Perhaps you just started playing with a single Frisbee. Frisbee Golf discs are substantially different than a traditional catch and throw Frisbee. Golf Discs are made with more dense plastics and weigh more than a traditional catch disc and have a smaller diameter than an Ultimate Frisbee. There are literally thousands of different golf discs made by multiple manufacturers in the United States, Sweden, Canada, Finland, and China.
The largest Frisbee manufacturers are actually located within the US. Innova Champion Discs and Legacy Discs manufactures their discs in California while Discraft and MVP Disc sports manufacture in Michigan. The next largest frisbee golf manufacturer is Latitude 64 in Sweden.
There are three main types of Frisbee Golf Discs: Drivers, Midrange Discs and
Putters. A simple way to get started, and learn about the different discs types is by purchasing a starter set.
Disc Golf Sets
If you aren’t interested in taking lots of time comparing the thousands of different golf discs on the market, try one of these excellent value beginner Frisbee Golf Sets available with free shipping on Amazon.
Putters
Putters are the most basic golf discs available. In disc golf, putters are not only used for close range “putting” shots, but they are also used for shorter distance straight flying drives. Professional disc golfers can throw putters in excess of 400 feet! Putters have blunt edges and generally offer a straight flight path which offers them an advantage over other golf discs in many instances. Because of the simple flight path for putters, the same discs used by professionals also work well for beginners.
Top 5 Frisbee Golf Putters
The top 5 disc golf putters include:
Midrange Discs
Midrange discs are a little more areodynamic than putters and often have wider diameters. Many of the older midrange discs today were actually once considered drivers. Midrange discs provide slightly more distance for experienced players and a straighter flight path than drivers.
Top 5 Midrange Discs
While these are the top 5 selling midrange discs, these discs are NOT the best discs for beginners. Because beginners typically don’t have enough power to get the intended flight path, more understable midrange discs are recommended for new players.
Best Midrange Discs for Beginners
Frisbee Golf Drivers
Drivers are the fastest flying discs and have the potential to get the most distance. Among drivers, discs are broken down into “distance drivers” and “fairway drivers,” the main difference being these driver types is the rim width (thickness of the rim often referred to as wing length). However, just because a disc is considered a distance driver doesn’t mean that it will provide more distance for all players, especially beginners. New disc golfers will find that an understable fairway driver will provide them with more distance potential than any distance drivers.
Top 5 Disc Golf Drivers
Top 5 Drivers for Beginners
If you are new to frisbee golf, consider one of these as you first driver. The list of top drivers above is based on sales data from leading retailers which mainly cater to experienced players. To avoid frustration, stay away from those drivers for now and instead consider one of these beginner friendly drivers:
Disc Stability
The main reason that there are so many different types of frisbee golf discs is because they all have different stability. Stability, is a discs ability to fly straight. With enough power some discs will turn to the right. At the end of the flight as discs slow down, almost all golf discs fade left (for a right handed backhand throw). Frisbee Golf discs by most brands come with flight charts that show a curved line of the intended flight path that looks like this:
With a level throw and the right amount of power, this particular disc will fly with an “S” curve where it turns off to the right before fading to the left at the end of the flight. A newer player who does not have 450 feet of throwing power will not see the same flight path from the same disc. For new disc golfers, almost all frisbee golf discs fade hard to the left with a flight path more like this.
To get more distance and better flight paths, it is important that new players purchase discs designed for beginners. To lower the learning curve of throwing mechanics, we recommend that beginners start with only a handful of discs until they feel confident with their throw before trying out discs of different speeds and stability.
Disc Comparison Tool
This tool makes it easy to search for different golf discs based flight rating and comparison.