A Disc Golf Disc's Flight Numbers Series - Glide

Flight Numbers Series - Glide - Skyline Disc Golf

What is Glide?

Glide is a disc golf disc’s ability to maintain lift or loft during flight. In other words: how long a disc wants to stay in the air. The higher the glide rating the more time it will want to stay in the air.

Key Notes About Glide:

  • As with all the numbers in the flight rating system, one manufacturer’s glide rating does not equal another.
  • Glide is rated between 1 and 7, with 7 being the highest.
  • Rule of thumb: Discs that are more “domey” have more glide. The more dome the more glide. The more flat the less glide.
  • Discs with high glide tend to be the more beginner friendly ones, typically high glide goes hand-in-hand with discs that are understable
  • Discs with low glide, in most cases, also have a high fade rating. Making them great options in heavy winds

Choosing High Glide vs Low Glide:

High Glide:

     Beginners and low arm speed players will benefit from the discs with high glide. The extra glide will help them gain extra distance. Gaining distance is really, to me, the biggest advantage high glide discs give you. More advanced players can use the extra distance as well. For the advanced player however, it will be more situational than essential tool. In the summertime when it’s hot out you can add even more distance, thanks to the lower air density. Another situation when high glide discs are effective is in tailwinds. Tailwinds want to push the disc down, decreasing the discs lift. The high glide will counteract this affect.

Low Glide:

     Players with a lot of power and high arm speeds generally use discs with low or moderate glide. The high velocity at which they are throwing combined with a disc of high glide would produce too much lift and therefore would not be very accurate. Pros will often use discs such as the Discraft Raptor, the Discmania PD3, the Innova Firebird or the Dynamic Discs Enforcer in order to combine low glide with high fade. They do this because of the accuracy these discs provide. These discs don’t want to fly. The speed will help determine the distance but they invariably want to get to the ground fast and always to the left (RHBH) instead of sailing and over shooting their target. Low glide discs are also going to be a great option into headwinds. Headwinds want to lift discs as well as make them turn over to the right (RHBH).

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