New Discmania Discs

Last week, we announced on Facebook that our disc of the week was the very popular Discmania FD. As part of our giveaway, we asked our Facebook family to tell us their favorite Discmania molds. As the responses came in, we were surprised by how many people said that they haven’t thrown any Discmania yet. Discmania is the primary sponsor of the Disc Golf World Tour that kicked off last weekend in La Mirada, California, and they have been doing a lot over the years to help grow the sport.

Also last week, we got in a huge Discmania restock featuring a handful of discs in new plastics that we have not had available before. We wanted to provide for everyone a list of all the new Discmania discs in new plastics that we just got in. If you haven’t tried out Discmania before, now would be a great time. We have a huge selection available, with a lot of different colors and weights. Here are all the discs that are now available in new plastic types.

All new Discmania Discs:

GLine_MD3G-Line MD3

GLine_PD2G-Line PD2

GLine_P2_LoveG-Line P2–Crush LOVE Series

GLine_TD2G-Line TD2

Glow_FDGlow C-Line FD

Glow_FD2Glow C-Line FD2

Glow_PDGlow C-Line PD

Glow_P3Glow C-line P3

PLine_FDP-Line FD

PLine_MD3P-Line MD3

SLine_FD3S-Line FD3

Signature_FDSignature C-Line FD

Signature_PDSignature C-Line PD

Signature_PD2Signature C-Line PD2

Signature_P2Signature S-Line P2

Swirly_PDSwirly S-Line PD

XLine_P1XX-Line P1X

XLine_P2X-Line P2

 

New Disc Golf Bags of Early 2016

It is only March and disc golf season is in full swing, or shall I say flight? Recently a series of bag releases has us excited around the office. New innovative bag offerings from both Dynamic Discs, Innova, and Prodigy are poised to add many new options to the already rapidly growing disc golf bag scene.

Dynamic Discs Ranger H2O

Dynamic Discs released their Ranger H2.0 and Sniper Backpacks two weeks ago, and after a few test rounds with each we are extremely impressed with these new designs. The Ranger H2.0’s disc notches in the bottom of the heavy duty weather ready bag are truly very nice innovations, as discs stay anchored in their spots as the wearer moves around to their lie. New features like this combined with things like the rain hood and water proof material making up the bottom of the bag definitely come together into a backpack loaded with value, without adding much of any weight to the original Ranger Backpack.

Dynamic Discs' Ranger H2.0 Backpack

Dynamic Discs Sniper Backpack

The new line of Sniper Backpacks from Dynamic are no less impressive, coming in at a $69.99 price point without sacrificing the comfort that is a huge selling point of larger backpack bags. The Sniper is still tall enough that it does not look like a child’s backpack, like some other low-cost backpacks seem to. With a capacity of 16 discs in the main compartment the user has plenty of options while on the course. The Sniper keeps to Dynamic’s tradition of bags that hold plenty of discs within a comfortable and non-encumbering profile.

Dynamic Discs' Sniper Backpack

Innova Heropack

Much like the Dynamic Discs Sniper Backpack, the Innova Heropack comes in at a low price point, right at $89.99. The Heropack is a wider backpack that can hold 25 discs in the main compartment, and it features two easy to access putter pockets as well. Notably, the Heropack comes in a very wide variety of colors and patterns, the fan favorite so far being the green plaid option. The Heropack is a great option for anyone looking for a high-capacity low-cost backpack.

Innova Discs' Heropack

Prodigy Pro BP-1

Prodigy’s Pro BP-1 has just been revamped in time for the Spring 2016 season, featuring new colors and a rain cover for the early season rain. Keeping with the idea of bags to keep you prepared, Prodigy also released their Practice Bag, a large duffel-like bag that holds 45 drivers or 30 putters. This bag is perfect for carrying around large quantities of discs for field throwing or just casual practice rounds.

Dynamic Discs Commander Backpack

Most recently, Dynamic officially released their newest member to their growing family of high-quality bags, the Commander Backpack. Coming in at a price point right between the Ranger H2.0 and the Sniper, the Commander is a wider backpack that can hold 20 discs in its main disc compartment, and comes with all of the convenient pockets and putter holders. For $119.99, this bag is the ultimate combination of quality and affordability.

These are all great options if you are looking to upgrade your bag as the season picks up. You can stick with your current bag manufacturer, or try something new out. All that really matters is that you go play!

