Understanding Disc Golf Flight Numbers
Welcome to Flight School 101!
It can be pretty confusing shopping for discs and realizing they have different numbers on them and come in all shapes and sizes. Since you’re going to be spending your hard-earned cash on these things, it’s good to have an understanding of how each disc flies and whether or not a disc matches your skill level before you make a purchase.
If you’re familiar with ball golf, the flight numbers aren’t so different from the numbers on golf clubs. A 5-iron, for example says a certain thing about how the club will make the ball fly in terms of distance, flight path, and accuracy. A 3-wood sends the ball on a very different path than does a 9-iron.
If you’re not familiar with ball golf, don’t worry—we’ll explain everything from the ground up.
We are going to talk about flight numbers at three different levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. And if you just want the Too Long, Didn’t Read (TL;DR) version, we’ve got that, too.
If you have never played disc golf before, it’s best to just stick to the Basic section. Then, if you feel you have a decent understand of what is going on with flight numbers and want to go a little more in-depth, come back and check out the Intermediate section. Finally, once you’re ready to take your understanding to the next level, tackle our Advanced section.
Let’s get started.
TL;DR
If you don’t have time to get a more in-depth understanding of disc golf flight numbers, this is the section for you. In this section we will keep it super simple. This will be just enough information to get you started.
Flight numbers are an estimate of a disc’s flight path in the air
There are four key numbers speed, glide, turn, fade (written in that order, left to right on the disc)
speed = how fast the disc flies & potential distance
Note: you need sufficient arm speed to throw higher-speed discs to their full potential
glide = how much the disc hangs in the air
turn = movement right at the beginning of the flight*
fade = movement left at the end of the flight*
*assumes a right-handed, backhand thrower
Basic Explanation of Disc Golf Flight Numbers
There is no industry standard when it comes to disc golf flight numbers. They are simply a manufacturer’s way at taking an educated guess at how their discs will fly.
Two different discs from two different companies with the same flight numbers might fly differently. Heck, even two discs from the same manufacturer with the same flight numbers might fly differently. On top of that, there are a bunch of other factors that could make a disc fly differently than its flight numbers suggest.
That being said, disc golf flight numbers are the best starting point we have right now to indicate how a particular disc will fly.
The numbers are listed on a disc in the following specific order (from left to right):
speed
glide
turn
fade
As you can see, the disc above has a 9 speed, 3 glide, 0 turn, and 4 fade.
So what do these numbers mean?
I should clarify that the following explanation assumes right-handed, backhand throws. If you’re left-handed, just think of the opposite when we mention anything that has to do with lateral (right or left) movement of the disc in the air.
Speed:
Discs with higher speeds have the potential to go farther, but only if the thrower can generate a powerful enough throw. They also travel through the air at faster speeds, hence the name.
Think of high speed discs like race cars. I’m sure anyone could take a race car to get groceries, but you need a certain level of skill to get the most out of it. And, you’ll probably get yourself into a bit of trouble if your driving skills aren’t up to par.
Lower speed discs are easier to control, like a comfortable cruise in a Corolla, but won’t have the potential to go as far. That being said, your average driver can probably get a Corolla moving faster with control than they would a Lamborghini.
Glide:
More glide (higher number) means the disc stays in the air longer, like a paper airplane.
Less glide (lower number) means it comes down quicker, like a paper… weight.
Turn:
This number describes what the disc does at the BEGINNING of its flight path.
These are generally represented as negative numbers (or zero) and they demonstrate how much the disc “turns” to the right.
Zero means it shouldn’t turn at all at the beginning of its flight. Positive turn numbers are rare and mean the disc is highly RESISTANT to turn. The disc may even begin to move left as soon at is released.
The bigger the negative number, the more turn it has. A disc with -3 turn should go more to the right at the beginning of its flight than a disc with -1 turn.
Fade:
This number describes what the disc does at the END of its flight.
These are positive numbers and demonstrate how much the disc “fades” to the left.
The bigger the number, the more fade it has. A disc with 3 fade goes more to the left at the end of its flight than a disc with 1 fade.
