Start with a putter
Start with a putter if you do not have a basket habit yet. The same disc you throw from the tee is the disc you should be putting with until both feel boring.
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Disc golf
Putter or midrange first
The first disc is not a distance driver. After that, people still argue about putter versus mid.
A putter such as an Aviar (Innova lists 2, 3, 0, 1) or a Judge (Dynamic Discs lists 2, 4, 0, 1) comes out of the hand slower. You see the angle. You also putt with it, so one mold does two jobs. A midrange such as a Buzzz (5, 4, -1, 1) or a Mako3 (5, 5, 0, 0) glides more and covers the longer approach.
The useful test is a flat standstill on a field, not a hero throw on hole 1. If the putter is landing where you aimed and the mid is sailing past, keep the putter in your hand for another week. If the putter is accurate and you are 40 feet short of the basket on every hole, add one mid. Not three.
Start with a midrange
Start with a midrange if you already putt with something you like and your putter approaches are accurate but short. One neutral or stable mid is enough.
What actually differs
| Difference | Start with a putter | Start with a midrange |
|---|---|---|
| Speed, roughly | 2–3 | 4–5 |
| What it teaches | Release and putting | Glide and a longer landing |
| How many to buy | One mold, a few of them if you putt with it | One |
| Wind | Easier to keep honest | A little more for the wind to push |
| Common mistake | Buying a driver instead | Buying three mids at once |
Questions about this choice
Where does a Leopard fit?
After you can throw a mid on a line you recognise. The Leopard-versus-Teebird page is the fairway decision. It is not the first purchase for most new players.
What about a Destroyer?
Innova lists it at speed 12. That is not a beginner disc. It is on the wind list with a warning, not in a starter bag.