Category: General

Rapid Surge of Disc Golf Manufacturing

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Disc Molds Approved this Year

There was a time a few years ago where I knew and tested every new disc from every brand.

Now I just don’t even try anymore.

There are so many new molds and brands popping up that I’d pretty much have to test a new disc every day, and remember how it flew, just to keep up with all the new discs approved by the PDGA.

I ran some data from the PDGA approved discs to see exactly how rapid the pace of disc golf manufacturing has increased. As you can see from the curve, it’s pretty much an exponential increase over the last two years.

There will be more new discs approved by the PDGA during 2023 than any other year. More unique molds have been created through the first eight months of this year than were during the 20 year period from 1983-2003!

Line Graph showing the number of disc golf discs approved by the PDGA each year

It’s not just that the major brands are pumping out more new molds each year. The biggest contributor to the increased PDGA approval is the huge influx of new disc golf brands.

This graph shows the number of different brands with discs approved by year. 2023 has already had more discs approved by different brands than any other year with 70 different companies approving at least one disc mold.

Disc Golf brands with at least one disc approved by the Pdga during the calendar year.

Number of PDGA Discs by Brand

Next we are going to take a look at the number of disc molds by each individual brand. Because there are so many disc golf brands that have been or are currently in existence, I had to divide these charts into four different categories just so we can read them.

Big Brands

We classified big brands as those with at least 30 different disc molds approved by the PDGA. Innova by far has the most different disc golf molds with Discraft and Prodigy coming in second and third.  Despite it’s relative newness in the disc golf manufacturing world, Lone Star Discs made this top 15 list of “big brands”.

Chart showing the total number od discs PDGA approved by brand with at least 30 discs approved.

Medium Brands

The medium brands on this chart have between 10 and 30 different disc molds approved by the PDGA. Axiom Discs nearly broke into the big brand barrier with 28 discs, and to my surprise, the Canadian manufacturer Daredevil disc is also right there at 29.

 

Bar graph showing the number of pdga approved discs by medium size brand

Small Brands

Small brands are those with between 5 and 9 disc molds approved by the PDGA

Number of disc molds by small brand chart

Extra Small Brands with less than 5 molds approved

Growing Brands

Much of the PDGA approval list is because of the rapid growth of many of the new disc golf brands. These are the companies that are aggressively investing in new molds.

The below graph shows the number of discs PDGA approved in the last year. Remix Disc Golf dominates this list with 17 different disc molds approved. Clash Discs, Doomsday Discs, Orbital, and Yikun Discs are close behind.

Disc Molds Approved this Year

When I pull the date for the last two years, Lone Star Disc is the fastest growing brand with 28 new molds in this time period.

Number of disc molds approved by the pdga in each of the last two years

Who are these new disc golf brands?

I used to do regular posts that were updated with all of the new disc molds each year. Now I’ll simply go over these rapidly growing disc golf brands. If you haven’t heard of them, you’re probably not alone.

Lone Star Disc LogoLone Star Disc

Lone Star Disc is a remarkable disc golf company with a unique origin story. Founded by a Texas-based plastic company that primarily manufactured parts for oil rigs, the company underwent a transformative journey during the pandemic. As the oil industry slowed down, their son proposed the idea of exploring the disc golf market, and it turned out to be a brilliant move.

Leveraging their expertise and resources, Lone Star Disc started producing their own molds and plastics in-house, capitalizing on their Texas roots, and quickly gained traction in the disc golf community. Their ability to quickly produce molds and manufacture locally allowed them to respond swiftly to customer demands and rapidly expand their product line when other manufacturers weren’t able to keep up.

Lone Star Disc has invested heavily in marketing strategies by establishing both Professional and Amateur teams, further solidifying their presence as a major player in disc golf.  They have a full line of discs with some very unique molds like the oversized Super Dillo. With their unwavering dedication to quality and innovation, Lone Star Disc, and the “quality of their plastic” is undoubtedly making a significant impact in the disc golf world.

Clash Discs Logo

Clash Discs

Clash Discs is another brand that formed as result of the pandemic boom. Renowned for their commitment to quality, Clash Discs takes pride in producing discs with ultra-high-quality plastic and they have chosen Finland as their manufacturing hub. This strategic decision ensures that their discs are crafted with precision and durability, providing disc golfers with exceptional performance on the course. However, Clash Discs is not just about manufacturing exceptional discs; they also invest heavily in marketing strategies that set them apart from the competition. With disc names like Honey, Popcorn Peach, and Fudge, they embrace a fun and creative approach that appeals to disc golfers of all levels. Additionally, Clash Discs has built a formidable professional sponsored team, comprising top-tier athletes, which is a testament to their dedication and support for the sport. Despite being a relatively small company, Clash Discs continues to make waves with its innovative designs, passionate marketing approach, and strong commitment to professional partnerships.