Types of discs and their disc golf flight numbers
You may also have seen each disc tends to fall into a certain category, which is often written on the disc itself. In the image above you can see the disc says “distance driver”.
Here is a general rule for how to categorize discs based on their speed ratings:
Putt & Approach Discs (Speeds 1 - 3)
Midrange Discs (Speeds 4 - 6)
Fairway Drivers (Speeds 7 - 9)
Distance Drivers (Speeds 10+)
“But the disc in that image is a 9-speed and it says its a distance driver!”
You are correct. This is yet another point that illustrates how disc golf flight numbers are just an estimation. Some companies consider 6-speed discs fairway drivers. Other companies call their 9-speeds distance drivers. It’s not uncommon to see 4-speed approach discs, either.
That should be enough to give you a basic understanding what disc golf flight numbers mean. If you intend to stop here, and you’re beginner, we’ll leave you with some tips for purchasing your first golf discs.
Disc Golf Flight Number Tips for Beginners:
Discs with lower speeds are better. (Stick with speeds 1 - 5, or even 1-3)
Most beginners do not have the arm speed to allow high-speed discs to fly to their true potential.
Discs with higher glide are better (Opt for at least 3 glide if your disc is a 1 to 3 speed, and 4+ if your disc is a 4 or 5 speed)
Discs with higher glide stay in the air longer for beginners, allowing for farther throws.
Discs with turn are better (Opt for -1 to -3 turn)
As we said before, a disc fades when it is ending its flight. Shortly after it fades, it falls to the ground. Having some turn allows the disc to move to the right first, delaying the point at which it wants to fade and end its flight. For most beginners, a disc with little or no turn will immediate fade and dump to the ground, making the flight shorter.
Avoid discs with high amounts of fade (Try discs with 0 to 1 fade)
Much like having too little turn, having too much fade for your arm speed will cause the disc to want to finish its flight early, resulting it short throws.
If you are in the market for discs, be sure to check out our Best Disc Golf Starter Sets and Best Disc Golf Discs blog articles.
Intermediate Explanation of Disc Golf Flight Numbers
Now that you have the fundamentals, let’s explore a few more concepts that will take your understanding to the next level, using the image above as our guide.
The relationship between turn and fade is a sum.
When it comes to turn and fade (left and right movement), think of 0 as the starting point or the center line (the dotted yellow line in the picture).
If a disc could flight absolutely perfectly straight, it would have 0 turn and 0 fade. There are discs out there with these flight numbers, however discs rarely fly perfectly straight in practice.
The blue disc in this image has the flight numbers 8, 5, -1, 2. You’ll see that the disc starts out by turning to the right approximately one “unit*” from the center line. This shows the -1 turn outlined in the disc’s flight numbers. Then the disc begins to fade to the left at the end of its flight. This shows the disc’s 2 fade. You’ll notice that the blue disc actually lands only one unit to the left of the center line. Why? This is because it turned one unit to the right in the beginning of its flight, then faded two units to the left at the end, leaving it only one unit from the center line. If you add -1 and +2, your end result is +1.
*There is no distance standard that corresponds with each unit of turn or fade.
Discs with lower speeds generally fly straighter, but shorter
Again, this is a generalization, but most things are when it comes to disc golf flight numbers.
Let’s look at the green disc to help further explain. The green disc has the flight numbers 6, 4, -1, 1.
Because the blue disc is an 8-speed and the green a 6-speed, you can see that the green disc didn’t go as far as the blue one. In terms of turn and fade, the green disc started out its flight turning one unit to the right, then fading one unit back to the center line. This is considered a pretty straight flight path. The green disc has a lower speed, and didn’t fly as far, but it also kept closer to the center line.
This concept isn’t illustrated that well with two discs that are similar in speed that the two above. But to explain further, you won’t find many 12 speed discs with 0 turn and 0 fade. I’m not a scientist, but I am guessing this is simply to do with the physics of making a disc that will fly far; it simply won’t be able to fly as straight. You can find plenty of discs with turns of -1 or 0 and fades of 0 or 1 in discs that are 7 speed or lower.
