Today we wrap up the first week of the Disc Golf Reviewer World Series of Putters with a matchup that features one of if not the most unique putters in the entire tournament. Today in the Alpaca Region the 7 seed Doomsday Landmine faces off against the 10 seed Prodigy P Model US.
Doomsday Landmine
Doomsday is one of the several disc golf brands to pop up during the global pandemic, and they have embraced the “end of the world” mentality. While some discs in their lineup have a more traditional look and feel, others like the Landmine push the boundaries of disc design.
The Landmine is a flat disc–I mean it is flat on all sides with no round edges at all. It has a wide diameter, and in a way it looks like a midrange that needs to have the rim trimmed down and rounded. Another way to describe it is it looks like a piece of dinnerware with tall sides. It reminds me of plates you would buy for toddlers. The Landmine should fly straight with a reliable fade at the end of flight. The only existing PDGA Approved disc I can think to compare it to is the Innova Condor, but the Landmine is shallower and has a much thicker rim. This disc just released a few weeks ago, and it has already been a big seller at Infinite Discs, earning it the 7 seed in the Alpaca bracket.
I’m all for pushing boundaries and trying to be revolutionary in design, but how does it translate out on the putting green? We will find out today as we test out the Landmine in Ration plastic blend.
Prodigy P Model US
The Prodigy P Model US is one of two putter molds in Prodigy’s new Ace Line of discs. The Ace Line are meant to be a more affordable lineup of discs than Prodigy’s other molds. They are made in China by Yikun Discs (Prodigy’s other discs are made at their headquarters in Georgia, USA).
The “US” in the disc’s name stands for “understable,” though the assigned flight numbers rate the disc to fly straight–a true “stable” flight. The P Model US is beadless with average height and a flat flight plate. The Base Grip P Model US we used for our testing today is a very stiff putter plastic blend that is grippy but not too tacky.
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.
Landmine
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P Model US
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| Flight Numbers: 2/2/0/2
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Max Weight: 182.6gr
Diameter: 22.0cm
Height: 1.8cm
Rim Depth: 1.5cm
Rim Thickness: 1.2cm
Inside Rim Diameter: 19.6cm
Rim Depth / Diameter Ratio: 6.8%
Rim Configuration: 92.75
Flexibility: 4.66kg
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Max Weight: 176.8gr
Diameter: 21.3cm
Height: 2.0cm
Rim Depth: 1.5cm
Rim Thickness: 1.1cm
Inside Rim Diameter: 19.1cm
Rim Depth / Diameter Ratio: 7.0%
Rim Configuration: 63.75
Flexibility: 6.93kg
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Well, there are going to be quite a few differences when you compare the Landmine to any other disc. The first thing you are going to notice is the very unique square edges all around the Landmine’s rim. The next thing you are bound to notice is the wide diameter of the disc. Both of these elements of the disc mold made me think the Landmine was a midrange the first time I held it. I’m curious to see how it performs as an approach or driving putter as well, but for today we are testing it on the putting green.
One difference that I was actually surprised by when I looked up the specs on these discs is how much taller the P Model US is than the Landmine. The Landmine is actually on the pretty shallow side of putters, but at least in my hands, it doesn’t feel very shallow. I attribute this to the large rim that carries the height of the disc all the way to the edge of the flight plate and rim from top to bottom. This forces the hand to take a taller grip around the rim than most any other discs.
I was also surprised by the 5 glide rating the P Model US was given. I’ve learned that flight numbers are hard to trust anyway, especially glide ratings, but I think that higher glide rating surprises me because of how it flew compared to the Landmine during my testing. I was more concerned about the Landmine floating high on me while throwing these discs. But after looking at the specs and recognizing their difference in height, I think I also attribute that to the rim shape of the Landmine rather than its actual glide. I could be totally off here, but I think the square rim caused the Landmine to be less forgiving if I released the disc with a slight nose up angle.
When I try to identify similarities, the main thing I notice when holding the discs together is they both feature a very flat flight plate. This can minimize the glide of the discs on the putting green, but the Landmine is so tall that I still found that it floated quite a bit more than the P Model US during my putting tests.
