mikeP
May 19 2008, 10:07 AM
I love throwing putters hard. Ever since putters started coming out in premium plastic I've tried them all and have had one in my bag as a "baby midrange" disc. I use them for shots in the 200-300' range where my Buzz may carry too far or come in too fast.
Over the past 5 years of trying these discs out, my favorites were a run of gummy Qmegas that came out in probably '03-'04. Most premium plastic putters have come out stiff and slick. While these tended to have good overstability and glide, they also need to be thrown hard and skip and slide when landing. Two very good reasons for choosing a putter for your shot is so that you do not have to throw/grip really hard and so that you WILL NOT get a had skip and slide. So most of the premium plastic putters have had a limited application. The gummy Qmegas were great. They had the durability of Champion plastic, but yet had a soft grip. Not floppy my any means, you could still throw them hard. The gumminess absorbed the shock from tree hits so that the disc would drop rather than kick. The gumminess also gripped the playing surface ensuring minimal skip on approach shots. You could actually putt with them as well, though I still preferred D style plastic for that.
So that was my fav of the past. I have tried just about everything out there and have some issue with just about everything else. After that one run of gummy Qmegas they started coming out slick and stiff again. For the past year or so I've been using the ESP Banger GT. This disc is pretty slick and stiff, but the thumb groove seemed to help a bit. The plastic also feels pretty good when its hot. It has impeccable overstabilty, but very little glide for a putter. Although I liked throwing it hard, I never really felt a touch with it and it skips and slips like mad.
A couple of weeks ago I was playing with a guy who had a Crystal FLX Challenger. I checked it out and it felt really good. On Friday I had an opportunity to pick a couple up to check out. The plastic is not really FLX-ey at all, but stiff in the rim and gummy on the flight plate--very remniscent of those old Qmegas. I was hopeful, but not too optomistic b/c I really don't care for regular Crystal Challengers (too overstable/slow/drops early), and I hate FLX plastic.
I took the disc out to the Red Hawk course this weekend and it blew my mind. In 3 rounds I threw almost all of my approach shots with it, including tossing it across the lake all three rounds on hole #5. There was a swirling 10-15 mph wind all day and that Challenger performed beautifully. It seems like about the same speed as a D Challenger, but it is more overstable and glides much more. When I threw it hard it would glide straight and start a slow forward fade as it slowed down. On a 150' shot it carries about 15' further than the D Challenger at the same height with the same throw. It never slid or skipped far and it was tinking the pole all day. I was fan gripping it just like I would my normal putters and my grip never slipped. This disc may be the most impressive putter/driver I've ever thrown and is definetely the best I've had since those old Qmegas. If you like to throw putters off the tee, you're going to want to try one of these.
Over the past 5 years of trying these discs out, my favorites were a run of gummy Qmegas that came out in probably '03-'04. Most premium plastic putters have come out stiff and slick. While these tended to have good overstability and glide, they also need to be thrown hard and skip and slide when landing. Two very good reasons for choosing a putter for your shot is so that you do not have to throw/grip really hard and so that you WILL NOT get a had skip and slide. So most of the premium plastic putters have had a limited application. The gummy Qmegas were great. They had the durability of Champion plastic, but yet had a soft grip. Not floppy my any means, you could still throw them hard. The gumminess absorbed the shock from tree hits so that the disc would drop rather than kick. The gumminess also gripped the playing surface ensuring minimal skip on approach shots. You could actually putt with them as well, though I still preferred D style plastic for that.
So that was my fav of the past. I have tried just about everything out there and have some issue with just about everything else. After that one run of gummy Qmegas they started coming out slick and stiff again. For the past year or so I've been using the ESP Banger GT. This disc is pretty slick and stiff, but the thumb groove seemed to help a bit. The plastic also feels pretty good when its hot. It has impeccable overstabilty, but very little glide for a putter. Although I liked throwing it hard, I never really felt a touch with it and it skips and slips like mad.
A couple of weeks ago I was playing with a guy who had a Crystal FLX Challenger. I checked it out and it felt really good. On Friday I had an opportunity to pick a couple up to check out. The plastic is not really FLX-ey at all, but stiff in the rim and gummy on the flight plate--very remniscent of those old Qmegas. I was hopeful, but not too optomistic b/c I really don't care for regular Crystal Challengers (too overstable/slow/drops early), and I hate FLX plastic.
I took the disc out to the Red Hawk course this weekend and it blew my mind. In 3 rounds I threw almost all of my approach shots with it, including tossing it across the lake all three rounds on hole #5. There was a swirling 10-15 mph wind all day and that Challenger performed beautifully. It seems like about the same speed as a D Challenger, but it is more overstable and glides much more. When I threw it hard it would glide straight and start a slow forward fade as it slowed down. On a 150' shot it carries about 15' further than the D Challenger at the same height with the same throw. It never slid or skipped far and it was tinking the pole all day. I was fan gripping it just like I would my normal putters and my grip never slipped. This disc may be the most impressive putter/driver I've ever thrown and is definetely the best I've had since those old Qmegas. If you like to throw putters off the tee, you're going to want to try one of these.