Best Distance Driver For 2022
This article was written for 2022. Check out this article and data if you’re looking for the most up to date best distance drivers list.
Best Distance Driver of 2022
We looked at the best selling molds, the best rated molds, and counted your votes for your favorite mold, and we can declare the winner of the Best Distance Driver. And boy was it close! The Innova Destroyer and Wraith traded position on top of the sales and fan vote categories. And the ratings were separated by a hundredth of a point!
The top five were all Innova/Infinite, which is not surprising after seeing the results of the individual categories. Four of the top five molds have fairly similar flights, the exception being the 5th place Maya, the only understable mold. Here are the top molds and their ranking in the different categories.
| Mold | Sales | Rating | Fan | Total |
| Innova Destroyer | 1 | 4.63 | 2 | 7.63 |
| Innova Wraith | 2 | 4.64 | 1 | 7.64 |
| Infinite Discs Emperor | 3 | 4.75 | 3 | 10.75 |
| Infinite Discs Pharaoh | 4 | 4.71 | 4 | 12.71 |
| Infinite Discs Maya | 5 | 4.58 | 5 | 14.58 |
Here are some comments mentioned by fans:
Matt M – “Destroyer has to be my all time mold. Why? There are so many different throws you can make with it. A controlled spike hyzer, a sidearm flick, an all out distance bomber.”
David M – “My go-to is a seasoned Star Destroyer. It has a good feel for backhand and forehand. One at a lighter weight like 167-170 if I’m wanting a little more turn. The Destroyer is the gold standard for good reason.”
Tom – “My favorite driver has always been the Wraith. As they break in the develop a little instability so I can bag several Wraith of various plastic / beat in yet have the same grip. The Wraith is also very good in wind as I find it very reliable and wind resistant. Plus what is not to like about the Halo Wraith, wicked cool stamp.”
In this series exploring the best discs of 2022, we started with putters and have been moving up the speed ratings until this week. You can check out the survey results for Putters, Mid Ranges, and Fairway Drivers by clicking these links. Today, we will finally check out the highest-speed discs, the distance drivers, or high-speed drivers. Once again we will look at the sales data to see what people are buying. Then we will rank the molds by their Infinite rating. Finally, we will ask you to vote for the distance driver that you feel is the best. Then we will compile the information and declare a winner! We will also award one lucky commenter a gift card for their input.
Best Distance Drivers
There is something about the feel of a distance driver that sets it apart from other types of discs. The wide rim makes you feel like there is something significant in your hand, both in terms of mass and of potential distance. The sharper edge has a distinct feeling that is unlike other discs. Their higher speed rating requires a little more effort in your throw, making the movement a little more physical. All of these things add up to a different experience when you throw a distance driver.
The high-speed, or distance driver category has been the bane of many new disc golfers. Someone new to disc golf may not understand that the name of the category refers to how fast the disc must be 
thrown in order to fly like it’s designed to do. Instead, newer players regularly buy discs that they don’t have the skill to be able to throw properly. Therefore, many bad habits might be formed before the disc golfer understands the need to start by throwing lower-speed discs. Lighter plastics can help someone without the arm speed to throw higher speed discs. However, there are benefits to throwing lower speed discs when starting out.
High speed drivers account for slightly over a quarter of all disc sales at Infinite. That’s pretty close to where we could expect it to be. It does trail putters as a category by a couple of percentage points.