Top 10 Words Used to Describe Disc Golf Game

While our monkeys are crunching away to bring you more 2016 State of Disc Golf Survey results, I slipped away to show you guys some fun data.  In a recent giveaway over on our Facebook Page, we asked people to enter by commenting ONE word that described their Disc Golf Game.  

top10post

We had 330 responses with a wide variety of answers.  I enjoyed reading those comments so much that I put together a little chart to show you the top 10 most used words in the Facebook comments, plus some fun runner ups.
wordgraph

The number one most used word was “Improving”, which I love to see!  I feel the same way about my game and it’s great to see other people succeed.  However, I think a lot of us can relate to the second most used word, “Inconsistent”.  My guess is that we can all relate to each of these words at some point during our game.

It was also interesting to see the balance of Positive vs. Negative responses.  I realize that spur-of-the-moment words used to enter a giveaway aren’t the best data points that can be gathered, as some people may put certain answers just to be funny or unique. But perhaps this will give us a little insight to what people think about their Disc Golf game in general.

I painstakingly went through every word and marked it as “Positive” “Negative” or “Neutral” and made this Disc-Chart to show you the results:

posnegchart

I was glad to see that most people view their game in positive light, especially when thinking of a quick word to use.  I myself might have been caught up in the “Treenied” or the “Strugglebus” category, but luckily I didn’t have to answer for myself.  We do know from our friends over at Zen Disc Golf that being positive is key!  Let’s just remember that everybody who answered this Giveaway question was trying to win a free disc, so obviously they love the game and want to play more.  

 

If I had to pick a word now, it would definitely be “Passion”. (That way I can still hit trees and be inconsistent- passionately inconsistent.)

 

After the top 10, these were the runner-up words:

Consistent 4

Beginner 4

Grow 4

Meh 4

Newbie 3

Sporadic 3

Noodle 3

Rough 2

Lefty 2

Promising 2

 

And some of my favorites:

Epic (Mhmm)

Bodacious (Mmmhmm)

Sexxxy (Mmmmmhmmm!)

Infinitely-Good (Are they really that good, or just trying to get some brownie points?)

Poetic (Beautiful)

Splendiferious (I didn’t know that was a word until I googled it)

Frontrimbanger (Technically three words that describe my putts all too well.)

Hellacious (adjective: very great, bad, or overwhelming.  I guess that goes either way!)

Ambidextrous (Okay, now I’m just jealous)

And the rest displayed in a nice word cloud:

wordcloudonly

Well that wraps up today’s word-stats!  Hope you enjoyed reading this very important article!  Now get out there and tear it up on the course!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, and now SNAPCHAT to be up to date on exclusive Giveaways and Discount Codes!  Our username on all platforms is InfiniteDiscs.

Disc Golfer Demographics: Location, Age, Gender and Brand Preference

For this blog post we want to continue to look at who we are, and comparing that with our favorite brands. Our goal is to see if there are certain segments among us that favor certain brands. Then we can see how those opinions change over time.

Where Do We Live?

It’s nice to have disc golfers from all over the world respond to the survey. While most of us live in the U.S., the percentage of us that live outside the country increased a tiny bit to 9%. With Major tournaments, some of the top players, and a few manufacturers in other countries, ours is truly a world sport. That is great news to the 78% of us who want the sport to become mainstream, but not so good for the 4% who don’t (18% have no preference). As the sport grows, it will mean more courses, clubs, tournaments, and products. Toward that end, we are encouraged by survey participation around the world. With that in mind, we will begin by looking at graphs from survey results that show where in the world we are from.

Countries

countries regions

 

 

Gender Make Up

Past surveys have shown that a majority of us are male and around 30 years old. This year was no different. The percentage of female respondents fell slightly, with 4% of disc golfers filling out the survey being female, versus 6% last year.

gender

 

Age

In some areas of the country, such as college towns, the average age of disc golfers will vary slightly from the rest of the country. The club I belong to fits that description. However, when I look at the clubs outside of my immediate area, their member’s ages align better with survey results. According to the survey, the average age of all disc golfers falls in the 30-35 year range. Same with last year. Perhaps at that age people are more established in their careers and feel like they have more time to play disc golf. Most of the time families have been started by then and are either getting to an age where they can join a parent on the course, or are at least more independent, allowing the disc golfer more opportunity to play. Whatever the reason, that age group continues to lead the survey.

age

how long playing

It will be interesting to see how that group ages and if they keep playing in large numbers. With cries of ’60 is the new 40’, maybe we will see current members of that age group continue to play, and older groups have the largest number of members. I hope so. I also hope the younger age groups balloon. It is great to see such talent coming from young golfers. Think about Eagle McMahon, or last year’s Amateur World Championships. Not only is it impressive to watch such talented young people, it will help our sport continue to grow.

