The flight rating system can be confusing for new players – this article will explain how to read disc golf flight numbers in an easy to understand way
The flight rating system is broken down into four separate numbers that each represent a different category, which when combined, describe how a disc is intended to fly
In order, the flight numbers on a disc represent:
Speed: How fast the disc must be thrown for the next three numbers to be accurate
Glide: How much the disc wants to stay in the air
Turn: For a right-handed backhand thrower, how much the disc wants to move to the right when moving its fastest
Fade: For a right-handed backhand thrower, how much the discs wants to move to the left as it slows down
Speed (Represented by a number between 1 and 14)
In the speed category, the lower the number is, the lower its speed requirement is. Conversely, the higher the number, the higher its speed requirement.
Most beginners hear that the first number on a disc represents speed, and are immediately drawn to the highest number they can find. In almost all cases, this is detrimental to learning the game. The very common line of thinking is: the faster the disc, the farther it will go (and who doesn’t want to throw far, right?)
However, and this part is very important – The speed of a disc does not inherently indicate how fast a disc will fly, but rather how fast it can or should fly. If a disc is not thrown fast enough (or is thrown too fast), the rest of the flight numbers will not be accurate.
It is best to think of the speed rating as how fast the disc needs to be thrown in order to achieve the flight path described by the remaining three numbers.
If you’ve never thrown a golf disc, you’re most likely not going to be able to throw a 12 speed disc fast enough where the next three numbers will be accurate, and you will most likely experience a disc that flies a short distance before curving hard to the left.
When you are still learning the proper form, it’s best to stick to discs with lower speed ratings – anywhere from 1-7 depending on your natural athletic ability. When beginners try to throw faster discs by overcompensating and trying to throw “harder,” it can cause form issues, and bad habits like throwing everything on an anhyzer angle. Not to mention, your accuracy will be greatly reduced if you’re trying to throw everything as hard as you can.
“But I want to throw far – I need a fast disc!”
While it’s true that faster discs do have greater distance potential due to their ability to cut through the air, you can still get plenty of distance with slower discs. Putters are usually speed 1 or 2, and many players can pretty easily throw them over 300ft. Once you get up to speed 7, the distance potential is over 500ft with good form, so there’s no need to jump right into a 12 speed or higher distance driver.
Developing good form early on with slower discs will unlock greater distance potential for you in the future when you’re able to throw the discs at the appropriate speed requirement.
Glide (Represented by a number between 1 and 7)
The glide number describes how much a disc wants to stay in the air. The lower the number, the less the disc wants to “float” near the end of its flight, and the more it fights to get back to the ground. The higher the number, the more the disc wants to “float.” A good example of a disc with high glide would be something like a regular Frisbee that you’d play catch or ultimate with.
Another way of thinking about glide, is thinking how much air gets trapped underneath the disc to keep it flying longer.
Glide can be a little more difficult to actually see and appreciate when you’re first starting out, but will make more sense once you get a little more experience and have thrown more types of discs.
“Why would I want a disc with low glide?”
Disc golf is often played in pretty windy conditions, which can have a considerable effect on a golf disc. You can be much more accurate with a low glide disc at the expense of a little distance. Since a disc with low glide is fighting to get to the ground faster, the wind will have less time to push it one way or another.
If the conditions are calm and you need as much distance as you can get, a disc with higher glide will be beneficial.
For approach shots, a lot of the time a disc with lower glide is desirable, because you have less chance of going farther past the basket than you intended. You can almost think of low glide as a built in auto-correct for the wrong amount of power behind a throw.
Turn (Represented by a number between -5 and +1)
The turn rating is probably the most counter-intuitive number in the flight rating system, partially because it can mean different things depending on which hand you throw with and how, but also because it’s the only number that can be negative. We will break this section down into two smaller sections, so that it’s easy to understand – whether you throw forehand or backhand, and whichever hand you throw with.
If you throw right-handed backhand or left-handed forehand (RHBH or LHFH):
The lower (more negative) the number, the more the disc will want to turn/curve to the right when it’s traveling at its fastest. The higher (closer to positive) the number, the less a disc wants to turn to the right.
If you throw right-handed forehand or left-handed backhand (RHFH or LHBH):
The lower (more negative) the number, the more the disc will want to turn/curve to the left when it’s traveling at its fastest. The higher (closer to positive) the number, the less a disc wants to turn to the left.
Why is turn important?
Throwing a disc at the appropriate speed to unlock a little bit of turn allows you to get more distance, as well as shape different lines to maneuver between obstacles.
If you’re a new right-handed backhand thrower, and you need a disc to go down a narrow fairway that curves to the right, throwing a disc with more turn (meaning closer to -5) will produce better results than throwing something with less turn (meaning closer to the +1).
For newer players, a turn rating of -1 or -2 is probably best for long term progression. You may not even see the disc turn at all for a little while, but if you develop your form, and can get the disc up to speed with a good amount of spin, you will see more and more turn.
As you develop more power and spin through form, discs with more turn can be a little “touchy,” and can end up turning too much. You can throw a disc with a lot of turn to the point where it flips over and dives right into the ground. Matching the turn of a disc with your throwing speed and spin will take a little while to dial in, but is very rewarding once you get it.
