Having a 'Go To Disc'

It was great to hear some of the feedback I received from my 'In The Bag' video I posted recently. My buddy, Chris Tellesbo, mentioned that he could see that I cared about a lot of the discs I was throwing, as if I had a connection with a disc. I never thought about it like that, but it was completely true. I enjoy pulling out a disc from my bag and having complete and total confidence in what the disc is capable of doing. This has been tested quite a bit recently having lost quite a bit of quality plastic. Whether it has been a perfectly seasoned disc or a specific run of a disc. I have been forced to break in a number of discs quickly and efficiently. I am putting in countless reps with certain discs to make sure I have the best feeling before I decide to bag them for a round. This is where putting in a lot of field work has been crucial. I am getting to the point where all I want to do is work on field work, fine tune my mechanics and fixing anything that feels wrong. I have worked myself into having a good conservative run up when I need to be more focused and am picking a landing area and I can still get aggressive when I have room to work and need a little bit extra behind the disc. All of this has been from throwing brand new discs and getting comfortable again. I am now getting to the feeling that I want to get away from having a 'Go To Disc' and really want to be able to trust whatever is in my hands as long as I have an idea how it will fly. This turns me to relying more on my own capabilities and skill set rather than trusting a disc to do something specific. Granted I still have a 'Go To Disc' in my bag whenever I feel uncertain or worried I can trust pulling out my beat in D-Line P2. My favorite thing to do is take on longer holes and only throw my P2 just to see how it would differ. In doing this it allows me to tackle a hole with a more cautious approach and can always resort to playing smart. Plus who doesn't like attacking a 1000ft par 5 with only a putter?

I have a few tournaments coming up and am just super pumped to be out and playing. My PutterPants competition was great because it showed me that a lot of people care about having fun playing and enjoy being on the course. Getting back to the foundation of why we all play is great.

Thanks for reading. Keep those #putterpants on and have the #mostfun. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VQV8jTl5Q
Enjoy

Discmania FD Review and a PutterPants Giveaway!

S-Line FD, Yellow 2nd Run FD, Pink 3rd Run FD, Glow FD

So this week I am going to just jam you guys up with an in depth review of my favorite disc, the Discmania FD. I want this to be as informative as possible. I will cover multiple plastics, but keep in mind I have only thrown C-Line and S-Line so that is where my focus will stay. I will also talk about some of the different runs of C-Line plastics, but also this is an area I only have most of my work with 2nd, 3rd and Glow run. With all of that out of the way I will do my best to inform you guys the best I can so you can hopefully go out and pick up one yourself and enjoy the best fairway on the market. Read all the way to the end and I will give you a little insight about the #PUTTERPANTS Giveaway that should be going live at the end of this weekend.

I will begin with the S-Line FD or the Jackal. This was the first Discmania disc I bought about 4-5 years ago along with a D-Line P2 and even now still has a place in my bag. The S-Line FD has an incredible amount of glide out of the box and a very neutral flight. There are a lot of benefits to this disc. It is not only a top disc for beginners to get extra controlled distance when starting out but has the versatility for the top level pros to use them as turnover fairways and even rollers. In most cases I will pull mine out when I either need to throw a roller or a big turnover. The S-Line FD has a very comfortable rim that should have a good feeling in most players hands. The S-Line plastic tends to be a bit more flexible allowing for a solid grip in all conditions. Something to keep in mind when considering the S-Line FD is that it will not be a wind fighter but where you can see this disc shine is in calm conditions to a tailwind. No matter what kind of course you are playing, from a tight wooded course to a open range course, you will find plenty of instances of where you can use this disc. This is a disc I will suggest to players of all ages and skill level. The S-Line is much more beginner friendly than the C-Line. Something to note about the S-Line FD is most of  the runs have stayed very consistent so you can trust what you get. It's the biggest reason why Discmania is pushing the level of the game is not only giving you consistent molds but if there is any change the will give you much needed insight on what has changed and how the disc will fly. So if you are looking for a long neutral disc that will get better with age and become a great turnover/roller disc that can tackle any course, I highly suggest picking up an S-Line FD.

As I was writing this post the Discmania store released the 5th Run Firm Jolly Launcher FD which I have yet to test out, but I do intend on snagging a few up and really testing them out. With the C-Line FD you have to understand that there are different runs that will offer you different flight characteristics. Like I said about Discmania they will have incredible consistency in whichever run but if its different by the next run, all of the information you need about how it might be different is offered so you have a better understanding of what you are getting. When it comes to C-Line FDs I have the most work with the 2nd, 3rd and Glow run versions. I did not have a good chance to test out the First Runs as much. I had one but decided to ship it off to my buddy Aron, seemed like a good home for the disc. I will lead in with the 2nd run. These are the most stable run of the FD, they tend to be very stiff and very flat. If your FD is stiff and flat, check the rim for bubbles, if you see bubbles then you have a 2nd run FD.

Bubbles in the rim.