Doomsday Discs Logo

Doomsday Discs

Doomsday Discs undoubtedly is one of the most unique and distinct brands in the disc golf. The brand prides itself on pushing boundaries and embracing an unconventional approach to disc design. With an emphasis on creating discs that challenge tradition and offer players a truly unique experience, Doomsday Discs has captured the attention of a significant fanbase of disc golf enthusiasts. Several of the Doomsday Disc molds like the WMD are deliberately not able to be approved by the PDGA. From their captivating disc artwork to their innovative and unconventional molds, Doomsday Discs are definitely unique.

The brand’s commitment to uniqueness extends beyond aesthetics, as they continuously seek to allow team members to develop discs that offer a creative look feel and flight characteristics. In a sport filled with traditional standards, Doomsday Discs dares to be different, making it a must-have for players looking to add a distinct touch to their disc golf collection.

Remix Disc Golf

Remix is another unconventional disc golf company, and is a disc golf brand that we are not able to sell on Infinite Discs. The origins of this brand were unknown until Bodanza Disc golf discovered that the brand is owned by MVP disc sports for their Amazon.com sales. While several of their discs have been around for a while, they just decided to get them PDGA approved this year.

Yikun Discs Logo

Yikun Discs

Yikun Glaze Line DiscsYikun is an established disc golf manufacturer that has significantly expanded its range of disc molds in recent years. The Chinese brand’s collaboration with Discmania and increase in production quality has undoubtedly bolstered its reputation within the disc golf community.

Furthermore, Yikun is set to launch a new line called Glaze next month, featuring a selection of innovative disc molds. Based on insider information, these forthcoming discs are visually captivating and some of the most aesthetically pleasing plastic discs ever made.

Are there too many disc golf discs on the market?

Undoubtedly, the disc golf pandemic boom created the surge of new disc golf businesses all trying to tap in on the growing market.

In my opinion, the growth of new disc molds is growing much faster than disc golf. Disc golf retailers will not be able to keep up. While Infinite Discs still attempts to stock all disc molds from every brand, independent brick and mortar pro shop only have room for so much product. Disc golf retailers need to pick and choose and will only select from the best and most popular discs from the most popular brands.

If companies can create demand for their discs they will find success with the new molds they are producing. If they cannot, then we will see a correction in the disc golf production market as new brands fail because the cost of developing and manufacturing discs exceeds revenue brought in from sales. I expect that we will see a large number of “out of production” and “expired molds” over the next few years.

Focus Friday – Maya on Sale

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FOCUS FRIDAY– Infinite Discs Maya

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. This weekend, we take a look at one of Infinite Discs most reliable and beginner-friendly discs… the Maya

Beginning as early as 1500 BCE, The Mayan culture began creating a glorious civilization that can still be admired in areas such as southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize. Anthropological studies and findings have found that these people were very agriculturally savvy, and had great architecture skills. They are also believed to have developed sophisticated writings, astronomical systems, and more which influenced many other cultures to seek more and more knowledge.

The Maya, in disc golf terms, is an understable distance bomber! Beginner to Intermediate players will find the Maya to be an awesome straight flying distance driver, while advanced to open players will utilize the Maya for massive understable distance shots.

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get 25% off any Maya in stock by using this code: ‘FOCUSMAYA’

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.
All Mayan information pulled from this website

Focus Friday – The Doomsday Dystopia on Sale

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FOCUS FRIDAY – Doomsday Dystopia

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. This weekend, we take a look at one of our most mysterious brands molds… the Dystopia.

Doomsday Discs is sorry to inform you that the end is near. But in the meantime, they proudly present the Dystopia, a distance driver for the common man. This driver will fly true for players at all levels without too much turn or fade. If you survive the coming apocalypse, you’ll be happy that you have a stockpile of Dystopia drivers to throw across the ruinous landscapes of the future. 

You can get this mold in two plastics: Survival and Ration, both which are high quality premium plastics. Shop both here

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get 30% off any Dystopia by using this code: ‘FOCUSDYSTOPIA‘

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.

Focus Friday – Wild Discs on Sale

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FOCUS FRIDAY – Wild Discs

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. This weekend, we are taking a look at an entire brand with high-quality molds and plastics… Wild Discs.

June of 2020 was when Wild Discs was born. Not only did this brand desire to have high-quality disc golf products and excellent customer service, but they also wanted to contribute to wildlife conservation. Everytime you shop Wild Discs products, a minimum of 5% of your purchase goes directly towards efforts to sustain and assist in wildlife preservation. You can learn more about Wild Discs mission HERE.

