Vibram Ridge – 150 Class – Review and One Disc Round of Disc Golf

About 6 months ago I changed my primary putter from the Vibram VP, to the Vibram Ridge. For over a year I used the VP, and fell in love with it after being introduced to Vibram discs at the first Vibram Birdie Bash I played in 2013. After all, when you ace with a disc the first day you play with it, in front of about 15 other people, it kind of makes an impression on you. (Hole 9 at Zilker Park in Austin, TX!) I went looking for a new putter though when I realized that I was struggling to hit putts outside of 20′ with regularity. When I would miss longer putts, they were always short and to the left of the basket (RHBH push putt), even when trying to give it more power, and changing my target. My brother Nathan recommended that I try something that was not so overstable, so the Ridge was up. Instantly my putting range increased, as the disc would hold the line longer before fading out.

Nathan gave me another idea after he posted about his experience meeting Steve Dodge at Disc Nation. Nathan had a chance to test out the new floating rubber that Vibram will hopefully be releasing later this year. It was reported that the 137g Obex was surprisingly stable for the weight. With that in mind, I wanted to see if other discs could claim the same stability, even at lighter weights. For the recent Birdie Bash at Windwood Presbyterian Disc Golf Course, I ordered a 150 class Ridge in order to experiment with the stability. Unfortunately, due to the snow storms in the northeast, the Birdie Bash discs did not arrive in time for our event, so I was unable to test it out.

The solution? One Disc Round of Disc Golf. Is there a better way to test out a disc than to use only that disc for a full round?!? I think not.

Terramont Park Disc Golf Course is the course where I tested the Ridge.  Is is a 9 hole course in The Woodlands, TX, that plays up and down a decent sized hill. It is pretty much the only course in the Houston area with any real elevation changes to contend with.

The first few holes I tried hyzerflipping the disc because I assumed it would be more understable than what I was used to, even though the stories of the fabled 137 Obex should have prepared me for consistent stability between weight classes of Vibram discs. By hole 3, I started giving the disc some more snap, and tried throwing it harder. The holes were still a little short to drive with full power, but the disc held up well.

Holes 6, 7, and 8 were the real test, and testimony to the stability of the 150 class Ridge. These holes measured 500′, 366′, and 410′ respectively. As the video indicates, even throwing the discs with full power, as if I was throwing a distance driver, the 147g putter was able to take it. When going for pure distance, I was able to to max out at 317′ according to the uDisc shot tracker (+/- 13′). Most of my shots were in the 285′ range though.

At the conclusion of the round, I threw a few “situational” shots with 3 other Ridges in the 170+ weight class for comparison purposes. In each shot, the 147 Ridge flew as expected compared to the 170+ counterparts. The three shots I attempted were the hyzer approach, anhyzer approach, and RHFH approach as videoed.

All in all, I was surprised and impressed with the light weight Ridge. Generally speaking, I throw 170+ discs, and always have. I have dabbled with Blizzard distance drivers when I find a random one on the course, or when I throw one of the discs that my 8 year old carries, but they never really do what I expect them to, and I would frequently turn them over. To be fair and honest though, I have never really given them a chance, and the few times I did attempt to throw them I was probably doing it with worse form and technique than I now have.

I look forward to testing out other 150 class discs, and seeing how they compare to their max weight buddies. I am looking forward to the floating discs to come out as well, especially if the 125g-166g estimated weights are going to be equally as stable as the 175g molds. I suspect that it will be able to add some overall distance to my game by using lighter weight discs as well.