Today marks the beginning of the Round of 16 in the Disc Golf Reviewer World Series of Putters! In this series, we are searching for the best putter in the world and hoping to provide the disc golf community with a plethora of information along the way to help everyone decide what putter is right for them. This is an NCAA basketball style tournament and project where every day I test two putter molds against each other on the putting green in a head-to-head competition before posting here about my experience and the results.
In the first match of this round we are in the Alpaca region where the 9 seed Clash Popcorn is taking on the 12 seed Divergent Narwhal. To get to this point, the Popcorn first had to eek out a close win in the first round over the 8 seed Westside Maiden (34 to 29) and then pull off a big upset over the top overall seeded Infinite Discs Alpaca in an even closer match (52 to 50). The Narwhal started off its World Series of Putters run by upsetting the 5 seed Innova KC Pro Aviar (64 to 34) and then defeating the 13 seed Yikun Gui (39 to 22).
You can find the full results of every first and second round match over at our main World Series of Putters post.
In the first round I gave an overview of each disc. In the second round I shared what surprised me about each disc. In the round of 16, I’ll be sharing what I like best about each disc.
Clash Popcorn
Like I’ve been saying about the Clash Popcorn as well as the Clash Butter throughout this series, I really really like Clash’s Hardy plastic blend.
The Hardy Popcorn has a really unique feel and texture. It looks and feels like a delicious taffy candy (though it probably doesn’t taste like one). It isn’t chalky like other putter plastics, but it has a really nice tacky feel that isn’t too sticky. It is pretty stiff as well, and I feel very confident while putting with it.
Divergent Narwhal
What I love about the Narwhal is how surprisingly effortless this disc feels. Divergent Discs’ entire mission is to make discs that are for beginner and casual disc golfers, and the Narwhal is a perfect putter for a beginner disc golfer because of how well it glides and holds straight on the putting green.
It has a bit of a unique shape as it is similar to discs like the Innova Dart or the Innova Skeeter. It has a very small rim but a really tall rounded flight plate that offers maximum glide and a very straight flight on the putting green. I thought I’d have a hard time getting used to the shape of this disc, but like I said, this disc is effortless and a lot of fun to throw.
Specifications and Flight Numbers
Let’s take a look at some of the specs courtesy of the PDGA and break down the major differences between these two putter molds.
Popcorn |
Narwhal |
Flight Numbers: 3/3/0/1 |
Flight Numbers: 3/3/-2/0.5
|
Max Weight: 177.6gr
Diameter: 21.4cm
Height: 1.9cm
Rim Depth: 1.6cm
Rim Thickness: 1.1cm
Inside Rim Diameter: 19.2cm
Rim Depth / Diameter Ratio: 7.5%
Rim Configuration: 69.50
Flexibility: 6.48kg
|
Max Weight: 174.3gr
Diameter: 21.0cm
Height: 2.3cm
Rim Depth: 1.2cm
Rim Thickness: 1.2cm
Inside Rim Diameter: 18.5cm
Rim Depth / Diameter Ratio: 5.7%
Rim Configuration: 53.25
Flexibility: 11.36kg
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The Match
(9) Popcorn Scorecard |
(12) Narwhal Scorecard |
20ft: N Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y (7/10 putts made)=21 points |
20ft: N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N (8/10)=24 points
|
30ft: Y N Y Y N N Y N N N (4/10)=16 points |
30ft: Y Y N Y N N Y N Y Y (6/10)=24 points
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40ft: N Y Y N Y Y N N Y Y (6/10)=30 points |
40ft: N N N N N Y N N N N (1/10)=5 points
|
Total: 67 points |
Total: 53 points
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