Relationship Between Disc Weight and Distance?

[Treeplant]

Curious what people find the relationship between disc weight and distance to be?

Do lighter discs thrown "the same" automatically fly further? I've only ever thrown 175g discs for everything but am wondering if I can add distance just by learning to throw a lighter weight?

My max rip drive with a run up is 375 feet with a 175g Boss or Balista (not much control at all though) - I'm wondering if I can get over 400 just by moving to a 150g and learning to throw it more over stable to compensate for the lighter weight, or it doesn't really work like that?

I really don't understand anything about the relationship between weight and distance.

 

[slowplastic]

If you're throwing 375' with stable discs like those, I'm sure you could get a lighter disc on a flex/hyzer flip line to occasionally go 400'...it would be flukey and even less accurate though. If you have 375' power you don't really need light weight discs, IMO. I found that going to 150-something weights compared to 170-something weights could increase velocity very very slightly (1-2 mph), but there are lots of reasons why I don't like them: I notice the difference in how they feel to all my other discs (release can be affected with a large weight change), they can be more affected by wind, and there are more variances disc to disc with the super lightweight stuff so you can end up with some real turds if you don't know what to look for.

If you want more distance, I'd use a less stable disc, rather than a lighter weight. For some people throwing lighter plastic can make sense, but if you have 350'+ power then I really don't see the point. This is all IMO of course.

Theoretically, yes they can go farther as you can throw them slightly harder and they can glide more. But I don't think it's worth the trade offs in consistency.

 

[mizunodave]

Anecdotally I can tell you that I can get a 150 gram Diamond about 10% farther than any other similar speed fairway at 175ish weight.

I watched an In The Bag with Scott Stokely where he was talking about how awesome MVP's design is because it allows a lighter disc with the stability of a heavier one and he specifically said that a lighter disc will go farther no question.

However...paper plate light will not go farther. That means there must be (ignoring wind) an ideal weight for max distance. I've always wondered what that weight would be.

 

[sidewinder22]

Most distance throwers are throwing 150 class, sometimes lighter, they should have higher release speed given the "same throw" to ride the wind further. I wouldn't be surprised if you hit 400' with a lighter disc. Wiggins is one of the few tops pros that actually carries a 150 disc for golf tournaments.

 

[Twmccoy]

Generally, light drivers DO yield more distance than their heavier counterparts. However, you also have to take into consideration that they can't be thrown on the same lines. You'll likely have to hyzerflip them more to keep them from turning over and burning. As mentioned, the flights will also be far less consistent. You'll find that light drivers are much harder to throw on perfect lines to maximize distance. Wind will also play havoc with them.

What you MIGHT do is try something mid 160s. It will be noticeably lighter than what you're throwing now, but not so light that it flips all over the place and gets thrown around by wind. Finding a good mold to throw in light weights for big distance can be tricky. Most really light discs can't handle huge rips without flipping. I know blizzard Bosses can be thrown for huge distance, but to do so you still have to hyzerflip it with some finesse. Just cranking it out hard and flat (like you can do with heavier discs) will result in nothing but shots that flip right into the ground.

Personally I don't use any really light discs on the course. They're fun to bomb around with in open fields, but on courses when you need consistent lines I'd never trust them.

 

[Keller]

Lighter discs can be thrown on similar lines, it's just that they don't take kindly to form issues.

This year I started throwing some lighter weight discs (155-165gr) and yes, they do go further, but at a cost, I have to be very conscious of how I throw them. But that has also helped my game.

I'm not a Blizzerd fan, that plastic is not very consistent in my experience. I do like Starlite and DD Lucid Air.

Since you throw a Boss, try a Starlite in the upper 150's and see how it works for you.
Starlite Wraiths are nice too.

 

[RomServo]

https://youtu.be/CvpdTf_FjjM

 

[Reniger]

I do like 165-166g overstable discs for max distance. Most recently a 166g S-DDx. A little easier to get out there, but not as much control and even less control in wind.

