Sports This Week: What's new at Daredevil Discs

YORKTON - When it comes to disc golfers in Canada most will be familiar with Daredevil Discs.

While there are, and have been, other Canadian disc manufacturers none have been part of the sport longer than DD, and certainly no other company has developed the extensive disc line.

Launched in February 2002 by Mike Seaby and Wah Phung-Lu, Daredevil Discs has become a well recognized disc brand in Canada.

Seaby said there are a few reasons for Daredevil’s success and longevity.

“We do have the advantage of doing ultimate discs as well,” he told Yorkton This Week.

The company’s involvement in the ultimate sport market provides a dual business stream.

Seaby said the company is also ‘very’ Canadian.

“All our discs are manufactured in Ontario,” he said, adding it is actually a rather quick commute from his office to where the discs are pressed and that too is a key advantage for Daredevil.

As a result there are few disc golfers – at least in Canada -- who have been tossing discs for any length of time, who are not able to pull a Daredevil disc from their play bag.

It helps than when it comes to starting out in the sport a player can not go wrong with a Timberwolf driver, Moose mid-range and Polar Bear putter – note the names of the discs conjure images of Canada -- all three which have been around basically from the beginning in terms of Daredevil diversifying into golf discs as a natural compliment to producing discs for Ultimate.

Those discs remain excellent choices for beginners and vets.

And there are growing numbers of disc golfers, noted Seaby. He said the sport got a boost in participation through COVID as something people could still do. While not everyone that picked up a golf disc through the pandemic has stuck with the sport he said the numbers did trend up.

With more disc golfers to serve Seaby said Daredevil has continued to evolve its disc golf line, responding in part to what other larger companies have done in terms of diversifying what is available, and in part to what disc golfers are saying they want to add to their golf bags.

“So we’ve come out with some other types of discs,” he said.

Today, putt and approach discs – for example – are part of the line. Such discs really did not exist in 2002  when DD was born.

While types of discs are constantly evolving – allowing golfers to fine tune their games – a company also needs to be aware different golfers prefer different weights of discs.

“Some players are pretty finicky about weights,” said Seaby.

A third factor are the plastics, some of which are more rigid, or more flexible, while others have a smooth finish, and others might have a ‘tacky’ feel for grip.

It all means a company can quickly have a rather large range of discs – different models in varying weights and plastics – and that is without even considering varying art works which can attract the player’s eye.

So for throwers looking to fine tune their game, DD continues to come up with new offerings, a few I have had a chance to throw this summer.

For example the putter duo of Bighorn/Owl. The two have the same flight numbers, but the Bighorn is in a ‘grippy’ plastic ideal for damp conditions, cold hands, or when you want to ensure a power grip on a long threw. The Owl is not grippy at all.

Are either better than the aforementioned Polar Bear?

Well putting is a highly personal thing in terms of putter preference, so that is really up to the thrower, but these two are solid.

Of more interest is the mid-range Pteranodon. This is a disc with something of a dome profile, which is a bit unusual for DD and certainly for me as I do not throw a dome disc at all – well until now.

The disc has a six glide so it likes being in the air, and has a negative two turn so it goes right out of the hand quite a bit. The numbers are different enough to make this one an adventure to determine what you can do with it, but intriguing in what it might add to your play bag too.

Putt-approach discs are still somewhat new to the sport as a combo disc that can fill a role, at least on longer courses.

The Hellbender series from DD fills that niche, with the Razorback version the one which impressed me the most with a 4-3-0-3 stat line.

They also have a 4-4-0-2 so a smidge less late fade, as for plastics’ Killer Whale, Beluga, Salamander and Memphre, which is such a slight variation from the Razorback I’m frankly not good enough to notice. This quartet comes down to which plastic feels best in-hand to the individual.

There are some new high speed drivers to review too, but those are for an upcoming column.

Seaby said in the diversity of DD discs they feel they can offer something to suit every disc golfer – and he added they are working on new offerings for 2025 as well.

“We want everyone in Canada to play with at least one Daredevil disc in their bag,” he said.