Note: You’ll notice that there is nothing in this chart that talks about glide. That’s because glide is a measurement of how long a disc tends to stay in the air, which is difficult to illustrate in this 2D image. We will talk more about glide later in this article.
Disc Golf Flight Numbers when Throwing Forehand
Everything we have discussed so far when it comes to flight numbers has been in reference to a right-handed, backhand thrower. But, what happens when you’re throwing a forehand?
It’s simple: the lateral movements are the opposite. When throwing right-handed forehands, the disc’s turn and fade will move in the opposite direction.
In the above example of the blue disc (8, 5, -1, 2) we said it turned to the right one unit and then faded to the left 2 units.
If we threw that disc with a forehand, it will turn one unit to the left now and then fade two units to the right.
And here’s another thing about forehands:
Many players report that, discs thrown with a forehand tend to turn more and fade less than their flight numbers suggest.
Here’s the same chart again, updated to show right-handed, forehand throws with the same discs:
What if I am left-handed?
When lefties throw backhand, the turn and fade are the same as a rightie forehand. When lefties throw forehand, the numbers are the same as a rightie backhand.
Confused yet?
Just so that we can keep it all straight, let’s do a final summary:
Right-handed backhand (RHBH)
turns right and fades left
Left-handed forehand (LHFH)
also turns right and fades left
Right-handed forehand (RHFH)
turns left and fades right
Left-handed backhand (LHBH)
also turns left and fades right
Disc Golf Flight Number Terminology
To end our Intermediate discussion of disc golf flight numbers, and to help inform the Advanced section, let’s go over a few terms that you are likely to hear.
Stable
A stable disc is resistant to turn.
This is some confusion about this term, as some use it to describe any disc that is resistant to turn. However, there is a big difference between a disc that is resistant to turn but flies generally straight, and one that is resistant to turn, but has a big fade. Some people would use the term “stable” to describe both of these discs.
For our purposes, I am going to use the term stable to describe a straight-ish disc. One that is resistant to turn, but also doesn’t have a strong fade. An example of a stable disc might be the Thoughtspace Pathfinder, with flight numbers 5, 4, 0, 1. You can even generalize stable discs to ones that fly relatively straight. The Discraft Buzzz (5, 4, -1, 1) would also be considered stable.
Overstable
Overstable discs are resistant to turn as well, but they also have a strong fade. They tend to finish hard to the left (RHBH). The Innova Roc3 (5, 4, 0, 3) would be considered an overstable midrange disc based on its flight numbers. Overstable discs may also be referred to as “beefy”.
Understable
Understable discs are discs that want to turn. They tend to finish to the right of the center line (RHBH). An example of an understable disc would be the Axiom Paradox (5, 4, -4, 0). Understable discs may also be referred to as “flippy”.
That wraps up our Intermediate section on understanding disc golf flight numbers.
Advanced Explanation of Disc Golf Flight Numbers
Welcome to the Advanced explanation of disc golf flight numbers where you discover that everything you have learned up until this point is a lie. Just kidding. Sort of…
There are a plethora of things that can affect how a disc flies relative to what its flight numbers say. These include wind strength and direction, a player’s throwing strength or speed, release angle, the type of plastic used, how “beat in” the plastic is, and more!
Not all is lost though; a disc’s flight numbers give us a starting point. Then, we can factor in how the disc should fly when taking into consideration all the other factors. Let’s have a look.
The wind “changes” flight numbers
Headwinds:
make discs turn more and fade less
Acting more understable
make the disc perform like a lower speed disc.
Fly slower, fly shorter.
can cause discs to rise up into the air.
Acting like they have more glide. In this case though, not the good kind. The discs can rise straight up, die and drop out of the sky. This is more likely to happen if the disc is nose up.
can also push discs into the ground
Acting like they have less glide. This happens if the disc’s nose angle is down.
Tailwinds:
make discs fade more and turn less
Acting more overstable
can make the disc perform like a higher speed disc.
Fly faster
may carry discs further.
Acting like more glide. But, needs to be thrown high, with nose down, using a lighter disc
can also push discs down out of the sky.
Acting like less glide. This happens if the disc isn’t thrown high enough, or if the disc is nose up.