Summary?

As was mentioned in the opening paragraph, in addition to finding out more about who we are, another goal of this blog was to break down the demographics and find out what groups favored which brands. Our hope was that we could find some interesting data, such as finding certain groups (age, experience, geographic location) that favored certain brands. Let’s just say that the results were underwhelming. Not that I have a problem with nearly every state, region, age, gender, and experience level choosing Innova as their favorite brand. It just becomes so redundant to write about. So, let’s just look at the few locations that didn’t choose Innova as their favorite. (Or tied with them).

Location                                      Total Respondents             Favorite
Arkansas                                      28                                          Dynamic Discs
Asia                                               12                                           Discraft
Australia/New Zealand             10                                          Discmania
Hawaii                                           5                                            Discraft/Innova
New Mexico                                 20                                          Discraft/Innova/MVP
Vermont                                        7                                            Innova/Westside

And there you have it. With less than half of all respondents choosing Innova as their favorite brand, we hoped there would be more groups that would favor another brand. While that aspect of the blog didn’t turn out like we thought, at least we can learn about us as a group along the way.

For the next blog we will continue to find out more about us, such as education, occupation, etc., and about our disc golf habits.

Top 10 Tournament Moments of 2015 Disc Golf Season

Disc golf professional tournament

The 2016 disc golf tournament season is right around the corner! With the 2016 Memorial Championship in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona just one day away, we decided to take a look back on last season and some of the top moments from a very memorable year of disc golf.

10. PDGA World Championships–McBeth Dynasty

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2015 was Paul McBeth’s year in many regards. Taking home his fourth consecutive world title played a big part in that. While the final nine wasn’t nearly as dramatic as 2014, Paul still had to fight for this championship. McBeth was eight strokes off the lead after two rounds, but bounced back with two lights out rounds to take a commanding eight stroke lead going into the final day of play. Some say we are witnessing the establishment of a new Dynasty in the sport of disc golf. Whatever your feelings, McBeth clearly is once again the man to beat as we enter the 2016 season.

9. Johansen wins first NT in playoff–Hall of Fame Classic

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Closing out the 2015 National Tour was the Hall of Fame Classic down in the woods of Georgia. This tournament featured tough courses that tested the top pros and made for close match-ups throughout the event. Both Michael Johansen and Paul McBeth carded Birdies on their final hole to push them one stroke ahead of JohnE McCray and force (another) NT playoff. Both players fought hard and played evenly for the first three holes of the event, but Hole 4 proved to be the difference maker. After finding some trees on his second shot, McBeth had to run a long 70 foot uphill putt to try and extend the playoff. The shot was on target, but just too high. It bounced off the top of the basket, leaving Johansen with a twenty footer that he made good on to claim his first ever NT title.

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8. Lizotte wins first NT–Largest purse in disc golf history

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The 2015 Ledgestone Insurance Open was already slated to be an historic event. Tournament Director Nate Heinold worked hard to provide players with the largest purse in the history of disc golf (with a little help from sponsors like Infinite Discs…). Also, he and the entire LIO team put in a lot of hours to set up difficult layouts on courses that made this one of the most difficult and unforgiving events in disc golf. World Distance Record holder Simon Lizotte came into the final nine two strokes behind Paul McBeth. Throughout those final holes, Simon looked as calm and focused as he may have ever looked playing the game. The Lake Eureka temp course was a fierce course that cost a lot of pros a lot of stokes throughout the week, and even some of the fellow competitors in that final nine. But Simon stayed strong. He played smart, conservative, and consistent golf to walk away with a giant check and his first ever National Tour title. This also was the first National Tour event ever won by a European disc golfer.

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7. Ricky gets revenge at Maple Hill

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Do you remember the heartbreaking ending to the Maple Hill Open in 2014? Ricky Wysocki does, and he had every intention of making the 2015 Maple Hill Open a better memory. He came into the final round two strokes behind Paul McBeth and four strokes in front of Gregg Barsby. After a long day of battling the fierce competition as well as the rainy and windy conditions, Wysocki stepped onto Hole 18’s tee pad with a two stroke lead. In 2014 he stood on that same tee pad with a one stroke lead that was lost by an unlucky rollaway on his approach shot that landed his disc just out of bounds. But that wouldn’t be the case this year. Ricky held strong to the last stroke, and was crowned with his first win at Maple Hill.

