Ted Hegemann, Author at Infinite Discs Blog

Introducing Lone Star Disc

March 11, 2021 Ted Hegemann 54 comments

Infinite Discs carries over 55 brands of discs! We started this blog series to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week we are back in Texas to learn about Lone Star Disc.

Back to Texas

About 40 miles north of Houston lies the city of Conroe, Texas. It is the county seat and boasts a population of about 92,000 people. There are a handful of disc golf courses in the city. And one disc golf company: Lone Star Disc.

Lone Star Launched in 2020 by Travis Dillard and his family. Travis and his brother, Synjin, have been playing disc golf recreationally for the past 20 years. As their interest in the sport grew they started to consider manufacturing their own discs. Lone Star Disc is veteran owned and operated, and their family helps run the business.

First Approved Molds

The first two molds that were approved for the company were the Penny Putter and the Middy. A month later, the Mockingbird was approved. The Penny Putter is a straight-flying beadless putter with little turn and a nice fade at the end. The Middy is a good wind fighter with a flight similar to a Roc3, but with a little more glide. The Mockingbird is an understable control driver. It has a little turn, but a dependable fade. In addition to those three molds, Lone Star also has a good mid/approach disc with the versatile Harpoon. They also have the Mad Cat, which is a straight control driver with a moderate fade at the end. The Mad Cat is also one of the hot sellers for Lone Star Disc.

Just last month the PDGA approved the next mold in the Lone Star lineup, the Bowie. It is the company’s foray into high-speed discs. The Bowie is a speed 13, overstable driver. Excellent for forehand drives, especially in a headwind. Beyond that, they have an understable Mid and a more stable high-speed driver in the works.

Plastic Types

Currently, Lone Star offers a couple different plastic types: Bravo Plastic and two firmness’s of Victor Plastic. The Victor plastics are used in their putters. Victor 1, or just ‘Victor’, is a much softer blend than the Victor 2. Both Victor Plastics are grippy and fairly durable. The Bravo Plastic also comes in Glow Plastic for some molds.

A Pro On Board

Despite being a fairly young company, Lone Star Disc is sponsoring a pro for the 2021 season. Tanner Girouard, PDGA #88077, will be out on his first DGPT season. Tanner is a ‘local’ from the Houston area, and has been a huge supporter of the vision being created by Lone Star. He ha

s numerous wins in his career and will now match his skills with the best in the world on the tour.

In The Future…

The folks at Lone Star Disc are excited about their future in the sport. Their molds that are currently available are just the beginning, and they have big plans moving forward. They want to design more molds that fly like they are meant to fly. And they want to have a big enough variety of molds and flights so that people can throw exclusively Lone Star, and have all of the flights covered. And they are shooting for next quarter to roll out the next molds.

The sport of disc golf has been growing at a fast pace for quite a while. Lone Star believes that trend will continue. With more people playing and experiencing the awesome feeling of watching the beautiful flight of a well-thrown disc, the more people will share their love with friends and family. That love, along with the growth of live tour coverage will expose even more people to the sport. And as disc golf grows, Lone Star will be there to provide the disc molds that people want!

Check out Infinite Discs’ selection of Lone Star molds here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/Lone-Star-Disc

Comment About Lone Star Disc

We want to hear from you about Lone Star!

If you’ve thrown a Lone Star disc, which one(s) did you throw, and how did you like it?

If you haven’t thrown a Lone Star disc, which one would you most like to try?

Last Week: Elevation Discs

Last week we looked at Elevation Discs. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Ben K

Jon W

Frederick B

Congrats! We’ll get your disc shipped out shortly.

General

How did Covid-19 Affect Disc Golf

February 25, 2021 Ted Hegemann One comment

2021 State of Disc Golf

How did Covid-19 Affect Disc Golf

One of the the things we included in this year’s survey was the thing that affected nearly everyone in the world: Covid-19. We wanted to see how the pandemic was affecting disc golf for everyone, since we’ve know how it’s affecting people’s lives in other ways. From a broad perspective, disc golf is one of the many sports and activities that are nearly perfect for the restrictions and guidelines that we witnessed during the past 12 months. Since the pandemic didn’t affect every region the same, and since local governments were allowed to write their own rules, to a degree (at least in the USA), we saw a variety of different restrictions that affected how we play disc golf. Let’s start with how much we played, then we can look at how Covid-19 affected that.

