Why Weight Matters in Disc Golf

When you shop for a new disc, you likely prioritize finding a weight range that you like. If a disc is too heavy for you, get the distance you want. Too light of a disc and it may be too flippy to be useful. The weight of a disc affects its speed, stability and the way it will fly. In this blog we will discuss how the weight of a disc affects the flight of the disc as well as your disc purchases.

Disc Speed and Distance

There is a solid relationship between how fast a disc is thrown to how far the disc will travel. The faster the throw, the greater the potential to get more distance. There is an exception to this ‘rule’, which we will talk about, but there is a good general relationship between speed and distance.

According to Best Disc Golf Discs’ YouTube Channel, for every mile per hour of disc speed, there is an average increase of about seven feet in distance. Theoretically, an easy way to get more arm speed is to throw a lighter disc. Research shows that throwing a lighter disc can lead to increase in throw speed. As an example, throwing a disc that is 20 grams lighter can result in an increase in speed of 6.5 MPH. That would mean an increase in distance of over 45 feet!

Light Discs = Big Distance

Moving beyond theory and into practice, we have a perfect example of using lighter discs to gain distance. In 2016, David Wiggins Jr threw an R-Pro Innova Boss 1,108.92 feet. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the Boss weighed 154g. There was a ripping tailwind that contributed to Wiggins crushing the former record by a couple hundred feet.

The former distance record was set the day before by Simon Lizotte. Lizotte was the first person to throw a disc over 900 feet (903.9 feet). The disc he used was a 157g Innova Blizzard Boss. Although angle control and massive tailwinds played a part in both records, so did the lighter discs used.

Disc Stability Also Matters

We’ve established that lighter-weight discs can get you more speed and possibly more distance. Now let’s discuss the flight numbers of the disc and how weight affects those numbers, specifically the stability of the disc (the third and fourth numbers in the four number flight rating).

Because a lighter disc can be thrown faster, it has a tendency to turn to the right more at the fastest part of the throw. How much it turns depends on how fast you throw the disc and what speed rating the disc has.

If you are an advanced player that buys overstable discs that can handle your power, throwing lighter discs might give you nice S-turns that translates to longer throws. If you already throw molds that have a good amount of turn, lighter versions of those molds might be too flippy to handle.

If you are a newer player who struggles to throw 280 feet, lighter discs might be just what you need to get a good flight and break that 300-foot barrier.

Light Discs in the Wind

As a general rule, the lighter the disc, the more it will be affected by the wind. That isn’t always a bad thing. While a headwind will make a disc more flippy and prone to turn (maybe even too much turn), a tailwind will tone down the turn, and likely give you more distance (refer to the record-setting throws above).

Cross winds can also affect lighter discs more than heavier discs. They will either push a disc farther in the direction of the wind, or drop the disc faster, depending on the angle of the disc and the direction of the wind.

Choosing Your Disc Weights

The bottom line in selecting a disc is that it flies good for you at your skill level. If your discs are turning to much for you, you may need faster, heavier, or more overstable discs. If every disc you throw is a meat hook, look for slower, lighter, and more understable discs. Here are a few guidelines for disc selection:

Putter or Midrange Discs

Since putters and midrange discs are typically used for control shots rather than long distance, getting max weight is fine. They won’t be affected by the wind as much as lighter discs, which will help with accuracy. Midrange discs can also be heavier than max putters due to their larger diameter.

If you want a little more distance out of your putter or midrange, you could get a lighter disc. Many midrange discs and putters come in 160’s weight. Lighter discs make it easier to make take longer putts, although they would be affected by the wind a little more.

Fairway and Distance Drivers

The max weight for most fairway and distance drivers is 175g. The lightest discs can dip below 130g. The disc weight that would work best for you depends on your skill level and the flight you are looking for.

Newer Players

Newer players typically lack the skill to throw a driver very fast, which means it won’t go very far. Lighter discs are easier to get faster throws with, and should be the focus for beginners. Look for molds in the 150g range (or possibly even lighter discs), and ones that have a little more turn (-2 to -4). As your skills improve and you can throw faster, you will see more turn in your flights. That would be a good time to look for slightly heavier discs, say around 165-170g.

They would also have the option to look for molds with higher speeds with the same weight, which will mean they will turn less since they require a faster throw. The advantage of getting heavier disc at the lower speed is that the wind won’t affect it as much. A good way to save a few bucks while you are experimenting with discs is to look for sales, misprints, and factory seconds.

Advanced Players

More advanced players can throw faster speeds and often need max weight (and overstable) discs to keep the it from turning and crashing to the ground. Even so, they could still benefit from keeping a lighter driver in their bag for times when they are throwing in a tailwind or up a steep hill.

Many players will have several discs of same mold in their bag, all with different weights, plastic types, or levels of wear. Then they can get a variety of shot shapes with the same familiar feel of the disc.

Other Things That Affect Distance

In this discussion of the weight/distance relationship theory, we are assuming that all other variables that come into play are the same every throw, so we can isolate the role that weight plays. In practice, many other factors come into play when we throw. Grip, nose angle, wobble, and spin all affect the flight shape and distance of a disc. However, for this discussion we just wanted to focus on the role that weight plays in our throws, so we will imagine that everything else is perfect and consistent.

How Are the Weights Listed on a Disc?

Different brands indicate the weight of their discs in different ways. Some give the exact weight listed on their scale when they weigh them individually. This can be done with ink or with laser etching. Other brands just list a range of weights, even though they are still weighed individually. So, how does Infinite Discs approach the manufacturer’s declared weight?

Long ago, Infinite adopted a policy of trusting the manufacturer to put the correct weight (or weight range) on the disc. They have a vested interest in giving the most accurate weight as possible. Infinite simply lists what ever wight the manufacturer indicates on the disc. If there is a weight range on the disc (like Discraft does) we list the lowest weight in the range. If the manufacturer lists 173-175g on a disc, we go with 173g on our listing. We do that because our system doesn’t allow us to post a range.

We have considered weighing the discs and posting the weight by the picture of the disc, but there are drawbacks to that. Different scales sometimes give different readings for the same disc. Our scales might not agree the manufacturer’s scale, nor with a customer’s scale, which might result in some upset customers! Instead, we post the weight from the manufacturer.

What if We Post the Wrong Weight?

We try to be as accurate as possible when we post the weight of a disc. We even double check before we ship out discs to make sure the weight, color, and mold are the same as what is listed on our website. Even with those guardrails in place, we may end up mislabeling a disc weight. If that happens, we’re happy to help the best we can. Just know that we genuinely try our best to get the disc listed.

We hope that this information has been helpful in understand a little bit more about disc weights and how they affect flight. We hope you better understand how brands mark the weight of their discs, and how we at Infinite Discs work with those brands and trust in those manufacturers to indicate the weight of their discs so that our buyers can make an informed purchasing decision.