LEARN INNOVA DISC FLIGHT NUMBERS
WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS ALL ABOUT
Innova's Disc Flight Number Rating System was designed to describe how each disc should fly if thrown at the golf disc's optimal performing SPEED. The ratings system consists of 4 flight characteristics: Speed, Glide, Turn, & Fade, and are set on numbered scales to rate the amount of each flight trait. CRDG recommends studying the golf disc flight #s to find the best discs for your game.
The plastic [TYPE] used to mold each disc affects the Flight Numbers. CLICK TO LEARN INNOVA GOLF DISC PLASTICS.
SPEED
Speed is measured on a scale from 1 (slowest) to 14 (fastest). Innova design discs to perform ideally at specific speeds, which they show on most golf discs. This SPEED RATING is used when calculating the golf disc's Glide, Turn, & Fade ratings.
WHAT SPEED IS EACH DISC?
1-3 SPEED DISCS: These are blunt nosed, slower & straighter flying molds similar to a catch Frisbee. Although it's slow, a Putter can fly very far - when thrown with good technique. Some Pros throw Aviar putters 500 ft.
4-5 SPEED DISCS: A Mid-range is designed for medium length drives and typically has a beveled edge, so it flies faster than a putter. Middies will NAIL the majority of your ACES, so it's a great idea to learn to throw a mid-range well!
6-8 SPEED DISCS: These discs fill the gaps between mid-range & super-long drivers. It's a good idea to start throwing a fairway driver as a beginner. The F-D has plenty of distance and will keep you in the FAIRWAY MORE!
9-14 SPEED DISCS: Distance Drivers have sleek leading edges that make them more aerodynamic and much faster than blunt-nosed discs. The fastest drivers (13-14 speed) have a wide rim that may be too big for smaller hands.
I'M GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BAG!
CRDG recommends no-less than 10 [well-practiced] discs in your bag — if you're serious about the game. Disc golf is easier to master if you use a disc specifically designed for each shot. Therefore, you will need discs that go fast, slow, right, straight, left, far, short, medium, etc. Many Pros carry over 20 specialized discs...even more on courses where discs can be easily lost. Losing a disc is inevitable, so plan ahead with back-up discs. You must master throwing discs with different plastic-types and flight characteristics, so you can master all the shots.
GLIDE
Glide gives a disc loft at different speeds. More glide usually means more distance and is helpful for less powerful throwers. Glide is measured from low/less [1] to high/more [7].
SWITCHIN' TO GLIDE
FINESSE DISC: Throwing a High Glide disc usually requires more finesse & less boom, and is tough to master. Over powering and missing the angle of release with a high glide disc will amplify the errant shot. Noobs need high-glide & high-turn discs.
LOW GLIDER: You need LOW GLIDE Discs for shots that need to get down to the ground fast and dig, or skip. Less Glide will cut through a head-wind, and won't get blown around in high winds. Note! Less glide discs work well on upshots when it's windy.
FINE-LINE: Glide is a finicky trait and it requires lots of practice to master! High glide is great for stretching distance-drives, but it can be hard to judge this property in windy conditions. High glide into a wind can go rogue and glide forever.
HIGH GLIDE: Beginners and younger or less athletic players will love how higher glide helps stretch their distance drives. High glide is also best for down-wind tosses. This is due to physics; as throwing down-wind increases the disc's stability and it fades faster.
INNOVA FLIGHT NUMBERS ARE UNIVERSAL!
Innova and most manufacturers use a similar system of numbers to show the flight characteristics of each disc. These numbers show how much SPEED, GLIDE, TURN, & FADE a disc possesses. These numbers are hot-stamped somewhere on most of their discs. You can also find Innova's flight numbers on our product pages along with detailed descriptions of the disc's flight characteristics.
The disc's Flight Numbers will morph to less-stable as a disc breaks-in and becomes factored out.
TURN
Turn is scaled from LESS [+1] to MORE [-5] and is very tricky to tame. Turn makes a disc BANK to the direction of its revolutions and is influenced by everything, I. E., speed, spin, wind, plastic, disc condition, etc.
LEARN TO TURN
ANHYZER: Throwing a disc right-hand|back-hand and getting it to curve to the right is called a Turn-over. Anhyzer, Anny, Draw, and Flip are also names disc golfers call turning shots. Owning a great turn-over technique takes your game to another level.
