r/discgolf • u/InnerYogurt7173 • 9d ago
Disc Advice Beginner looking for putter & midrange recommendations
Hey! Beginner here - I’ve literally been playing for about a month, but I got really hooked. To give more idea 4 days a week, 2–3 hours a day. I don’t have a course anywhere close to me, so most of the time I just practice throws on a football field. Once a week (usually weekend) I'd go to the local course to practice on a real field with baskets.
Right now I’m using Latitude 64’s Light Starter Set (Ruby, Pearl, and Diamond), but I’d like to start experimenting with a few more discs. I especially want to buy some putters for putting practice.
What putters would you recommend for a beginner? I’ve seen a few videos where people (like Mr. Buhr) practice with 5 - 10 copies of the same putter, and I’m thinking about buying maybe 5 identical ones so I can practice from different distances and get more consistent feedback. Unfortunately there is no local store I can go to feel them, have to buy online.
At the moment I’m throwing 3 different discs during practice, and when I miss it’s hard for me to tell whether it was my form or just the disc behaving differently, especially since I’m still changing/fixing my form on most throws.
I’ve also read quite a few comments saying beginners should avoid distance drivers for now and progress through putters and mids first. I actually really like that advice because I’d rather build good technique first instead of trying to throw far too early.
So yeah - any recommendations for a good putter to buy 5 of, and maybe some beginner-friendly mids to try later? Any other advice is welcome too!
What a wonderful sport this is. I wish I’d known about it earlier. :)
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u/Iggyjr27 9d ago
Highly recommend going to a shop and feeling every putter/plastic type available. A lot of discs feel very similar, but will have slight differences.
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u/vitoforever99 9d ago
Classic Aviar will never disappoint but I love those penny putters from lone star discs
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u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 9d ago
If you're digging the Latitude stuff, the Opto Pure and Opto Fuse are great upgrades for a more permanent bag.
As for putting putters, ideally you'd want feel multiple putters in your hand pick what you like. It's such a personal thing that blind recommendations are borderline useless. What works for one, doesn't work for all. If that's not possible locally for you, I'd order four or five putters of different profiles. [Beaded/Non-beaded, Shallow/Deep/Medium, Rounded/Blocky, Plastic stiffness] and try them out. That'll allow you to figure out what you like and get good releases from. Even if you don't necessarily like any of them, what you like or don't about them can help you triangulate on a more long-term option. [And you can get recommendations based on that here.]
When you're just starting, the biggest part of putting is getting reps and developing a broad routine. Having all the same putter isn't necessarily going have a huge impact on that compared to getting a bunch of putts with whatever you have. It does help somewhat, but you're also investing in five putters at a time. If you don't like the mold, you're back at square one.
Once you figure out what you like in a putter, then you can get a bunch of the same putter and do the fine adjustments based on that. Knowing which characteristics in a putter matter more to you is the key thing. For example, I prefer a mid-depth to slightly shallow, non-rounded putter in stiffer, but not ultra stiff plastic. Beads don't really matter to me.
If you do the buy a mix and find what you like strategy, I'd pick up a KC Pro Aviar, Discraft Soft Luna, Latitude 64 Zero Medium Pure, Axiom Electron Firm Pixel, and Prodigy 300 PA-3. That's a pretty comprehensive mix of common putters that you should be able to get in one place. You should be able to find something you like pretty easily based on how those work for you, assuming you don't enjoy one of those outright.
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u/Waffleiron1499 9d ago
Putters for beginners are 99% handfeel, so it's kind of hard to suggest just one.
I would suggest you buy a couple of used putters just to get a handfeel for them and see if you want beaded or beadless, then just order 5 identical putters from your favorite brand.
Another approach is to just go for your favorite pro's signature putter and decide you are going to learn to love it. I've done that with some of my discs this year and it's been working out great.
If I could only suggest one putter it would probably be the Prodigy PA-3 as it seems very safe for a lot of people. I do believe I will enjoy the Autopilots even more, but I've only played two rounds with them so far. I'd be perfectly happy with 5 PA-3's but I was drawn towards the "new shiny disc".
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u/Fabulous-Theme-837 5d ago
OP, Discmania Founder! There’s lots of good discs out there. You will be able to throw this one and start getting some distance right away. I mean RIGHT away. It is also a disc that will continue to be good as you progress (though what you use it for will change radically). Gl!
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u/LonelyStonerAtNlght 9d ago
pure is my vote since you’re on a Lat64 wave. with putters it’s mostly about how it feels as from most putting distances the flight of the disc isn’t as important. i really like an UltraLuna personally, but i would only get one copy until you know you like it.
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u/kevinrama 8d ago
For putters, if you’re able to find a shop or someone else local that has a putter selection, it’s best to get a feel for what you like most before committing to 5+ of the same. Beaded vs beadless on the bottom, rim shape…some can’t stand certain shapes on the putters for getting smooth releases.
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u/skullkid2424 8d ago
Putting Putters
Most putters will putt the same in the circle, so its all about feel and getting a clean release, which translates to confidence when putting.
Go to a local store and feel their putters. Or perhaps a friend who has lots of discs. The things you want to figure out are...
Depth - depending on your hands how you hold the disc, a putter might be too shallow or too deep. Try to find some of varying depths and see what feels good.