For how stable these are they still have a great amount of glide and can bomb like any other FD, but at the tail end of the flight you will see this disc work harder and finish left. This disc gets pulled out in situations for longer glidey hyzer shots, pumped straight shots, and just about any other fairway shot. With the stability this disc has it reminds me of a glidey beat in Firebird that takes less effort to keep in the air. With that kind of consistency the 2nd Run FD is a staple for my bag, I recently didn't have these but have come into a few and I really enjoy throwing this disc. This version I wouldn't totally suggest for beginners considering how beefy it can be, but would highly suggest this disc to players with a bit more power. This version is the best at battling the heavy winds you sometimes see on the course. These are now very hard to come by in anything over 170g but from my understanding these at the lower weights are still very stable and a very great thrower. Moving on to the 3rd run FD, these can be seen as the slightly firm (not firm like the 2nd run) with swirls in the rim.

Swirls in the rim.

Jamie Thomas has referred to them as the good FDs, which is completely spot on. This version of the FD is easily one of the straightest versions with a slight hint of stability. This allows for players to really get behind this disc and trust that it will have a good straight finish. If you really get behind them you will get a significant amount of turn before the disc will work back to straight. These are great for long glidey hyzers, turnover shots, long flex shots, and tunnel shots. This is a disc you can completely rely on, but I wouldn't go and throw it into a monster head wind. This version is the FD I pull out the most for its consistent flight. This version also has a long shelf life so if you decide to keep it in your bag you shouldn't worry too much about the flight changing all that much. This really goes for all of the C-Line FDs, and really all C-Line discs, that you can get a long life with a consistent flight right out of the box. The last of the three I have worked with in the C-Line plastic are the Glow FDs, these have been talked about by Jussi Meresmaa and other top Discmania players as a solid addition to the FD line up. I have found that these have a tremendous amount of glide and are very similar to the good 3rd run FD. These tend to beat in a little bit quicker which will add to the neutral flight and even present some reliable high speed turn. These I feel actually have the most glide out of the C-Line lineup. This is a disc I tend to pull out for longer drives with poor footing or little run up space, or long straight tunnels and basically anything the 3rd run can do. Why carry both a 3rd Run and a Glow? Most of the time I will just settle with having a 3rd run in my bag but when the weather gets bad or the course I am playing has some tricky fairways and awkward footing I will toss in the Glow to have the extra glide for when I am not throwing as hard. Plus the Jolly Launcher plastic I feel adds to the durability where the Glow does beat in faster, but only in the comparison to the JL plastic otherwise it takes a while to really beat in.

If you have any more in depth questions about any of the FDs I have mentioned feel free to comment here or message me on facebook.

I have been mentioning on Instagram and Facebook about #Putterpants and a Putterpants giveaway. I had been chatting with my buddies about what would be the best way to run this competition since not many people maybe understand what #Putterpants stands for. For me #Putterpants is a reminder to have fun and enjoy myself on the course, along with remembering to putt with confidence. My buddies and I used to say after hitting a long putt for 2 "Putterpants Party of 2" and it caught fire among us. So anytime I wouldn't be putting well I would crack a joke about how I needed to put my Putterpants on. Now it even works when I throw my putters off the tee. Having the confidence on the course is key and this is my constant reminder. So here is how the contest will work...
1. Use the #PUTTERPANTS on Facebook or Instagram.
2. Follow me on Instagram (@theericoakley), or add me on Facebook.
3. Give a brief explanation of how you might view putterpants helping you on the course.
4. Post a Rad Picture of you with some Discmania disc or canning an awesome putt for those of you who don't have any Discmania discs.

After 7 days I will chose 3 random winners out of the top 10 best submissions. The prize will be a sweet Puple/Pink Transitional D-Line P2 with the mini shield stamp. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Thanks for reading. I am a Discmaniac! Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUv2zaj9mPs
Enjoy

Forgetting the Bad and Embracing the Good

With my recent performances, I am having to learn how to forget the bad quickly. When I play I feel as if I am plateauing, so I must figure out a way to push different parts of my game to make for a continual increase in my game. I let shots stick around for too long. When they are bad, it takes a few holes to really recover from it. When they are great, I tend to ride the good feelings and enjoy my shots. This game is so mental and having the right attitude and mindset can make or break any shot. Every shot counts in a round but letting one shot make or break a round seems silly when looking at it from the outside. I can't tell you how many times I have missed a 20 footer and wanted to stop playing right then and there. When it happens in a tournament round that feeling of disappointment lingers and bogs me down. I have tried keeping a great attitude and joking off my bad shots and that works to some extent, but finding the right way to build the mindset that even when it goes poorly that it won't matter considering all the shots that are left to throw. I have a tattoo on my left arm that reads "Fino alla fine..." which in Italian means "to the end..." So with those words I must remember to not give up and finding a way to battle and move on and forward until the end. Whether that is the round, tournament, or even that individual hole I am playing, I should battle and keep staying positive no matter what the outcome.

Recently I have had a lot of different things happen lately and it has stalled my getting the time for a review along with putting out the #putterpants giveaway. Hopefully this week I will have the review up and the giveaway so I can get back on the right foot. So please keep an eye out for these things. I am going to do a review of the FD and follow up with a review of the PD2, DD2, P2 and maybe a few other molds.

This week will be a good week of practice with the Utah Open looming at the weekend. There will be a lot of top pros who will be in attendance, so it will be a great opportunity to learn and to prove myself as a player. Lots to work on this week, especially my short game.

Looking forward to an awesome week. Thanks for reading. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ter0p_iyIxk
Enjoy