Disc golf: This one thing determines the manufacturer you’ll throw most

By: Lucas Miller

For disc golfers, there are lots of factors that go into bag-building.

Right off the top of my head, here are a few of ‘em …

Oftentimes, the frisbees you find make their way into the rotation. There’s a good chance the guys you play with, as well as their discs, influence what you carry with you on the course. Near everything’s available online, but what’s easiest to find and affordably replace could play a role.

There’s the obvious stuff, too:

  • Strategy.
  • Arm speed.
  • In-hand feel.

But what about the manufacturer you favor most?

Here’s something you might NOT have considered …

Language.

DGPT: Corey Ellis

In case you haven’t noticed, I speak Innova.

I was raised on the stuff.

I’m fluent in it.

The Champion Beast I found as my first disc was Innova. The DX starter set my buddy gave me for my birthday a few weeks later was Innova. The grid-stamp Classic Aviar Wal-Mart sold me was Innova. And circa 2005, the HobbyTown USA in Tulsa, Okla. sold nothing but Innova.

Because I know Innova, I write about Innova. And even when I’m not writing about Innova, I compare other discs to Innova. And wouldn’t you know it, two decades later, my bag is Innova.

Simon Lizotte got his start with Innova, too.

On camera, watch him – an MVP-sponsored Pro, mind you – describe how a Terra flies …

If you don’t care to click through, here’s the description he gives:

“It’s kind of like an overstable Teebird, I think.”

No, it wouldn’t be a perfect comparison, but he could’ve easily compared the flight of a Terra to that of a Volt or Crave. Even the Mint Alpha would’ve worked, which MVP manufactures.

But he didn’t …

He went Teebird.

Serving as a starting point, my brain thinks in terms of Aviars, Rocs, Leopards, Teebirds, Firebirds, Wraiths and Destroyers. From there, within the Innova lineup, I fill in the gaps.

The good news?

My skills are improving.

DGPT: Austin Hannum

Paul McBeth forced my fluency in Discraft. Years back, an interest in the Disc Golf Answer Man podcast made me conversational in Trilogy. And it’s taken some time, but I’m getting there with a number of other brands: MVP, Prodigy, Discmania and Lone Star Disc, to name a handful.

The bottom line is this:

  1. You throw what you know.
  2. You rarely venture far from it.

Interested in learning a new “disc” language?

Do it.

In today’s game, though, monolingualism is more than enough.

Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.

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Photo of author

Lucas Miller

Lucas Miller is the founder and editor-in-chief of Green Splatter. When he’s not out tossing a Champion Rhyno in his native Utah, he’s watching true-crime documentaries with his wife, wrestling his twin boys and praying the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rebuild passes quickly.

12 thoughts on “Disc golf: This one thing determines the manufacturer you’ll throw most”

  1. For my money Innova is the best across the board. Most other companies are simply copying them anyway so why not just get the original. Obviously brands such as Kastaplast MVP and discraft have their own unique designs but for me all of the Innova discs outperform everything else that I try. I have hundreds of discs and have tried most of what’s out there and always come back to the Innova equivalent. As a side note they also have some of the best names for the discs. There is no way I’m going to throw a fudge or a popcorn

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  2. Have a mostly innova bag. Always cracks me up when I pull out a Ra or Aztec from Infinite and people say “it looks like you are branching out from Innova”

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  3. Only throw innova. Feel that flight numbers between manufacturers are not consistent and i don’t have the time or money to compare all the different 12 speed drivers to see what really works for me. Also…It’s so much easier to compare apples to apples when you are walking into a shot trying to decide which disc to pull. And i can’t memorize every plastic that exists! Another Also, Rancho Cuc is a short drive so love supporting locals.

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  4. Since my Innova premium starter set two years ago, most of my bag has been Innova, but after a while, I decided that I didn’t like how deep the GStar Aviar rim was, so went to my local disc shop and ended up with a couple Wardens (now I have bag a couple Handeye Wardens and a bunch more in my practice basket). Then I volunteered for a tournament and got a tourney stamped Zone out of it, which was my workhorse for a long time. I still bag it, but I’m now REALLY liking the K1 Soft Berg that I picked up at one of our local disc golf swap meets. And the disc that I’ve noticed is getting a lot of use for me off the tee these days is a Zen (Essence), picked up from a previous swap meet.

    But it’s true that it’s easier to stick with one manufacturer, because with all the combinations of manufacturers/plastics/molds/etc, it can be borderline overwhelming to branch out! Also, as someone else said, many of the non-Innova discs I’ve thrown don’t seem to fly as well for me (eg: glow Insanity), but I’ll keep trying them 🥏⛓

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    • Thanks for the insights, B-Rad!

      Pushing an article live tomorrow that can help with this “branching out.”

      Stay tuned …

      Reply

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