 

[SD86]

ALL else being equal, lighter discs will go farther than heavier discs. There were some videos that showed the science and math of it, and that a 155g disc should get approximately 34 extra feet of distance.

Of course, all else is NOT equal, and there are considerations of glide, turn, fade, wind conditions, etc.

For me, discs in the mid-160s seem to 'click' with me the best. Even lighter weight Terns don't perform better for me or get more distance than my 167g Terns. Ditto that for TLs. Dunno why, but those mid-160s weights are my 'sweet spot'.

 

[RomServo]

Right now most of my bag is 167-169. I do have some mids and a driver at 175-177. For the most part i bank in the mid to upper 60s.

 

[Shamis]

There have been studies done that lighter discs have higher speed at release than heavier discs and each 1 mph adds about 7 feet in distance. But of course really light discs are tough to control in any wind. If you throw a 175 boss 375 feet, than try a 170 boss. Or better yet, a 171 tern.

 

[DiscFifty]

If you throw 375ft with 175g then you should be able to throw further using a lighter disc...but....the lighter you go the slightly more overstable it should be to compensate for possible early turn over. But like others have said the biggest drawback is less accuracy, that's why all the guys throwing those mega bombs using lighter discs tend to only have 1-2 out of 10 throws fly decently.

 

[slowplastic]

If you throw 375ft with 175g then you should be able to throw further using a lighter disc...but....the lighter you go the slightly more overstable it should be to compensate for possible early turn over. But like others have said the biggest drawback is less accuracy, that's why all the guys throwing those mega bombs using lighter discs tend to only have 1-2 out of 10 throws fly decently.

To be fair I think that they'd still have only a couple of those shots go perfectly with normal weight discs of similar stability if they were trying the same power/lines and in the wind.

But yeah, if you want to try a super light disc go for it, it can definitely go farther. Maybe bring your Boss to the store and try to get similar wing/PLH height to it if that is possible...I have not compared PLH in Blizzard to regular and then thrown the discs so maybe weight affects it even more than that? The super light star Destroyers could also be something to try, they are said to be pretty stable.

If you go into mid 160's then they are probably made without bubbles, so the inconsistencies in the discs won't be as large, and the 10 grams should be somewhat significant, although not as much as 150's. I bag anything from 168-175 in drivers and I honestly can't feel a difference in my hand or while throwing...but in the 150's I do notice.

 

[bnbanbury]

Blizzard discs have largely solved the problems of light discs being too under stable for distance shots, but for whatever reason very few players carry them (in addition to Wiggins noted above i know that Joe Rovere carried a couple at one point). i think ego may be involved in this. Admittedly with the rest of my discs being in the 167-172 my release with a 150 boss is not as consistent but i definitely keep on in the bag for long open holes. I get 30-50 feet more distance with the blizzard boss.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I throw plenty far and have no fewer than 6 150g discs in by bag at all times. Not for distance, but I could whip them out if I thought it was going to work out. Mostly for throwing uphill, or to stall out on approaches. (And my crappy FH form hurts my elbow with max weight discs.)

 

[Pymm]

When I first started, I used a 139g Krait, easily my longest disc. As I got a little better, I would turn it over and it was always nose-angle sensitive; would go skyward instantly if I wasn't careful. I stopped using it and disced down in speed and up in weight and am more consistent and my distance is just now coming up to what it was with the Krait. However, I have recently learned to hyzer flip and put the Krait back in my bag. Fieldwork this weekend will focus on hyzer flipping it. The rest of my bag is in the mid-160s, seems a good compromise between distance/reliability for me.

 

[Ted Bratton]

Go get some 155-165 discs and try it

 

[Stable]

I've been using 157-160g Blizzard Wraiths for a few years now and they are my BH max distance discs when the winds allow it. They will typically go further than my max weight Star/Champion Wraiths with a big hyzer BH release. They just seem to pop out of the hand with more velocity than the heavier ones. I consider them to be stable even when a little worn. Don't handle a FH that well. Great for big uphill shots. Surprisingly (is that a word?) durable at those weights.