6. PDGA Amateur World Championships–Final 9.

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Hey, let’s not forget the Ams! This year’s Amateur World Championships had maybe the most dramatic finish in Am Worlds history. 15 year old Anthony Barela and 14 year old Izak McDonald went into the final 9 holes tied for the lead. Those final holes saw seven lead changes, including one on the final hole. McDonald took back a one stroke lead after Hole 7 with an insane 100+ foot putt for an eagle. Barela still trailed as they made their way to the long downhill final hole. McDonald teed off first, and unfortunately turned his disc over to the right where it carried out of bounds. AB seized the moment, by parking his drive just 20 feet from the pin. Maybe this was the first chapter of a big-stage rivalry between these two young guns, and if it was, then we are all excited to watch the rest of the story unfold over the next few years.

5. Another Dramatic finish at the USDGC–Winthrop Gold Hole 17

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Hole 17 at Winthrop Gold is proving itself as one of the most infamous holes in disc golf. After spoiling JohnE McCray’s 4 stroke lead in 2014, we all were well aware of what this short island hole was capable of as Ricky Wysocki and Paul McBeth made their way to the tee in 2015 tied for the lead. Paul had just hit a fifty foot par save on Hole 16 to stop Ricky from taking the lead with his birdie. Ricky was the first to throw. His first drive carried just too long, bouncing out of bounds. Drive number two came up just short of the boundary, leaving the door wide open for McBeth. He stepped up, and threw a near perfect drive landing about 20 feet from the basket. This moment tugged on our hearts in many ways. We saw another mishap stop Ricky from picking up a big win, but we also saw the doors open for Paul to get the one tournament that has always escaped him.

4. Nate Doss SCTop10

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Here is a moment that some may argue was the most important for disc golf as a whole. On the first hole of his final round in the 2015 Memorial Championship, Nate Doss canned a beautiful Ace at the gorgeous Fountain Hills Park Disc Golf Course. The shot was caught on camera, and for the first time ever, disc golf appeared on national television, making Sports Center’s Top 10 plays. This turned out to be just the start, with aces throughout the year from Bobby Engle, Nate Doss, Philo Brathwaite, Dave Feldberg, and Paige Pierce (who even earned the #1 spot on the Top 10) all receiving attention from ESPN. Many hope that this was an important first step toward national television coverage for disc golf, and we are all excited to see what the future holds for disc golf coverage.

3. 2015 Memorial Championship–Final Round Hole 18

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I’ll be honest, as a fan of the sport, this is probably my personal favorite moment ever. There was a lot of–for lack of a better term–sports drama playing out throughout the event. It was the first big tournament of the year, the scores were close all week long, and the defending champion Paul McBeth had his bag and all the discs in that bag stolen halfway through the tournament. After a handful of lead changes, Jeremy Koling and Paul McBeth walked to the 18th tee tied for the lead. Koling teed off first with a drive that came up about 70 feet short of the pin. Paul’s drive wasn’t a lot better, but it put the pressure on Big Jerm. I’ll never forget where I was when I saw what happened next. Jeremy lined up his putt, and after what felt like an eternity, he drained it. Now the pressure was on McBeth, who still had about 30-40 feet to force a playoff. But of course, with ice in his veins he stepped up to the challenge, and answered. The playoff would only last one hole with McBeth driving out of bounds and Big Jerm parking it. But from an objective perspective, it didn’t really matter who came out on top after Hole 18. The dramatic finish on Hole 18 was more than any disc golf fan could have asked for. With the 28th Memorial Championship teeing off in just a few days, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is craving to see what this year’s event will offer us.

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2. McGrand Slam

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Again, 2015 was definitely the year of the McBeast. We knew it had been that kind of year no matter how the 2015 United States Disc Golf Championship would finish out, but that would never be enough for Paul McBeth. He wanted this tournament, and he has wanted it for a very long time. The stage couldn’t have been set more perfectly either, with disc golf’s first Grand Slam on the line. The USDGC had been called his Kryptonite, and early in the tournament it became clear that he would have to fight back to get this win. But I also don’t think anyone ever counted him out of it. If anyone has proven his tenacity and capacity in coming back from behind, Paul McBeth has. As we watched him finish out the final hole at Winthrop, we knew we had just witnessed something special. Paul McBeth had clinched all five PDGA majors of 2015: Aussie Open, Scandinavian Open, European Open, World Championships, and USDGC.