Let’s Play Disc Golf

We asked people how many rounds per month they played on average in 2020. Over half of us played between 5-14 rounds per month. That might sound a little low, but that is the average. If winter months bump that number down to 3-5 rounds, that bumps the summer months up to 16-18 round. That’s four or so rounds per week, which seems like a good average. Here are the numbers, broken down by the number of rounds:

Covid Affecting Disc Golf Play

Now let’s throw Covid-19 into the mix and see how that affected how often we played. We asked “How did Covid-19 affect your options to play disc golf?” Since some areas closed down even outdoor facilities, many of us didn’t even have the option to play. In other areas it was business as usual. In fact, nearly a third of us played more casual rounds in 2020 than in recent years. According to survey results, about half of us played as many or more rounds than usual. There were a small number, about 14%, that indicated that they didn’t get to play some casual rounds because of Covid-19.

When it came to leagues, about 15% of us said they missed some leagues because of cancellations or closures. That was a surprising number for me because of all the leagues that were cancelled in our greater area. Even more surprising, even though a larger percentage, is the number of people who said didn’t get to play in some tournaments because of cancellations and closures. A little more than a third of us indicated that they had to miss a tournament. I would have thought that number would have been a lot higher.

Open or Closed Disc Golf Courses

One aspect affecting the number of rounds we played last year was whether or not the courses were even open. Nearly half of us weren’t able to play certain courses at times throughout the year due to closures. While others remained open all year. Here are the numbers:

Another option in the question about courses staying open or not was to indicate if you stayed home even though the courses were open. There were 767 people, or about 12% of the total respondents that indicated they chose to stay home. Some also said that courses around them were closed, but that they still stayed home. We should have phrased the question better to give a more accurate picture, but the number is still valid. I was curious about the makeup of the 767 people, so I cross referenced their age groups to see if the demographics were lopsided. The results were surprising. Here is a graph of the age groups who opted to stay home:

I would have thought the age based higher-risk groups would have had more people who would prefer to play alone, and not even on a course. But, the numbers look almost exactly like the graph of age groups from the first blog in this series. Here is the graph of the number of people who took the survey, by age groups:

That’s all for this week. Check out next week’s blog for more data, graphs, and information about the 2021 Disc Golf Survey. Check out previous posts here

Week 1 – Demographics: https://blog.infinitediscs.com/state-of-disc-golf-2021/

Week 2 – When did you start playing: https://blog.infinitediscs.com/when-did-you-start-playing/

Introducing Elevation Disc Golf

February 24, 2021 Ted Hegemann 52 comments

Infinite Discs carries a large selection of brands and we want to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns, our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week we are traveling to the west coast to visit one of the newest manufacturers, Elevation Disc Golf.

First Elevation Disc

North of San Diego and southeast of Los Angeles lies the city of Temecula, California. It is home to one of the younger manufacturers that we will cover in this series. It is so new that its first mold was just released a couple of days ago. That first disc, the Interceptor, is the result of a year and a half of preparation, planning, and designing. (Infinite sold out of the Interceptor fast! We’re ordering a ton more.)

The Team

The company was founded by husband and wife team, Austin and Macy. Austin was working as a Biomedical Engineer and despite having a good job, he also had a burning desire to start a business. With some financial support from family, and lots of support from his wife Macy, he started Elevation Disc Golf. The name comes from the couple’s philosophy of life and of disc golf. The logo includes the image of a falcon, which represents peoples ability to conquer whatever mountains and obstacles come before them, and use those obstacles to climb to higher heights in life. They look at disc golf as an expression of individualism and freedom.

Macy was in the Army Reserve and finishing a doctorate degree when Austin had the idea for the business. Since he supported her while she finished her degree, she was happy to support him and his dream. She fills many roles in the company. Everything from shipping, media, and customer service, to testing the discs. All vital roles in a small business.

Starting With A 3D Printer

Austin started by getting a 3D printer and studying aerodynamics while experimenting with designs.

Once he felt like he could create usable discs, he knew he could start a business. After many attempts to find a prototype that would work, he came up with a design for an overstable midrange/approach

disc. That became the company’s first mold, the Interceptor. The mold name is a nod to the Peregrine Falcon. The Interceptor, like the bird of prey diving for its meal, will end its overstable flight by diving toward the basket. While the mold shape is definitely unique, so is the material used to make it.

Durable Rubber

Instead of the usual variety of plastics that we see with most manufacturers, Elevation went a different route for their discs. They found a premium rubber material that offers grip, comfort, and impact absorption not found in plastics. The flexibility of the disc helps it stick to the chains when you hit the target, or stick to the ground if you miss. My first throw with the Interceptor was straight into a tree. It didn’t ricochet in another direction. It just dropped. Currently, that material is the only option available from Elevation. In the future they will offer a variety of firmness’s. Right now they are in the process of making another run of Interceptors in three new color combinations.

