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Probably one of the most asked questions I have seen or heard is, “what’s the best disc for a beginner?” This is kind of a loaded question, since there is really no ONE best disc. There are a lot of them!
As a beginner, the goal is to learn good form. A key part of this is keeping your disc selection simple. The more discs you add, the more you overthink and complicate your game when you are still trying to learn how to throw the disc straight.
Putters
If I were to recommend any disc to a beginner, it would be a putter. Putters will help you learn how to throw and also learn how to control your disc to achieve different effects. Plus, when you are just starting out, you will probably be throwing a putter as far, if not farther, that any other disc.
There are a lot of good ones out there, but here are a few that I always see mentioned, in no particular order:
- Innova Aviar
- Discraft Magnet
- Legacy Clutch
- Innova Nova
- Discraft Challenger
- Gateway Wizard
- Discmania P1
- Innova Wedge
There are a lot of variables, even when just selecting a putter. For instance, weight and plastic type. For most people, I would recommend staying around 170g and using whatever company’s baseline plastic.
Mid-range
Alternatively, mid-range discs are a viable option to begin with.
Again, there are more out there, but these are the ones that always seem to come up.
- Discraft Buzzz
- Discraft Comet
- Discraft Meteor
- Innova Shark
- Innova Stingray
- Innova Wolf
- Innova Mako
- Innova Cobra
Just about anything in the right half of the 3, 4, 5 section of Marshall Street’s Disc Golf Flight Guide will work. Lighter weight discs in the 150-165 range will show better results.
Beginner Sets
I would be remiss if I didn’t include the beginner sets offered by some manufacturers. There are variations in sets, but I’m just going to list the basic 3-disc sets. These sets include a driver, mid-range, and putter.
- Innova Disc Golf DX 3-Disc Set (Leopard, Shark, and Aviar)
- Discraft Beginner Disc Golf Set (3 Pack) (Avenger SS, Buzzz, Soft Magnet)
Wrapping it up
You may have noticed that I did not include a category for drivers. There is a very good reason for this. Nearly all beginners I have seen, myself included, will throw a mid-range and putter farther than a driver. This won’t always be the case, though. Once you have build up some fundamentals and are throwing relatively flat and straight, then sure, include a driver into your set. Or just do like I did, and buy as many discs as you could get your hands on and just enjoy the game for what it is. And then, after a while (a year?), start only throwing mid’s and putters for a month or two to correct your bad habits.
Other resources
There are a lot of great resources available online. These are the ones I used when I started and still use when I need to.
- Infinite Discs Disc Buying Guide – Explains types of discs, flight ratings, plastics
- Innova Disc Golf FAQ – Some basics from Innova
- Discraft – Disc selection help
- Disc Golf Course Review Forums – Probably the best web forum for disc golf. Lots of smart guys who can help with any disc golf question
Alright, that’s all for now. Let me know what you think. Am I way off base? Did I miss something?
Kevin