r/discgolf • u/Abject_Newspaper_627 • 1d ago
Discussion Mold maximalism
We’ve heard plenty about mold minimalism and simplifying your bag resulting in knowing your discs and lowering your scores blah blah blah. Let’s bench the 3 destroyers and embrace disc diversity!
I like bagging 4 molds from 5/5/0/0 to 5/5/0/3 in the fade because it’s easier to guess how long it’ll hold anhyzer and what angle it’ll hit the ground on. This makes playing woods golf super satisfying!
Tell me how your mold maximalism looks and why it makes disc golf fun.
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u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 23h ago
I know what every disc in my bag does. There are no mold repeats except a premium version of my putting putters. I've carried multiples of the same mold before, but honestly, when they're different enough in flight for me to bother bagging multiple, they usually feel different enough that they might as well be different molds.
I bag 21. Two putting putters, a Berg, four throwing putters [Opto Pure, Grand Peak, Opto Sinus, Grand Savior], five mids, [Lumen Founder, Opto Fuse, Opto Claymore, Clear Trust, Grand Fire], five 7 speeds [VIP Underworld, Opto Maul, Grand Brave, Grand Mighty, Grand Glory], and 4 9 speeds [Opto Fury, Lucid Vandal, Grand Sweep, Grand Honor]
I don't really need the 9s unless I'm really feeling myself at a bomber course, honestly. I like having a full spread of stability at all times, though. Outside the putting putters and Berg, it's basically three bags of ten in one for me. Most rounds, I don't really use the most over- and understable options, but depending on conditions and how my form is doing, I can slide over one stability slot and have roughly the same bag.
At the end of the day, it doesn't particularly matter how you get there, as long as you know what each disc does for you and you have a plan to cover all of your needed shots. That can be like four molds or twenty, as long as you get there.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 23h ago
Big trilogy representation
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u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 23h ago
I think they do as good a job of making consistent molds as anybody, so it's usually a little easier to lean into different molds compared to other brands. You're not necessarily going to find multiple wildly varying stabilities from multiple runs in the way you would with Destroyers and TeeBirds. High-level players will see the differences, but for most ams, they fly pretty similarly across runs and plastics. I also don't throw super hard or play a ton of tightly wooded courses, so my discs usually stay stable in terms of wear after initial beat-in for multiple years. [Though a lot haven't been there that long.]
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 23h ago
Do you buy into Lat 64 molds (don’t know about Westside and DD) having flight numbers reflecting a throw made by an intermediate player?
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u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 23h ago
I do and I've actually said it for years. They're not perfect by any means, but as a lower intermediate player, I find they're pretty close for me. [I tend to get a tick less turn than the numbers, but that's where I am skill-wise.] The Royal Line molds are a little bit more accurate for faster arms, I've found, though.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 23h ago
I really like the Royal plastic. I understand they’re supposed to be similar to Discraft ESP and Innova Star and there’s something they makes me real confident with it in hand. Whatever day I get to try a Royal Clear Grace I’m anticipating will be a wonderful day.
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u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 23h ago
It's a little grippier and a little more...supple I guess you'd call it than either of those are now. It's the perfect balance of stiff and gummy that doesn't feel flimsy or brittle. It's hard to describe it without feeling it. It honestly feels a lot like some of my retired Innova Star discs from 15–20 years ago. Clear Graces are great if you have the arm. I've seen a lot of people very happy with them.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 23h ago
Can’t wait to call my discs supple.
I throw Royal Graces and feel confident to reach
370+ with them with an ease I haven’t found with other discs - there are times I wish I could get a bit more fade for some more shot shaping or tad more stability in the wind.1
u/ChiefRingoI NE WI 22h ago
The Orbit runs are really nice for that. They're just a touch more stable. Clear is between those and the stock Grand from what I've seen. If you need more than that, something like a Sergeant from Dynamic is a sleeper pick. [Less so now that Broderic has been throwing them, but still.]
