The popularized video segment known as an “In the Bag” has given fans a look into what their favorite pros are carrying around on the course.
You might catch a glimpse of their putter and the two backups they carry, or get a few extra seconds to stare at their favorite driver as they relive an important shot with you, but the insight usually ends there. You never get to hear about the specific runs, plastic types of certain discs, or what makes the stamps so sentimental to certain players.
Some players have one-of-a-kind runs, others have interesting acquisitions stories and a few carry discs with extreme financial value. We’ve taken the time to speak with several top pros in our “Behind the Bag” series to reveal the stories that fans care about.
Next up: Alexis Mandujano
Putt and Approaches
2021 Ledgestone Edition OG Jawbreaker Glo Luna - Mandujano bags several Lunas, but at the end of 2022, this particular blend separated itself as her go-to putting putters. “This blend feels slightly grippy, but not too tacky where it gets stuck to my hand,” she said. “And Lunas are beadless, which is important for me.”
Z Zone
Midranges
Z Glo Buzzz - Mandujano loves to carry discs that she can throw both backhand and forehand. Her midranges are no exception and the similar feel of the entire Buzzz family makes shot selection much easier. “It’s pretty simple having the three flights right there with the Buzzzes: overstable, straight and understable,” she said.
Z Buzzz OS
Fairway Drivers
Mandujano Z Glo Raptor - Mandujano is super excited with how the stamp turned out for this brand new release from Discraft. It features an Air Force jet with Mandujano’s circular “AM” logo on the wing along with her PDGA number. The jet is flying the Texas flag off the back in a nod to Mandujano’s home state. Despite being a Z blend, the white Z Glo Raptors lack the translucent appearance of stock Z runs and have an extra tackiness for grip which Mandujano said she appreciates.
Z Stalker - The Stalker is her most-thrown fairway driver in the bag. Mandujano loves throwing hyzers and hyzer-flip shots, so the Stalker is perfect for holding both of those lines and carrying straight, but she said the rim size is the key. “I have small hands and I don’t use a power grip, so fairway drivers fit the best in my hand with my fan grip,” she said.
Z Undertaker - Mandujano’s beat-in, hyzer-flip specialist is an Undertaker. She wasn’t the one that seasoned it to perfection though. During the 2022 Ledgestone Open, she had lost another disc during practice and was searching through the lost and found pile the next day. In her search, she stumbled upon this perfect-feeling Undertaker with no name or number available to return it to the previous owner. The staff member on site saw the way she looked at the disc and allowed her to keep it.
ESP Vulture
ESP Glo Passion
Distance Drivers
2022 Mandujano ESP Tour Series Scorch - This is Mandujano’s most-thrown driver. It has her name on it, it’s her tour series disc and it has beautiful swirls. Naturally, it’s her go-to on the course. Beyond that, the flight is what has bonded Mandujano with her Scorch. “The Scorch is a bit flippier than the Hades so I can throw it on a hyzer and have a nice flip-up,” she said. “It’s an awesome feeling to have my name on a driver that fits my arm speed so well.”
Limited Edition Big Z Zeus - Mandujano bags one of the 2,500 Zeuses that were released in Big Z plastic for the first time during the 2019 PDGA Disc Golf World Championships. Though not the first run of Zeuses ever made (which were run in ESP), this was the first time (and one of the rare times) the mold had been run in Big Z. But Mandujano’s purple Zeus isn’t in the bag for financial value. It’s there to deliver big shots in key moments like on Hole 18 of Sunset Hills during Round 3 of the 2022 Ledgestone Open. She had never been able to reach the 383-foot hole prior to that moment, but a sidearm with her Big Z Zeus was able to get her into putting range for birdie which she connected to help her finish in sixth place at the event.
Blog by Jacob Arvidson
