Hello DG community,
For those who do not know me from DGCoursereview, I am prerube, a big mouth with a little arm. Today I am going to discuss picking appropriate discs for your children. There is a lot to consider when choosing plastic for your pipsqueaks.
The first thing to consider is their level of interest. DX discs are the nearly always the best choice because they are cheap and the kids love the pictures. When we choose a disc we pick by mold and weight. When a young child picks their first disc they are going to pick the disc with the ghost on it (Wraith) or the prettiest pink disc, even if it is a 175 destroyer. You can steer your child to the leopards and sharks, but if their heart is set on the disc with the ferocious T-rex on it, you may have to let them make their choice to keep them excited about playing. If they get mad at you for switching their Trex for a Teebird it could lead to a grumpy round and no one will have fun.
Now, let’s assume your child is receptive to input and really wants to choose a good disc. You can then begin shopping by mold and weight. Most brick and mortar stores do not carry many discs under 150 grams. The heavier discs sell better, so you will have to dig through an abundance of 175g drivers to find an appropriate disc. I would suggest taking the search online if you can afford to wait for the disc. If you can, have the disc addressed to the child, kids love getting mail and it will renew their excitement about the disc.
Choosing a mold is the first step. You can start with one disc, or the putter/midrange/driver combination. If you choose to do this and your child loses interest you will be stuck with 3 beginner discs and have spent over $20. It may be best to give your child your lightest putter or midrange until they ask to play again. Once interest is established you can be more confident spending money on plastic for your child. Kids are often going to want the fastest discs on the shelf, when they see the flight charts, they see that a Vulcan goes farther than a leopard and do not understand that the leopard would probably fly longer for them due to their own arm speed. I would suggest picking an understable fairway driver because kids will want to see distance and instant results. Their distance with a putter could disappoint them and they will begin to feel discouraged. Your child will probably want to choose a putter to go with their driver. Give your kids some freedom with putters. It is hard to make a mistake choosing a putter, especially if you limit yourself to light weight putters. Gateway makes 150 class putters, Innova has a line of 150 putters, and the Discraft Magnet and Banger GT come in weights under 150. So no matter who your loyalties lie with, your child can follow.
Discs come in a variety of weights usually averaging from 150-180 grams. However several disc companies produce ultralight discs from 100-150 grams for kids and beginners. Below is a disc weight recommendation chart based on grade. Each kid is different, but this is a solid baseline.
Disc Weight Recommendations
K-2nd Drivers <150, Mid 120-150, Putters 150
3rd-5th Drivers <150, Mid 130-155, Putters 150-160
6th-8th Drivers 150-160, Mid 150-160, Putters 150-170
9th-12th Drivers 150-170, Mid 160-170, Putters 160-175
If you get your child hooked on disc golf they will want to experiment with every disc they can get their hands on. If your friends have some light weight discs and are willing to let your kid toss around, take advantage of that. It will expose them to new discs and further expand their interest in the sport. Give your kids a good foundation because someday your child could end up carrying you in a doubles tournament.
If you have any questions or comments you can email me at prerube@hotmail.com or come find me at DGcoursereview.com.
I have been informed Marshall Street is now selling Vibram. I also did not use any coupon codes unless they were on the web page. I did tried to leave out opinion related items such as customer service and ease of website use.
I also did this for 5 other companies. Results should be posted soon.