We’re going to start taking the opportunity to focus on specific discs in specific plastic types on Fridays and call them “FOCUS FRIDAY” blogs. We may not get every week, but we’ll try to keep some fresh discs in the spotlight on a somewhat regular basis.
Our first Focus Friday feature will be on the C-Blend TOMB.
The TOMB has risen in the ranks of Infinite Disc brand best-sellers as it has garnered attention as a superb approach disc. We’ve found that more players, particularly among the Team Infinite roster, use the Tomb to drive or approach the basket in lieu of a traditional mid-range disc. That has appeared to be a trend in disc golf where smaller diameter, putter-sized discs are used instead of the larger diameter mid-range discs (think of the Discraft Zone, Westside Harp, Hyzerbomb Mortar, Innova Pig, etc.). The Tomb has joined those ranks for straight, precision approach shots. It flies surprisingly straight with minimal fade and with it’s low profile and flat top, it feels comfortable for longer throws.
The C-Blend (comparable to Innova Champion plastic) is a more durable plastic that fits perfectly into that role, able to take some abuse and keep its flight characteristics for the long-term. While we have seen it used for putting, the plastic’s texture lends itself even better to mid-range use.
Here is an old review video for the TOMB in general, so you can see it in action:
Give the C-Blend Tomb a try as a straight-flying mid-range option, especially when you need to thread the needle on tight fairways. We think you’ll love it!
USE THIS PROMO CODE ON THE INFINITE DISCS WEBSITE FOR 20% OFF the C-BLEND TOMB (offer good through Friday, the 11th of October)
FOCUS-C-TOMB
NOTE: promo and discount codes are used on the “shopping cart” page, before you click to checkout
Have you thrown the Tomb? Which plastic do you like best? What discs would you like to see featured in a future Focus Friday? Feel free to comment below!
Infinite Discs launched a line of discs in early 2018 in partnership with Innova Champion Discs. Since then, several molds have been introduced into the market. While some are very new and haven’t had as much time to earn a reputation or build sales momentum, a few are starting to stand out as favorites.
Here is a look at the top 10 best-sellers for the Infinite Discs brand so far…
It is probably no surprise that the Pharaoh has more than doubled the sales of any of the other disc models so far. It has been a popular distance driver and each run has had its own profile and flight characteristics, which makes it a fun disc to fill a bag for a multitude of uses. You can see a Pharaoh Run Comparison Log HERE:
The Exodus comes in 2nd place as a great fairway driver for players of all levels. It handles torque well and can be powered for long distances even with it’s smaller rim configuration. You can see a log of the Exodus Runs HERE:
In terms of momentum, the Sphinx is on a fast trajectory to catch the Exodus as it has become a fun favorite for new players who want a driver that is easier to keep straight, or for experienced players who love it for hyzer-flips and anhyzer lines. The Metal Flake Glow C-Blend edition Sphinx ended up quite a bit more stable than the I-Blend, earning it a spot even in the bags of power throwers who love to flip it out for impressive distances.
The Tomb is also a disc that has gained momentum since its release. It has become best known as an approach disc or small-diameter alternative to traditional mid-range discs. There are some players who have reported using it as a traditional putter, but with its flat top and low profile, it seems to have gained favor as a throwing putter in the premium plastic blends like S-Blend, I-Blend, and C-Blend. It can be laced down very narrow fairways with pin-point accuracy.
The Slab comes in 5th as a total utility distance driver. It is very overstable with a very flat top. It recently has gained a little bit of attention in the Jeremy Koling signature edition in “Concrete Plastic” which is a mix of metal flake and luster C-Blend.
Some of the newer models are yet to catch up with the 2018 releases, but the Emperor is starting to make a move as a more overstable distance driver than the Pharaoh. It is comparable to the popular Innova Destroyer. It will be fun to see what else catches on!
Leave a comment with your favorite Infinite Discs mold and tell us why!
Here at Infinite Discs, we love looking at statistics. The numbers always help tell a story of how the disc golf market is moving, at least when it comes to measuring how our own customers are responding to new discs or different brands. This week we thought it would be a lot of fun to make a video chart which shows actual movement of those trends through time.
Hot Distance Drivers
We know that distance drivers are considered the sports car of the disc golfer’s bag. It is one of the discs that almost every player feels defines them, their abilities, or their play style. It is one of those discs that players often swap when they feel like they need to revolutionize their game, so new distance drivers tend to get a lot of sales movement when they are first released.