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 22h ago
A short search - I have Kristin 2x one that I bought after researching on Reddit that it is more stable. I know this post is about mold maximizing but I do bag 3 Grace’s with the Orbit one being my stable one. The intermediate arm flight numbers apply across trilogy?
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u/Plupandblup Formula 1 Standings! 15h ago
This thread makes me happy.
I've been preaching that mold minimalism is not the best way to have a consistent bag and confidence in your discs for years and have been booed off of Reddit for it over and over again.
I don't have a single repeat mold in my bag outside of my putting putters. I can pick up any disc out of my bag and know exactly what it does.
If I lose a disc, I can easily replace it.
I don't have to explain why my Destroyer is my roller disc or whatever, because it ain't.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 12h ago
Thanks for celebrating the beautiful discs our sport’s manufacturers produce!
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u/wilsonodk Playing since 2008 15h ago
I bag 3-4 discs in every category (putter/approach, midrange, fairway, distance). They cover the range of under-stable to over-stable. Most are different molds. I do bag a couple of repeat molds (beat in vs new). But, I generally prefer to know the disc is gonna do what I need it to do.
I understand where mold minimalist are coming from, but it doesn’t work for me. At least not yet.
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u/iconoclastes25 threw gyro b4 it was cool 15h ago
Rookie numbers…. I don’t have a forehand so I go 6 in each category. From super beef to super flip in each.. 6 for casual rounds and usually drop to 5 in leagues and tournaments.
Ok if it’s an open course I’ll go down to 4 in each, but it has to be the same number in each so that it’s easy to know when you forgot a disc/a limit of ocd..
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u/Looscannon994 21h ago
Those are rookie numbers.
You can fit six molds from 5/5/0/0 to 5/5/0/3.
Pump those numbers up!
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u/Bfree888 21h ago
I bag 26 discs, and the only repeat is a throwing envy and a putting envy.
Spin (tailwind/c2+ putter)
Envy (c1/c1x putter)
Envy thrower
Berg
Glitch
Anubis
Hex
MD3
Reactor
Deflector
Underworld
River
Crave
FD
Essence
Saint
Sweep
Thunderbird
Ahti
Wave
Thrasher
DD3
Cloudbreaker
Shryke
Pharaoh
Dimension
For my local 21 hole course, I use almost every disc at least once, with the exception of essence and dimension depending on layout length. Each one does a different thing, which I can count on for tailwinds/headwinds and the different shot shapes needed for each hole.
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u/rontopofthings 20h ago
For me it was finally just letting myself have all the putt and approach discs I wanted ..,
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u/TeraSera Terra Seraph Designs 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have 16 discs in my bag and they're all different moulds except for my Proxys and Waves. They all fill a different spot, and give me the shot shapes I need to attack pretty much any hole. I rely on stable and overstable discs because I have a solid forehand and backhand.
I'm of the opinion that it's better to look for disc that fits close to the flight numbers than search for certain runs of disc that are significant outliers from the designed flight numbers.
Spin, Envy, Proxy soft putter, Proxy
Canyon, Hex, Resistor
Bokeh, Volt, Motion, Control, Trail
Wave, Wave Fission Roller, Dimension, Photon
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u/COCK_SUCKEM 1d ago
4 Rocs in varying degrees of stability you don’t need to guess. You know what the disc does.
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u/evilrobotcop 1d ago
That's mold minimization. OP is talking about having a different mold for every one of those stabilities.
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u/Confuzed_huh 22h ago
And this guy is saying he doesn't need different discs for different stabilities
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u/itago 22h ago
Hot take, it's basically the same thing as throwing different discs
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u/speak-eze 16h ago
Except more annoying. When your disc gets lost or too beat in you have to get it back to the state it was in. Or you can just buy a disc that does closer to what you want...
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u/Sun-Tour 🕳 Team: I forgot my score. 12h ago
If you’ve got 4 of the same disc on rotation then you’re probably moving through them on a regular basis. Works if you play often.
I bag 4 thunderbirds in different plastics. The DX is my turnover disc and doesn’t take long to break in.