Elevation doesn’t sponsor any pros at the moment. They want to focus on amateur players who are active on a local level. They also want to focus on underrepresented demographics, so that everyone feels like they can be part of the sport. For now, Austin will be representing Elevation on an amateur level when he plays in tournaments. As the company grows, they will have more opportunities to add more players to their team.

New Disc On Deck

Another thing that will change as they grow is the number of molds offered. Next up for Elevation Disc Golf is a putter. They are working on a straight-flying putter for approach shots or putts. Their goal is to have a disc that compliments their current midrange, the Interceptor. They have a couple of other mold ideas, too.

Moving forward, Austin and Macy will continue to grow the company and seek to accomplish some goals they have set. As the sport grows and as technology improves, they want to meet the needs of the market through their unique materials and innovative ergonomic designs. They will focus on staying at the forefront of creativity and engineering. However, creating new products isn’t their only goal.

All Inclusive

At Elevation Disc Golf, they want everyone to have an opportunity to enjoy our sport. That includes people who might not have conventional access to disc golf: people with disabilities and people who can’t afford equipment. Macy has worked with people with disabilities and even envisions a disc golf course that allows people in wheelchairs to play. She would also like to see equipment in underprivileged schools so children can play during P.E. or recess.

Another area of focus for Elevation is the environment. Austin and Macy want to use their company to draw attention to environmental and conservation issues. They plan on choosing good causes, then

using the sale of their discs to support those causes. They want to tie the causes to certain molds so disc golfers can support the ideas they are passionate about by purchasing the specific mold associated with the cause.

The Future

Elevation Disc Golf is optimistic and excited about the future of our sport. They are happy to be a part of the growth, and will continue to find unconventional designs and materials for the disc golf community. And they want to use their goals and business ideas to promote a positive influence in the world.

Check out Infinite Discs’ selection of Elevation discs here:

https://infinitediscs.com/elevation-disc-golf

See Elevation’s website here:

https://www.elevationdiscs.com/

Watch a video of the benefits of floppy discs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ4QRJOECIg

Elevation’s Instagram: @elevationdiscs

Comment About Elevation Disc Golf

If you’ve thrown an Elevation disc, let us know what you think.

Last Week: Wild Discs

Last week we looked at Wild Discs. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Mike M

Micah M

Thomas H

Congrats! We’ll get your disc shipped out shortly.

General

When Did You Start Playing?

February 18, 2021 Ted Hegemann 3 comments

2021 State of Disc Golf:

How Long Have You Been Playing?

In last week’s blog we looked at the ages, gender, and where we live. This week we will look at when we started playing, and check out some other data related to when we started. We will also look at people who started recently, as in during the pandemic, and see what their motivation was to start. I wanted to explore some other questions, but I think they will fit in better with other blog subjects.

We all got introduced to the sport of disc golf at some point, and in some fashion. For me, I’m happy to say that I invented disc golf! Well, sort of. My brothers and I were tossing Frisbees around the yard in the mid 70’s and we came up with a cool game. We selected nine objects around my parent’s spacious yard, and our disc golf course was born. It wasn’t until decades later that we heard there was actually a sport similar to what we were doing, complete with formal baskets and discs. It wouldn’t be for a couple more years before we would get actual discs and play on a ‘real’ course. (The first real course we played was Creekside in Salt Lake City).

Finally Getting Real

Although it wasn’t for another many years until we considered ourselves disc golfers, the seed was planted and we were hooked. Today, when people ask how long I’ve been playing, I refer to my 2013 beginning, since that was when I got some ‘real’ discs and played a league round with our local club. In this blog post, we will check out when people say they started playing. Then we’ll focus on a couple years or year ranges that had the highest number of people start disc golf. And we’ll look at a couple other survey results.

When Did You Start Playing Disc Golf?

The question we asked in the survey was ‘When did you begin playing disc golf?’ The choices were individual years for 2011-2020, five-year blocks from 2001-2010, ten-year blocks from 1971-2000, and the final category was ‘Before 1970’. If you were lucky enough to be able to answer ‘Before 1970’, good on you! Also, congrats for playing so long, and presumably still playing! Also, what is your PDGA number?!

Here are the results for when people said they started playing:

As you can see, there are a few people among the respondents who started playing more than 50 years ago! Interestingly, the biggest group are the people who started just last year. If you look at the next biggest group, it may be surprising to see such a large number of people in the 2006-2010 range. But, that’s when the five-year span starts. Here is a chart with all of the years from 2001-2020 in five year increments. It’s more of what we should expect.