That is why we thought it would be fun to track the movement of some popular, established distance drivers side-by-side with new distance drivers as they entered the market during the past 11 months. The ten distance drivers that we decided to track include some new ones that only came out in 2020, but we wanted to see how much attention they might have pulled away from the more established discs. These are the distance drivers we chose to track:
Destroyer (always a hot seller) Wraith (another popular Innova seller) Shryke (a somewhat newer driver by Innova) Photon (a top-selling MVP driver) DD3 (the new 2020 driver by Discmania) Raider (the new 2020 driver by Dynamic Discs) Trespass (a popular driver by Dynamic Discs before the Raider) Pharaoh (a relatively new driver by Infinite Discs) Force (an old driver by Discraft which became a McBeth signature disc in 2020) Zeus (the first distance driver in McBeth’s own disc line)
This particular selection of discs lets us measure how Paul McBeth affected the market when moving from Innova to Discraft as his brand sponsor in 2020, how new discs affected other brands, how they compared to discs of their own brand (like the Raider vs the Trespass), how market hype can play into sales, and how availability may stifle the momentum of a new release.
The Percentage Animated Graph
This first animated graph is designed to show which disc was grabbing the larger percentage of the market through the movement of time from October 2018 through August 2019. That means that we take the total sales of these 10 distance drivers, add those sales together, and compare the percentages of that total that each one grabbed.
For example, the Destroyer may have been holding 40% of the total sum of sales for those 10 discs for a couple of months, but then a new driver comes out and grabs 40% of the total sales that particular week. That would make the Destroyer percentage drop, even though it may still be selling the same quantity as the previous months, simply because there is only 100% available for those 10 discs to share. This chart helps us to see which discs were grabbing attention at any given moment. The time line will appear at the bottom of the chart.
For your viewing pleasure, here is that October 2018 – August 2019 animated chart (click the play button to activate the graph):
You’ll notice that as the new 2020 discs entered the market, they grabbed a percentage of the sales for a moment, but sometimes didn’t keep that momentum, either because of limited availability or the hype didn’t last. For example, availability of both the DD3 and the Raider was fairly limited when they were first released and it took a little time for regular stock releases to give them a boost.
The Zeus went through huge spikes depending upon availability and the releases of the prototype (originally called the Kong), the first run, and ending with the August release of the limited edition Big Z Zeus– thus the spike at the end of the video when it grabbed a huge percentage of total sales.
You’ll also noticed that the Destroyer sales moved up as Paul McBeth announced his change of sponsors, while players and collectors grabbed his old signature edition before the end of 2019. It got another boost with the new Wysocki edition.
The Force sales at Discraft started to rise based on speculation about what he would throw, and then the announcement came of the Force as a McBeth signature disc. But then the Force died down as the attention turned to the Zeus, which as a disc in Paul’s own line, was grabbing more attention than the Force.
The Race – Total Sales Animated Graph
Now for a look at a chart that takes less explanation. This is very straight-forward. We totaled the sales through time, adding to the total with new sales from October 2018 through August 2019. This allows us to watch the total sales for that period like a race where the disc that sells the most by the end is the winner.
So, rather than comparing percentage of sales, we’re just adding sales for each separate disc. Will the slow-but-steady disc end up selling most in the end? Or will the spikes on new releases help boost the newcomers to the winning position?
For your viewing pleasure, here is that October 2018 – August 2019 animated race (click the play button to activate the graph):
It’s pretty obvious that the steady sales of the Destroyer kept it far enough ahead that even the spikes on new releases, including the Zeus, could not boost those newcomers to the lead. The Zeus finished in 2nd place, getting enough large spikes to push its totals up, but not high enough to take the win. The Wraith, even with it’s slow and steady sales, gave it the 3rd place title, with the Infinite Discs Pharaoh following closely behind.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed these animated charts. Watch them over and over and see what kind of analysis you can offer in the comments below.
Welcome to another statistics blog! These are some of my favorite blogs to write and look at, since we can see some fun data about the sport we’ve grown to love! Today we’re going to be looking at some of the top discs, specifically the Top 100 Discs from the first half of 2019.
Disclaimer – This data is all from InfiniteDiscs.com, the biggest online retailer. This data is from discs sold this year- hundreds of orders shipped per day to all across the country and world.
First off, we notice that the Destroyer is still clenching the #1 spot, even after McBeth’s switch to Discraft. The Zeus and Luna, however are making a run for the top. They come in at 4th and 5th place respectively. The Anax was released shortly after the first half of the year, so it didn’t quite make it to the chart.
Innova appears more than 30 times on the chart, while Discraft is just under 20. Last year, this was definitely a different story; Discraft has grown a lot this year.
In the second year of having our own line of discs (produced by Innova), we have 5 discs on the chart. One of them, the Pharaoh, makes the #9 spot. The Pharaoh has definitely been our hottest mold. This is a little biased, however, because currently the only place to get our line up is from our own website. We will wholesale our own line later this year.
