Legal Disc Weights

[theGryphon]

I apologize if this topic has already been posted. I wanted to know if there are legal weights for discs. How little and how much can they weigh and still be tournament legal. I want to pick up several new drivers but don't want to invest in something if it's not tourny legal. I've tried googling DG rules but haven't really found too much as of yet. Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanx.

[Three Putt]

The legal weight is based on the diameter of the disc, so it is different from disc to disc. I'm not sure of the rule, but most drivers are right around the 21.0 cm diameter limit and their legal weight limit is 175 g. Mid ranges are generally larger like a 21.7 cm diameter and are legal to 180 g. The absolute most a disc can weigh and still be legal is 200 g.

[Three Putt]

B. The guidelines for golf discs are set forth in the PDGA Technical Standards Document. To be
legal in PDGA competition, a disc must:

(1) have a saucer-like configuration with a flight plate unbroken by perforations and an inner rim depth which exceeds five percent of the outside disc diameter. The flight plate is defined as the upper (or dorsal) section of the disc;
(2) be made of solid, non-magnetic plastic material, without any inflatable components;
(3) not be less than 21 cm in outside disc diameter, nor exceed 40 cm in outside disc diameter; (4) not exceed 8.3 g per cm in outside disc diameter;
(5) not exceed a maximum weight of 200 g;
(6) be essentially as produced, without any post-production modifications which affect the weight or flight characteristics;
(7) be of a production-type disc available commercially to the public in numbers of at least 1500 in the case of a new mold or 500 in the case of a renamed disc out of a previously approved mold;
(8) present no unreasonable and no unusual danger to players or spectators;
(9) have a rim configuration rating of 26.0 or greater;
(10) pass the leading edge radius test with a 1/16" (1.6 mm) radius gauge;
(11) have a flexibility rating no greater than 27 lb. (12.25 kg); and
(12) have been certified for competition by the PDGA Technical Standards Committee.

[Three Putt]

If you go to this page:

http://www.pdga.com/tech-standards

and click on "PDGA Approved Discs & Targets," it will bring up a list of all approved discs. The legal weight limit for each disc is in the first column after the disc model.

[theGryphon]

Cool ...thanx all. Just one last question. Is there a minimum weight a disc can be?

[Three Putt]

Is there a minimum weight a disc can be?No..

[zud00]

I wouldn't think many major disc manufacturers would make an illegal disc. If they make one that is not legal, it should inform the consumer it is not a PDGA approved disc.

[borndasaur]

The PDGA approval is usually molded on the bottom of the disc. If it is NOT there, it is probably not an approved model.

[Three Putt]

I wouldn't think many major disc manufacturers would make an illegal disc. If they make one that is not legal, it should inform the consumer it is not a PDGA approved disc.Buyer beware...overweight discs make it out of the shop from time to time. Gateway will sell overweight discs figuring that if you play in PDGA-sanctioned events you should know the rules enough to know if the disc is overweight, and if you don't play in PDGA-sanctioned events and want to throw a 186 g Wizard...well, why not? So they are out there, and there are no special markings on them to let you know they are illegal...other than the illegal weight clearly marked on the bottom. I've also seen overweight discs from Innova and Discraft, although my understanding is those were goofs that slipped out of the shop. So (as with everything in life) it's pretty much up to you to understand the rules and know what you are looking for.

[borndasaur]

So that would mean the mold is approved but not necessarily all discs made from that mold.

[Flies to the Left]

Does any TD ever inspect the discs?
Is there any procedure in the rules of when to inspect the discs?

Anyone with a ball point pen can change the hand written disc weight on the underside of a disc.

There are people out there who will take any advantage they can.

[DWill]

I've played in A, B and C tiered PDGA sanction events and have never seen or heard about anyone ever having their disc weighed or inspected. Maybe it happens at Worlds or the USDGC, but I don't know. Japan has strict 150 class events, so it's probably enforced their. My guess, another player would have to issue a warning to the group/TD about some one's disc to get it weighed or inspected. Anyone ever hear/see this happen at a PDGA event?