1. Women’s PDGA World Championships

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Unlike the other moments on this list, I think this is one that we all can agree that we wish it never happened.

On her way to the fifth round of the PDGA Women’s World Championships in Pittsburgh, leader Sarah Hokom was rear ended at a stoplight, pushing her car into oncoming traffic. Her car was totaled, but thankfully she escaped without any major injuries. Naturally, Hokom was late to her tee time. She joined up with her group after they had already played two holes. As per PDGA rules, she was given a score of par plus 4 for each hole missed. This turned her 5 stroke lead into a 4 stroke deficit.

Sarah would battle throughout the rest of the tournament, and entered the final nine tied for the lead with Paige Pierce. Watching the final 9 was almost a somber event. It was impossible to ignore the emotions on Paige Pierce’s face as she played a fantastic final round. Pierce entered the final hole with a one stroke lead, and after Hokom missed a putt to force a playoff, the pain of the moment was evident as Pierce stepped up to sink the putt that would crown her the World Champion.

Later that evening at the trophy ceremony, Paige Pierce showed one of the greatest expressions of sportsmanship that the sport has ever seen. After being announced as the winner, she graciously called Sarah up and gave her the first place trophy.

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With a few new tours announced for this season and hundreds of new players and courses every year, it is hard to say for certain where our sport is heading, but if this number one moment is any indication, then I’d say we are heading in the right direction.

All pictures courtesy the PDGA: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pdga/sets/

New Disc Golf Discs for 2016

New Disc Golf Releases in 2016

***This post discusses the discs released last year in 2016. If you’re looking for discs released this year, you’ll want to check out this post***

 

The Disc Golf Manufacturers have wasted no time this year releasing new discs and products. Here is our list of discs that have been released by the major disc manufacturers in 2016.

Axiom

  • Thrill – The Axiom Thrill is an overstable workhorse driver in Axioms 21.5mm distance class.

DGA

  • Sail – Understable easy to throw driver. For newer players
  • Pipeline – The Pipeline is a control driver that is slightly more overstable than the Sail. Flight wise, this disc has been compared with the Innova Teebird.

Both of DGA’s 2016 additions have been well received. These are both excellent drivers that are recommend for disc golfers of all skill levels.

Discmania

  • PDX – The Discmania PDX is a new power driver that is currently released as a fundraising disc for the Disc Golf World Tour. This is an overstable driver that is described as a cross between the PD and DDX. Discmania gives this disc the flight ratings 11/4/0/3.
  • DDX – The Discmania DDX has been one of our hottest selling discs of 2016. This driver, described as a less overstable Destroyer goes the distance.

Discraft

  • Undertaker – The undertaker is a stable control driver that has proved to be one of Discrafts most popular new releases ever. This disc is used by professional disc golfer Nate Doss and was the first release in our VIP Club.
  • Thrasher – The Discraft Thrasher is a slightly understable high speed driver that gives average players maximum distance. This disc is currently available in Elite Z plastic and has been another hot seller of late summer.
  • BUZZZ GT – The Groove Top Buzzz is a unique disc that was produced exclusively to Infinite Discs to sell as fundraiser for the 2016 Ledgestone Insurance Open.

Dynamic Discs

Surprisingly, Dynamic Discs has yet to release a new mold this year. We do know that they have several new discs that will be out at some time in 2016. DD also has some new backpacks; the Ranger H2O and Sniper have already been released while the Commander is coming soon.

Coming Soon:

  • Defender – Overstable High Speed Distance Driver that arrived as part of GBO players packs
  • EMAC Truth – This is a retooled more overstable version of the popular Dynamic Discs Truth.
  • Gavel – Easy to Throw Putter available in base Prime plastic. This will likely be the disc used in future DD starter sets. It has the same basic feel of the Judge but will be more understable and found in lighter weights.
  • Marshal – The DD Marshal is the putter that was used in this years Trilogy Challenge. For the Challenge it was available in Prime plastic but now it is also available in Classic Blend.
  • Proof  – This will be an Easy to Throw understable midrange and likely part of future DD starter sets.

