Fastest Way to Break In a Disc Golf Disc

Disc golf can be a fun sport to play, especially with friends. For disc golf, a critical aspect in this sport is the accuracy of your throws, but using the disc can take a few tries before you familiarize yourself with it. In this case, the concept of “break-in” can be helpful for conditioning it for regular playing.

If time is of the essence, you will need to break in your disc golf disc quickly. In this case, the most popular method of breaking in a disc golf disc quickly is the “Tumble Method.” For this, you may need a couple of items, but you can get results right away without damaging the disc golf disc itself.

What Is Break-In?

You may have heard of the term “break-in” whenever you purchase a machine. In fact, the term is even more common when buying a brand new car. In this case, “break-in” means the process of adapting your new item for regular use.

For example, you can break a car in by taking it on a trip spanning almost a hundred miles to test all its parts and regulate all its movements. Then, after breaking in the newly purchased vehicle, it can be better suited for daily use.

In this case, for a disc golf disc, breaking the disc in can help you become more familiar with the disc, making it more convenient to use during games.

Why Is Breaking In a Disc Golf Disc Needed?

Compared to a car, which has countless moving parts, or shoes with many layers, a disc golf disc is just a single, solid material. So, why does it need to be broken in?  In this case, the primary reason is its construction.

This is because almost all disc golf discs are made of plastic. However, not all brands have the same type of plastic used, so some disc golf discs are low-quality, while others are excellent.

Aside from this, as soon as it is packaged and shipped, it will undergo different scenarios under different temperature levels.

Because of this, there can be minor changes to the overall structure of the disc golf disc. Therefore, breaking it in can let the disc golf disc re-achieve its original form and perform the way it was designed.

Is Breaking In a Disc Golf Disc Illegal?

How do you “break-in” a disc golf disc? Is there any basis? As mentioned, breaking in is performed to make the disc golf disc ready for regular usage. By conditioning its physical state, you can achieve its intended purpose.

However, there’s a thin line between conditioning and modifying. In this case, according to Rule 801.02B of the “PDGA Rulebook,” any modifications resulting in altering the original design of the disc golf disc are considered illegal.

However, maintenance procedures such as regular smoothening of the scrapes and repainting with thin paint are allowed. If you do anything more than that, it will be considered illegal.

In this case, breaking in a disc golf disc doesn’t intend to modify the disc’s design but re-achieve its intended parameters after spending some time on the shelf or inside the packaging instead. Therefore, breaking in a disc golf disc is typically considered legal.

How to Break In a Disc Golf Disc Quickly?

There are numerous options for breaking in a disc golf disc. Some methods take some time, while others can work immediately. However, before discussing the fastest method, let’s go over the other methods as well.

Method 1: Playing with the Disc Directly

In general, you can break in a disc golf disc by playing it directly. This means using the disc golf immediately after removing it from its packaging.

Of course, there can be accuracy issues at first. However, as you use it more frequently, the disc golf disc will regain its original designated form. Nevertheless, this method can take some time to work, so you might not know immediately if the disc golf disc is suitable for regular use.

Method 2: Use the “Hyzer Method.”

Alternatively, instead of playing a disc golf game, you can stand in one location and try to throw some “hyzers.

In this case, a hyzer or hyzer flip is a release wherein the disc moves away from the throwing arm while the angle points downward. Coined by the disc guru H.R. Hyzer, the purpose of this is to simulate an “on-course” effect.

Method 3: Firing Against a Solid Resistance

Although this may be the least preferable method, this is still an accepted way for breaking in a disc golf disc. For this, you only have to throw your disc golf disc at a significant distance repeatedly unto a specific resistance like a brick wall, a chain-link fence, or the asphalted road.

However, when your throw is too powerful, your disc may incur physical damages. Nonetheless, once you feel that your disc is suitable for usage, you can sand the edges until smooth again.

Method 4: Hand Tuning

Hand tuning a disc golf disc is like bending circular plywood, except that the disc doesn’t break in half because it’s plastic. In this case, there are two types of bending: bending its edges down, which results in being “understable,” and bending its edges up, which makes it “overstable.”

Overall, whichever you choose, it can be tough to alter or deform your disc golf disc using your strength alone since its plastic can be rigid.

In fact, you may even get a good forearm workout using this method. Overall, doing this can provide you good results after some repetition.

Method 5: Use the “Tumble Method” – the Fastest Method

The tumble method, according to DGPuttheads, is said to be the fastest method of breaking in a disc golf disc. Here’s how you do it.

Gathering of Supplies

First, you need to gather the following supplies:

  • the plastic disc golf disc
  • duct tape
  • towel
  • clothes dryer
  • sandpaper (optional)
  • tennis ball (optional)
  • knife (optional)

Wrap the Disc

Then, you should place the disc golf disc in a towel and start to fold the sides neatly. You can ensure that it stays tightly wrapped by using duct tape. It would be best if you made sure there are no instances of unfolding.

Loading into the Dryer

Next, you need to put the wrapped disc inside the dryer. In this case, you can insert a tennis ball to help speed up the process. Once inside the dryer, you can set the dryer to “air dry” mode and let it run for at least an hour. Remember, you should never use heat as this can deform your disc.

Overall, the purpose of this is to use the spinning motion of your dryer to break in the disc. Moreover, the tennis ball is there to hit the wrapped disc as both of them are repeatedly spun around inside. However, the ball is optional.

Inspection

After an hour of waiting, you can now check your disc. For this, you can now unwrap the towel and inspect it. In general, there shouldn’t be any noticeable deformations. If you’re satisfied, you can test it by throwing it outside.

Sanding the Sharp Flashing (Optional)

After a few throws, you may notice some sharp flashings. This is due to the manufacturing process, but this can be solved using 150 grit sandpaper. To remove them, you just need to sand the undersides lightly. If there are no sharp flashings present, you can skip this step.

Cutting the Nub (Optional)

Another potential issue you might encounter after breaking it in is the center nub. This is a slight growth or bump on the center of the disc.

Although this isn’t much of a problem, it may theoretically affect the disc’s flight. In that case, you can cut it off using a knife.  Then, after this, you can sand the surface until it is smooth again.

Field Testing

After all the steps above, you can now test the disc’s flight. If you feel like the flight patterns are slightly off from your usual throw, you can repeat the steps above until you feel like your disc has been sufficiently broken in.

Conclusion

Overall, break-in is a method of conditioning a disc golf disc that’s freshly out from the package. Doing this can help prepare your disc for regular use and avoid affecting your throws’ accuracy.

In this case, you can tell if the disc is ready when you feel it follows the flight pattern you want for your throws.

In general, there are several breaking-in methods, but the fastest way is the tumble method. Nonetheless, you can apply a combination of a few methods in breaking in if one method is not enough.