Discmania & MVP both have nine entries on this list. These are two awesome disc golf companies that have been exploding in popularity recently! Axiom has the Envy at #11, and Discmania has the P2 at #3 and the FD at #13.
Honorable Mentions
The Pig snags the #46 spot, largely due to Ricky Wysocki putting in his new Innova bag this year. People have started to take notice of his silky smooth pig throws!
The Orc has the #33 spot, due to an influx of some really cool Pre-Flight number Orcs that we’ve come across. People say these are the best of the Orcs, so check them out!
Kastaplast has two entries on the top 100, the Reko (#60) and the Berg (#63). Kastaplast has been putting out some really unique feeling plastic and people are loving them! The Berg and Reko are some awesome putt & approach discs worth looking into.
The MINT DiscsAlpha barely snuck onto the chart at the #98 spot. MINT Discs is an up and coming company with two very good molds, the Alpha and the Bobcat. MINT has it’s fan club set in stone, with popularity growing!
Let’s Discuss!
Let us know how many discs you throw from the top 100!
Next, we’ll do a top 100 for the entire year of 2019. Which discs do you think will make the chart? The Anax?
Which brands do you think will grow more this year and next?
The day is almost here! The Prototype Anax & First Run Zeus release Friday, July 12 at midnight eastern time. You can find the Anax here and the Zeus here at that exact time! They come in beautiful colors and many have great swirls in them. The ESP plastic feels very good!
The Anax (pronounced “Onyx” according to Discraft) is Paul McBeth’s newest signature driver. It’s a few notches slower than the Zeus, coming in at a speed 10. Beginners may find this disc to be overstable, but more advanced players will find the Anax goes straight for a long time, maximizing it’s 6 glide rating to the fullest before fading out at the end of the flight. We made a quick video review about the Anax:
Formerly known as the Kong, the Zeus is Paul McBeth’s go-to signature distance driver.
This is an overstable distance driver, similar to a Destroyer in flight. Previously, we’ve only had access to Prototype Zeus/Kongs. Now, this release presents to us the First Run edition of the Zeus.
Be sure to pick yours up tonight at midnight eastern!
During the 2019 State of Disc Golf Survey, we asked players about their average throwing distance on drives. When looking at the overall field of players that responded to the survey, here are the percentages that claimed specific distance abilities:
You’ll notice that the largest percentage of overall players claimed a distance between 301 and 350 feet maximum. That distance represents almost 31% of players. The next largest percentage claims a distance between 251 and 300 feet, at almost 27% of those surveyed. Close behind that is the 351 to 400 foot range at 22%.
That means that if you add together those three categories with a distance from 251 – 400 feet, that covers the vast majority of players while much smaller groups claim 400+ feet. Only 2.1% of those surveyed claimed to be able to through 451 to 500 feet and a minor sliver of .5% claimed a distance of over 500 feet.
DISTANCE VS AGE
We thought it would be fun to take a look at the results broken down by age groups. So here is a very chart-heavy report, but we hope that you enjoy seeing how age influences distance. As you scroll through the age breakdowns, you’ll notice that the middle ages have a much higher number of survey participants, but the averages stay pretty close…
AGE 12 – 17
AGE 18 – 21
AGE 22 – 25
AGE 26 – 29
AGE 30 – 35
AGE 36 – 40
AGE 41 – 50
AGE 51 – 60
AGE 61 – 70
AGE 71 +
Only when you start to hit the charts for 61-70 and the 71+ age groups do the distance abilities begin a dramatic drop-off, landing more of those older players in a range under 300 feet.
DISTANCE VS ELEVATION
Now, for a little something you’ve never considered, we have a breakdown of the claimed distances from survey participants versus the elevation of the states in the USA where those players are from. Did you ever wonder how much elevation figures into distance? While higher elevations often make disc flight paths more overstable (and the reverse for lower elevations), the abilities to throw further seems to favor those who live at higher elevations.
This chart, provided by Lucid Software’s analysis team, can be a little bit hard to decipher, but it basically takes the average elevation of all the survey participants that answered for each distance. You can see that the further the distance (shown at the bottom of each bar) the darker the bar becomes, with the darker bars representing higher elevations. The average elevation is shown above each bar.
The black box feature’s Lucid Software’s bullet points (or take-aways) stating that distance data seems consistent with other sports, like baseball, and that disc golf course designers in higher elevations might consider longer hole distances. Of course, we can take or leave that advice, but the data seems clear regarding distance versus elevation of where players live.
However, here is a thought– it could be that the courses are very different at lower elevations where wooded courses are more predominant. In those lower elevation, wooded courses, players need to play with precision as their focus, rather than distance. After all, if playing in the woods, there is little need for power throws due to low ceilings and obstacles. However, at higher elevations, the trees may be less predominant on courses, making distance more of a factor. You either throw far across open fairways, or bomb high throws over the tops of the few trees on the course.