To find out which molds were the most popular, I pulled up a list of the top 20 discs that were sold in the past year. Below is a chart with the top discs, along with the percentage of all distance drivers sold:
| Rank | Brand and Mold | % of all distance drivers |
| 1 | Innova Destroyer | 10.5% |
| 2 | Innova Wraith | 9.0% |
| 3 | Infinite Discs Emperor | 6.5% |
| 4 | Infinite Discs Pharaoh | 5.2% |
| 5 | Infinite Discs Maya | 3.2% |
| 6 | Innova Beast | 2.3% |
| 7 | Innova Shryke | 2.1% |
| 8 | Innova Mamba | 2.1% |
| 9 | Discraft Avenger SS | 1.9% |
| 10 | Discraft Nuke | 1.9% |
| 11 | Innova Tern | 1.7% |
| 12 | Discraft Force | 1.5% |
| 13 | MVP Photon | 1.5% |
| 14 | Discraft Surge SS | 1.4% |
| 15 | Discraft Hades | 1.4% |
| 16 | Innova Boss | 1.4% |
| 17 | Discraft Zeus | 1.3% |
| 18 | Discraft Thrasher | 1.3% |
| 19 | Discraft Scorch | 1.2% |
| 20 | Innova Katana | 1.2% |
Brands in the Top 20
Although most people know about the popularity of the Destroyer and Wraith, they may not know that one out of every five distance drivers sold at Infinite is one of those two molds! Those are some successful molds. In addition to holding the top two spots in the category. Innova is also responsible for 8 of the top 20 distance drivers we sell. That ties Discraft, who also holds 8 of the top 20 spots. In a distant third place is Infinite Discs, with 3 of the top 20. There were only four manufacturers in the top 20, and here is a chart with the breakdown:
Although Infinite Discs only had three molds in the top 20, those molds accounted for a significant portion of the distance drivers sold. In fact, sales of Infinite’s three top-20 molds surpassed Discraft’s eight molds in the top 20. Here is a list of the four manufacturers in the top 20, with the percentage of overall distance driver sales for the past year:
Best Rated Discs
Now let’s take a look at the Infinite Discs rating for the top molds. These are the ratings that customers have given each mold when they give a review. The ratings give us a picture of how people feel about 
the disc once they’ve had a chance to throw it. That’s a more accurate indication of the long-term view of people’s opinions of the disc, assuming it’s been around long enough for a significant number of people to rate the mold. Infinite Discs’ Emperor and Pharaoh top the list, with ratings a bit above the rest of the group. Here are the top 20 discs, sorted by Infinite rating:
| Infinite Discs Emperor | 4.75 |
| Infinite Discs Pharaoh | 4.71 |
| Innova Wraith | 4.64 |
| Discraft Zeus | 4.64 |
| Innova Destroyer | 4.63 |
| Innova Tern | 4.61 |
| Innova Shryke | 4.6 |
| Discraft Surge SS | 4.59 |
| Infinite Discs Maya | 4.58 |
| Discraft Hades | 4.58 |
| Discraft Thrasher | 4.58 |
Fan Vote Results
We asked you to let us know which mold you considered to be the best distance driver. You responded by the hundreds, and we’ve compiled a list of the top molds. Just like the top mold sales, the fan vote was all Innova/Infinite. Topping the list wasn’t the popular Destroyer. It was the Wraith, which is like a slightly slower Destroyer. In addition to the brands you would expect to make the list, there were votes for many other brands, including Divergent Discs, Viking, Millennium, Legacy, Axiom, Kastaplast, Thought Space Athletics, and DGA.
Here is a list of the top voted discs, along with the percentage of people who voted for that mold.
| Mold | Percentage of Votes |
| Wraith | 13.9% |
| Destroyer | 9.4% |
| Emperor | 4.5% |
| Pharaoh | 4.1% |
| Maya | 3.7% |
| Boss | 3.4% |
| Grace | 3.0% |
| Mamba | 3.0% |
| DD3 | 2.2% |
| Shryke | 2.2% |
Thanks to everyone who voted!
Let Us Know Your Favorite!
Now it’s your turn to let us know about your favorite distance driver. Even if your disc didn’t make the list, let us know what it is, and why it is the best disc for you or the best driver for beginners. This is a great chance to show people looking for a distance driver why your favorite disc works for you!
Ted Hegemann
Ted is the Chief Writer at Infinite Discs. He is responsible for the State of Disc Golf Survey articles and most of the "best discs" posts. Ted runs all kinds of local disc golf leagues and tournaments and tournaments in Northern Utah.
My favorite distance driver is the lawin from divergent. Being a noodle arm I have tried lots of discs to find one I can throw consistently. The lawin has enough turn to get the big s flight on a flat release but is stable enough to fight out without turning and burning. Released on a slight hyzer it flips up and penetrates before lightly fading to the left. I can finally break 300 feet regularly.
Innova Wraith!!! I love that disc because of its versatility. it has a great stability to keep my shots consistent while still allowing me to push the disc for max distance. They also beat in super well to get more turn out of them. Great disc to cycle in your bag. Most people go for destroyers, but I find that I get way more control and the equal distance with a wraith. They also just feel way more comfortable in my hand!
Latitude Bolt or Discraft Heat for me.
I love my destroyers. I have them in varying premium plastics and weights, and dome. One Calvin tour series, also one socki bomb stamp. There’s always at least two in any bag I’m bringing. They’re super reliable and super comfortable. I’ve definitely crushed some sick s lines with them. Still haven’t got a hyper flip with one yet. #goals.