Innova

Innova hasn’t wasted much time with the release of new discs in 2016. They have already released several discs and will soon be releasing a few more that have already been PDGA approved.

  • Colossus – This is the first Speed 14 driver in the Innova Line. It is a stable/overstable driver for most players and is currently available in GSTar plastic.
  • Stud – The Stud is slightly more overstable brother of the popular low profile Innova Colt putter. The Colt was one of our most popular Innova discs last year. The Stud is currently available in Innova DX plastic.
  • CommanderThe Commander is a unique very overstable midrange with a flight described as a midrange version of the firebird.
  • MirageThe Innova Mirage is a very understable approach disc that is great for beginners. This is also a good disc for turnover shots.
  • MystereThe Mystere is a distance driver that has not yet been released for retail sale, but was available as players pack items in several Innova sponsored tournaments. Members of our tester team were able to try it out.
  • SavantLike the Mystere, the Savant also has only been available in players packs. You can check out the video review of it here.
  • Shryke – Innova kept the distance driver Shryke a secret for a while, and we didn’t even know about it until it was announced available for us to purchase. This new distance driver has flight ratings of 13/6/-2/2 and is supposed to be somewhere between the Dominatar and the Groove in terms of flight.

Latitude 64

Latitude 64 has already released two drivers and a midrange this year. This surely won’t be all as they have several other discs in the works.

  • Compass – Stable midrange disc.
  • Cutlass – Overstable high speed driver.
  • Culvern – Overstable control driver.

Coming Soon:

  • Falchion – The Latitude 64 Falchion will be released as the Trilogy Challenge driver. This is described as a straight flying fairway driver with a light end of flight fade.
  • Knight The Latitude 64 Knight is a super consistent overstable driver.

Legacy

  • Enemy – The Enemy is another disc that was announced last year, that has been highly anticipated by Legacy fanatics. The Enemy is a very overstable driver with high speed and overstability. It’s supposed to be Legacy’s version of the Firebird and a weapon for headwinds and will be available in multiple plastics.

Millennium

  • Aquarius – The Aquarius is a new speed 10 floating driver. This disc is available in an extra stiff grippy plastic (similar to the plastic used in the Innova Wahoo) and will give you all kinds of confidence when you have to throw over standing bodies of water.

MVP

MVP continues to release a good number of new disc models each year. In 2016 they have given us:

  • Energy – The Energy  is the most overstable disc in MVP’s 23mm class.
  • Catalyst – The Catalyst is a distance bomber that even players without big arms can utilize for big distance.
  • Spin – Understable putter that will be released as part of the MVP Circuit players pack in Electron plastic.
  • Signal – This is a VERY understable fairway driver that was used as part of the Circuit players pack. This is a fantastic disc for new players.

Prodigy

  • A3 – The Prodigy A3 is said to fill the gap between a midrange and putter. This is still an overstable disc, but just not quite as overstable as the A1. It is consistent and reliable in all wind conditions and perfect for trick shots and approach shots.
  • A4 – The A4 is another unique approach disc with a perfectly flat top and unique thick rim.
  • D6 – The Prodigy D6 is a thick rim understable distance driver that is supposed to be a good roller disc.

Vibram

  • Onyx –  The Onyx is the last disc that appears on the Vibram flight chart. This is supposed a very beginner friendly understable driver, and unlike the Valley, Vamp, Notch and Arch, wasn’t released last year. The Onyx has been a big seller for us for new players, especially for in store sales.
  • It’s also rumored that Vibram will release some new midrange discs this year.

Westside

  • Catapult – High Speed Overstable Driver
  • Destiny – The destiny is a High Speed, High Glide, slightly understable distance driver. Many disc golfers have selected the Destiny as their new choice for maximum distance on the wide open field.
  • Longbowman – Stable/Overstable Control Driver
  • The Sling The Westside Sling is a stable flying midrange that was released in Tournament plastic as part of the Trilogy Challenge. It is now available in VIP plastic.

In addition to new discs, Westside is also planning on releasing discs with GPS technology and an additional midrange disc ”

Do you know of other releases that have, or will soon be coming out in 2016? Comment below and let us know what other new disc molds will be available this year.

2016 State of Disc Golf Giveaway Prizes

Infinite Discs State of Disc Golf Survey 2016

Alright, time to give away some goodies! We first want to thank everyone who participated in this year’s survey. We appreciate all the responses we got and we look forward to analyzing the data and putting together more articles for everyone to enjoy. This sport we all love is growing, and we are excited to be a part of it.