Even with the overall graph looking like what we would expect, the statistic that is the most impressive is how many people say they started last year. Factoring in the Covid19 shutdowns, leaving people with more time on their hands and fewer activities that could be done safely, the large increase is not surprising. The big increase in sales for Infinite for 2020 can be partially explained by the large number of disc golfers who already played the sport, but now wanted discs, putters, baskets, etc. for quarantine activities. Even so, the sport has been growing the last few years and while some organic growth is to be expected, such a large number of new players is partially because of Covid19. Let’s explore some of the reasons why people picked up disc golf last year.

What’s The Appeal With Disc Golf

According to the first graph above, 1205 people said they started playing last year. For that group of people, we asked a follow-up question to learn more about their motives. We asked, ‘Why Did You Start Playing In 2020?’ With nine responses to choose from, we know there would be multiple reasons why people started playing, so we gave them more than one choice. Of those 1205 people, 25% of them listed the pandemic as all or part of the reason they started playing. I was happy to see that over half of the people listed ‘Friend invited me’ as one of their reasons. I’ve seen many people get into the sport simply because someone invited them to play. Invite your friends! Here is a chart showing the percentage of reasons given by the newest members of our sport. It’s good to see ESPN, CBS, and Brodie Smith contributing to the growth!

Age/Starting Year

I wanted to see the ages of people who started playing last year, to see if there were something that might stand out in the data. To start, here is the chart from last week showing the age divisions among all of the survey participants. Below that is a graph of the ages of the 1205 people who started last year.

The new player demographic is pretty much spot on the average of all disc golfers in the survey. Out of curiosity, I checked out the ages of people who said they started in the 2006-2010, since that was the largest group of years in the survey outside of 2020. You would expect the ages to look different, since a group that started 10 years ago would statistically be older than a group that started last year. But, I would expect the graph to still have the same general highs and lows as the average. But, that is not the case. Here is a graph of the ages of people who started playing in 2006-2010:

30-Somethings

To be clear, those are the current age groups of the people who said they started in 2006-2010. The early-30’s group is still the largest, but the general shape of the graph doesn’t look like the overall graph. Most notably is the smaller ratio of the 41-50 group. Since I wasn’t playing then, I don’t have an idea why that age would look different. It might be worth breaking down all of the groups by when they started and the age group they belong to.

If you have any thoughts on these stats, be sure to comment below. Also, if you have any survey results that you would like to have explored, let me know if the comments. Check back next week for more results of the 2020 State of Disc Golf

Click here for last week’s blog.

Introducing Wild Discs

February 17, 2021 Ted Hegemann 70 comments

Infinite Discs carries a large selection of brands and we want to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns, our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. We are back in the US this week and we’re featuring Buffalo, New York manufacturer, Wild Discs.

Wild in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York, sits next to Lake Erie in the western part of the state. It is just across the Niagara River from Canada. It is home to the Buffalo Bills, and Wild Discs.

Wild

Discs was started in June, 2020, by Kyle Knab and Becky Fix. It was created out of a two-pronged desire: first, to grow the sport of disc golf by providing quality discs and accessories. And second, to give back to the world by committing 5% of all proceeds to wildlife conservation. The founders love disc golf, love animals, and love to spend time outdoors enjoying the wilderness. Wild Discs is a combination of their passions.

First Molds

The first disc approved by the PDGA for Wild Discs is the Hummingbird putter. The mold has a small, smooth bead and a straight flight with a lot of glide. It was approved at the end of 2020, and since then two other molds have been approved and released: the Orca and the Addax. The Orca is a high-speed driver whose flight is similar to an

Innova Tern. The Addax is their midrange with a straight flight and solid fade. The stamps for all of their discs are created by Co-founder, Becky Fix.

What’s An Addax?

Although most people are familiar with orcas and hummingbirds (the animals), the Addax might not be as familiar. You have probably seen a picture of one, without knowing its name. It is an African animal whose body shape is similar to an antelope, but with long, spiral horns. The animal is nearly extinct in the wild. Details about each the animals featured on their molds are found on Wild Discs’ website.

Wild Discs currently offers three plastic types for their discs. However, the have several more plastic types that they are experimenting with. Currently, the company lists Landslide, Quicksand, and Whirlpool as their available plastics. Landslide is a durable plastic that is firm, but still has good grip. Whirlpool plastic has even more durability than Landslide, and with a little more grip. Quicksand is a nylon based plastic mixed with some Landslide plastic, with a ton of grip – the most of all their plastics. It also has a soft flex and is very durable.

