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.