The One-Disc Round of Disc Golf! Which disc?

In today’s post we explore the merits of different types of discs for a disc golf round in which you can only select one disc. Should you attempt such a round, it can have many benefits to your future game as well. In the end, I’ll give you a chance to submit your answer and see how others have responded too… Let’s begin!

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One Disc Round – Introduction

I’ve always been fascinated by this concept. Which disc would I choose for a one-disc round? Have I ever done it? Nope. I always talk myself into needing so many different discs for the many different shots I’ll encounter.

In fairness, there are so many different discs for exactly that reason. Discs are made to fly at different speeds with vastly different flight paths. In fact, I wrote a post explaining flight numbers for exactly that reason…These varying flight paths give you different advantages in different scenarios on the course. Nevertheless, I’m still intrigued by this idea of a one-disc round and I aim to try it out at some point!

For now, as I deal in the world of the hypothetical, I’m going to try and decide which one type of disc I prefer to use (driver, fairway, midrange, or putter) and then narrow it down to the one disc I would choose for the round.

I also want to hear your feedback as well (I have a poll for you). In that way, we can learn from each other’s thoughts as well…

Choosing a disc for Your One-disc Round

Driver, fairway driver, midrange or putter? Do I sacrifice distance for finesse? Or, do I have a putter I can hit long putts with that I can’t do without? Or maybe it’s something in between…

Nobody will deny the importance of putting in lowering your scores. I have a whole page dedicated to tips on the subject that you should check out here.

But it’s hard to sacrifice so much distance off the tee. Furthermore, I’m not quite as confident in my driving with putters. That last statement right there is probably a good reason to try a one-disc round with my putter even if it’s not my disc of choice…

On the flip side, putting with a driver can be a humbling affair. It’s a bit of a guessing game if you ask me. You could lose a lot of strokes that way. Those strokes could easily be made up, in theory, with a few extra distance pulls on the putter.

Then, of course, the midrange and fairway drivers offer that middle ground.

This is harder than I thought! And honestly, it’s reminding me of a debate we’d have back in my original Nintendo playing days. Bear with me as I scratch this itch…

Irresistible Nintendo Nostalgia Tangent

If you grew up with original Nintendo, you may have played Ice Hockey in which you could create your team of 4 players with 3 body types (fat, medium, and skinny). Here’s a video of two guys playing it. (The video below just gives and example.) Each player had it’s merits. The fat guy was stronger and didn’t fall over as easily. He also shot the hardest. The skinny guy was very quick and agile and could avoid the other players more easily. The medium guy was a mixture of speed and power.

Here’s an example of Ice Hockey on NES. Do you see the parallels to the many types of discs?

You could mix and match which players you chose (1 fat, 1 medium and 2 skinny for example)of course. But we used to play rounds of all fat guys vs all medium or skinny guys.

This seems similar to me. The fat guy might be the equivalent of choosing distance driver. The skinny guy would be the putter. And the medium would be the midrange (or fairway driver) to give you a mixture of distance/finesse.

In our ice hockey example, I can’t remember for sure, but I believe we concluded that skinny guys were your best option. Does that mean I should choose my putter for my one disc round?

Tangent over. Let’s see what I came up with…

What Type of Disc I would Choose for my one-disc Round?

If I had to bet the farm, so to speak, on my best round with one disc, right now I would choose a midrange. Do I feel great about it? No. And I welcome you to try and talk me out of it if you feel differently.

The reason I chose midrange is because I do practice putting with midranges and don’t feel like I lose much in the way of accuracy.

On the flipside, while I can certainly outdrive my midrange throws with a driver, it’s not as pronounced of a difference as I would like it to be.

Then, for those shots between 60 and 175 I definitely feel most confident that I can put a midrange close.

Put it all together and midrange is what I feel best with. But that could change as my game evolves. Once I can outdrive my midrange considerably with a driver, I might opt for that added distance. Given the specifics of your game, midrange might not be the best choice for you either. It’s just what I think will work best for me. But I also feel a personal challenge coming on (more on this later).

To me, the true debate comes when choosing second place. For me it’s between putter and fairway driver. Could I putt well enough with a Leopard, for example, to justify the extra distance I get on my Luna? I’m not so sure. Right now I’m leaning putter for second place. But once again, I smell a personal challenge coming on…

Now that I’ve chosen midrange as my type of disc, let’s narrow it down to that one specific disc I would choose for my one-disc round.

My choice of Disc

So midrange it is, huh? But which one? My options quickly narrow down significantly. I have 3 midranges that I use on the course (right now).

As it happens, I am a big fan of midranges and will be exploring others as I dive deeper into the sport. If you have any that you swear by, I want to hear about it.

My current midranges (and their flight numbers. Click here for an explanation on flight numbers) are the Buzzz SS (5, 4, -2, 1), the Roc3 (5, 4, 0, 3) and the Mako3 (5, 4, 0, 0).

I carry the Mako3 because I seem to give myself a better chance of grabbing chains anywhere outside circle 1. But it doesn’t fly nearly as pure as my other two.

I’ve been using the Roc3 a lot lately. It’s got a much higher fade so I always use it to bend around obstacles and get to the basket. Recently, however, my Buzzz SS ended up in a batch of poison ivy and I kept forgetting to reincorporate it into my bag (For ideas on how to deal with poison ivy on the course click here). As a result, I’ve used the Roc3 a lot more and am appreciating it increasingly with each throw.

The Buzzz SS, right now, is my top choice for my one-disc round. Its versatility and its ability to hold lines, make me feel like I can complete any shot with it. I like it in the Z-line plastic for a little extra stability. If you are interested, you can check it out here.

