Discraft Roach Review

The Discraft Roach is the final release of the 2015 Discraft Ace Race disc. The Roach was a hit from the start and was one of Discrafts most popular Ace Race molds. As Discraft began releasing the Roach in more plastics, we began to get hooked, and now the Roach is a mainstay in our bags in various plastics for many purposes.

Discraft Roach Manufacturer Notes

“A straight flier with extra glide, the Roach™ is crafty in avoiding danger while incessantly pursuing chains. Just point and shoot. It’s beadless too and feels great in the hand. Try a Roach on your next approach!”

https://www.discraft.com/disc-golf/putt-approach/model=roach/
Available plastics: Available in most Discraft Plastics
Flight Rating:  2, 4, 0, 1

Discraft Roach Initial Reactions

The Discraft Roach is a fairly low profile putter, but it feels a little larger in the hand because of how far into the flight plate the shoulder rounds, so it should feel comfortable to a wide range of hands.  The Roach’s nose is shaped somewhat similar to Discraft’s Challenger with a more pronounced point, but it’s faster and displays a less stable flight path while maintaining the Challenger’s reliable but gentle fade. The Roach also displays high glide which makes it versatile. I’d rate the Roach closer to a 3 speed than a 2, but that may be influenced by the glide. The plastic makes a large difference for the Roach, I’ll get into that below.

After Paul McBeth signed with Discraft, they released the Luna putter which has a very similar profile and close flight. We’d rate the Roach as a slightly higher glide putter and possibly a touch more fade, but you should read our Discraft Luna review for yourself.

Discraft Roach Putting Notes

I primarily put with Jawbreaker Roaches, occasionally substituting a Soft-X Roach. Inside 50 Discraft’s Roach performs like a neutral putter, holding most lines and with a good fade near the end.  It display high glide which helped it hold lines and reach the basket without a great deal of force.  This putter does best with spin putts because of long nose and extra spin can help the glide, and as long as you’re spin putting I think you’ll be happy with straight, hyzer, or anhyzer putt lines.

Because of the Roach’s speed and glide, I have to be careful to putt gently as it has a tendency to glide too far at times especially as the wind increases.  However the fade near the end helps keep long putts in check and the consistency helps dial in longer putts. The fade can also cause the Roach to land nose down which often results in roll-aways on hills.

Discraft Roach Flight Notes

The Discraft Roach is a great throwing putter and the many plastics will give you plenty of options. The Roach in Jawbreaker, Soft X and Pro-D are well suited for gentle approach shots, and Titanium (which is more overstable) is one of my all-time favorite driving putters. The Big Z Roach is has a similar flight path as Jawbreaker but will handle more torque making it an exellent all-around putt and approach disc. Titanium becomes very slippery when wet so on dewey mornings I approach with a Soft-X Roach.

The Roach performed best for me when thrown on straight lines around 150 feet or hyzer flip lines at 200-250 feet. I will note that the Titanium Roach (and Cryztal Sparkle Roach if you can find one) show very little turn on a 200 foot throw.  The Big Z Roach shows a gentle turn with smooth landing.  I’ve thrown Roaches up to 325 feet but the turn is much harder to control past 275 feet. Longer shots require a high trajectory from a low angle release to allow for a long smooth turn without burning. 

Do you prefer fan grip?  The Jawbreaker Roach is wonderfully straight with a fan grip anywhere from 50 to 150 feet, and the Titanium Roach is deadly straight from 100 to 200.  Do you throw a power grip?  No problem!  Outside of 150 feet I dropped the angle and it handled the snap like a champ (especially Titanium).  Don’t even be afraid to try a forehand with this low profile putter.  The Roach will turn hard on long forehands but is an excellent choic for short flick shots. The Roach could be thrown on longer hyzer shots, even hyzer bombs when necessary, but you’ll need to drop the release angle quite a bit to keep it from flipping and flying straight.

The Roach rarely rolls any significant distance and almost never skips, unless I throw the Titanium Roach on a big hyzer.  Just watch out for the Roach’s glide, which was certainly an asset but prevents the disc from dropping and can get you into trouble if you get agressive. Headwinds can be brutal on the high-glide roach and cross winds can catch it as the flight plate becomes exposed. Use this to your advantage and glide for miles with the right release angle or get thrown into the weeds with a poor release angle. Your choice! 

Discraft Roach Comparables

Discraft Luna – Very similar, Luna is slightly faster and a touch less glide
Dynamic Discs Warden – Warden is faster and higher glide
Innova Avair – Roach has a stronger fade
Dynamic Discs Judge – Judge has a wider diameter and is slightly slower
Westside Crown – Crown is faster with less turn
Infinite Discs Cohort – Cohort is faster with a lower profile

Discraft Roach Final Verdict

I’ve become fond of Discraft’s Titanium Roach and I believe it’s one of the best disc golf putters for driving.  I’d recommend the Jawbreaker Roach to beginners who are looking for an easy to control putter that performs well all-around or need a straight approach disc.  I’d also suggest more advanced players try the Titanium Roach as an upshot and stable driving putter that displays controllable and consistent glide.

If you think a Roach may help you game, you can browse the different plastic options here!

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We are affiliated with Infinitediscs.com but we will still provide our honest opinion and will never recommend an item unless we have tested it and believe in its quality.  We also fully support Infinite Discs and the customer service that they provide and would do so even without any affiliation.

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