As you may have noticed, disc golf has become a passion of mine. Ever since I threw that first disc about a year ago, I haven’t been able to quench my thirst for rattling the chains. I was extremely excited to hear my favorite disc company, Vibram, was holding their own take on a tournament this year called a Birdie Bash. There was an event set in Kalamazoo and I knew I had to be there.
It was called a Birdie Bash and the format was very unique. Each event consists of two rounds of 18 holes. You would get five points for an ace, two for a birdie and one for hitting metal. The catch being, you only throw a max of two throws per hole. It’s sort of a new take on Discraft’s annual Ace Race. You were given two Vibram discs of your choice (one putter and one driver or mid-range) and you were required to use only those discs for the tournament.
The discs I chose were a Trak (which was my first Vibram disc and needed a replacement) and a Sole (the only disc in the Vibram lineup I didn’t have). For the course we played, Knollwood Park, the Trak wasn’t of much use. I mostly tossed the Sole. After I learned the discs a bit I started to put up a few points, mostly the result of metal hits. My first round ended with a somewhat disappointing final score of four (two metals, one birdie). The second round I slightly improved to two birdies and two metals. Overall, I felt I could have done a lot better, but I had a wonderful time regardless of my score. The discs and t-shirt were well worth the entry fee. I hope Vibram makes the Birdie Bash an annual event because I can’t wait to do it again.
We had a Vibram Birdie Bash here in Indianapolis. I scored 7 points. Like you, I had a Trak, which gave me fits all day. I wonder if it is because I throw forehand and the Trak is too understable (a turn rating of 8 or 9?). What would be a good Vibram forehand driver, I wonder?
My Summit, though, is my new primary putter – I like the way the rubber grabs the chains and holds on.
You could try the Ascent. I’ve had decent results with it on the forehand, but I’m not much of a forehand thrower to begin with, so take that with a grain of salt.
The Summit is a solid putter. I have one in my bag, and use it often. All of the Vibram discs are great, and that rubber plastic just loves to grab chains.
I also participated in the birdie bash this year and thought it was a great event. The fact that it was more like a round, rather than just tee off, made it a lot better than the Ace race. I also liked the fact that you got to choose your own discs rather than use an unknown proto. I also chose the Trak and Sole.