Right to Left Crosswinds:
enhance the fade*
diminish the turn*
acting more overstable
Left to Right Crosswinds:
enhance the turn*
diminish the fade*
acting more understable
*assuming a RHBH throw
How wind “changes” a disc’s flight numbers, altering its flight path. (RHBH)
Let’s look at another chart (above) to help illustrate these points about wind.
This disc is the same disc we used in a previous example (6, 4, -1, 1). The grey disc and flight path illustrates how the disc should perform given a flat release with no wind (in theory). If we use that flight path as our starting point, we can visualize how the wind “changes” the flight numbers of the disc, altering its flight path.
The tailwind (blue) disc went slightly further and faded more.
The headwind (yellow) disc went a shorter distance and turned more
The right-to-left wind (green) disc didn’t turn as much and faded more
The left-to-right wind (purple) disc turned more and faded less.
If the wind direction is a combination (which it usually will be), you must combine the effects of each type of wind to estimate your shot’s flight path. For example, a left to right headwind will likely:
Cause the disc to go a shorter distance
Cause the disc to turn more
push the disc more to the right
All of these things will leave you with a short shot that moves significantly to the right.
How do you work around the effects of wind?
Depending on the severity of the wind, you can:
a.) adjust your aim
or
b.) choose a disc that counteracts these affects.
If the wind is mild, you may only need to adjust your aim, for example if you have a light breeze from right to left. When dealing with significant winds, particularly headwinds and tailwinds, you are more likely to need to adjust the disc that you use.
In the situation described above you would choose something with a higher speed (to get the extra distance) and with less turn and more fade (to counteract the left to right movement).
Release Angle Affects Flight Numbers
There are three types of release angles in disc golf: flat, anhyzer, and hyzer. Both anhyzer and hyzer releases can vary in how MUCH angle is put on the disc when released.
To help understand release angle, let’s look at this diagram:
The three standard release angles in disc golf for a right-handed, backhand thrower.
For a right-handed backhand thrower:
A shot released on anhyzer will have the top of the disc angled toward the player.
A shot released flat will have the top of the disc facing straight upwards.
A shot released on hyzer will have the top of the disc angled away from the player.
How does release angle affect flight numbers?
The flight numbers you see printed on your disc assume a flat release.
Shots thrown on anyhyzer will cause a disc to turn more than its flight numbers suggest
Shots thrown on hyzer will cause a disc to fade more than its flight numbers suggest.
You can use these advanced techniques to effectively alter your disc’s flight numbers.
Hyzer flip
With the proper hyzer angle, you might be able to throw an understable disc that is 9, 5, -2, 1 and have it fly more like 9, 5, 0, 1. This is called a hyzer flip.
Why? Because at the beginning of its flight, when the disc would normally be turning, it is “flipping up” from hyzer to flat instead. While it does this, it maintains a very straight flight path. Hyzer flip shots are a way to get distance while keeping your disc flying straight.
Flex shot
If you took a disc with the numbers 11, 4, 0, 3 and threw it on a significant anhyzer angle, it would begin its flight by turning instead of starting out straight. This would could cause it to fly something like like 11, 4, -2, 3. This gives it an S-shaped shot. These kinds of shots are useful for getting extra distance out of overstable discs, or for working the disc around obstacles and bends in the fairway.
Release Angle and Wind
You can also use release angle to deal with wind.
Afraid your disc will turn too much because of a headwind? Throw it on hyzer. The hyzer can counteract the increase in turn cause by the headwind.
Worried your disc will fade too hard because of a tailwind? Throw it on anyhyzer. The anyhyzer angle might help counter the extra fade from the tailwind.
Do you have a strong left to right wind, but need your disc to be controlled and fly straight? Throw it on hyzer. The hyzer angle, which usually causes more fade, can counteract the L-R wind, which usually causes more turn.
Similarly, if you have a right to left wind, you can use an anhyzer angle to prevent the wind from pushing it too far left.
Be warned, though: these are advanced techniques that bring a new level of uncertainty into your throw.
