The 5 most lost (and found) discs in disc golf

When I first started playing disc golf, I actively hunted for lost discs – they were freebies to add to my growing collection. As time wore on, and I figured out what worked best for my game, though, I couldn’t have cared less about finding somebody else’s beaten, misplaced plastic.

That’s where I’m at today.

Still, in the 15-plus years I’ve enjoyed the sport, I’ve noticed a pattern emerge …

For as many quality manufacturers as there are out there, the “Innova” name is most often found on the flight plates of lost frisbees. I don’t care where you live or the brand of disc that’s most popular in your area, Dave Dunipace’s fingerprints are all over your hometown courses.

But not just ANY Innova discs …

These five are the ones you’ll see most:

1. The DX Beast

The Champion Beast was my first-ever disc …

I found it. I threw it. I loved it.

In spite of my terrible form, it was the first frisbee I was able to get an S-turn out of – and it was effortless. Why so many of the mold’s DX frisbees are aimlessly abandoned on courses all across the United States is anybody’s best guess. Further adding to the mystery, they’re not in most Innova Starter Sets. People go out of their way to buy ‘em, throw ‘em and lose ‘em …

I have no idea why.

2. The DX Shark

Unlike the Beast, the DX Shark IS a staple of Innova’s beginner-friendly offering.

So there’s not much intrigue with this one:

• Newbies go with a package deal to get started.
• They launch their only midrange in the wrong direction.
• After 15 minutes of looking, they give up on the whole thing.

Pickleball is more their jam, anyway.

Also, quick side note: The Shark is a better midrange than the Mako3 – and by a sizable margin. Don’t get me wrong – the Mako3 is a fine disc. But a slower-flying midrange with a touch more overstability, in my experience, the Shark (or Shark3) is the more workable of the two mids.

More people should throw them …

And lose them.

3. The DX Valkyrie

There are two types of Innova fanboys in this world:

• Type No. 1 – Those who are right and swear by the Beast.
• Type No. 2 – Those who are wrong and swear by the Valkyrie.

You can tell which camp I’m in.

It’s my belief the DX Valkyrie is lost so frequently due to Valkyrie-throwers being the more vocal of the two groups on social media and in online disc golf forums – they’re relentless.

If you’re newly hooked on disc golf and are looking to “feel yourself” a bit more out on the course, the overnight distance a DX Valkyrie provides will prove tempting. Especially if you’ve spent an hour reading about the wonders of the disc from a bunch of low, five-digit PDGA peeps.

There’s bonafide greenhorn distance in the Valkyrie …

Squirrely, though, it’ll run and hide – and frequently.

4. The DX Leopard

They’re everywhere …

And I mean it – EVERYWHERE.

Re-read the section on the DX Shark in this article. Only, every time “DX Shark” appears, substitute “DX Leopard” in its place. As long as you skip over the final part on the Mako3, you’ve about got the gist of why this thing goes AWOL on the reg – more starter-set issues.

Great disc, though.

5. The Blizzard Boss

Sick of the DX stuff?

The Blizzard Boss has your back.

There aren’t many guys who love Innova more than I do, but there isn’t a worse-feeling mold in all of disc golf than the Boss. The rim’s made for Hulk hands – and I’m big into wide-rimmed discs. Adding insult to injury, Blizzard plastic is tissue paper near an air-conditioned home.

If you’re thinking the Blizzard Boss is going to do for you what it does for David Wiggins Jr. in a Nevada desert with a crazy tailwind, you’d be better off opting for the Blizzard Katana. Oddly enough, if I expanded this list to six items, the aforementioned Katana would occupy that slot.

Should she flip on you …

“Hasta la vista, baby.”

* Honorable Mention: When you find a Champion Groove, leave it – all real disc golfers do.

What have I learned from all this?

Rancho Cucamonga might be onto something with the trimming down of Team Innova …

Seriously, I didn’t set out to create an all-Innova list for this post. I jotted down the discs that immediately came to mind. Then, I compared them to the molds talked about online. And wouldn’t you know it, all across the board, “Innova” was the name that kept coming up.

Paul McBeth left. Ricky Wysocki bounced. And the minute any above-average disc golfer comes pounding on a higher-up’s door demanding a sweeter deal, Innova simply shows him (or her) the door. Given the amount of inventory they CLEARLY continue to move, why would they stop?

Innova is everywhere …

Lost discs don’t lie.

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

Editor’s Suggestions:

• Gripe No. 13: Disc golfers not yelling ‘fore’
• Innova: Take a look at the 2023 Star Destroyer
• Disc golf: When to switch out your putting putter

Real quick, if you happen to buy something through a link in this article, there’s a chance we’ll get a small share of the sale. It’s how we keep the lights on. To learn more, click here.