Wild Discs has the follow molds in their lineup, each in premium and base plastic options for you to enjoy:

  • Great White – High speed overstable driver
  • Orca – Overstable controllable distance driver
  • Hyena – Understable fairway driver
  • Addax – Versatile midrange
  • Angler – Overstable midrange
  • Hummingbird – Straight flying putter
  • Sea Otter – Slow, overstable putter

See their full line up and select your next or first Wild Disc on our website!

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get an incredible deal an all Wild Disc products. Just use this code at checkout to get 20% off: ‘FOCUSWILD‘

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.

Best Disc Golf Retrievers

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Best Disc Golf Retrievers

One of the irritating aspects of disc golf is searching for lost discs. When a disc lands in thick grass, bushes, trees, reeds, water, or some unknown landing place, it can appear that discs sometimes disappear off the face of the earth. Even more frustrating is when we can see a disc, but can’t reach it. Whether it is in a pond, up a tree, over a fence, or in a thorny bush, the idea of leaving a disc behind is very difficult.

Enter the retriever. Disc golf retrievers can make the task of getting our wayward discs back into our bags much easier – and in some cases they are the only way to get a disc back. In this blog post we will compare the different types and brands of retrievers, and recommend the best ones for you.

For the sake of this blog, we will categorize retrievers into two categories: retrievers that use a pole or extension device, and retrievers that use a rope or cord. We can then break down those two categories and talk about the variations of those categories. Then we’ll see which retriever is the best in each category.

Max Distance suction cup pole disc golf retriever

Pole or extension devices

An obvious benefit to having an extension devices is that you can reach discs that you wouldn’t normally be able to reach. The poles come in a variety of sizes, from compact 6-foot poles to massive 20-foot poles. The smaller ones are lighter and take up less room, but limit the distance you can reach. Poles have different tips that can be used for different purposes. These retrievers can reach and retrieve discs that would be impossible for rope-type retrievers.

Pole retriever dragging a disc golf disc out of the water.One of the drawbacks of having a telescopic pole is their use in water. Although they can successfully be used to retrieve a disc in a river or pond, they are sometimes difficult to control and can only serve to dislodge the disc, but not bring it to shore. The success of the retrieval depends on the body of water and the tip of the retriever. They can’t reach a disc that lies beyond their max extension. Plus, they can end up with water inside them, which might leak out into your bag or cause corrosion. It is also possible to break a pole if too much force is exerted.

The device on the end of the pole affect the success of the retrieval.

  • The suction cup works amazing in water. Preferably standing water, but it can also be used in rivers with a varying degree of success.

Max Stick w/suction tip

  • Hooks are useful in trees and can also be used to scoot your disc toward the shore when retrieving in water. They are a good universal tip.

Dynamic Discs Retriever

  • Metal loops are great for securing the disc to the retriever, but they can be cumbersome in trees. In moving water it might be difficult to ‘catch’ the disc.

Bird Dog Retriever

Rope Retriever Devices

One of the best reasons to have a rope device is because you can reach a lot further with them than a Rope retreiver getting a disc out of the waterpole. If your disc is in water beyond the reach of your pole, you would be out of luck unless you had a rope retriever such as a Disc Claw or Golden Retriever.

This would be a good time for some pro tips that I’ve learned by having a rope-type retriever. The two issues that I recommend that owners correct are considered cons, but can easily be remedied.

First, get an additional length of paracord to attach to the end of the rope that comes with the retriever. It will greatly extend the distance that you can reach your disc. The length of rope that comes with the retriever device is not as long as you might need. Just make sure you tie a good knot so the retriever doesn’t end up permanently in the water.

Second tip, get a separate object to wrap the rope around besides the retriever itself, so you can just unwind the amount of rope that you need to reach the disc, instead of keeping the rope around the retriever and having to unwind the entire length of rope. I use a landscape string reel to hold my excess retriever cord. Take care of those two issues and you’ll eliminate some of the cons of the device.

There are a couple of other areas where the rope-retrievers fall short. First, it is mainly just used for water retrievals. You could use it on grass or ice, but it is designed for water use. Is your disc in a tree? This type of disc will likely not be the one you’ll need.

The second issue you might have is that the retriever isn’t as effective if the disc is on rocks. You need to be able to slide over the disc and ‘catch’ it in the retriever. If there are rocks in the way, you might be out of luck.

Best Disc Retriever Winners

With those pros and cons for each retriever in mind, let’s look at your retriever options.

Best Pole Extension Disc Retriever

In addition to deciding between rope and pole retrievers, with the pole retrievers you need to decide which attachment you would like on the end of the pole. The suction cup types are excellent for water, but not so good in trees. The hook ends are pretty good in water and trees. And the loop ends are better in water, but work decent in trees.