ROLLER: Every disc can be made to turn-over, but flippy discs with extra high Turn will flip or turn-over the easiest. High Turn coupled with high Glide makes for a great Roller Shot disc. CRDG recommends learning a back-hand long distance ROLLER-SHOT.
WINDS: A [-5 TURN-RATED] disc is flippy and will fly like a paper-plate into a head-wind. Albeit, it will make a great down-wind long distance driver; especially if mated with low Fade. Note! Ripping a heavy Star Boss into a heavy head-wind works well!
UNDER-STABLE: Note! Turn = Under-stable. An Under-stable disc can be thrown high & hard, and made to anhyzer for long distances. Long drivers thrown directly down-wind tend to fade-out quicker. Use a slower -4 Turn rated disc for down-hill shots.
FLIGHT NUMBERS ARE OFTEN MISINTERPRETED!
The 13-Speed ~ 2-Fade Star Daedalus thrown softly and slowly with less RPMs will start to fight back and fade-out early & often. It will act like it is a 3 or 4 Fader, because it has a big front-lip and carries lots of weight in its huge wings. The 13-speed DaeDae's Fade rating was not calibrated from a slow speed, because it's a missile that was designed to go fast and far. Note! As your skills improve you will learn to throw off-speed shots using different release angles, and varied speeds and RPMS.
High-end Plastic-types are much more durable and do not Factor nearly as quickly!
FADE
The END portion of a disc's Journey is known as its FADE. In other words, after disc Speed is slowing, and Glide & Turn begin to dissipate; it banks the opposite direction of its spin and FADES to Earth.
INSTABILITY IN YOUR BAG
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Fade is scaled from less-stable [0] to over-stable [5]. Mastering all Fade Rated discs will dramatically lower your scores. You must have under-stable discs that fly straight and turn-over down-wind! And, you need discs for headwinds—and all situation-shots in between.
HYZER-SHOT: Higher-Fade discs, Aka: STABLE discs, will bank left and down on righthand, backhand throws. High Fade rated discs can be made to skip or dig—and you need to know these technical shots! High # Fade-Rated discs usually have a deep rim and a big front lip.
HEADWIND: Master discs that Fade or Hyzer HARD! It's the best type of disc [in all Speeds] for throwing into a head-wind, and most windy conditions. A high Fade disc thrown nose-up into a gust will wind-bounce and fade-out WAY short. So, throw across your chest into a wind.
LOW-FADE: Beginners to Pros need discs that won't fade too HARD! Because, Low-Fade rated discs tend to stay flying flat longer and hook less. This may keep you from fading early and skipping into a creek, the rough, or Out of Bounds. Please learn to throw less stable discs!
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
Disc golf courses are becoming more and more tricky. Some holes have Island Greens, Double Mandos, OB lines only 2-meters from the target, and head-wind throws over ponds. If you miss-throw on any of these you better have the right back-up disc in your bag! Carry a couple extra mid-range, fairway, and distance in your bag — in case you lose a disc.
Keep a new extra-stable, FAST driver in your bag for windy days.
YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE!
How Cliche—But True! You'll need to do some research, and then lots of practice if you want to GO-PRO! CRDG recommends studying the Flight Numbers and using them to your game's advantage. Start by figuring out what SPEED disc you can throw the furthest. Also, find out what disc you can power into a head-wind and what disc you can TURN.
GO THROW SOME DISCS!
You'd be surprised what disc the regular disc golfer can throw the farthest. We suggest purchasing or borrowing a Boss and a Mamba in similar high-end plastics, and then heading to a wide open field. Set your tees to throw down-wind and then return into a head-wind. Throw each driver and focus on both distance and accuracy. Also, throw with a power-grip and a pinch-grip to see if you have a preference!
WE HAVE SOME WINNERS!
When the 11-Speed Mamba is thrown hard and smooth it will fly further downwind than the 13-Speed Boss. And, it will not fade hard and skip wildly away. But, the exact opposite happens coming back, as the GStar Mamba gets over-powered by a meagre breeze and flips early and heads into the rough. Meanwhile, the Boss slices through the wind like it's in the vacuum of space. The Star Boss is our favorite head-wind driver. The GStar Shryke is CRDG's favorite driver for extra distance. The Destroyer and Daedalus are recommended for long-distance drivers. And, the Mamba & Roadrunner are our favs for Rollers. Thunderbird, Roc3 & RocX3 and, R-Pro Aviar, are also highly recommended.