Coming to Wild Discs…

As mentioned above, Wild Discs has several new plastic types they are experimenting with. They are also working on expanding both their disc and product lines. What will the future hold? Coming out in a couple of months will be a fairway driver and a mid/approach disc. Even before those hit the market Wild will be releasing a new bag that, according to founder Kyle Knab, will be “the most eye-catching bag on the market” whose functionality is “next level”. Stay tuned to Wild Discs for their new releases! Here is a sneak peak of the bag.

Although Wild Discs is a new company, selling their first discs in October 2020, they are already looking forward to the future. One avenue of growth that Wild uses is supporting an ambassador team. Anyone can apply to be on the team. Details can be found on their website.

Growing And Supporting Conservation

In addition to adding more molds and products to their brand, they are excited about the growth of the sport. They are looking forward to getting more women and youth involved in disc golf and are glad to be in a position to make a difference. Even in the short time they’ve been a business, they have received a lot of support, kind words, and positive feedback from the disc golf community. They have already raised over $1,000 that will go toward wildlife conservation.

Wild Discs will continue to support conservation efforts, and that commitment is one of the unique aspects of their company. They will continue to contribute 5% of proceeds toward conservation efforts. Plus, they will be holding charity events and tournaments to further support the cause. Wild Discs’ commitment to animals is apparent in their mold names, stamp designs, and even their company name. Check out Wild Discs today! Then see below how you can win a Wild Discs mold.

Check out Infinite’s selection of Wild Discs molds here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/Wild-Discs

Check out the Wild Discs website (and their awesome hoodies!) here:

https://wilddiscs.com/

See how you can support conservation efforts here:

https://www.wcs.org/

Comment About Wild Discs !

Do you throw Wild Discs? Tell us which mold is your favorite.

Never tried them? Tell us which mold you would like to try.

Last Week: Disctroyer

Last week we looked at Disctroyer. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Colby S

Brian F

Harry S

Congrats! We’ll get your disc shipped out shortly.

General

State of Disc Golf 2021

February 11, 2021 Ted Hegemann 10 comments

2021 State of Disc Golf

Another year has rolled around and once again we are pouring over the results of our annual State of Disc Golf survey to see what disc golf looks like for the past year. What an interesting year! We are really curious to see how the pandemic affected the results of the survey. Our sport is one that can be played while maintaining social distancing, or even played/practiced solo. That caused a lot of growth for disc golf. We anticipate many of the survey results will reflect both the growth and the limitations put upon the sport because of Covid19. With that in mind, let’s get to the results!

2021 Disc Golf Demographics

We’ll start by looking at who took the survey. Where do you live? What is your gender? How old and how skilled are you? Basic demographics.

This year, 6,286 people took the survey. That is down a few hundred compared to the last couple of years. Here is a breakdown of the respondent’s genders.

Gender

Checking out the last few years of data, we see that the numbers are relatively consistent. Last year we did a last minute push to get more women to take the survey, so there was a small ‘spike’ in the numbers. But, the overall numbers for women in the sport remain a lot lower than most of us think it should be. In our local club, we only have a couple female players that will show up for leagues. There are quite a few wives/girlfriends of club members that play disc golf. They just don’t have a desire to play at leagues or competitively. Here are the last few years in a graph:

Where Do You Live?

Not surprisingly, an overwhelming number of people who took the survey live in the United States. Looking at the numbers for each state, we see Texas and California leading the country with the highest number of disc golfers that took the survey. Given their populations and their climates, it’s easy to see why they have so many. They don’t have the highest number per capita, but we’ll have to explore that information in another blog. Here are the numbers for each state.

Here are the top ten states, along with the top ten from two years ago:

Our sport is global, and so are our customers. Here is a chart that shows the numbers of respondents from each country/region outside of the USA. If without adding up all of the provinces in Canada, they lead the world in the number of people that responded to the survey.

How Old Are You?

Checking the survey results for the ages of people who took the survey, we find the largest number of people in the 30-35 age bracket are once the most popular age bracket. That has been the case in all of our survey results in the past. One thing you’ll see is the 36-40 age bracket dip down, only to shoot back up in the next age group. That is because the age brackets go from 5-year increments to 10-year increments at that point.

I checked out the 2015 survey results (here) to compare numbers and see if there are many differences in the age brackets between the two years. Here is a chart with both years’ data expressed in percentages of people who took the survey that year. I like that the older groups are trending upward for 2021, meaning people are playing later in life. I know that the younger age groups are the same or decreasing in percentage, but I don’t think that is a general trend in the sport. We’ll look at some other statistics that might help us understand those numbers better, and see why the older age groups are growing faster.

Are We Getting Better?