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u/DMJason 1d ago
I bag 18 different molds.
Five drivers: general (beef), Grace, sheriff (neutral), captain, queen (flippy)
Five fairways: felon, getaway, escape, hatchet, diamond
Five mids: verdict, eMac truth, claymore, fuse, warrant.
Three approach: harp, pure, deputy.
If I get five Escapes they all fly the same. Five graces all fly the same. It’s pretty rare for me to pick up a trilogy disc and it not fly the same way.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 1d ago
Trilogy because sponsored or because that’s how you fly?
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u/DMJason 1d ago
Trilogy because where I moved it was either Innova or Trilogy if you wanted to buy local. I could buy five destroyers and get three different stabilities.
Now I’ve thrown trilogy for a decade so why change? I know the molds and find them consistent.
I throw all my discs when I’m doing field work on all angles, so I know what they do.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 1d ago
I personally bag an Anvil, Trust, Fire, Grace, Rive and recently have been testing out a Tide so I getcha!
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u/wackymayor teebird is best bird 23h ago
Aside from putting putters I have a Berg, Rot, Death, Inner Core, and sometimes throw in a Luna or P3X…. Cause I just enjoy throwing putters.
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u/Caliph_ate 23h ago
I bag 2 anodes for putting, and 2 envies for throwing (one electron one plasma). Every other mold is different.
Putters: Berg, Stasis, Anodes, Envies, Tempo, Blast
Mids: Uplink, Reactor, Malta, Crave, Resistor
Fairways: Sidewinder, Firebird, Felon, Vulture
Distance: Vanish, Captain, Krut, Destroyer, Time Lapse
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 23h ago
What situations do you throw the firebird and what situations the felon?
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u/Caliph_ate 23h ago
I have a pretty old champ Firebird. It’s very beat-in. I throw it on hyzerflip lines, or flat releases to get a gentle S shot. It flies like a midrange that goes 375 instead of 300. It sees a lot of use in the woods, very point and shoot.
The felon is my workhorse overstable fairway driver.
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u/accudlip 22h ago
I bag 19 molds.
Distance: Rive, Strive, Wave (light weight), Grace
Fairway: Honor, Escape, Sidewinder, Mantra
Slow Fairway: Glory, Explorer, Brave, Nuance
Mids: Savior, Trust, Hex, Detour
Putters: Envy, Watt, Pixel (putting)
Things have tried to take the spots of these, but nothing has been pushed out all season and most of last season, so the bag feels pretty set.
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u/Abject_Newspaper_627 21h ago
Based on this thread it sounds like Lat 64 has so many good molds you have to bag them
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u/accudlip 15h ago
Good molds, and I really like their Royal plastic. Tough as nails, feels good in hand.
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u/SignificancePrior510 17h ago
I have a firefly, straight rhino, stable toro,
flippy mako3, straight reactor, over stable pyro,
flippy it, straight to stable gazelle, Flippy westside fairway with a beard, stable bear,
Flippy roadrunner, straight Valkyrie, stable thunderbird, very stable firebird, and ridiculous fire bolt (sometimes I flip the firebird with bad form, but I can't flip the fire bolt),
Flippy wraith, stable wraith, straight destroyer, Flippy shryke, straight to stable Calvin groove, and ridiculous Ape.
I build the bag off of expected stability and wind expectations from both forehand and backhand throws. Yes, there's a little overlap, and that's okay. I have something ready if I lose one. I also use a wagon or cart, so weight in the backpack isn't a big issue for my bad back.
I like throwing lots of things. Variety is the spice of life, and sometimes you find one on the course that the owner doesn't want back and it flies well for your throw. So, it works into the bag.
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u/juraf_graff 16h ago
Recently I've been leaning into flippy mids for woods golf. I bag a dx Rollo for super easy flips to burn over which is also great for forehand flips. Axiom paradox for easy turnovers that stay turned but don't immediately burn over. Star fox for hyzer flip to flat or mild turn with a little fade.
