Why are most discs over stable?

[Rowick]

I know the difference between stable, over-stable and under-stable what I don't get is why the vast majority of golf discs are over-stable rather than just stable what is the advantage of having disc that fades left for RHBH (what most people throw) I would think that most of the time all else being equal you would rather have a disc go straight rather than have to worry about how far it is going to fade left and there for how far right you have to aim, I know that sometimes there are trees in the way so you don't want it to go straight, but why couldn't I just throw a stable disc on a hyzer or anhyzer line depending? i'm sure the people who have been making golf discs for longer than I have been alive know a lot of things that I don't. is it just that over-stable discs go farther and you'll take being 5ft farther left if it means being 15ft farther down the fairway? would love to hear the opinions of more experienced players

 

[Smigles]

Consistancy is the key. And dependability.

If you have a disc that goes perfectly straight IF you throw it perfectly straight... That disc will be very very hard to use. Just a slight error in release angle will make your disc go places that you have never even dreamed of. Try a comet or a fuse for example, and see how big a difference only a slight angle difference makes.

With overstable discs, you know what they are gonna do. They will go left, no matter what.

There is the philisophy of doing everything with one, quite neutral disc. It's doable, but there will always be extreme situations where a extremely over or understable disc will make the shots easier than a neutral disc.

 

[New013]

another thing to consider is overstable discs, drivers especially, over time beat in and begin to lose some of that fade on the end. if you have a really os disc it keeps some of it but for the main core of what people use in slightly overstable discs that fade begins to drop off a bit as it beats in. so over time that disc that faded a lot now goes pretty straight and just fades a bit.

if you go out and buy just drivers that go pretty straight with little fade off the bat then you'll end up with something that's understable as it beats in.

the other thing that was mentioned above is that a disc that fades left is not only the natural behavior of what most stable or overstable discs will do once they slow down but it's consistent. if you're trying to throw a straight driver right at a basket in a field if you're any degrees off in your aim you're going the wrong direction; and if you are any off in the angle of the disc you're curving it away from the basket. now if you have a disc that fades you can aim right (RHBH) and the disc will naturally go back towards your target at the end. it just gives you more room for error.

on top of that the most consistent shot is a hyzer and throwing an os disc on a hyzer is more consistent than throwing discs with less stability because they might pop up a bit or be more affected by wind.

and on top of all of that it's just way easier to throw a fade shot than it is to throw something straight, which i hit at above but i'm just summing it up.

 

[DiscFifty]

Would be interesting to see how the market would react if someone produced a line of discs that never, ever, beat in. hmm...

 

[DavidSauls]

Another consideration is speed. A disc doesn't fly the same at all speeds so, for example, a driver that is relatively neutral for me will flip like crazy for someone who throws twice as far. Big arms can throw those overstable discs as hard as they want.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

I just roughly counted over 80 different understable molds from speed 6 and up.

It seems there could be more understable molds than truly overstable ones.

 

[Pbmercil]

I know the difference between stable, over-stable and under-stable what I don't get is why the vast majority of golf discs are over-stable rather than just stable what is the advantage of having disc that fades left for RHBH (what most people throw)

Actually, and I dont mean to sound rude or condescending, but I dont think you quite understand stability correctly. It sounds to me like you are confusing fade with stability.the vast majority of discs, and virtually all beveled edge drivers, will go left when they slow down. Its the way the physics of these discs work. Truely neutral discs with no fade are very rare, and basically imppossible with drivers. All diiscs fade when they slow down to varying degrees, truly overstable discs start going left immediately out of your hand.

If you look at something like inbound's universal flight guide you will see that the majority of discs rate between high speed neutral to high speed understable. If all drivers you've thrown are coming out of your hand and going left immediately, that is a typical issue for new players. It takes a solid amount of form and technique to get these discs up to speed to where they fly the way they are supposed to. Even then, drivers are still going to fade left when they slow down.

everything else posted here is 100% as well. I actually do prefer more neutral high speed discs with less fade, and letting my throwing angles dictate the flight, for the most part anyway. I think its easier to shape lines that way. But im in the minority, and im not exactly a lights out player so im not saying thats a better strategy.

 

[mtb7001]

For a newb that doesn't have much power and a new overstable disc it will go hard left and early. So yea, understable discs make more sense. But as time goes on and you develope better technique and more power and the disc gets beat in you will need more overstable discs.
I don't use a lot of really overstable discs because I hate giant hyzers - b o r i n g.

 

[slowplastic]

Everything said here is good.

Also, as you throw harder and have more snap/spin on the disc, they tend to hold a straight line longer and don't fade very much. For example a Roc has a fade rating of 3...but for an experienced thrower and a somewhat worn in disc, it is easy to get dead straight flights without any fade or even a drift to the right. For a newer player throwing a Roc with less power it may seem like it has a significant fade. But these numbers really change with power level, so the whole "all discs fade quite a bit" thing really goes away. Not quoting you, just paraphrasing a feeling that I too once had.

 

[filobedo]

Throw more pro plastic such as Leopards and they beat in faster. Also, throw Meteors or Comets.

 

[BIGHAFNER]

The slower a disc is, the straighter it can go for its entire flight. For instance, one can throw a neutral putter (wizard, aviar, challenger etc.) pretty straight relatively easily because those discs start to fade at a much slower speed than faster discs. Even Buzzz's and Rocs or any other neutral midrange will go pretty straight.

Faster discs will start to turn at a faster speed in the beginning of the flight, and if one can't get that disc up to that speed, it won't turn. At the end of the flight, once the disc starts to slow down, the disc will start to fade left (RHBH). Every disc will, IF it reaches the rotational speed at which it starts to fade while still in the air. Faster discs have a faster speed at which they begin to fade, hence why they seem to all be overstable, especially from a beginners standpoint.

A disc that is overstable for my dad who throws roughly 300'-320', in many cases won't be that overstable for me (450'-500'). Some discs will be, depending on the disc. A spirit, X1, or Nuke OS is going to be overstable no matter who throws it. Unless you're Simon Lizotte of course.

 

[Dan Ensor]

the vast majority of discs, and virtually all beveled edge drivers, will go left when they slow down. Its the way the physics of these discs work. Truely neutral discs with no fade are very rare, and basically imppossible with drivers. All diiscs fade when they slow down to varying degrees, truly overstable discs start going left immediately out of your hand.

It's physically impossible to make a disc that doesn't fade when it gets below a certain speed. That speed is quite high for a speed 13 driver, and quite low for a paper plate. But all of them fade eventually.

Why overstable? Because you generally have to decrease both HSS and LSS at the same time. There are some discs that are very straight (high HSS, low LSS), but there is still a tradeoff.

So, when a pro throws a disc at 70mph, maybe it turns 20 degrees. At 50mph, maybe it's 10*, and at 90mph maybe it's 30*. So you throw a disc in a 10mph headwind at 70mph, and expect a 25* turn. But the wind dies out, and your shot hyzers out.

Now, if you have an overstable driver, it turns 0* at 60mph, 0* at 80mph, and 5* at 90mph.

Or something like that. Basically, a 0* turn number is amazing for playing in the wind, because they're usually 0* at a wide variety of speeds. If you throw a Wizard 100', 200', or 400', it's very close to the same flight. It goes straight. If you throw a Swan at 100', 200', and 400' ... not even similar flights.

 

[kerplunk]

Would be interesting to see how the market would react if someone produced a line of discs that never, ever, beat in. hmm...

It would off course have to be called the Gobstopper. "For [players] with very little pocket money."