I’m a mold minimalist.
As such, I believe in the cyclical beating (sounds awful) of golf discs – in milking ‘em for all their worth. Should one of my newer Sirius Scorpiuses smack a tree from point-blank range, I’m not all that concerned about it. Though never intentional, this is simply part of the process.
However, that’s NOT to say I love the result of every disc-to-tree collision …
Things can turn ugly – and fast.
If there are children in the room, proceed with caution …
This one still stings:
That’s a Jawbreaker Scorch, for those of you keeping score at home. Yes, I understand the risks of handing over hard-earned cash for baseline-level discs. Jawbreaker plastic isn’t the most durable of polymers – no surprises on that front. But this was a first-round mishap …
Ouch.
It was probably my fourth or fifth throw with the thing. And it wasn’t even a direct hit off a horrible, shank-job of a throw, either. The culprit here was a “phantom limb,” if you can relate. What was once a max-weight disc needed a single snap of the wrist to shed some serious weight.
That was rough, but not as bad as a disc I paid WAY too much for on eBay during the pandemic, but hey – I was bored. It was an O.G. Pro Classic Roc from back in the day: fingerprinty with no flight numbers – the real deal. And don’t ask: I’ll take the price I forked over for it to the grave.
Anyway, it was this dumb boulder that did my disc in:
Here’s the end result:
Similar to the Scorch, this also was a first-round tragedy.
Even premium-plastic fliers are susceptible to the one-hit removal of a chunk of plastic. You might not believe me, but the following was the aftermath of a near throw-in that ended with my Star Destroyer careening off the edge of the band – talk about a clean-looking cut. This time around, though, I did spend at least three-ish years with the disc, so there’s a silver-lining.
Here she be:
As you might’ve guessed, the flight of this Star Destroyer is not what it once was. To be clear, though, each of the above discs flies just fine. It’s not like they’re “broken” or anything. But the gradual beating process I’ve grown accustomed to is out the window with the entire lot …
All it took was …
One throw.
Forget the unsightly aesthetics: Let me enjoy the journey.
Not a fan.
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I’ve got an Avery Jenkins star T-Bird with the exact same slice in it as the photo of the destroyer. I cleaned mine up with the disc doctor and it flies just like it always did. My brother bought a DX Valkyrie to throw on a long water carry as a loser disc. On its first flight he handed it to me to give it a shot on our local course, I threw it full speed into first available and it literally folded in half
That’s wild, man!
I have to ask …
What’s the “disc doctor,” exactly?
Never heard of it …
It’s this little kit that has this plastic tool in there that has various rim profiles for putters all the way up to drivers that will kind of resurface the edge and give you a smoother rim after damage. It also comes with various grades of sandpaper and some nail clippers to remove the little pieces that stick out. Got it as a gift and it actually works fairly well
Sweet!
I’ll see if I can find one online …
It’d make for a great review for the blog.
And it’s PDGA-approved? Like, the changes you make …
They’re legal?
Question about that destroyer ding. Do you pull the fingernail clippers and trim it off? Do you sand it down? Or just let it be?
My champion dominator has a war wound like that and trying to decide what to do with it …
I’ll let Joe speak for himself …
I just let mine be.
But it’s annoying as heck, so I’ll probably take a peeling knife to it from the kitchen.
Allowed?
Eh, I don’t think so …
But nobody’s going to check.
(BTW, this Destroyer flying more like a Shryke has been a pleasant surprise)
I think the one I have came from Infinite discs. I believe it is legal to sand rough spots on discs that have been damaged. You just can’t alter the disc or modify it from its original design. The tool has several grooves that run lengthwise. You select the profile for the edge of disc that you are wanting to smooth and then you just kind of press down and run it back and forth over that area and it really does smooth it out pretty well.
Got it – thanks for the tip, Joe!
And you’re right …
It’s totally kosher to sand discs.
Great article as always, but the comments was entered the gold was. Disc Doctor????
We need a green review!
For sure!
I’d never even heard of it until today …
I’ll see if I can pick one up – and use it on one of these discs, too.
Yes take the clippers and clip off the piece that’s hanging off and then take the various grades of sandpaper and smooth it out as well as you can. If you wanted to use the tool at the end of it it kind of burnishes the surface. I mean the disc is still damaged but it’s got a little bit of a Band-Aid on it at that point
Makes sense – thanks, Joe!
Appreciate the helpful tip 🙂
I had a Despair lose a fight with a tin roof at the local course and took a slightly bigger slice than your Destroyer. Little bit of super glue and weight to hold things in place tidied it right up. No more accidentally catching my finger on it! May or may not be PDGA legal.
Hey, it worked!
Unfortunately, that IS no longer a PDGA-legal disc …
The good news, though?
Nobody will notice 🙂
(your secret’s safe with me)