Best Disc Golf Fairway Drivers of 2018

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Disc Golf Tunnel Shot

Note, this article was written in 2018. If you’re interested in more details of the best fairway drivers this year, check out this article as well:

Last week we kicked off our new series of posts naming the best disc golf discs on the market. We chose our pick for the best distance driver, and today we will take a look at the fairway drivers. Like the distance drivers, there are lots of new fairway drivers for players to choose from. Do you just want someone to tell you which one is the best? Well, let’s try to answer that question today.

Before I list our nominees for The Infinite Discs Best Disc Golf Disc: Fairway Driver, let me break down what we are looking for in a fairway driver today. Like the distance drivers, our keywords for choosing nominees will be popularity and utility. We will select popular fairway drivers that can be utilized by disc golfers of all skill levels. This especially gets interesting for control/fairway drivers, because we see a larger spectrum of stability and uses for different types of control drivers. Just a reminder from our last post as well, we will avoid nominating similar discs from the same brand (think TeeBird and TeeBird3).

So first, lets look at which fairway drivers have been the best sellers in 2018 so far.

Top sellers of 2018:

  1. Innova Firebird
  2. Innova Teebird
  3. Innova Thunderbird
  4. Discmania FD
  5. Innova Valkyrie
  6. Innova Leopard3
  7. Innova Leopard
  8. Infinite Discs Exodus
  9. Innova Teebird3
  10. Innova Roadrunner

Innova has traditionally dominated the best sellers in the distance driver category, but in 2018 they have really made gains in the fairway drivers as well. But what is interesting to know is of the next 10 best sellers, only 2 of them are Innova discs. Nearly all brands have released a competitive selling fairway driver.

But like I said, it takes more than popularity to receive a nomination and be named the best! So here are the nominees:

Latitude 64 Diamond

The Latitude 64 Diamond is considered by many to be the beginner driver.

This fairway driver is very understable and only comes in lighter weights. That combination makes it perfect for younger players or newer players who are still working on their form. Even more experienced players who like to throw at slower speeds have been able to put the Diamond to work for their game.

 

Dynamic Discs Escape

The Escape was the first Fairway Driver made by Dynamic Discs, and it has been a staple of the lineup ever since.

The Escape offers a pretty straight and neutral flight that can be used at all skill levels. The Escape gets a little more distance than some of the other fairway drivers nominated, and it is offered in a variety of DD’s plastic blends.

 

Discmania FD

The Discmania FD has been around for seven years now, but it has really just grown in popularity over the last 2 or 3 years.

Many players consider this the slightly understable cousin of the Innova TeeBird. The FD is straight to understable with a glide rating of 6 that is no joke. The FD is a sneaky far disc with a flight pattern that can accommodate all skill levels.

 

Dynamic Discs Felon

The Dynamic Discs Felon falls in the more overstable side of the fairway driver category.

With a flatter profile and overstable flight, many would consider this disc a primarily forehand or flick disc, but more seasoned players can manage this disc throwing backhand as well. What sets the Felon apart is it isn’t a true “meathook.” This disc, when given the right power, will hold straight before delivering a reliable overstable fade at the end of the flight.

 

Innova Firebird

The Innova Firebird‘s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years due to the Nate Sexton Glow Firebirds.

But even before then, the Firebird was known as a reliable overstable fairway driver perfect for getting around a corner or when you needed a disc to hold up in the wind without turning over. The Firebird along with the Felon are probably the least beginner friendly of our nominees.

 

Innova Leopard/Leopard3

We decided to list the Innova Leopard and Leopard3 together. If we were putting this list together last year, we probably would have just nominated the Leopard. But over the last year the Leopard3 has jumped way up on the sales charts and is becoming more and more mainstream. They are similar discs, with the Leopard3 offering a little more speed and stability. The Leopard is a very popular beginner’s disc, especially in DX plastic where it is inexpensive and offered in lighter weights. But both the Leopard and the Leopard3 have a flight that all throwers can find a use for.

 

Latitude 64 River

The Latitude 64 River has moved down the sales charts a bit over the last year, but it still is a very popular disc that has a unique mold and flight.

The River is slightly bigger than most drivers, but it has a smaller rim and a slight dome. I personally don’t know the science of it, but the River has great glide that allows the disc to stay in the air for what seems like forever. This disc is a long, straight flyer that can accommodate all arm speeds.

 

Innova Roadrunner

The Innova Roadrunner has been around for over 13 years, but it is experiencing a bit of a resurgence.

It has always been a very popular understable disc that is great for beginners. But recently the Roadrunner is growing in popularity as a distance roller disc for more experienced players. That being said, bigger arms will still enjoy this disc for long understable air shots.

 

Innova TeeBird

The Innova TeeBird will turn 20 years old in 2019, and throughout that time it has been an extremely popular disc for players of all skill levels.

It is in that sweet spot in stability where it isn’t too overstable for newer players, but it is overstable enough to handle big power from the pros. The TeeBird has a reliable flight and is available in a large variety of plastic blends and weights.

 

Innova Thunderbird

The Innova Thunderbird is often described as being a faster TeeBird, offering a little more distance. And if you just go by the manufacturers flight ratings, that is exactly right.

The higher speed makes this disc a little less beginner friendly, but is still very popular among all disc golfers. If you have found a shot that the TeeBird just comes up a bit short on, try a Thunderbird and you should be pretty close!

 

MVP Volt

MVP and their Gyro technology disrupted the disc golf world when they first hit the scene.

At first they just offered putters and midranges, but at the end of 2012 they brought the overmold to the drivers with their release of the Volt. The Volt has continued to be one of MVP‘s best selling discs ever since. It is a straight to slightly overstable fairway driver that delivers a consistent flight pattern.

 

We have quite a few more nominees for our fairway drivers than we had distance drivers, but like I mentioned, the fairway driver category covers more types of flights, so we felt that there were more discs that deserved nominations in this category.

Best Fairway Driver of 2018

All of these fairway drivers are very popular and can enhance the game of disc golfers of all skill levels. But today we have made our decision for the BEST fairway driver on the market. And the winner is…

THE INFINITE DISCS BEST DISC GOLF DISC: FAIRWAY DRIVER

INNOVA TEEBIRD

It is hard to make a case against the Innova TeeBird. The TeeBird has been the standard of the fairway driver category for years, and it offers a flight that can compliment the game of all skill levels of disc golfers. The TeeBird is available in a large variety of plastic blends and weights, so if you haven’t, check out the TeeBird today.

What’s your favorite fairway driver? Share your opinion with the disc golf world by commenting below.

TOP TWENTY TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 13TH 2018

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Infinite Discs is happy to present the weekly blog post called TOP TWENTY TUESDAY where we let you know about the short-term sales trends for discs. We’ll show the sales figures from the previous Tuesday through the most recent Monday.
New discs will often spike in the chart as other top sellers shuffle spots. It can be fun to see which discs keep up the pace. These will also be broken down by plastic types, so the same model can show up in multiple plastics.
HERE WE GO…

Top Twenty Tuesday for NOVEMBER 13th, 2018

#5 – Star ORC
#6 – D-Line P2
#7 – XT Mix NOVA
#10 – P-Line P2
#11 – DX ROC
#14 – Star SHRYKE
#15 – Star BEAST
#16 – Eclipse ENVY
#18 – Prime DEPUTY
The Destroyer held a strong 1st position this last week, though the Full Foil Super Color BUZZZ made a good run with a strong #2 spot. Those Ledgestone 2019 edition Full Foil Buzzz discs are limited to 250 per Bee, with seven different bee designs, so collectors jumped on those quickly. Discmania made a good showing with their two new releases, the C-Line PD Freak which had a 10th anniversary stamp, and the Metal Flake C-Line MD4 which was new this last week. The rest of the chart shook up with several new entries, but all with moderate sales. In fact, there are only six discs out of this week’s top 20 that were also in last week’s chart, so that is quite a shake-up.
–> Each week we’ll invite you to leave a prediction for a certain chart position on next week’s TOP TWENTY TUESDAY report. The first three people to predict that chart position correctly in the comments will win a $15 gift card for the Infinite Discs website.
We had not winners for this week’s guessing, since the DX Roc jumped from nowhere into the #11 spot. That was pretty random, and hard to predict. We’ll make it easier this week…
GIFT CARD PREDICTION FOR NEXT WEEK:  Guess the #3 spot for next week’s chart!

Best Disc Golf Distance Drivers of 2018

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***Update***

This post was written for 2018. If you’re looking for the best drivers of 2020, check out these more recent articles.

Choosing a disc golf disc isn’t as easy as it used to be. Over the last 5 years alone the disc golf industry has exploded with new manufacturers and molds that has given the disc golfer more variety and options than ever before. But what is a blessing can also be a curse for folks who are new to the sport. They might feel intimidated by complex flight charts and numbers. While working at Infinite Discs, I have often been asked by newer players, “Could you just tell me which is the best disc?”

Well, that’s the question this new series of posts will hope to answer. Over the next few weeks, we will be naming nominees for the best disc golf disc in a variety of categories and awarding one of the nominees with the title of The Infinite Discs Best Disc Golf Disc in each category. Will our nominees and winners be subjective? Absolutely, but we will do our best to be fair and impartial judges.

How will we choose our nominees and winners then? The two key words we will use to guide us in the nomination process will be popularity and utility. We want to select a popular disc that can be utilized by disc golfers at a large variety of skill levels and arm speeds. We will also try to avoid nominating similar discs from the same brand. For example, we won’t be nominating both the Destroyer and the Wraith from Innova. While they are two different discs that can be used differently, that difference is slight enough to not merit nominating them each individually.

Today, let’s discuss the best disc golf distance drivers. We will first take a look at the top 10 selling distance drivers of 2018, and then I will name our nominees.

Top sellers of 2018:

  1. Innova Destroyer
  2. Innova Wraith
  3. Innova Shryke
  4. Infinite Discs Pharaoh
  5. Innova Boss
  6. Innova Tern
  7. Innova Beast
  8. Dynamic Discs Trespass
  9. Discmania PD Freak
  10. Innova Orc

If you have followed any of our sales reports, this shouldn’t be a very surprising list. The one that surprises me the most would be the Discmania PD. It wasn’t a new release this year, but its popularity has grown significantly over the last few years. This is a category that has been dominated by Innova for a while now, but as you will see in our nominees, there are other manufacturers that are producing high quality distance drivers that continue to grow in popularity.

So, without further ado, here are the nominees for the Infinite Discs Best Disc Golf Disc: Distance Driver:

Discraft Crank

The Discraft Crank was originally released in 2013. Ever since then, it has been a staple in the Discraft lineup that has provided throwers with a long, slightly understable flight that works great for intermediate players who are just getting the hang of the distance drivers, but it still has enough stability for more expert throwers who need a reliable understable flyer that can just sail forever.

 

Discmania DDx

The DDx set the disc golf world on fire during the summer of 2016 with a hot release that was highly anticipated. The DDx is rumored to have been created by combining a Destroyer top and a Tern bottom. I’m not sure how true this is, but this allows for a great explanation for the DDx‘s flight pattern that is enjoyed by players of all skill levels. It isn’t too understable like a Tern is for some, and it isn’t too overstable like a Destroyer is for others. The DDx is a straight, stable flying disc with glide for days.

 

Westside Destiny

The Westside Destiny might be the most understable distance driver nominated, but don’t assume you have too much arm speed if you haven’t tried it yet. The Destiny offers higher arm speeds a reliable hyzer-flip disc that (in the right conditions) can turn over and sail a long time before slowly stabling up to have a soft fade to finish. If you’ve tried throwing the other discs nominated here and can’t seem to get the distance your more experienced friends are getting, try out the Destiny.

Innova Destroyer

The consistent king of the sales charts, the Destroyer definitely ranks high in popularity. It has an impressive performance as well that nearly all disc golfers can incorporate into their game. It may not be considered the most beginner friendly, but this disc is available in a wide variety of weights and plastic types that make it accessible for nearly all skill levels, and it is a disc that players do not outgrow. There has been some speculation already that the Destroyer will suffer from the recent Paul McBeth news, but they have a short memory. The Destroyer has been a game changer since 2007, and I think it will be just fine without the McBeast.

 

Discraft Nuke

The old question in the distance driver world was do you prefer the Nuke or the Destroyer?

Since then the distance driver world has gotten much more crowded, but the Nuke still remains a favorite for lots of disc golfers who prefer the higher speed and larger rim that it offers.

Like the Destroyer, Discraft has made the Nuke available in a wide variety of plastics and weights.

 

Dynamic Discs Sheriff

The Sheriff came to town in 2017 with a very welcomed reception. The Sheriff offers a little more stability than the Westside Destiny, making it one of the most utilizable distance drivers in the trilogy lineup.

The Sheriff can be hyzer-flipped by the big arms, and it offers reliable distance for nearly all skill levels.

 

Innova Shryke

The Shryke has had a somewhat sneaky climb into prominence. It rose above other understable high speed drivers that Innova released before by offering that perfect balance in stability that allows higher arm speeds to still enjoy and maximize the distance in the Shryke.

For many players, the Shryke has become  the Destroyer light.

 

Dynamic Discs Trespass

The Trespass was one of the first discs that Dynamic Discs released when they began manufacturing discs in 2012. It has been a strong seller ever since, and it was one of the first discs that really disrupted the “Nuke or Destroyer” train of thought. It disrupted the market with a similar flight in the now popular Swedish plastic blends, and now the Trespass has become a household disc golf name.

Those are the nominees for The Infinite Discs Best Disc Golf Disc:

And the winner is….

Best Distance Driver of 2018

 

THE INFINITE DISCS BEST DISC GOLF DISC: DISTANCE DRIVER

INNOVA DESTROYER

No upsets here. The Innova Destroyer was a game changer when it was first released over 10 years ago, and it continues to be a force in the disc golf community. It is available in nearly all plastics and weights, so if you haven’t given this disc a shot, you should be able to find a Destroyer that will fit for your game. We have thousands of Innova Destroyer’s in stock in dozens of fun and limited edition stamp types.

Best Mid-Range Discs – Sales Comparison

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We’re big fans of data here at Infinite Discs. We enjoy looking at sales trends and comparing what is moving in the disc golf market. One of the best ways to evaluate which discs are most loved by players is to look at which discs sell the most, because honestly, people purchase discs that they use and love. Sometimes the sales figures get a bump from special editions or new releases. But as the sales figures are measured over the long-term, we can see which discs enjoy momentary spikes, and which ones are always near the top.

Keep in mind that these sales figures are from Infinite Discs, and as one of the largest online disc retailers, we feel that they reflect the tastes of the most avid disc golfers. But they do not represent the entire market. If a brand has their own retail store, it is likely that they draw some of those avid fans directly to their own store and that would have some effect on our totals. We also don’t know about sales trends at big box stores which cater to casual or new players.

Consistently On the Charts

Discraft BUZZZ

Innova ROC3

Innova MAKO3

Innova ROC

Dynamic Discs EMAC TRUTH

Discmania MD3

The Buzzz is always riding at or near the top position when it comes to sales, with the Roc3 and Mako3 coming close behind. Other consistently charting mid-range discs are the Roc, the Emac Truth, and the MD3.  There are other popular mid-range discs that sell more in waves, depending on special editions, pro support stamps, etc.

Breaking Down the Sales in 6-Month Increments

We’re going to take a look at four charts, each representing a different period. We’ll start with the most recent and go backward to see which mid-range discs have had momentary spikes, and which ones have held strong for the long term.

This more recent data (red chart) shows that the Discraft Buzzz has a strong lead as the number one, best-selling mid-range disc.  The Roc3 and Mako3 by Innova are also consistent contenders.  The MVP Deflector has a strong showing on this chart because it was a new release during this 6-month sales period, and it really was the overstable mid-range that MVP fans had been waiting for. The Anubis by Infinite Discs was also a new release during this period, so it made a strong showing in the 10th position.

Going back six months to late 2017 and early 2018 (blue chart), we can see the that top three were strong in that period as well. The Buzzz, Roc3, and Mako3 sold well, with the HyzerBomb Mortar coming in a strong 4th as it had a much anticipated restock run and fans were able to get their hands on it again. The Emac Truth holds a steady position in the middle of the pack as it did in the more recent chart. The Innova Rat came out as a new release and jumped in at the #9 spot.

Now let’s go back a full year to summer and fall of 2017 (green chart) and we can see that the Roc3 had outsold the Buzzz during that period. Again, the Emac Truth was holding strongly in the middle of the pack.  The Discraft Comet made a good showing. The Innova Stingray had a good showing, primarily as a popular pro signature disc that year, and the Innova RocX3 was a new disc that made a good splash.

Let’s go all the way back to late 2016 and early 2017 (orange chart). The Buzzz was still the top-seller. We can tell by the longer term track record that the Buzzz, Roc3, Mako3, and Roc have always been handing on to the top spots. The MD3 and MD4 by Discmania have popped in a couple of times. The Emac Truth has been hanging out in the middle the entire time. It is also interesting to see that two years ago, the Verdict, Justice, and Truth by Dynamic Discs joined the Emac Truth to take four spots out of the top 10, with Latitude 64 making a showing with the Compass.

TOP TWENTY TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 6th 2018

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Infinite Discs is happy to present the weekly blog post called TOP TWENTY TUESDAY where we let you know about the short-term sales trends for discs. We’ll show the sales figures from the previous Tuesday through the most recent Monday.
New discs will often spike in the chart as other top sellers shuffle spots. It can be fun to see which discs keep up the pace. These will also be broken down by plastic types, so the same model can show up in multiple plastics.
HERE WE GO…

Top Twenty Tuesday for NOVEMBER 6th, 2018

#3 – XT Mix NOVA
#5 – DX AVIAR
#6 – D-Line P2
#8 – Eclipse ENVY
#9 – P-Line P2
#11 – Star SHRYKE
#12 – Fission VOLT
#16 – GStar KRAIT
This week’s chart looks very, very odd compared to the last few weeks. The announcement by Innova that Paul McBeth would be leaving the brand had a huge impact on sales of discs that have a Paul McBeth signature. The Star Destroyer absolutely demolished all of the competition, winning the #1 spot several times over. Also in the top 20, we can see the McPro Aviar, the XT Nova, the Champion Roc3, the Champion Thunderbird, and the GStar Krait, all of which have Paul McBeth signatures.
Also making the first appearance in the Top Twenty Tuesday charts are two X-Out discs– the Star X-Out Destroyer, and the I-Blend X-Out Sphinx.  We do sell a lot of X-Outs and Misprints here at Infinite Discs, so is interesting to see a couple of those spike onto the chart. We also saw a couple of MVP discs hit the chart this week, due to the released of the Jalapeno Assassin stamp on a bunch of MVP and Axiom discs models.
The Exodus also hit the chart in both S-Blend and I-Blend since it is on sale this week. Watch for another model from Infinite Discs to go on sale at the end of this week.
–> Each week we’ll invite you to leave a prediction for a certain chart position on next week’s TOP TWENTY TUESDAY report. The first three people to predict that chart position correctly in the comments will win a $15 gift card for the Infinite Discs website.
Our winners for this week, guessing that the #7 spot would be the Champion Roc3, are Rick Meyer and Trevor Andrews. Good job guys!
GIFT CARD PREDICTION FOR NEXT WEEK:  Guess the #11 spot for next week’s chart!
(Must post your guess in the blog comments)

Free Stuff For Playing Disc Golf! – Infinite Courses November Competition

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Infinite Courses Competition

Need an excuse to play disc golf in November?

Do you want free stuff for playing disc golf?

After nearly two years of idling in beta status, we have finally, officially launched our Infinite Courses website and are rewarding those who help us populate it with accurate information.

Participate in our November Infinite Courses competition and earn:

 

Sales Impact of Paul McBeth Leaving Innova

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We all heard the big announcement yesterday. Paul McBeth and Innova have parted ways for the 2019 season. Where will he go? It has not been confirmed yet, but the biggest speculation out there is that he will join the ranks of Team Discraft.

But, how does this effect sales? Let’s take a look! We snagged the sales data over the past week for Star Destroyers and the entire brand of Discraft to take a look. Let’s start off with Star Destroyers. (Like always, we cannot disclose exact sales numbers, but can show trends.)

Star Destroyer sales rocketed through the roof on Halloween after Innova’s announcement. People are stocking up on the McBeth stamped discs. We also saw higher trends in Roc3s, Thunderbirds, Novas, and even Kraits. While it is unknown how many of these discs remain at Innova’s warehouse, people aren’t taking any risks. Some people see these discs as an investment, and others as a piece of history.

Now let’s take a look at the Discraft sales for the week, just for fun.

Discraft did have a bump in sales after Halloween’s announcement, but not nearly as massive as the Star Destroyers. This is likely because it is not confirmed where McBeth will make his new home. However the rumors and speculation most often place him with Discraft.

Will these trends change going forward? We will see!

Top Twenty Tuesday – October 30th 2018

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Infinite Discs is happy to present the weekly blog post called TOP TWENTY TUESDAY where we let you know about the short-term sales trends for discs. We’ll show the sales figures from the previous Tuesday through the most recent Monday.
New discs will often spike in the chart as other top sellers shuffle spots. It can be fun to see which discs keep up the pace. These will also be broken down by plastic types, so the same model can show up in multiple plastics.
HERE WE GO…

Top Twenty Tuesday for OCTOBER 30th, 2018

#5 – Star ORC
#7 – D-Line P2
#8 – P-Line P2
#14 – Eclipse ENVY
#15 – DX LEOPARD
#16 – Star SHRYKE
#17 – Star WRAITH
#18 – DX AVIAR
There was a lot of shuffling around this week. The Eclipse Envy dropped from a run-away 1st-place spot last week to #14 this week, showing how a new release (particularly with a limited edition) can spike in its first week. Plus, our supply diminished, which undoubtedly slowed sales. Taking the #1 spot this week was the new Signature Glow C-Line MD4 that came out during the last week supporting Simon Lizotte. The Star Destroyer keeps a hold near the top, and coming in third was the Galactic McPro Aviar because of the USDGC Champion commemorative edition. Oddly, the Nova and Orc both spiked in sales this last week, pushing ahead of the very popular P2 putters that dropped in three different plastics to spots 7, 8, and 9.  Also odd this last week was the movement of the Pro Aviar-X (JK mold) upward from nowhere to even pass the DX Aviar, which is a top-selling standard.  Also entering the chart for the first time is the new Marksman by HyzerBomb.
–> Each week we’ll invite you to leave a prediction for a certain chart position on next week’s TOP TWENTY TUESDAY report. The first three people to predict that chart position correctly in the comments will win a $15 gift card for the Infinite Discs website.
Surprisingly, there were no winners from the guessing for the last week, as the Mako3 slid into the #12 spot out. It hadn’t been on a chart yet, so that was a bit unexpected. Feel free to guess for the next chart.
GIFT CARD PREDICTION FOR NEXT WEEK:  Guess the #7 spot for next week’s chart!
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