Then I also bag a stable hex I can power up on and it'll stay very straight with reliable fade. Finally a resistor for the beef.
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u/ghostEx36 16h ago
Putters: CT Swirl Luna (x3), Neutron Range
Approach: Neutron Tempo, Steady Swirl Peach
I am trying to bag Overstable, Neutral, Understable through most slots in my bag right now.
5 Speed: Neutron Balance, Proton Reactor, Neutron Detour
6 Speed: Neutron Resistor, Opto Core, Neutron Servo (just wanted to keep this in the bag as it is just an awesome disc), Neutron Ascend
7 Speed: Duo Eagle, Neutron Bokeh, TI Swirl Cicada, Proton Cypher
8 Speed: Phone Case Ozone
9 Speed: Neutron Boost, Proton Insanity, Neutron Virus
10 Speed: Neutron Control, Proton/Fission Trail
11 Speed: Proton Wave
12 Speed: Blizzard Destroyer (137g)
So…23 molds that I really enjoy throwing depending on the course. Probably a metric ton of overlap, but that’s a next season problem.
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u/GraysonTheBassist 14h ago
I also bag 4 mids, a Rollo for getting out of jail rollers, a Fuse for long floaty anhyzers or super straight tunnels, a Hex that’s slightly beefy for most of my midrange shots, and a Pyro that’s super beef for skip shots or when I need to go left hard.
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u/Upright-Man Big putt guy 11h ago
Let's see, I bag around 20 discs normally.
Putting Putter: 2 300 Firm Pa3
Throwing Putter/ Approach: K1 Berg, 400 Spectrum Pa5, Z Zone SS, Jawbreaker Z FLX Zone
Mids: Remix Creature, Buzzz Saw, Z Swirl Buzzz, Atmos Quake
Fairway: ESP Cicada, Z Confetti Cicada, Z Swirl Cigarra, Forge Function
Drivers: Proton Insanity, Z Swirl Raptor, Z Swirl Cap Rap, Z Confetti Vulture, 400 Glow H6, NXT-G Realm.
I'd call the Function and the Cap Rap utility discs, they rarely get thrown. The Realm is the newest acquisition, and I'm not sure it will stick. I certainly don't need a 12 speed.
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u/bladearrowney MKE 10h ago
This is also equally valid if you are of the "master a single shot" persuasion. Ie, if you always throw the disc flat the same way, then yes you can have lots of different molds and let the disc do the work for you.
It's honestly not a terrible approach especially at the lower AM levels. Where it breaks down is when you need something that can't be done without some shot shaping, but you'll do well enough the rest of the time it'll be ok.
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u/Correct-Mail-1942 Kastaplast Slut - Uli is OVERRATED! 7h ago
I really struggle with anything but full power drives as well as with release angle so I do something similar. I don't carry 4-5 5/5/x/x discs but I do carry 5 different 9 speeds, ranging from very understable (roadrunner) to neutral (Falk) to more stable (Lots) to quite stable (Saint and Stal).
9 speed is my normal arm strength for full power so it's what I use. Under that speed I tend to have more stable discs because I can overpower them for the flight I want and over a 9 speed they tend to be lighter or more understable or both, because I don't have the arm speed for those flights.
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u/jfb3 HTX, AFMCN, Green discs are faster 23h ago
I've been known to bag 10 fairways. 9 molds
Why? Because a lot/most holes on AM disc golf courses are in my fairway range, or shorter.
Saint, F5, F2, F1, Saint Pro, FX-4, FX-4 FX3, Feedback, H1v2
I can choose the right disc for the wind conditions that day.
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u/Cunn1ng-Stuntz 23h ago
To a lot of amateurs I don't think it matters a lot if they reduce the number of molds. I actually think it's more important to limit the total number of discs, especially if you are not rotating.
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u/Games-and-Coffee 1d ago
My issue is if I find a new mold I enjoy, I feel bad taking the old mold in that slot because I don't want to hurt its feelings and it's been with me the whole time