[ERicJ]

I played about 20 events this past year, mostly C-Tier events under the same TD, and never saw any discs inspected by a TD or another player. I would guess it's rare.

ERic

[Three Putt]

There is no inspection process, except at the Japan open where you disc has to weigh 152g or less (I think there is a 2 gram grace area.) Other than that, it's on your honor. When I TD, I don't bring a scale to weigh discs. I don't OWN a scale to weigh discs. So if anyone accused another of using an overweight disc, I'd have to go by the weight written on the bottom. Like was mentioned before, even if you did have a disc marked overweight it would be easy to change or obscure that marking. So unless you are really lazy about it or you have a super rules-Gestapo TD who brought a scale to weigh discs, there is really no way to get caught.

I'm not even aware if they give you a grace area like a 180 g Roc that really weighs 182 g. Discs can gain weight from humidity, so a disc marked at max weight can easily actually weigh more than the legal limit due to no fault of the manufacturer or user. Since discs never get inspected, I don't think there is even a procedure in place to account for that.

[REDARMY]

Discs can gain weight from humidity, so a disc marked at max weight can easily actually weigh more than the legal limit due to no fault of the manufacturer or user......etc.

don't forget the buildup of dirt and debris that can also add gram(s) to the weight of a disc.

[harr0140]

Not related to disc weight, but is it ok to have the disc ratings written on the bottom. I wouldnt think it would matter but I thought I better ask. I have written the 4 ratings on the bottom until i learn specifically what each disc's flight characterisitics are.

[ERicJ]

Perfectly legal.

[disc-o maniac]

Not related to disc weight, but is it ok to have the disc ratings written on the bottom. I wouldnt think it would matter but I thought I better ask. I have written the 4 ratings on the bottom until i learn specifically what each disc's flight characterisitics are.

thats funny i do the same exact thing

[disc-o maniac]

Not related to disc weight, but is it ok to have the disc ratings written on the bottom. I wouldnt think it would matter but I thought I better ask. I have written the 4 ratings on the bottom until i learn specifically what each disc's flight characterisitics are.

thats funny i do the same exact thing

[elevated plastic]

I did get a Tourney DGA Titanic that felt heavy, it said 174-178, put it on the digi(scale) weighed 202g's. It lives up to its name, cause when you throw it, it sinks!

[scarpfish]

Does any TD ever inspect the discs?
Is there any procedure in the rules of when to inspect the discs?

Anyone with a ball point pen can change the hand written disc weight on the underside of a disc.
The thing is that the disc manufacturers themselves miswrite these numbers. We put a lot of faith in them that they're correct.

As for inspecting the discs at tournaments, forget it, it would be a logistical nightmare. If you have 40 players in a tournament carrying 10 discs each (most players carry more than that and keep backups in their vehicle on top of that), you'd have to inspect 400+ discs before starting, then inspect again after lunch. Whatever extent of a problem a TD would fix by weeding the illegal discs out isn't worth that sort of trouble.

[_.-Dut-._]

Noone inspects them to make sure they are legal weight. But I dont believe anyone sells them over the weight restrictions, do they?

[disc-o maniac]

what exactly are the weight restrictions like whats the lowest and whats the highest weight allowed?

[kmunt09]

what exactly are the weight restrictions like whats the lowest and whats the highest weight allowed?

The answers to both of these questions can be found toward the beginning of this thread.:)

[disc-o maniac]

o sorry didn't see it last time thanks

[ShaZaun]

B. The guidelines for golf discs are set forth in the PDGA Technical Standards Document. To be
legal in PDGA competition, a disc must:

(1) have a saucer-like configuration with a flight plate unbroken by perforations and an inner rim depth which exceeds five percent of the outside disc diameter. The flight plate is defined as the upper (or dorsal) section of the disc;
(2) be made of solid, non-magnetic plastic material, without any inflatable components;
(3) not be less than 21 cm in outside disc diameter, nor exceed 40 cm in outside disc diameter; (4) not exceed 8.3 g per cm in outside disc diameter;
(5) not exceed a maximum weight of 200 g;
(6) be essentially as produced, without any post-production modifications which affect the weight or flight characteristics;
(7) be of a production-type disc available commercially to the public in numbers of at least 1500 in the case of a new mold or 500 in the case of a renamed disc out of a previously approved mold;
(8) present no unreasonable and no unusual danger to players or spectators;
(9) have a rim configuration rating of 26.0 or greater;
(10) pass the leading edge radius test with a 1/16" (1.6 mm) radius gauge;
(11) have a flexibility rating no greater than 27 lb. (12.25 kg); and
(12) have been certified for competition by the PDGA Technical Standards Committee.
I think my head just exploded.....:D

[DeafDiscGolfer]

Thought it would be logical to have the top 4 players' discs be inspected before or after the finial round.

I used to race electric scale model cars/trucks for 8 years and the race tech inspectors usually takes apart electric motors and inspect batteries, weight, tires, etc. from the 1st and 2nd place winners to make sure that its legal...

Don't know how ball golf plays out. Do they test players for performance drugs or inspecting their balls (sounds weird to say it...) and their drivers after winning big cash prize tournaments?

[solomon.trenton]

"im going to cup them now. turn your head to the side and cough"

[scarpfish]

Thought it would be logical to have the top 4 players' discs be inspected before or after the finial round.
Until you realize what even this would require? You would have to have scales available. These scales usually require electricity to operate. Don't have electric hookups at your course? Uh-oh.

Then you have to get the scale level and calibrated. After weighing a few discs, you'll probably have to calibrate the scale again to make sure it stays accurate. Mind you, were measuring in grams here. Think of how light an ounce is. (A standard postal letter is less than an ounce). Now think of something about 1/28 of that.

Just for those four players, we may have to repeat this process at least 60 times, probably more. Of course, you have to have someone available to do the inspecting, and TD's and their crew are too busy as it is adding up scorecards, tallying results and putting prize packs together. Its just not logistically sound to do this, when in the grand scheme of things, the edge that a disc 1-3 grams overweight gives isn't that significant, (unless its really overweight like say 10 grams).

It is simply best for said inspection process to be done at the manufacturer, where they have to weigh the discs anyway. We can only trust that they'll do the right thing.

[garublador]

IMO, it shouldn't be up to each individual player to manage the weights of his or her discs; the burdon should be on the manufacturers. As long as the players are throwing PDGA approved discs they should be OK. If there are problems with discs being outside the legal weight limit the discs should be checked at the manufacturer.

[ERicJ]

I general I agree with you about the practicality of this... but:

Until you realize what even this would require? You would have to have scales available. These scales usually require electricity to operate. Don't have electric hookups at your course? Uh-oh.

Battery powered postal scales are inexpensive and easy to operate.


To add to the complications: each disc may have a different max weight. You need to have the spreadsheet that lists all the discs and legal weights.

Then what do you do when you come across that unmarked, custom stamped, beat to death, virtually unrecognizable disc. What model is it?

It's realistic that each top player is carrying 20 discs. For the top four that's 80 weighings (assuming you've got one scale and aren't multi-tasking). At about 15 seconds to ID the disc, look it up, and weight it you're talking 20 minutes of work.

ERic

[33tango]

The thing is that the disc manufacturers themselves miswrite these numbers. We put a lot of faith in them that they're correct.


I use a digital scale and write my numbers on the disc instead of theirs. :)

[ERicJ]

I use a digital scale and write my numbers on the disc instead of theirs. :)
What do you write on your disc when your scale reads 176 or 177 on a disc with a max (legal) weight of 175? ;)

[solomon.trenton]

What do you write on your disc when your scale reads 176 or 177 on a disc with a max (legal) weight of 175? ;)

then you write 175 and put a random 7 somewhere where only you know it is;)

[Midnightbiker]

then you write 175 and put a random 7 somewhere where only you know it is;)


:D:D:D:D

[33tango]

What do you write on your disc when your scale reads 176 or 177 on a disc with a max (legal) weight of 175? ;)

I put the actual weight. It's for my information so I can make better decisions about disc selection or picking out new discs. No one is policing disc weights, even in the pro's, right?