What do you think is the cause for this distance disparity when it comes to altitude? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and thanks again to all of the thousands of players who participated in the survey.
When Infinite Discs first launched our own disc brand with manufacturing by Innova, we wanted to make sure that each run had its own identification. We’re aware that different runs of the same mold in different plastics and at different times can have slight variations. Because of that, we figured that players who fell in love with certain runs or who sought specific characteristics would appreciate a way to know which one they have, which one they want, etc.
When we create a stock stamp, that run number and the run quantity (number of discs in the run) is displayed on the stamp at the bottom. With some of the limited editions and signature editions, the run number and quantity is not necessarily described on the stamp. But we still want you to know what you’re getting.
Here is a quick run-down of the runs that have been produced and ordered for the Pharaoh and the Emperor as of May 2019, for your reference:
THE PHARAOH
PROTOTYPE: Swirly S-Blend
Quantity 224
This run came out flat with a moderate fade.
RUN 1:
Swirly S-Blend
Quantity 800
This run came out relatively flat with a moderate fade. A few of these were released in Garrett Gurthie signature edition.
RUN 2:
Swirly S-Blend
Quantity 1100 (plus 88 “Test Run” stamp)
This run had more dome on the flight plate than the first run and slightly less fade for some players. Some of these were released in Garrett Gurthie signature edition with a new stamp.
RUN 3:
I-Blend
Quantity 1100 (plus 120 “Test Run” stamp)
This run was again quite flat, but more understable than any of the S-Blend runs.
RUN 4:
Metal Flake Glow C-Blend
Quantity 1000 (plus 79 “Test Run” stamp)
This run turned out very domey with a lot of glide and more overstable than the other runs. This run featured an XXL Alien Pharaoh stamp and also a bottom stamp.
RUN 5:
Swirly S-Blend
Quantity 1203
This run is once again flat, like the first run, with more color variety.
THE EMPEROR
RUN 1:
I-Blend
Quantity 850 (plus 27 “Test Run” stamp)
This run was the introductory run and had an early release with a unique stamp at the 2019 Las Vegas Challenge tournament. The X-Outs were released on the Ides of March as a teaser, with stock stamp following. This is a more understable run, though it still has plenty of fade for average players.
RUN 2:
Splatter S-Blend
Quantity 900 (plus 133 “Test Run” stamp)
This run turned out much more overstable than the first run and was made to release primarily as a David Feldberg signature edition disc for 2019.
RUN 3:
Metal Flake Glow C-Blend
Quantity 900 (plus 41 “Test Run” stamp)
This run has a nice fade that is slightly less than Run 2, but more than Run 1. It is released with an XXL Alien and also has a Garrett Gurthie signature edition stamp.
Infinite Discs is happy to present another Top 20 Tuesday chart, looking back at the discs that sold the most during the last week. We break these charts down by plastics as well so you can see which plastic types are most popular for each disc. New discs will often spike in the chart as other top sellers shuffle position. It can be fun to see which discs keep up the pace.
We saw a more “settled” chart during the last week as the Discraft KONG and LUNA vanished completely due to the fact that they completely sold out at Infinite Discs the week before. Now that we’re restocked, you can expect those to be right back in the chart next week. So, the Star DESTROYER went back to number one, which is a familiar location for that disc. The Signature ESP Buzzz (McBeth edition) held a strong 2nd place with the new Colored Glow FD2 coming in a strong 3rd.
Other popular discs on the chart were the new Star CORVETTE, the Z RAPTOR (still holding on as a new release), the Origion Burst MAIDEN which has been a hot new putter for Westside Discs, and the new GATEKEEPER. Other regulars came back on the chart, like the Star Wraith, Champion Firebird, etc.
Here is how the brands stacked up this last week in terms of number of times that they appeared on the chart:
–> Each week we’ll invite you to leave a prediction for a certain chart position on next week’s TOP TWENTY TUESDAY report. The person to predict that chart position correctly in the comments will win a $10 gift card for the Infinite Discs website.
WINNER – The #6 spot this week was the Star Wraith, making a strong comeback as a popular seller when it comes to drivers. Nobody picked the Star Wraith to quietly come back to the #6 spot, so nobody takes the gift card this week. But give this coming week a try!
GIFT CARD PREDICTION FOR NEXT WEEK: Leave your comment below this blog to predict the #4 spot for next week’s chart.
The Anax (pronounced “Onyx” according to Discraft) is Paul McBeth’s newest signature driver. It’s a few notches slower than the Zeus, coming in at a speed 10. Beginners may find this disc to be overstable, but more advanced players will find the Anax goes straight for a long time, maximizing it’s 6 glide rating to the fullest before fading out at the end of the flight. We made a quick video review about the Anax:
