2020-04-27 Wrist Roll I just returned from the field, where I threw four sets of discs. It had warm temperatures (20 C) and a winds from SW with changing strength. The first three sets it was a right headwind, the last set it was a left slight tailwind. My main focus was to get the nose down. This clearly is my big- gest problem overall. Today, I approached it by rolling the wrist outwards, i.e. the palm upwards at the point of release. This de- finitely helped to get the nose down and lead to some nice flights! Here some noticable throws: Set 1 (still in the warm-up): - Star Eagle: 90m - ES Teebird: 90m - Felon: 85m Set 2: - Star Valk: 100m! (On top of the slope!) - Star Eagle: 95m - Felon: 85m - Pro Valk: 85m - JB Zone: 80m Set 3: - Star Valk: 80m - DX Eagle 171g: 80m - DX Eagle 175g: 80m - Star Eagle: 80m Set 4 (this time in backwards direction, slight tailwind and slightly downhill): - Pro Valk: 100m! - DX Eagle 171g: 95m - ES Teebird: 90m - Star Eagle: 90m - Star Valk: 90m - Felon 85m Today I threw my third and fourth longest throw ever. I've had one Pro Valk and one Prime Trespass throw that were longer (not only up the slope but also over the second slope level, one time stopped by the fence, the other time even over it). The Star Eagle provided some nice flights today. That's no disc I bag or even use that much. I rather bag the 171g DX Eagle, which as well flew long ways. The Felon, despite it's big fade, is no glideless brick. It went 85m several times. Not only does it provide consistency in dis- tance, it also sometimes flies really far, both, on straight shots and long annies. Today it were all straight shots. Reconsidering my bag: - The ES Teebird stays in. It's very controllable. I know Tee- birds better than other discs. It flies far and is versatile. Be- sides, it has a simple flight pattern. - The Felon stays in. It's the wind option to the Teebird. Also it is able to do several things: skip shots, long annies, low fast shots, ... - The Star Valk stays in. It's my straight, stable driver. It provides the longest distance on straight controllable lines. It holds hyzers and annies the same way, without much deviation from the pure arc. These are the discs that are set. Then we have three candidates for the bag: - DX Eagle (171g): That's my current backup disc. I don't normal- ly use it, just have it in case of need. But on open holes, it provides a lot of distance, independent on where the wind comes from (except headwinds). I do like the Eagle flight for distance lines, but I find it to be too complex for the whole spread of lines. Maybe that's a key point: Teebird and Star Valk are simple in this regard. They have simple flight patterns, whereas the Ea- gle moves within its flight much more. That's fine for open holes where distance is the only concern, but hyzers and annies need a whole different thinking with an Eagle than with a straight-to- ... disc. (The DX Eagle is the only disc in my bag that provides a flip-up, which can be crucial for low ceilings close to the teepad, e.g. the old hole 9 at Soehnstetten.) - Star Eagle (170g): That's one step up from the DX Eagle. It has both, more natural turn, but at the same time, more overall sta- bility and fade. Maybe that sounds weird. In a headwind the DX Eagle turns more than the Star Eagle, but the Star Eagle flies a wider S-line than the DX Eagle. For a bit more wind (like today), the Star Eagle is the better disc than the DX Eagle. (The Star Eagle does not provide a flip-up, as it is pretty neutral in the way that it would fly to the left if I release it on hyzer.) - Pro Valk (175g): That's the disc I've had the longest drives with. On calm days it can provide the most distance. But it lacks consistency. Although great on the field, probably not the best option on the course, at least not for golf lines, but possibly an option to holes 1 and 9 on the Wiley course, which are open and distance is the only thing that matters for me there. Probably I'll stick with the DX Eagle as a backup only disc, just because I find not enough reason to change, and because it's good to have a baseline plastic discs for rainly weather. Also, the DX Eagle can backup the Valk and the Teebird. It's interesting how much I'm focussed on unique discs. The unique mold thinking that most others do has few relevance to me. For instance, I think the Valk is a better straight driver than a beat Teebird, because it gives in to hyzers and especially annies more than a Teebird, which is kinda hardheaded, fighting against any angles, just wants to go straight. That's perfect for the laser straight shot, but not what I want from a versatile wor- khorse driver. Further, a more understable Valk does not provide the same flip-up as an Eagle in combination with still a depend- able fade. If the Valk flips up, it usually turns over, not real- ly coming back anymore. Maybe for Eagles you could find all those kinds of flight behaviors within the same mold, but I'm not real- ly seeing how that would help me. If I learn several Eagles that fly differently or if I learn several discs that fly differently, where's the difference? There is probably a difference if we talk about 15-20 discs, but in my case it's only 3-5 drivers overall -- not 3-5 molds but 3-5 unique discs. I know each of them really well. http://marmaro.de/discgolf/ markus schnalke