Fade (Represented by a number between 0 and 5)
Fade is usually the flight characteristic that most players will really come to understand first, even though it is similar to turn in that it’s definition changes depending on which hand you throw with, and what style. If you do not get your disc up to speed for its rating, this is the characteristic that will be the most exaggerated, but will be noticeable regardless. We will break this one down by throwing hand and style as well.
If you throw right-handed backhand or left-handed forehand (RHBH or LHFH):
The higher the number, the more a disc wants to move/curve to the left at the end of its flight. The lower the number, the less a disc wants to move/curve to the left at the end of its flight.
If you throw right-handed forehand or left-handed backhand (RHFH or LHBH):
The higher the number, the more a disc wants to move/curve to the right at the end of its flight. The lower the number, the less a disc wants to move/curve to the right at the end of its flight.
Why is fade important?
A lot of newer players tend to think of fade as a bad thing or the result of a bad throw, but once you get a little more experience, you can think of fade as reliability. If you know a disc wants to move left at the end of its flight no matter what, you can use that information to aim a little right of your intended landing zone, and allow the fade to move you closer.
Often times, new players will try to aim directly at their intended landing zone and end up landing a good amount to the left (or right, for left-handed backhand throwers) because they did not account for the natural fade of the disc. Once you learn to plan on, and use the fade to your advantage, it unlocks a whole new level of the sport!
“But why wouldn’t I just want my disc to fly straight?”
Again, disc golf is played in a lot of different conditions (like wind), and fade gives us the extra reliability to trust our disc to do what it’s supposed to do, regardless of what the wind is doing. Not to mention, throwing a perfectly straight shot is the toughest shot to pull off in disc golf.
A fade of around 1 or 2 is a good spot to start for most beginners, but a fade of 0 on a disc still will move left at the end of it’s flight for very new players.
Putting it all together
Let’s take a look at one of the most common discs and its flight numbers. With our new understanding of the flight numbers, we should be able to predict what its flight path should look like when thrown at different speeds.
Buzzz 5 | 4 | -1 | 1
The Buzzz from Discraft is a very common (and excellent) disc for all skill levels – from beginner to professional.
How will it fly when thrown the correct speed?
Note: The above flight chart is from the perspective of a right-hand backhanded thrower (RHBH)
Speed 5: This means the disc needs to be thrown at speed 5, which is not too difficult for beginners to achieve.
Glide 4: This means the disc is pretty much right in the middle for the disc wanting to stay in the air. It’s not going to glide forever, but it also is not trying to fight to the ground right away, making it a very versatile disc.
Turn -1: This means that when thrown at speed 5, the disc will want to move a little to the right for a right-handed backhand thrower, which will unlock a little extra distance, while still being controllable.
Fade 1: This means that as the disc slows down, it will want to move to the left (for a right-handed backhand thrower) about the same amount of distance that it moved to the right during the turn phase of the throw.
How will it fly if not thrown fast enough?
As we discussed, when a disc isn’t thrown fast enough, the rest of the numbers will no longer accurately describe the flight of the disc. If the Buzzz was thrown slower than designed, the glide would be reduced, and the disc would not want to stay in the air as long. The turn would act more like a 0, and the disc would not move to the right at all. The fade would be exaggerated (probably closer to a 3 or 4) and would move more to the left, and would begin earlier in the flight.
How will it fly if thrown too fast?
Throwing a disc faster than it was designed will usually have the opposite effect of throwing it too slow – making the disc turn more and fade less. If the Buzzz was thrown at about a speed 8 or 9, the glide would probably not be affected too much, but the disc will definitely turn like a disc with a turn rating closer to a -3, and the fade will be reduced (and may not even fade at all depending on how much the disc turns).
How can I use flight numbers to find the right disc for me?
We personally think that starting out with a Buzzz and a putter of your choice is the best way to go.
First, you will need to know those discs’ flight numbers and how they fly for you. Once you get to that point, you will start to see what different shots are missing in your lineup.
Do you need something that goes the same distance, but fades more? Look for something that has similar flight numbers, except for a higher last number. Do you need something that has a very similar flight path, but flies farther? Look for something that has similar numbers, but a higher number for speed.
Only you will be able to know what shots you’re missing, and knowing how to read the flight numbers will allow you to find the right disc without just picking something random that has a cool name or stamp, only to find out it doesn’t fit in with your current playstyle.
Part of the fun of disc golf is trying out new discs and seeing how they work for you, but you can save a lot of money (and strokes) by using the flight rating system to your advantage.
Some notes:
The flight rating system is not standardized across all manufacturers. Though they will usually be close, a 5 | 4 | -1 | 1 disc from Discraft may not fly exactly like a disc with the same flight numbers from Innova.
The type of plastic a disc is made out of will slightly alter the flight numbers. An Innova Leopard in DX plastic will seem to have more turn and less fade than an Innova Leopard in Champion or Star plastic, but it will get closer and closer to those numbers as you throw it.
The amount of wear on a disc will also affect its flight ratings. The more a disc is “broken in,” the more turn and less fade it will seem to have.
We have come to the conclusion that some manufacturers list flight numbers for the “out of the box” stage of a disc’s life (like Dynamic Discs), while other companies list flight numbers for how the disc will fly once it’s been thrown for a little while (like Innova).
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