Hey Ledgestone Fans! Today we're going to talk about Discraft's putter plastics. With over 20 variations of plastic blends in Discraft's lineup, keeping it all straight can get exhausting. Each blend tends to feel, look or fly a bit different than the others, but there is no need to worry because Ledgestone is here to help. Below we’ll explain each plastic type and how it affects grip, feel and appearance so you can be more confident on the course.
Putter Blend
This baseline plastic isn't known for its durability, but is trusted by many for its grip, supply advantages and price point. It is a combination of Discraft's old Pro-D and X-line plastics. Even the most overstable molds will beat in quickly to provide a flippier flight. The softer plastic type also allows for supreme grip. Stiffness can change from disc to disc in this plastic, making the Putter Blend a viable choice for a wide range of players. In a post-COVID world where disc golf production is still catching up to demand, a major advantage of the Putter Blend plastic is that it is made more often by Discraft and at a much less expensive price point than premium plastics.
CT
The Crazy Tuff plastic has been around for over 20 years and came to be known as the putting plastic for Cam Todd, which is where the initial name for the plastic came from (hint the CT name!). It is now used for special runs and stands for Crazy Tuff plastic. It maintains the popular tacky grip of the Putter Blend and Jawbreaker plastics while providing increased stiffness. The CT blend feels much harder in the hand and provides increased durability to fly an intended flight path longer into its life. It can be found in baseline pastel colors as well as with the signature Jawbreaker speckles.
Jawbreaker
Discraft took the supreme grip of the Pro-D and X-line plastics, added some premium durability and sprinkled in a splash of aesthetic appeal to create the Jawbreaker blend. These discs are smooth, yet quite tacky and offer the best putting grip on the market. The stiffness isn’t firm, but is also far from providing a lot of flex and is very comparable to the Putter Blend. The soft plastic will beat in to bring a hint of understability to the originally-intended flight path and won't hold it's shape as long as premium plastics, but more than the Putter Blend would under the same duress. The major attraction of the Jawbreaker plastic is the colored marble-like appearance that one would see in a speckled Jawbreaker candy.
- Jawbreaker Swirl - The popular candy-like speckles are replaced by gorgeous swirls in this plastic. Paige Pierce worked with Discraft to perfect this specialty blend for her Fierce which is now used in a few other special edition runs. Besides appearance, this blend features the same tacky feel of standard Jawbreaker with an ever-so-slight increase in overstability and durability.
Rubber Blend
This soft-plastic blend is similar in grip, flight and durability characteristics to Jawbreaker but without the signature, marble-patterned look. Instead, the Rubber Blend is produced in generic pastel colors. It is a popular alternative to Jawbreaker because of its increased gumminess and flexibility while still maintaining the same tacky grip.
Special Blend
This blend was created in coordination with Paul McBeth as he perfected his putting Lunas. It combines the Jawbreaker and Rubber Blend plastics to introduce a more tacky grip, more stiffness around the rim and slightly more durability.
Z-line
Discraft's most durable and overstable plastics are Z or have Z in them. Formerly known as Elite-Z, this blend produces sleek designs with vibrant colors and a translucent to semi-translucent appearance, depending on the production run. It is the prefered choice for upshot-specific putters because of the resistance to wear and tear. Brand new Z plastic can be very slick. Grippiness tends to grow as the plastic beats in.
- Z Glo - This blend looks and feels like regular Z, but has the ability to glow in the dark when hit with an ultraviolet or bright light. Z Glo is widely considered to provide the most overstable flight of all the Discraft plastics.
- Big Z - Expect a Big Z putter to have some form of large, special-design artwork that reflects the disc’s namesake. This plastic features a much more opaque look than standard Z and gives off a pearly sheen. It tends to fly slightly more understable compared to standard Z plastic, but with the same reliable durability.
- Z FLX - In appearance, the Z Flx plastic looks identical to standard Z. However, this blend is significantly gummier, allowing some discs to be bent all the way in half. The gummy texture is great for softening the ground play at the end of a disc's flight. Out of the box, this plastic tends to fly slightly more understable than regular Z.
- Z Swirl - This blend was originally part of Discraft's Tour Series run in 2020. The plastic quickly gained a following for its beautiful swirls throughout the semi-translucent Z plastic. The Z Swirl blend tends to provide more grip than standard Z and has a similar texture to ESP while maintaining the sleekness and durability of Z. This plastic flies almost identical to regular Z with a miniscule amount of added understability.
- CryZtal - A crystal-clear, glassy appearance makes this plastic a coveted blend in any mold. In addition to a slightly tackier grip, the added overstability and transparency are what differ this plastic from standard Z.
ESP
First introduced in 2006, ESP plastic was created to bring an increased grip to premium plastic without sacrificing too much durability. It beats in to fly a touch more understable than Z plastic and is only slightly less durable. The tell-tale sign of ESP plastic is the opaque, pastel-colored appearance along with a stiff but slightly tacky grip.
- ESP Glo - Unlike Z Glo plastic where only the rim can show a glow, the entirety of an ESP Glo disc can light up the darkness when placed under a bright or ultraviolet light. An increased overstability is the only other thing separating this blend from standard ESP, while the glo generally provides for less vibrant color patterns.
- ESP FLX - This blend is identical in appearance and flight to standard ESP, but differs in feel. It is much gummier and adds comfort on shots where eliminating ground play is essential.
- ESP Swirl - First introduced in Discraft’s 2019 Tour Series run, it's hard to argue that this plastic isn't the most visually-appealing on the market. The vibrant swirls flowing throughout the entirety of this blend are reason enough for all molds to fly off the shelves in this plastic. The swirls seem to add a touch of overstability to the standard ESP flight as well as increased stiffness.
Titanium
A more recent edition to the Discraft plastic lineup in 2012, the Titanium blend was created to combine the durability of Z with the supreme grip of ESP. Most Titanium molds will have a tacky grip and an overstability comparable to Z. It tends to be more flexible than the Z and ESP plastics out of the box. It has an opaque and very pearly coloration and comes in less vibrant colors than Z or ESP, but the pearly shine makes it very appealing to the eye.
- Ti FLX - This blend takes the standard feel of Titanium plastic and makes it even gummier, allowing it to have the flexibility to even fold in half which helps eliminate skips. Ti Flx plastic is slightly softer than regular Ti plastic.
Blog by Jacob Arvidson
