About the DG Puttheads Disc Golf Flight Charts
Our flight chart
The DG Puttheads Flight Chart offers interactive features to adjust according to your throw. With three different arm speed selections, you'll be able to see how a given disc might fly in your hands. The forehand option will not just flip the disc flight direction, but adjusts flight characteristics due to the extra torque a forehand throw imparts.
It probably goes without saying, but no flight chart can adjust for your exact throw characteristics. Our hope is to provide an easy way to compare molds from different manufacturers. After you throw a few discs you get a decent idea how they fly for you.
How are flight paths calculated?
We've come up with a very complex math formula to generate a path given a few pieces of input criteria. Pretty awesome right?! Since we have experience with a lot of different discs, we can adjust each flight chart accordingly. This mechanism lets us add flight charts for new discs very quickly.
Where did the extra disc data come from?
All of the data comes form publicly available sources, mostly the official PDGA website.
One of your flight charts looks wrong
We have done our best to check each and every chart, but there may be a few that look off. If you have evidence to support your claim, please pass along anything you can via our contact form and we will review accordingly.
About flight charts in general
Flight charts and flight numbers have been around disc golf for years. Flight numbers are seemingly chosen somewhat arbitrarily by each manufacturer. We've heard many professional players mention that flight numbers don't matter. In some regard we don't disagree; the numbers don't make the disc fly of course. In fact, if we were given the ability to go to the factory, choose a bunch of discs, and try them for several weeks we wouldn't care about the numbers. Feel and performance are the most important factors. But the truth is, discs cost money and so many of us don't have a store nearby to even feel the mold before purchasing. So flight numbers are the easiest way for us to compare discs from a given manufacturer.
Flight numbers explained
Most manufacturers have adopted the four number system originally popularized by Innova Disc Golf. This is how we describe each number:
- Speed: A measurement of the disc's aerodynamics. Faster discs with higher speed numbers have a larger rim and a sharper nose to allow the disc to move faster and further if you have the arm speed to keep it in the air.
- Glide: The disc's ability to stay in the air. A higher glide insinuates a disc will fight to stay in the air.
- Turn: The propensity of a disc to move laterally in the initial stages of flight. This is the movement to the right for a right-hand back-hand thrower.
- Fade: The late-flight characteristic of a disc causing it to move laterally as velocity reduces
Factors affecting disc flight
There are so many factors that will affect how a disc flies. Launch velocity and spin, any torque imparted by the thrower, nose angle in any direction, wind speed and direction, ground surface, air density, elevation, etc.
About DG Puttheads
Chris and Rodney have been blogging about disc golf for several years at dgputtheads.com with content ranging from disc reviews to strategy and mental game articles.