The Match
I conducted this match on a windless morning at a local disc golf course on a permanent Innova Discatcher basket. After warming up, I flipped a coin to see which putter would be thrown first for the first round, and it was the P Model US. Here is how it all played out:
(7) Landmine Scorecard
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(10) P Model US Scorecard
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| 20ft: N Y N Y Y N N Y N N (4/10 putts made)=12 points |
20ft: N Y Y Y N Y Y N N Y (6/10)=18 points
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| 30ft: N Y Y N Y N N N Y N (4/10)=16 points |
30ft: Y Y N Y Y Y N N N N (5/10)=20 points
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| 40ft: Y N N N N N N N Y N (2/10)=10 points |
40ft: Y N N N Y N N N N Y (3/10)=15 points
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| Total: 38 points |
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The Winner
In a match that pitted the new hot seller with a unique mold against a more traditional putter shape and mold, the new style disc could not come out on top. The Prodigy P Model US defeated the Doomsday Landmine with a score of 53 to 38.
Notes from the Match
I made sure to take my time during warm ups getting to know the Landmine since it is such a different feeling disc in the hand. But even after taking that time, I really struggled to navigate the shape of the Landmine’s rim. I think that maybe someone with a larger hand than me might have an easier time with it, but the lack of a traditional rim bottom where you would usually rest the knuckle/joint in your putter grip was a real hold up for me.
This struggle with the grip is what I’m sure also lead to my unreliable release on my putts with the Landmine. I think the wide diameter influenced my release as well. I consistently found a lot of wobble in the flight.
The Landmine also fell victim to several spit outs during my warm ups and one during the actual match. While spit outs happen on all discs, I blame the Landmine’s spit outs on the wide diameter and the height of the disc continuing out to the edge of the disc. The disc would crash into the chains, and then push back to the basket’s rim and just slide over the top of it. If the disc was slightly smaller, it would have a touch more room to fall below the basket rim before being pushed back over the rim of the basket.
I don’t mean to bash the Landmine so much, but this was a case where one of the discs just consistently performed subpar for me during the test. I think its shape might be more conducive to a better performance off the tee or as an approach disc, but on the putting green, the Landmine just has too many vulnerabilities to trust.
I also liked the P Model US quite a bit, and I wonder if it might have had a better score had I not been putting with such a different disc at the same time. So far, I think my favorite part of the P Model US is the nice stiff feel of the Prodigy Base Grip plastic. It had a reliable grip, but it felt a little smoother than other putter plastics, which I think could help provide a consistent release on the disc.
My Recommendation
I’m curious to try the Landmine in other scenarios, but for your putting putter, I’d definitely recommend the Prodigy P Model US over the Doomsday Landmine. In the second round the P Model US will take on the winner of our next and final first round match up in the Alpaca Region. Check back tomorrow to see the results of the 2 seed Discraft Luna vs the 15 seed Viking Knife.
Doomsday is one of the several disc golf brands to pop up during the global pandemic, and they have embraced the “end of the world” mentality. While some discs in their lineup have a more traditional look and feel, others like the Landmine push the boundaries of disc design.
The Landmine is a flat disc–I mean it is flat on all sides with no round edges at all. It has a wide diameter, and in a way it looks like a midrange that needs to have the rim trimmed down and rounded. Another way to describe it is it looks like a piece of dinnerware with tall sides. It reminds me of plates you would buy for toddlers. The Landmine should fly straight with a reliable fade at the end of flight. The only existing PDGA Approved disc I can think to compare it to is the Innova Condor, but the Landmine is shallower and has a much thicker rim. This disc just released a few weeks ago, and it has already been a big seller at Infinite Discs, earning it the 7 seed in the Alpaca bracket.
The Prodigy P Model US is one of two putter molds in Prodigy’s new Ace Line of discs. The Ace Line are meant to be a more affordable lineup of discs than Prodigy’s other molds. They are made in China by Yikun Discs (Prodigy’s other discs are made at their headquarters in Georgia, USA).
I made sure to take my time during warm ups getting to know the Landmine since it is such a different feeling disc in the hand. But even after taking that time, I really struggled to navigate the shape of the Landmine’s rim. I think that maybe someone with a larger hand than me might have an easier time with it, but the lack of a traditional rim bottom where you would usually rest the knuckle/joint in your putter grip was a real hold up for me.