My favorite distance driver has become the Latitude 64 Rive. Since throwing it I find it to do everything a Destroyer was doing just a bit farther and better.
ESP Nuke! I bought it for the novelty following the commercial spoof but I love it for forehand shots! Not too beefy that all it does is move right, but overstable r ought that I can put a little extra on it to get a fair bit of distance!
My current go to for max distance is an Innova Daedalus on a hyper-flip because of my low arm speed and it’s -3 2 under stable dependable fade makes it fly pretty neutral yet the 14 speed allows for faster flight through the air. I just now can get my Zeus further so it might be replacing my max distance shot if I have enough room. Also, I’m getting into MVP and hoping the gyro can help me get more distance. I just got a MVP relativity which Is also a fast under stable 14 speed that I think will get me an extra 30 – 50 feet. I’m only throwing like 300-350 max distance on flat ground but thanks to Dave Feldberg’s training video from years ago with Ken Climo I’m having a better understanding of correct form and in the field yesterday getting much more snap and power.
My go to driver has been my Westside VIP Sword. It flies super straight for ever with a reliable fade. My other go to is the Innova Destroyer. Super overstable, but the flex lines are crazy good!
I’ve been loving the Latitude 64 Diamond 159g. I know it’s not a distance driver. I am still developing my throw and this disc works for me. I can shape shot with it well and test out new throws.
Shryke is my go-to for the extra distance! I’ve got a noodle arm, but it behaves a lot like my Valkyrie, just a little further down the fairway. It feels comfortable in the hand and is pretty reliable in the way it handles wind.
When I first started, I may as well have thrown a putter off the tee on par 5s, but now that I’ve got my form a little more dialed in, I can actually get variable distance out of something higher speed.
Tried the Scorch and haven’t been disappointed. If you’re not hitting that 12 speed yet it’s a great step in that direction. Like a slower Thrasher it doesn’t need a ton of power for sneaky distance nor does it turn ‘n burn for those who can rip.
I really like the Latitude 64 Ballista. I have just enough arm speed to give it the max flight and it fits well for my hand size.
I get consistent controllable distance with the axiom insanity in plasma plastic. I’m at 5,000 ft above sea level so it tends to fly much more stable than when I lived at sea level, and I have to put it on an anhyzer to get some turn and a full flight out of it, usually in the 320-350ft range. Its been a great workhorse for me as of late. I have also been working in a lighter weight 155 fission wave which can go 380ft or so but if I don’t have a great throw it could end up going about 250. I have a Mac weight plasma trace on the way and an excited to give that a go!
My fav is the mamba because I can actually get it to flip up with the high turn. My form isn’t good enough for the big guns like a destroyer but I can get an extra 20-30 feet with a lightweight mamba
My favorite distance driver to throw is my Infinite Pharaoh because it consistently performs the way I want it to over 2 years after purchase and countless rounds. I can flip it up easily and let it ride without worrying it’ll turn and burn. Not quite the distance of my Shryke but definitely gets me fist bumps from the card at dubs. Plus the alien pharaoh stamp is sick.
Its super hard for me to choose to be honest. I adore the Innova Vulcan and the Discraft Crank. However, I’ll have to choose the crank, specifically in Big Z plastic. I’ve bagged it for ~1.5 years and have loved it since day one. Long (in terms of long for me) distance forehand, Crank it. Turnover backhand, Crank it. Angry second putt when nobody’s around, Crank it. Love that disc to death
I have to say that MINT DISCS Longhorn has been a goto for me lately, but you can never go wrong a nice Star Wraith. Even though people have been doubtful about the Sphinx by Infinite Discs, it has changed my way of buying Disc’s in a good way.
So thank you for that!!
Thanks Again for everyone at Infinite Discs and enjoy your new Teammates for this 2022 year!!
My favorite is the Discraft Punisher. So underrated. It has such great forward-pushing over stability at the end of its flight and goes so straight while it’s cooking. It is like the beat in Destroyer everyone is looking for.
My favorite distance driver in my bag is the Innova Boss. The reason why I am choosing this disc over the other discs in my bag is because when I shoot for shots that need to be under-stable, the boss was a great choice and felt good leaving my hand.
I can’t get enough of my Maya. I keep trying other distance drivers, but none are as consistent.
Right now, my 171g Pro Tern is my go to driver. I get the best distance and decent control out of it. It has replaced my trusted Thunderbird unless there is a ton of wind