Now we want to thank all the manufacturers who donated prizes for this year’s giveaway. We were overwhelmed by the awesome support and prizes that these folks were willing to give away in support of this survey! Now without further ado, here are the prizes!

Big Prizes

Basket:

Black_Hole_ProMVP Black Hole Basket (GONE!)

Bags:

IMG_1421Discmania Grip Bag (GONE!)

Ranger_Bag2 Dynamic Discs Ranger Bags (GONE!)

Innova_Heropack2 Innova Heropack Disc Golf Backpacks (GONE!)

 

Discs

Discmania Discs:

DSC03572C-Line P2 175g

DSC03573D-Line P1X 175g

DSC03574S-Line DD 175g (GONE!)

DSC03575P-Line FD 175g (GONE!)

DSC03576Glow C-Line PD 175g (GONE!)

DSC03577S-Line DD2 175g

DSC03578G-Line TD2 175g

DSC03579C-Line PD2 175g

DSC03580C-Line MD 180g

DSC03581P-Line MD3 180g (GONE!)

Gateway Discs:

DSC035895 Eraser Voodoo (2) 174g, (3) 175g

DSC035885 OG Voodoo–(1) 173g, (3) 174g, (1) 175g

DSC035953 OG Warlock–(2) 170g, (1) 171g

DSC035962 OG Warlock 170g

DSC03583OG Magic 175g (GONE!)

DSC035824 OG Magic (2) 173g, (1) 174g, (1) 175g

DSC035852 OG Wizard 175g

DSC03586OG Wizard 175g

DSC03587OG Wizard 175g

DSC035845 SSS Wizard 175g

DSC035925 RFF Wizard 172g

DSC03593Eraser Wizard 175g

DSC035944 Eraser Wizard 175g

DSC035915 (4 LEFT!) SB Wizard 175g

DSC035905 SB Wizard 175g

Again, thank you Discmania, Dynamic Discs, Gateway, Innova, and MVP for your very generous donations to this giveaway! So this is how the giveaway will work! We will contact winners and they will be able to select one big prize (Basket or Bag) or any combination of 5 discs.

If you participated in the survey, watch your email inbox over the next few days to see if you have been selected as a winner!

2015 State of Disc Golf: Manufacturer’s Overview

The results are in, and once again this series of blogs will examine the numbers, the changes, and the interesting aspects of our opinions about disc golf. We sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to share a little bit about yourself so that we can get a better picture of the disc golf community.

We will begin by looking at the brands we like and the changes from the last survey.

 

Our BFF!

With the certainty of Paul McBeth sinking a 10-meter putt, Innova dominated the category of ‘Favorite Brand’ again this year. Last year they not only led the category, they also had an increase in percentage of respondents from the previous year. This year’s survey showed a little different picture. The undisputed champion (pardon the pun) of the disc golf world slipped a little bit, dropping from 48% to 43%. But, that’s still higher than the 2013 survey (38%). The next few positions experienced a few changes, but not big numbers. Discraft dropped from second place at 12% last year, to fourth this year at just under 10%. Dynamic Discs gained some ground, going from fourth last year with 6%, to second this year at nearly 12%. In third place, Latitude held steady at 10%.

When taken as a whole, the three members of the Trilogy brand (Westside, Latitude 64, and Dynamic Discs) were the favorite of 26% of respondents.

It is interesting to note that nearly a third of us changed our favorite brand from last year. With that much change, there is potential for some big swings in numbers. Yet, other than Dynamic Discs’ 6% increase, none of the changes were drastic.

Favorite Brand

 

 

Fav Brand Change

 

Just Can’t Wait!

Although it is interesting to explore our favorite brands, there are other statistics in the survey that give a clearer picture of which brands are important to us. For example, the question “From which brand do you most look forward to new releases” showed a lot more even distribution of votes across manufacturers. According to the survey, 22.5% of us look forward to new releases from Innova. They are still number one in this category, but that is nearly half the number of respondents that chose Innova as their favorite brand. The second-most anticipated release is from Dynamic Discs at 15.3%, and rounding out the top three is Latitude 64 with 11.9%. Incidentally, nearly 12% of us don’t really look forward to new releases.

