Q: It's known that a beat in disc will tend to be more understable. The question I'm asking is, if I take a brand new premium plastic disc and throw it against a tree repeatedly, will this break in the disc or just quickly ruin it. Thank you for your time.

A: An excellent question. I've witnessed a few people lessening the overstability of their discs by throwing them repeatedly and intentionally against trees, rocs and walls, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Sure, it'll work. It'll make your disc more understable. But can this be considered "breaking in" a disc? Sounds more like a brutal way to shorten a disc's lifespan.

Let's first consider an obvious alternative, namely buying a less overstable disc to start with. If a Spirit is too overstable for you, get an Orc. If an Orc is too overstable get an Inferno. And if an Inferno still will fade too much left (for righty backhanders), get an Avenger SS. These discs are just examples; check our Flight Guide for suitable substitutes.

A brand new disc is the fastest and most overstable it'll ever be. As it gets used, it not only becomes less round, but also less fast. This slower speed is the result of more wind resistance as your now at least slightly - perhaps imperceptibly -- warped disc sails through the air. What increases wind resistance? Well, wind, speed, and a less aerodynamic shape like a beat to crap golf disc. A more extreme example is an Ultimate Frisbee disc, which flies straight even at slow speeds and released with hyzer. That big sail of a rim keeps it from hyzering out (i.e., falling off to the left when spinning clockwise, and falling off to the right when spinning counterclockwise).

As you play with your disc, it'll grow on you as you get more and more used to throwing it, what disc golfers called being "dialed in" with a disc. Sure, it'll change as you hit trees, but it'll change gradually - especially after the first couple whacks, which seem to alter a disc's flight most dramatically - but you'll have a better idea where it's going.

A new disc is like a new buddy. You have to hang out for a while before each other's company is smooth and familiar. You and the disc have to figure out what works best for you. To wildly nab a number out of mid-air like a DDC disc that would have rolled out, throw each disc 100 times. If it's a DX driver, and you live in New England, and half those throws are hard into trees, your friendship will be brief, until you finally begin throwing it on Hole 5 Airplanes at Maple Hill, where you'll inevitably lose it. Pick a nice Champion/Z driver and it'll last and last provided you remain in each other's company. In the meantime, you'll not only figure it out but its role may change as it evolves into a more understable version of itself -- Orcs eventually fly like Beasts, then Sidewinders. The key is taking enough time with a disc to figure it out. One hundred throws. Sounds like a good number to mull over.

I've seen Jay Reading and David Feldberg, top pros both, jump into some pretty murky Maple Hill pond water to retrieve a beloved, perfectly broken-in Roc. Diving in for a new one would save a few bucks, sure, but those guys were diving with rescue operation intensity and determination.

To conclude, start with discs that you have enough arm speed and skill to throw effectively, rather than starting with an overstable pig that you'll take behind the shed and beat unconscious till it learns how to behave. Enjoy each disc as you mature together. Establish a 100-throw relationship. Just be careful not to get too attached. Most discs, like Jay and David's Rocs, can't swim.

Sincerely,

Torque Novitski, Marshall Street

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