One of the questions we like to ask is how we rank our skills as a disc golfer. One way to come up with an answer is to look at what division we play in most of the time. That can vary, depending on how many tournaments we play. Often times playing in one division at a club league doesn’t mean we will play in the same division at a sanctioned tournament. From what I see, the level of competition is higher at a tournament, and it becomes necessary to play in a lower division. Not as a sandbagger, but as someone who couldn’t be competitive unless they play down. Once you move up to the pro ranks that is less of an issue. But for the rest of us, we might play a different division out of necessity. Even so, I feel like we have a good idea how we rank generally, and that is what we hope to find out with the survey. We asked people to rate their skills by choosing which of four divisions they consider themselves:

Beginner/Recreational, Intermediate, Advanced, or Professional

First, let’s look at this year’s results. Typical of past years, the majority of the respondents consider themselves Intermediate players. Here are the numbers:

We also took a look at a few previous years to see how we ranked ourselves. Interestingly, there is a declining number of people that thought they were Advanced and Professional players. I don’t know yet if there were more people new to the sport, people are judging themselves more accurately, or players are dropping divisions. Either way, here is a graph of survey results for 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021.

Check Back For More Survey Results

Check out our blog next week to find out more survey results. Also, let us know what you would like us to ask in next year’s blog.

Introducing Disctroyer

February 10, 2021 Ted Hegemann 61 comments

Disc Golf Manufacturer Spotlight: Disctroyer

Infinite Discs carries a large selection of brands and we want to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns, our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. We are out of the country again this week checking out Estonian disc manufacturer, Disctroyer.

The country of Estonia sits along the Baltic Sea, with Finland due north, Sweden to the west, and borders with both Russia and Latvia. According to UDisc, Estonia got their first disc golf course in 2004, and now has more than 180. Based on the population, that makes the course density at about one course for every 7360 people. If the USA had that same ratio, we could have more than five and a half times as many courses as we have now. The sport is blowing up in Estonia, and in the midst of that growth, a new company was started: Disctroyer.

Starting a Brand

The company was started in Tallinn, Estonia, by Alver Kivirüüt and Kaspar Lillmaa in 2016. The name ‘Disctroyer’ was introduced in 2018. One year later, their first disc was PDGA approved. The Starling, a high-speed driver was the first disc produced by Disctroyer. After that was the midrange, Skylark. Their third disc that was approved in 2019 was the Sparrow, a stable putter. The Stork is their fairway driver, and is the most recent release from the company.

The Disctroyer Lineup

The most popular plastic from Disctroyer is their A-Medium. As the name suggests, the plastic is middle of the road when it comes to firmness. It has a slight amount of flexibility and is a durable plastic, although the A-Hard and A-Soft have a little more grip. The A-Soft definitely has a lot of grip and flexibility, but not the durability of the Hard and Medium. Their A-Hard Plastic is popular for the Stork,

their fairway driver. The folks at Disctroyer are working on a B-plastic, which they think will be popular for their putter. That plastic is currently in the testing phase. They expect to have it in production later this year.

Disc Molds

The Starling is the high-speed member of the Disctroyer family. It is a speed-13 disc that has a little bit of turn and a reliable fade. The flight is similar to the DD Captain, Innova Shryke, or Discraft Crank. The Stork is the newest member of the Disctroyer lineup. It is a fairway driver with high-speed stability and a good fade at the end, similar to a Teebird3.

Disctroyer’s midrange, the Skylark, is a stable disc similar to the Shark in flight. Fairly straight flying, the Skylark can fight off a headwind, and still give a good fade at the end. The Sparrow rounds out the lineup. It is a slightly overstable beaded putter that flies similar to the PA-1 or Axiom Envy.

Disc Identifiers

One of the things that makes Disctroyer stand out is their desire to make the flight of their molds easy to understand and identify. To that end, they have made a clear visual method to show what type of disc you are looking at. Is the disc light grey? That would be a high speed driver. Putters are blue, midranges are red, and control drivers are yellow. Additionally, discs will have a symbol in the center that indicates the stability of the disc. A circle indicates a stable disc. A star is for overstable discs, while the plus sign means the disc is understable. This method of understanding the mold’s flight makes it easier for newer disc golfers to identify what molds they should be throwing.

Growing Disctroyer at Home

Although Disctroyer isn’t sponsoring players at the moment, they are constantly looking for ways to grow the sport, and make it better for existing players. Currently, the sport is more popular in some countries than others. Disctroyer recognizes that as an opportunity to teach about the benefits of disc

golf to communities that aren’t familiar with the sport. That desire to introduce the sport has become even more urgent with Covid19 causing disruptions with people’s lives. Now, more than ever, people need a safe activity to participate in.