Arm speed affects disc golf flight numbers
The faster a player is able to throw the disc, the more it affects a disc’s flight path and makes it stray away from its flight numbers.
As a general rule, the higher your arm speed, the more understable discs will perform for you.
This is due to the amount of torque (high speed rotation) that is applied to the disc. A disc with the numbers 5, 4, -1, 1 might perform more like 5, 4, -3, 1 for someone with high arm speed.
However, really good players know how to adjust their throwing speed to allow the disc to fly as intended. High-level players aren’t throwing their 5 speed discs as hard as they can. They usually only do this for max-distance, high-speed drivers.
Plastic type affects disc golf flight numbers
Most manufacturers offer their molds in various types of plastic. Each plastic has its own unique characteristics when it comes to stiffness, durability, grip, and more.
The majority of companies claim that each of their discs has one set of flight numbers, regardless of which plastic it is made of.
However, experienced disc golfers will tell you that the stability of discs can change significantly depending on the plastic type.
Once again, the stability refers to how much a disc turns and fades.
Outlining the stability tendencies for each plastic type from each manufacturer is far beyond the scope of this article, but this is a good bit of information to know if you want to have an advanced understanding of disc golf flight numbers.
Many online retailers have a function that displays the average of what customers feel the true flight numbers are for each disc in each plastic. It’s a good idea to check these out, read some online forums, or chat with friends if you’re unsure.
Amount of use affects disc golf flight numbers
Closely related to plastic type and its affect on flight numbers is a disc’s amount of use. You may have heard the term “beat in” before. This describes a disc that is well used and its flight numbers have changed slightly.
Generally, the more a disc is used the more understable it becomes.
This comes as a result of falling out of the sky, skipping on hard surfaces, smacking off of trees, and other general wear and tear.
This is related to plastic type because certain types of plastic are more durable and more resistant to the loss in stability that comes with use of the disc.
Elevation affects disc golf flight numbers
And here is yet another factor that can affect a disc’s flight: elevation.
High Elevation: At high elevations, the air is thinner (less dense) because there is less atmospheric pressure. Less air resistance causes discs to behave more overstable because there is less aerodynamic force causing them to turn over.
Low Elevation: At low elevations, the air is denser because there is more atmospheric pressure. Denser air provides more resistance (drag) to the disc. More air resistance causes discs to behave more understable because the greater aerodynamic force makes them turn over more easily.
Gravity affects disc golf flight numbers
Just when you thought we were done, we go ahead and introduce another factor that affects the flight of a disc. Well, you did decide to read the Advanced section of this article, afterall. I’ll try to make it as simple as possible.
Throwing Uphill
Reduced Power:
When throwing uphill, the energy you put into the throw is working against gravity. This means less of your energy goes into propelling the disc forward, which often results in reduced velocity. This causes discs to perform as if they have lower speeds.
Angle of Release:
To get up the hill properly, you will need to adjust your nose angle to match. This means throwing nose up to match the incline of the hill. However, this can cause the disc to stall and fade quickly, acting like it has more fade than it really does.
Reduced Glide:
Discs thrown uphill usually glide less because they have to fight the upward angle and gravity, causing them to lose forward momentum more quickly.
Tip: choose a disc that is more understable, has a higher speed, and more glide than you normally would at that distance.
Throwing Downhill
Increased Initial Velocity:
Throwing downhill allows gravity to help propel the disc forward. This causes to disc to act like it’s a higher speed disc making it fly farther than you might expect.
Increased Glide:
The downhill slope means that the disc can maintain its glide longer. The disc spends more time in the air, potentially increasing the distance.
Reduced Stability:
The higher speed as a result of being thrown downhill can make discs behave more understable.
Tip: choose a disc that is more overstable, has a lower speed, and less glide than you normally would at that distance.
That’s all, folks
We’ve finally made it to the end of our extensive guide to disc golf flight numbers.
The most important thing to remember is that disc golf flight numbers are just an estimation. There really is no industry standard, but they are a great starting point.
You will get the most insight about a disc’s flight numbers by throwing it as much as you can. So pick a few highly-rated and well-loved discs for your skill level and get out there and throw, throw, throw.
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