Anticipated Release

 

Innova-tion

Is Innova going to lead every poll category? Nope. For the question, “Which brand is the most innovative?” MVP edged out Innova for the lead spot, 23.2% to 22.6%. MVP gained in percentage about what Innova lost. The two companies have been trading positions for the last few years. The third and fourth positions were held by Dynamic Discs and Latitude 64.

Innoative

 

Respect

Innova isn’t just dominating nearly every poll category, they are garnering respect from more than their die-hard fans. In the category asking which manufacturer has the best reputation, Innova took a huge lead over second place, getting 58.2% of the votes. The next closest was Dynamic at 12.9%. Perhaps people know how long Innova has been involved in the sport. Maybe it’s their sponsorship of so many events. Maybe it is the fact that they sponsor the four-time world champion, and other world-class disc golfers. It could even be their thorough selection of discs. This does not seem to be the type of category that would be inflated because of Innova’s wide and varied distribution channels. It just appears to be a nod to an old, established company. Whatever the reason, the number of respondents who voted for them far exceeds the number that chose Innova as their favorite brand. That’s pretty impressive.

Reputation

 

One-brand Warriors

Similar to last year, about 6% of us have only one brand in our bags. Most of us are happy to throw discs from a variety of manufacturers, but these loyalist only throw a single brand. Innova aficionados make up 54% of the single-brand supporters. Discraft devotees come in second at 14%, and Prodigy proponents come in third with 8%. The survey didn’t ask for how many of each brand people had in their bags, so there could be a good percent of us who could be close to having a one-brand bag. However, most disc golfers love to experiment with brands, discs, and plastics (or rubber!).

Single Brand

 

What are you throwin’?

Now it’s time to turn away from how we feel about certain brands and turn to one of the most interesting and telling indicators of what manufacturers we like: what discs are in our bag. As I mentioned before, indicating which brand is our favorite, or which disc company is most revered, does not paint a clear picture of what we huck. So, let’s take a peek inside the bags of the thousands of people who responded. Spoiler alert: Innova won this category, too.

It won’t come as a shock to anyone that most of us have at least one Innova disc in our bag. Again, they are one of the oldest manufacturers, host the widest selection of discs, can be found in a bigger variety of stores, etc. Over 83% of us are carrying around at least one Innova. That number is down ever so slightly from 86.8% last year. That is not a huge decrease, but it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the disc giant.

The second-most common disc manufacturer in our bags is Discraft, with 62.8% of us toting around the brand. Last year 69.2% of us carried Discraft, which is a lot bigger year-to-year drop than Innova. Whose discs are poaching the bag space from these two giants? The members of the Trilogy are. Latitude 64, Dynamic Discs, and Westside, in that order. Latitude 64 went from 42.3% last year, to 49.6% this year. Dynamic Discs experienced a bigger gain, shooting from 35.3% to this year’s 48.6%. Westside also experienced a large increase in fans, moving from seventh place at 26.1% last year, to fifth place at 36.5 in this year’s survey.

Brands in Bag

 

The Winner?

As we’ve seen in the past couple years of conducting the survey, the numbers among the top companies ebb and flow. The growth of the sport creates opportunities for smaller disc companies to stake out their position in the world, and try to create a few more chinks in the armor of the big boys. Newer golfers may be more willing to try different brands, perhaps even with an attitude of rebellion against the “establishment” of older companies. Although the market will prevent too many new competitors from emerging, several existing companies are making headway into what was formerly the domain of Innova and Discraft. Whether newer companies can overtake the top brands remains to be seen, there are a couple of factors that I assert will affect the chances of growth for smaller companies:

  • Becoming the discs that beginners start with. Most of us have a soft spot in our hearts for our first discs. I suspect they affected our buying habits for a long time. By actively introducing new players into the sport, manufacturers stand the chance of becoming their go-to brand.
  • Find the plastic/mold that becomes popular. Okay, it is a lot more difficult to find the next hot model than just releasing a bunch of new discs. But, by continuing to experiment with new materials and molds, the chances of hitting a popular disc goes up.
  • Sponsorship certainly helps keep their brand in people’s minds. Especially if you get lucky and sponsor a world champion.

It is fun and interesting to look at how we view the companies in the disc golf world. Although we can only speculate as to what is driving some of the numbers, it is still interesting to look at data from the survey and see what is the most current snapshot of our preferences in brands. In the next few blogs we’ll continue to look at who we are and what we like.

 

 

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