Other ways they hope to grow the sport is by introducing it to a variety of people. Including disc golf as part of a school curriculum, teaching people in nursing homes about the benefits of disc golf, and

working with private businesses to teach their employees about the sport are ways they are working on to grow disc golf. As the sport grows, there will be more incentives for TV programs to air disc golf related content such as tournaments. Which will speed up the growth.

In addition to educating the public about disc golf, Disctroyer works to improve disc golf technology. They work with specialists in a variety of fields, including people at a university, to explore possible designs and ways to make designing more efficient. They feel that living in a small country adds more opportunities to work with people outside the industry.

On The Horizon For Disctroyer

In addition to work on another plastic, Disctroyer is also working on molds to add to their catalogue. Two molds that are in the que are a driver and a putter. For the driver, they want something more overstable, to complement the more flippy Starling. For the next putter, they want a straight flying putter. One with a little more flip than the Sparrow. It will be fun to see what future molds and plastics come out of this Eastern European company.

Popular Disctroyer Molds

Check out Infinite Discs’ selection of Disctroyer molds here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/Disctroyer

Check out Disctroyer here:

https://www.disctroyer.com

Comment About Disctroyer And Win!

Infinite Discs would like to give a couple Disctroyer discs to random commenters to this blog post. Answer one of the questions below with your opinions of Disctroyer discs.

Do you throw Disctroyer discs? Tell us which mold is your favorite.

Never tried Disctroyer? Tell us which mold you would like to try.

We’ll pick the random winners and post the results next week when we look at another brand we sell.

Last Week: Mint Discs

Last week we looked at Mint Discs. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. The winners will receive a Mint mold. Here are the winners:

Gabe S.

Nathan D.

Russ R.

Congrats! We’ll get your disc shipped out shortly.

General

Best Disc Golf Bags of 2021

February 4, 2021 Ted Hegemann 130 comments

What are the Best Disc Golf Bags?

*Note, this article was written several years ago. While many bags are the same there are is lots of innovation that has happened over the last two years. Check out this post for our most recent version of “Best Disc Golf Bags.”

With only a couple of exceptions, every disc golfer I know has some kind of device to carry their discs. From bags to carts, disc golfers usually carry enough discs and accessories to warrant having something to carry those things around the course. Typically, a new disc golfer will start with a small bag, then work up to either a large bag or cart as their disc collection and needs grow. Our choice of disc transport devices depends largely on our level of involvement in the sport. Casual disc golfers who carry 3-6 discs will need something completely different to carry their discs than people who play tournaments regularly.

This blog will look at the most popular disc golf bags for 2021 based on our sales for the past year. We’ll compare the bags based on bag size. Keep in mind, like with pretty much any analysis of disc golf for 2020, most of the statistics we’ll see were severely affected by the COVID19 shutdowns that occurred. But, we can’t do anything about that so we’ll show you the information we have.

Best Small Disc Golf Bags of 2021

Let’s start with the small bag, the bag preferred by most beginners. They usually carry less than ten discs and maybe a water bottle and a snack. These minimalist bags suit the needs of the beginner and are priced lower than other bags, with several models less than $15, making them attractive to people new to the sport. The nice thing about starting with a smaller bag is that it is something that a more experienced disc golfer can use from time to time, long after they have graduated to a larger bag. Here are the top small bags for 2021.

Leading the pack are several bags from Infinite Discs. Holding the number one spot is the Infinite Slinger bag. Designed out of a desire to have a bag that held a decent number of discs but not be too bulky, the Slinger Bag has been a hit since its beginning. The single strap is used like most people use a bag with two straps: with only one strap over the shoulder. It can be adjusted for use over either shoulder. With a putter pouch and room for several more discs, the bag fills a variety of disc golf needs. The Holster is a new product and made an impressive splash into the small bag world. The top-selling non-Infinite small bags are the Latitude 64 Slim bag and the MVP Beaker bag.Here is how the Slinger bag stacked against the other ‘small’ bags.

Looking at the top small bags sold of all time, we see that the Infinite Starter Bag and Slinger still make the list for the top five. They both have a great price point for what you get, making them desirable for a large number of disc golfers. It is fortunate that our supply of these bags helped keep their numbers up. Discraft Weekender and Innova Standard Bag also made the top all-time small bag

Moving On Up

When a disc golfer finds themselves playing more frequently, or attending more tournaments, they usually determine that they need to move from a starter bag to one that can hold more discs and accessories. It’s at that point they start considering the next size bag they want to purchase. Move all the way up to a backpack bag, or just upgrade to a larger bag? Let’s look at the next level above beginner bag: the Large Bag.

