Building Your Dream Bag
If you will, please follow me into the depths of my imagination. Since this is my daydream, we’ve just arrived at Simon Lizotte’s newest venture, a world class pizza restaurant (next to Maple Hill of course). Simon has painstakingly represented all possible crusts, sauces, cheeses, and toppings so we can create our masterwork. Would you order the same thing as me or craft your own specialty? Will you go full Swede and add bananas? Or maybe you prefer a classic cheese and pepperoni? Although pizza knows no bounds, everyone has their own specific “dream pizza”.
At this point in Disc Golf Valley’s tenure there have never been more options for building your bag, and I’m sure you’re just as happy about that as I am. Not so long ago in DGV’s past almost everyone had the exact same bag (with a few exceptions): Rives, Muskets, Explorers, and Fuses. However, now that we’re in present day with multitudes of options we can do more than just eat cheese or pepperoni. It’s time to build our dream pizzas.
The Template
Greg from Global Disc Golf has done multiple “What’s in the Bag” writeups that compile data from what the top players are all using. These used to be the template for all players, but lately the trends have been less widespread with much more diversity. The most recent one is from August 2024 with a new one to be released soon, so there are many discs that lack representation. Despite this, there are some key takeaways that I believe stand the test of time.
- Top players prefer the “Accurate” attribute for all discs 10 speed and under. The accurate attribute reduces the randomness of disc angle releases, which increases consistency for tee shots. Ever wonder why some people ace so much? This will also help on courses like Northern Breeze where you need a precise tee shot.
- Top players all bag a max distance driver. The Rive, Guld, Prince, Strive, Adder, etc. all with the grail attributes of “Big Skip” and “Extra Glide.” A max distance glide/skip driver is necessary for getting competitive scores on the longest holes in the game, and with everyone else bagging one you should too.
- Top players also all bag at the least one “Water Skip” driver. Like a glide/skip driver, the meta dictates a player bags one of these to keep pace with the competition.
- At the minimum, everyone needs a disc they’re confident using for putts and throw-ins. For the longest time the Fuse was most players’ choice, but there are now many putters and midranges that excel in this role.
These are the only rules. Pizza has criteria to be “pizza”, and I would argue your bag needs these discs to be competitive. Other than these guardrails you’re able to go nuts and push the boundaries of what a competitive bag can be. Now, onto the fun part.
Try copying someone’s bag
Reese, didn’t you just tell us our bags are all beautiful, personal pizzas? Yes, gentle reader, I sure did. However, rather than having decision paralysis, it’s good to start somewhere. Take a look at the chef’s specials, aka the Multiplayer World Rankings. People have already done a lot of the work for you, and there’s no shame in seeing if what works for them could also work for you. Take note of the discs and attributes they choose, the distances they have covered, and the specific shots they have in mind when choosing certain discs. It’s not happenstance they chose what they did, so start here as your own personal template. You may not have all the “grail” molds they do, but that’s where you can add your own personal touch. Let’s take a look at a few of my personal favorites, shall we?
Image: Deskjock
Deskjock prefers his discs to have similar stabilities so he can keep the same aim points for throw-ins from different distances. This educated approach allows for mold diversity while keeping intuition at the forefront, which leads to better decision making in unfamiliar situations. His decision to bag zero putters and only one midrange prioritizes long range throw-ins and creating opportunities tee-to-green.
Image: Stever
Stever has built his bag around similar theory, although he’s leaned into his preferences for certain discs and isn’t afraid to experiment outside the meta. This leads him to well calculated conclusions about discs and attributes that other players have adopted as well (check out his YouTube video regarding throw-ins, which I highly recommend – Sendin’ it with Stever!)
Image: DBargs
Being a seminal player throughout many versions of Disc Golf Valley, DBargs’ disc choices echo a time when Latitude 64 discs were the only widely available brand. Fuses, Muskets and Rives used to be the tools everyone used to succeed, and DBargs has stuck with what works for his game to continue playing at the highest level.
Image: Lombo
Another “old head”, Lombo has incorporated new molds into an otherwise classic bag setup. Keeping what works and filling out his bag with updated molds, Lombo uses all 4 of his big skip drivers to pull off some of the clutchest bonus strokes you’ll ever see.
Image: Dan
Dan’s intuition leads him to using understable discs for shot shaping and throw-ins. He’ll be the first to tell you he enjoys the process of refining his bag as much or more than actually playing the game. This has led him to shelving discs he loves in favor of new molds that he ends up loving more. His creative bag building has heightened his level of play, but also allowed him to continue having fun on his own terms. Be like Dan. Also, he can suck it.
These players make up just a fraction of the many creative and calculated bags on the Multiplayer Rankings Leaderboard. Once you have a general idea of what you want your bag to be you can start nit-picking and making decisions around your personal preferences and style of play.
What are the holes you struggle on?
When choosing what to bag I think it makes the most sense to start with the most difficult holes in the game. So many courses can be attacked a variety of ways, but difficult holes require specific shots, strategies and shapes. Where are the common denominators? After Ikigai Enzo released I realized an understable glide/skip driver would make a lot of holes easier for my game. Before that I didn’t have a need, but once I took a step back and saw where I was struggling the answer became obvious.
The difficult part will be compartmentalizing your shot choice and disc choice. This can take a while, and I personally will try out discs for at least a week before deciding whether to replace it with something else. Sometimes you’ll know instantly, and other times you need to try it on for size. In a perfect world the discs in our bags will hold us accountable and we’ll trust them enough to know when we’re the ones at fault.
What discs make your decisions easier?
You want your bag to help make decisions for you. What feels intuitive to you may not be obvious to someone else, so it’s worth getting familiar with similar discs in a specific slot. Just like in real life disc golf, one person could throw a flip up forehand while someone else could throw a turnover. Which of those shots makes more sense to you? Which sounds more fun? Trust your gut on this one, usually the obvious answer will be the better one.
The simpler you make your game, the easier the decisions become.
“Creativity is doing more than the first thing you think of”
This is the final tenet of building a bag: embrace change.
Don’t fixate and be satisfied by the first solution you find – push past “good enough” and keep experimenting to find a bag setup that feels great. New discs will continue being released, so give them a try and see if they solve any issues you’ve been having. Is your turn Rive too overstable? Try a turn Strive! Scroll through your collection and let your mind wander.
In conclusion…
There’s no rules to building a bag, although there are some guidelines that will help: use the “Accurate” attribute whenever possible, keep both a “Big Skip/Extra Glide” and “Water Skip” distance driver in your bag, and have at least one reliable throw-in disc. It’s worth keeping in mind that most discs aren’t as different as you think they are. The Sapphire, Flow, PD, and Sampo all do the same thing in different ways. Same goes for the Rive, Guld, Prince, Zeus, Strive, Adder, *deep breath* you get the idea.
Have fun and enjoy the process!
Reese
2x DGV World Champion
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