The Disc Golf Reviewer World Series of Putters is off and running, and today we are looking at the second match in the Alpaca Region. This match is between the 8-seed Westside Maiden and the 9-seed Clash Popcorn. The winner of today’s match will face off with the Infinite Discs Alpaca in the second round.
Westside Maiden
The Westside Maiden was first released as part of the 2018 Trilogy Challenge player pack, and since then it has been a consistent seller in the Westside Discs lineup. The Maiden is a stable to slightly overstable beaded putter with average height. The Maiden has a reputation for being a popular choice off the tee as a driving putter as well as a reliable option on the putting green.
A potential comp for the Maiden might be its Trilogy cousin, the Dynamic Discs Judge. The Maiden can be found in a variety of Westside Discs’ plastic blends. The pair of Maidens we tested for this event are BT Medium Maidens.
Clash Popcorn
Clash Discs is a new disc golf manufacturer that just launched this year, and the Popcorn is one of their two putting putters that we will be testing in the World Series of Putters (The Butter will be tested in a couple weeks in the Aviar Bracket). Clash is based out of Finland, and so far, they are known for their bright vibrant discs and their food themed disc names.
The Popcorn is a stable to overstable beadless putter available in two plastic blends. For our match today we used the tackier, more grippy Hardy Popcorn.
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.
Maiden
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Popcorn
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| Flight Numbers: 3/4/0/1
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Max Weight: 176.0gr
Diameter: 21.2cm
Height: 1.8cm
Rim Depth: 1.3cm
Rim Thickness: 1.0cm
Inside Rim Diameter: 19.2cm
Rim Depth / Diameter Ratio: 6.1%
Rim Configuration: 57.75
Flexibility: 11.79kg
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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
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Other than the beaded rim on the Maiden, there really aren’t many differences between these two discs. They have nearly identical flight ratings, and as I tested them, I found that they performed very similarly when thrown on identical lines. So unlike the previous round, I didn’t feel I needed to really adjust how I putted between the two discs beyond navigating the slightly different grips.
Generally speaking, beaded putters tend to be a touch more overstable than nonbeaded putters. However, these two discs are rated identically for stability. Maybe there is more noticeable difference in stability on drives or longer putts or with more premium plastic blends, but the beaded Maiden and the beadless Popcorn flew with the same level of stability during my tests on the putting green.
Before looking at the specs, I did wonder if the Popcorn might be a touch larger than the Maiden, and sure enough, it has a .2cm larger diameter. I’m not well versed enough in disc specifications to know if that is larger or smaller than average, but this difference in diameter seemed to have a limited impact if any on how each disc flew. It was just something I notice while holding the discs together, but it wasn’t anything that I felt influenced how I threw each disc.
The Match
I conducted this match in the evening at a local disc golf course on a permanent Innova Discatcher basket located right under a streetlight. After warming up, I flipped a coin to see which putter would be thrown first for the first round, and it was the Westside BT Medium Maiden. Here is how it all played out:
(8) Maiden Scorecard
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(9) Popcorn Scorecard
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| 20ft: N N N N N Y Y Y Y N (4/10 putts made)=12 points |
20ft: Y Y N N Y Y N N Y Y (6/10)=18 points
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| 30ft: Y Y N Y N N N N N N (3/10)=12 points |
30ft: N N Y Y N N Y Y N N (4/10)=16 points
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| 40ft: N Y N N N N N N N N (1/10)=5 points |
40ft: N N N N N N N N N N (0/10)=0 points
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| Total: 29 points |
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The Winner
It wasn’t the best showing for either disc, especially from the longer distances, but the number 9 seed narrowly took down the 8 seed as the Clash Popcorn defeated the Westside Maiden with a score of 34 to 29.
Notes from the Match
When I say it wasn’t the best showing for either disc, perhaps it just wasn’t the best putting night for me personally, but that’s why I made sure to format this head-to-head contest in such a way that each putter was being tested at the same time and in the exact same conditions.
And as I mentioned above, the Maiden and the Popcorn are very similar discs in flight, so I didn’t feel a need to adjust too much as a switched between putters. That being said, I did notice myself feeling more confident with the Popcorn and less confident with the Maiden as the match unfolded. I attribute this confidence to two differences between the two discs:
First, the plastic type. Westside’s BT Medium is a quality plastic blend, but I was really impressed with the Popcorn’s Hardy plastic type. It really is difficult for me to think of another plastic blend I’ve felt to compare it to. Perhaps the closest I can think of is K2 plastic from
Kastaplast. Maybe the pretty purple splatter look of the plastic influenced this, but I thought it genuinely felt like a Laffy Taffy that was just unwrapped. It was stiff, tacky, but not too sticky, and I really liked putting with it.
The other difference, and perhaps the most significant of the two, is the beaded rim of the Maiden. I’ve generally liked beaded putters, but I’m not sure if it was some combination of the size/shape of the bead and the height of the disc, but I really struggled to find a consistent grip and release with the Maiden that I felt confident in. During the match there were multiple putts with the Maiden that felt like they were coming out wrong because of the bead, while I never felt the shape of the rim of the Popcorn impacting my throws at all.
I think this match could have gone either way, but the nice Hardy plastic and the smooth, beadless rim of the Popcorn will be moving on to face the top seeded Infinite Discs Alpaca in round 2.
My Recommendation
The Westside Maiden and the Clash Popcorn are both excellent options if you are looking for a putting putter. If I had to choose between them, I’d probably feel a touch more confident going with the Popcorn in Hardy plastic. I’d also say if you are a disc golf fanatic and haven’t tried out Clash’s Hardy plastic blend yet, it is definitely worth giving this new face on the disc golf scene a try!
We will be back again tomorrow with the 5-12 matchup in the Alpaca region between the Innova KC Pro Aviar and the Divergent Discs Narwhal.
The Westside Maiden was first released as part of the 2018 Trilogy Challenge player pack, and since then it has been a consistent seller in the Westside Discs lineup. The Maiden is a stable to slightly overstable beaded putter with average height. The Maiden has a reputation for being a popular choice off the tee as a driving putter as well as a reliable option on the putting green.
For more info on the format and scoring system I used to test these putters against each other, be sure to check out our main World Series of Putters post.
When I say it wasn’t the best showing for either disc, perhaps it just wasn’t the best putting night for me personally, but that’s why I made sure to format this head-to-head contest in such a way that each putter was being tested at the same time and in the exact same conditions.