The winner? With its multiple head attachments, the Bird Dog retriever takes the win. The metal pole isn’t as long as some of the Max Stick poles, but its attachments are good for trees, rivers, and ponds. It even comes with a bag to store all the parts. It’s a universal-use solution that can be used in a variety of situations. Check out the Bird Dog here:

Best Rope Retriever Winner

 

 

The Disc Claw and the Golden Retriever are both excellent choices for ponds that don’t have large rocks or branches. The enemies of either of those retrievers are rocks and branches, which can make a disc irretrievable and could possibly snag the retriever. If the pond has silt, sand, mud, or moss and you stand a good chance of getting your disc back. As mentioned above, extra rope and a something besides the retriever itself to wrap the rope around will make owning either of these a better option.

Winner? I’m going to call this a tie. The Claw had a few more snags on rocks that the Golden Retriever. However, as the Claw advertises, it kicks up less silt than the Golden Retriever. That keeps your disc visible for more attempts at retrieving it, should that be necessary. Plus, the Claw is a couple bucks cheaper.

Honorable Mentions

Wrist Rocket – Best Retriever for High Trees

I had heard that people have used wrist rockets to retrieve discs from trees, so I finally bought one to carry around. The first time I had a disc that was beyond the reach of my retriever, I broke out the sling shot and knocked it down after just a few tries. Just last weekend a group of us were able to get four discs out of a tree at a local tournament (although it did take quite a while and numerous attempts). They don’t take up much space and can be another option when the pole retriever can’t reach.

Driver Diver

This little piece of plastic is a handy device that doesn’t take up much space. You attach the gadget to a stick with reusable zip ties and the stick becomes your retriever. Perfect for courses with a few smaller bodies of water and trees. Hang it from your bag until needed. Make sure you don’t leave it in a hot car, because it can warp. Mine did, so I took a heat gun to it and that fixed the warp.

Disc retriever attachment on an ordinary stick

Conclusion

There isn’t one retriever that is best for every situation. But you can still minimize the chances of not being able to retrieve your disc by getting a couple different types. Although I carry an extendable retriever with me at all times, I also usually have a wrist rocket with me. If I’m using a cart and there are water hazards, I’ll also take along a Golden Retriever. If I’m not using a cart, I’ll leave the Golden in my car and get the disc later if needed. It’s worth the effort and increases my chances of going home with all my discs.

Check out our entire retriever inventory here.

Focus Friday – The Omen on Sale

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FOCUS FRIDAY – The Omen

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. This weekend, we are putting up a HUGE discount on a Thought Space Athletics mold… The Omen.

The Omen is an overstable 9-speed driver from Thought Space Athletics. If you need a solid, hard fade when throwing side-arm, backhand, or overhead, you can always count on the Omen. It is an excellent overstable utility driver and a pre-level, high-performance disc for power throwers.

You can find the Omen in the following plastics: Aura, Ethereal, Ethos, Nebula Ethereal, & Glow in the Dark.

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get an incredible deal an all Omens this week… 50% off! Just use this code at checkout: ‘FOCUSOMEN‘

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.

Focus Friday – Innova Orc On Sale

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FOCUS FRIDAY – Innova Orc

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. This weekend, we are taking a look at the loved and versatile distance driver, the Orc.

The Orc is a the classic Speed 10 driver made by Innova. This is a fast but accurate flying disc, good for intermediate players. The Orc flies well for both backhand and forehand throws. This is an overstable disc, but it has a degree of understable turn (-1) which gives it a nice flying S path.

The Orc is taller than the average distance driver and has a thinner rim. In lighter weights, this disc is a good driver for newer disc golfers. The Orc is also a good beginner disc for new players who prefer forehand throws.

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get any ORC for 20% off when you use this code: ‘FOCUSORC‘

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.

Focus Friday – Finish Line Supra on Discount

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FOCUS FRIDAY – Finish Line Supra

Welcome back to another Focus Friday, where we look at a certain mold or brand, and give you a discount so you can try it out for yourself. Today’s deal is on the versatile mid-range that Infinite sponsored pro player Drew Gibson throws on tour… The Supra

The Finish Line Supra is the do-it-all mid-range designed by Drew Gibson who is known as one of the best mid-range throwers in all of disc golf. This workhorse of a mid-range is highly capable, and easily holds many different lines. Providing a manageable disc for all players regardless of skill. The supra is a formidable disc that will easily be a go-to disc.

The Supra was recently re-tooled to be even more stable of a mid-range for those of you that want something stable and reliable in your bag.

DISCOUNT -> This weekend, you can get a Supra for 20% off when you use this code: ‘FOCUSSUPRA‘

This deal will end Monday night, so get yourself this mold while you can!
Check out this page to see all the items that are on sale this week.
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