Best Large Disc Golf Bags 2021

Large Bags run from $24-$40 and most have a single sling to carry over the shoulder. However, some have backpack-like straps that can go over both shoulders. Looking at the numbers for the bags that fall into the ‘Large Bags’ category, we see an interesting product. For both the best Large Bag of 2020 and the best Large Bag of all time, we see that the practice bags are very popular. These are the bags that hold around 30 discs, but not much else if the bag is carried to capacity. They are great for playing a round of disc golf, or doing field work. The versatility undoubtedly contribute to its popularity. (I like using mine to organize all of the extra discs that I keep in my trunk!) Here are the best-selling Large Bags of 2020.

And here, by comparison, are the best-selling Large Bags of all time. Keep in mind, the number one bag, the Prodigy Practice Bag V1, stopped selling in 2019, so it didn’t even make the list for the best-selling Large Bag for 2020. If you look at the combined numbers for the Prodigy V1 and V2 practice bags, and compare them to the combined numbers for the Infinite Large Bag and Infinite Large Bag w/straps, the total sales are comparable. And if you combine the sales of both Infinite Large Bags with both Prodigy Practice Bags, you end up with three-fourths of all Large Bag sales! Here are the top all-time sales numbers:

Still Expanding…?

So, now you have moved from a small bag to a large bag, but still find you need a little more room. You want a few backup discs, a few more snacks, and maybe another water bottle. You still have some choices to make. Do you want to move up to the larger and more expensive full-sized backpack? Or will the economy backpack do the trick? There are economy Backpacks that range in size and price from those that hold the same number of discs as a Large Bag, and at the same or cheaper price point, to bags that hold a bit more, and cost a bit more.

Best Economy Disc Golf Backpacks 2021

We’ll start with the economy backpack bags. These bags typically cost under $40 and hold 10-25 discs. While they hold the same or more than most Large Bags, they don’t have all of the room of a larger backpack (Although, some come close). Some bags in this category cross over between Large Bags and Economy Backpacks.

Once again, the Infinite Slinger Bag dominates the field. It doubled the sales of the next most popular bag, the Infinite Stealth. Another Infinite bag, the Huck Pack, took the third spot in the category. In fact, the only non-Infinite bag to make the top 5 is the Prodigy BP-4, which made up about 8% of the Economy Backpack Bags.

A look at the all-time sales for Economy Backpacks reveals that the top economy backpack bags sales of all time look very similar to the 2020 results. Four of the top five bags are Infinite bags, with the lone non-Infinite bag being the popular Dynamic Discs Trooper. The Slinger remains atop the charts for all-time sales.

Still Not Enough Room?

If an Economy Backpack Bag isn’t cutting it for you because you need a little more space, you can always make the final leap in the bag realm and get a Backpack bag. Bags in this class can cost hundreds of dollars and carry over 20 discs. This type of bag can be seen frequently at tournaments and even leagues. They have room for discs, backup discs, snacks, drinks, and accessories. That extra space comes in handy as you find yourself carrying more stuff during your rounds.

Best Disc Golf Backpack Bag 2021

Let’s look at the most popular Backpack Bags for 2021. Leading the ‘pack’ are several Prodigy bags. Different version of the BP-1 and BP-2 account for three-fourths of all the bags sold. The BP series of bags have a large horizontal pocket that holds lots of discs, with side pockets for extra items. The only non-Prodigy bag on the list is the Dynamic Discs Trooper.

Comparing the best bags for 2021 with the best all-time bags, we still see a couple Prodigy bags, the BP-1 V2 and BP-1 V3, but also see some other classic bags on the list. Starting with the Dynamic Discs Commander bag, the most popular Backpack Bag of all time. The Commander barely beat the BP-1 V3 for the top title. The other discs in the top five are the Dynamic Discs Sniper Backpack, and the Innova Heropack. Here is a breakdown of the top five Backpack Bags.

Picking YOUR Bag

If you are new to disc golf and you’re looking for a bag, starting with a small bag is a great way to go. Even after you upgrade to a larger bag, the small bag can still come in handy. Sometimes, you just want to focus on a throwing and getting to know a few specific discs. No need to haul around a big bag. Just grab the starter bag and go! Helping someone that is just getting into disc golf? No problem, let them use the small bag until they get their own. You really can’t go wrong starting small, then working up to larger bags as the need arises. Then, as your needs change, you’ll know it’s time to look for something that fits your needs. This handy guide will help you as you consider all of the bag options on the market today.

Let us know in the comments what bag you use, and how you like it!

Check out Infinite’s line of disc golf bags and bag accessories:

General

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