The Roc3 is another midrange workhorse in my bag. It’s also in consideration for my one disc round. I can get more distance with this disc and it’s higher fade allows me to get around obstacles more easily. And like the Buzzz SS, it seems to simply find the bullseye more often than not. Check it out here!

But, still, my favorite and most comfortable disc in my bag is my 2010 Eric McCabe Buzzz SS that I had leftover from my first stint in disc golf. I feel like it’s the most consistent disc in my bag (I get positive results with it most consistently).

So, as I sit here today, I am going with the Buzzz SS as my choice for my one disc round.

Final answer.

Incidentally, this disc and some of my other considerations are also included as options for a 3-disc starter kit for beginners that ages really well. Check it out to see some other options for discs that might be considerations for a one-disc round as well as great additions to your bag for years to come!

Other Benefits to the One-Disc Round

There is one major benefit, as I see it, to trying a one-disc round. By throwing one disc for an entire round, you are learning that disc really well.

In a given round, you are presenting yourself with a wide variety of shots. By taking away the option of choosing a different disc you are forcing yourself to try and execute the shots with that one disc. As a result, you are going to understand that disc much better than you did at the start of the round. In fact, I would argue that, from the end of your one-disc round forward, you will be forever improved with that particular disc. And won’t that benefit you greatly in the long run? Doesn’t that make the one-disc round worth it right there?

I think so. And yet I still haven’t done it. That will have to change.

To explore this idea further, I wrote a post about this entitled Disc Golfers: Know Thy Disc! Check it out and see how beneficial it can be to your game to learn a disc really well.

player watching disc go in basket — *The one-disc round can have many benefits that will help you down the road as well…*

Another connected benefit I see to throwing a one-disc round, is improving your understanding of angle control. Invariably, you are going to need to shape a shot in your round. Releasing that specific disc on a specific angle will give you your best result. As you play your round with that disc, you will begin to understand angles better.

Similarly, and related, you will also form a better understanding of disc stability and speed. Since you are throwing many unconventional shots such as distance driving with a putter, you are going to see the disc behave way differently than you are used to.

By trial and error, you won’t help but get a better understanding of stability and speed. This can only benefit you moving forward as well…

My Personal One-Disc Challenge

Enough is enough! I’ve wanted to do a one-disc round for a while now. It feels like a “sacrifice” of a round, but the benefits are clear to me. I’m playing a Buzzz SS round in the near future. Consider it done.

But while writing this, another idea crept into my head as well. I want to compare my exclusive distance driver round to my exclusive putter round. Which disc will work best for me?

So now I have designs on doing a one-disc round with each category of disc (putter, midrange, fairway and distance driver).

There’s no perfect solution to control for all the variables (like weather for example). But this is what I think I’ll do. I think I will play 9 holes on the same day and play 4 different discs (exclusively) at the same time.

disc golf basket with tree behind it — *I’ll try and keep as many variables as I can the same (like weather and the course) when comparing discs!*

That means I will drive it 4 times with each type of disc and just keep marching down the course while keeping track of each disc’s score for the round.

The 9 holes will prevent me from getting too overtired. Doing it at the same time will account for the weather as well as day to day player variability (some days are better than others).

It’s not perfect, but there are flaws in every approach to this idea. I would hope, for instance, that I’d be able to take my personal bias out of it. Will I try harder with my Buzzz SS because that is my favorite disc? Again, I hope not, but you can never be completely sure…

Nevertheless, flaws and all, it’s decided. This is happening and I’ll be sure to give you the results as soon as it does (be sure to subscribe)! Stay tuned!

Now, lets get some data from you on the matter…

What’s Your Choice of Disc for the One-Disc Round?

Okay, now it’s time for you to weigh in. I’m curious to hear which type of disc you would choose for your one disc round. Then, if you have that one specific disc you’d pick, then I’m curious about that too. If we get enough data, I may just have to purchase a few discs at the end of it all… Twist my arm why don’t you?

As usual, no right or wrong here. And also, I imagine it will vary significantly from person to person based on any number of factors.

Along those lines, if there is something else you want me to consider be sure to put it in the comments below.

Now for the polls… I have 2. The first one let’s you weigh in on the type of disc you would choose and the second one let’s you tell the specific disc you would choose for your one-disc round.

[ays_poll id=7]

[ays_poll id=8]

Thanks for weighing in! I’m looking forward to hearing your answers and exploring this topic more. I’m also curious to see how it plays out when I test these ideas out on the course.

the One-disc Round – In Summary

There’s a reason there are so many discs to choose from in disc golf. They are all designed to do different things out on the course. But which is best for a one-disc round may come down to personal preference.

They all have their pros and cons, but for my money, I’m going with a midrange for it’s all-around benefits.

Whichever disc you choose, playing a one-disc round is a great way to learn how a specific disc flies. By playing with just one disc for an entire round, you are bound to learn that disc better. This should translate to better results with that specific disc from that point forward. This certainly seems worth it to me.

Because I’ve convinced myself, I plan to play my one-disc round and see how it goes. I also plan to pit the 4 types of discs against each other and play one-disc rounds with each of them to see which one prevails. I will certainly be sure to let you know the results.

Now that you’ve registered your votes, let the debates begin. Which disc did you go with and why? Feel free to expound in the comments and change a few minds in the process.

In the meantime, be well and let me know if you end up disc golf’n a round with one disc any time soon.

Thanks for reading everyone. As always, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Have you ever done a one-disc round? Which disc did you choose and why? And/or, if you prefer, have you ever played Ice Hockey on the original NES? If so, which player, (fat, medium, or skinny) would you choose if you could only pick one size for your team? I’ll follow up with my results of my one-disc round playoff in the future, but I’ll never fully close the book on the debate! No matter when you read this, feel free to weigh in! And of course, be sure to subscribe to get fresh and free disc golf content delivered to your inbox each month!

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