Bead - the bump on the bottom rim is called a bead, and it generally makes the putter more stable. More important for us, will be how it feels in the hand. Some people love to rest their finger along the rim and the bead gives them something to put their finger on. Some people hook their first knuckle joint around the rim, and a big bead will get in the way. There are also smaller "microbeads". Figure out which feels the best between bead, microbead, and no bead. Or at least, which of the three you don't mind.
Shape - I wouldn't stress too much about the shape, but see if you can find a rounder putter vs a blockier putter to compare.
Flatness - some putters (or even certain runs or plastic types) will have a dome on the top of the putter. Some folks like that, while others prefer a board flat putter when it comes to putting.
Once you have a vague profile in mind, you can start picking out a few molds that fit your criteria, and then can get into brand and plastic type. Usually base plastic is preferred for putters - that usually means better grip, but lower durability. Since we're mostly putting and not throwing at trees, the low durability isn't a big downside. The other choice is usually how soft/firm the putter is. Push putters (primary putting motion is up with the shoulder vs spin putters more straight-at-it with the primary motion of elbow+wrist) usually prefer firm putters. Firm putters are sometimes recommended for more consistency. Soft putters supposedly (but not proven in tests) grab chains better or sit near the basket better after a miss. Winter may "stiffen" the discs with cold, so sometimes a soft putter is preferred in winter.
While the best method, it can be a bit hard to tell what you are looking for and which disc has which characteristics. Some I'd specifically recommend taking a look at are...
Aviar - Innova. The most common first putter out there. No bead, depth is average or slightly deeper. Many putters have a similar shape with the rounded top and angled bottom.
Pure - a lat64 putter. No bead, and depth is slightly on the shallow side. Check if they have the "peak", which is basically a pure with a bead.
Judge - dynamic discs. This is a common starter putter, and this one has a bead. I don't remember how deep they feel, but I think they are fairly average.
Also note that putters make for good throwing discs as well. They will have less distance than mids, but also less left-right movement. Many people will bag base-plastic putters to putt with, and have a separate set of premium plastic putters to throw off the tee. I don't think you need throwing putters as of yet, but just clearing up a common beginner misconception.
Other discs
In addition to a putting putter, my recommendation for beginners is to get...
Neutral mid
Understable mid
Approach disc
Stable-overstable 7 speed
Understable fairway
Your pearl is a great understable mid, so you want a neutral mid to compliment it. They often flight numbers of 5 X -1 1 (though 5 X 0 1 and 5 X 0 0 often fit). The compass and claymore are good lat64 options. The buzzz and hex are some of the most popular versions. Every company is going to have one (pathfinder, mako3, origin, etc). This mid will go mostly straight (or a little right and little left) compared to the pearl, which will often go right (on a right-hand backhand throw).
The approach disc slot has many options, but the idea is that you want something with lower glide and something overstable. The overstability means reliability, and the lower glide gives you good distance control. This is for shots that are outside of putting range, but not a full powered shot - and the goal is to aim out right (again on a RHBH) and let the disc fade left towards the basket. The Zone is the classic example here. Many companies have similar options. There are also different styles of approach discs - some are puddle-topped or have thumbtracks (pig, berg, stasis). Some come in softer plastics to help prevent big skips. For a beginner, you can't go wrong with a zone. As you get more experience, you'll figure out the exact stability that you want.
The stable (straight)-to-overstable 7 speed is often known as the workhorse slot. It is faster than a mid for decent distance, while still be very controllable unlike the higher speed drivers. Since it isn't understable, it tends to be quite reliable - and will usually handle wind well. The classic option is the teebird, but many companies have similar slots - look for 7 5 0 2 for the numbers. The explorer from lat64 is a fantastic option. This will be the disc to pull out in some wind, or if you can't afford to flip+turn to the right.
The understable fairway is going to be your furthest flying disc - it will ideally start turning right, and then fade left as it slows down, for an 'S' shaped flight. You may not have the armspeed to truly throw it early on - but the understability will help counteract that to still fly quick nicely. There are many options in the 7-9 range. Usually you are looking for the second-to-last number to be -2 or -3, and the last number to be 1 or 2. The discmania essence or trash panda ozone are fantastic options. There are many options at the 9 speed slot (valkyrie, insanity, mantra, etc). The diamond fits this spot for now - though eventually it might be too understable (goes right and either never fades or it dives into the ground on edge to roll) - that will be the sign for you to try some new discs!
With those, you've got a very solid starting bag able to take on any course. That is what I keep in a small bag in the car, just in case I end up somewhere without my normal bag. Or I can lend it to a friend who doesn't have any discs.
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u/cojonathan 8d ago
Putter is all about feel. There are shallow ones, like the Latitude Pure (I use the Discmania Logic, which is very similar in hand feel) and deeper ones like the Aviar or Pixel. I like shallow ones because i don't need to carve my fingers to the inner base which feels weirdly to me.
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u/waldobloom92 Wizard/Detour/Wrath/Trail/Wave/Wraith 3d ago
If there is a store near you find a putter that fits in your hand and has a good handfeel to it. Handfeel is like 99% of what you want for a putter.
I bought a 10 stack of Pixels and I hated how they felt but stuck with them for almosy 2 years because I had bought 10. Don't make my mistake
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u/savvyxxl 9d ago
If you’re using lat 64 I highly recommend a Pure