Baseline plastic is one of disc golf’s best-kept secrets …
It’s also one of the cheapest.
Yet, for some reason, most serious disc golfers scoff at the idea of bagging it. To them, these are throwaway frisbees, better served as a chew toy or dog dish for Fido than a useful golf tool.
Spoiler alert: I know the “reason.”
The knock against baseline plastic is obvious – it has the durability of a doily. If you play woods golf, one errant drive or approach, and you’re now bagging a taco. I get it – and it’s true.
What’s not-so-obvious, however, is that this is also the plastic’s greatest strength …
Allow me to explain.
I’ve bagged a DX Rhyno for years – here’s how its lifecycle works:
- Month No. 1 – This thing is beef. Zero glide. It’s Champion plastic-level stable.
- Month No. 2 – It’s not now as overstable, but will still hold a strong hyzer.
- Month No. 3 – She’s seen her fair share of trees – stability is fading.
- Month No. 4 – I abuse this on the regular; stability holds strong.
* Note: I play multiple rounds a week at both open and heavily-wooded courses.
What’s the problem, exactly?
Well, next to nobody is patient enough with the baseline stuff to see this process through. Instead, they want “pretty” discs. Scratches, dings and nicks don’t make for good Instagram posts. That is, unless you’re Philo Brathwaite, and you literally bag four or five DX Rocs …
This is his bag from a few seasons back – look away if you’re squeamish:
I can’t stress this enough: The four-month mark is pivotal.
Give or take a few weeks, baseline plastic shines at four months. Its stability locks in. It’s more consistent. From there, the loss of stability is gradual. For me, a year into the life of my DX Rhyno, it’s no longer an overstable approach disc, but a well-seasoned, hyzer-flip machine.
But the process (and patience) doesn’t stop there …
Six months later, thrown on hyzer, that same Rhyno flips, steadily rides to the right and nestles. I can’t buy that anywhere. No mold on earth has the same feel or flight right out of the box. I’ll never understand the “used discs” market – buy baseline, work with it and hit new lines.
In summary: One disc. Eighteen months. Multiple flight paths.
Whatever your manufacturer, mold or speed of choice may be, give baseline plastic a try …
What do you have to lose? Eight bucks. That’s pretty much it.
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Baseline for mids is great! Drivers? Not so much.
Dude, we’re on the same page with that take …
I do know, however, of golfers who swear by DX Firebirds and Teebirds.
I’ve thrown a DX Teebird, and it was money.
But the “durability” thing is a bit too much of a turnoff for me, you know?
Putters and mids travel slowly. So yeah, they hit trees more slowly, as well.
We’re on the same page with this one, dude!
Dx TL’s and Teebird are my most reliable easy distance.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Have you had issues with Teebird durability, though?
And I’m not talking about the disc just “breaking in,” by any means …
Like, have you had it shatter when hitting a tree?
Let me know – thanks for reading, as always!