golfers throw backhand. I couldn't get as much distance on backhand throws as I could on forehand, but I thought I'd perform the tests.

For backhand throws the results were surprisingly different. They were almost exactly the opposite of the forehand throws. The Champion and Star plastic discs faired worst, while the DX and Pro plastic discs performed best. After 16 test throws with each disc, the DX Valkyrie clearly provided the best distance for me. It was as if the DX Valkyrie stayed on my hand just long enough to sail further to the right, and glide a little further before ending its flight with a hard fade left.

The Test Lab Blog

Last year a disc golf course was built in Providence Utah, right by my in laws neighborhood. I started playing it on a regular basis, and got hooked. In college I was an avid Ultimate Frisbee player, so disc sports, and throwing Frisbee's was not something foreign to me. Compared with most most of the people I played with, I was a pretty good disc golfer right from the beginning.

Initially, I thought that there were just three different kinds of golf discs: drivers, mid range, and putters. I had know idea that there were different brands, different weights of discs, and different plastic types until just a few months ago. I quickly learned that the plastic quality of my beginner set of "Frisbee Golf Discs" purchased from Al's Sporting goods was not of high quality. The plastic on those discs got dinged up with huge gashes after just my first round using them. That's when my eyes were opened to the vast selection of different types of golf discs and plastics.

With so many types of golf discs to choose from, how are we to know what the best discs are?

 Nobody wants to buy every disc possible just to find the best ones.... Well, nobody except for me.

That's the purpose of the Disc Golf Test Lab. I have acquired more than a hundred different disc golf discs from manufacturers such as Innova, Discraft, Westside Discs, Ching, Vibram, Millenium, and Skyquest. With my colleague Kirk, we are going through a serious of tests where we are using statistical analysis to help you determine the best disc golf discs, so you will know what to purchase. 

This blog will provide updates and insight on how our disc testing is going. If you like what you read, please subscribe, or follow the RSS feed.