Fairway drivers in disc golf: When they beat a distance driver
In short: Fairway drivers in disc golf (speed 6 to 9) trade a little potential distance for control. They need less arm speed to fly the way they are rated, so for players with a slower arm they can go about as far as a distance driver, and straighter. Pick the stability by the shot: Understable to drift right, stable to fly straight, overstable to finish hard left.
If your distance driver fades left early and lands short, a fairway driver is probably the better disc for your drives right now. It flies the line you give it at an arm speed most players have. Keep the distance driver for when your fairways start turning over on their own (drifting right and not coming back).
Maybe that’s your Destroyer every Saturday, or maybe your drives already go long and you’re after more control. Sorting out which one you are is the kind of question Digo is built for. It’s an app, coming soon, where you describe your drives in plain words, how far they go and which way they bend at the end, and Digo can tell you whether a fairway driver suits you, based on what you’ve said.
This guide is for one decision: Fairway or distance driver, and if fairway, which kind. You get the speed rule, three stabilities with real discs and their numbers, and how many to carry.
Directions are for a right-hand backhand. For a left-hand backhand or a right-hand forehand, mirror them: Right becomes left.
What is a fairway driver?
The answer: A driver with a lower speed rating and a narrower rim than a distance driver.
Makers rate speed on a scale up to about 14 (Innova explains speed, glide, turn and fade here), and fairway drivers sit at 6 to 9. Midranges are below them, and distance drivers start at 10, so a speed 9 disc is a fast fairway driver. The narrower rim is easier to grip and release cleanly. It also means the disc reaches the speed it was built for with less effort. That is the whole trick.
A few fairway drivers, and one distance driver to compare them with. The four squares are speed, glide, turn and fade. From the top, the fairways go from a soft, right-drifting flight (the Leopard3) through straight (the Teebird and Teebird3) to a hard left finish (the Firebird).
Flight numbers are the makers’ own, and brands rate a little differently. Read them as a hint, not a promise.
Fairway driver or distance driver: What does your arm say?
The answer: Pick the disc whose speed your arm can actually reach.
A higher speed rating does not add distance by itself. It asks for more arm speed. Thrown below that speed, a distance driver never flies fast enough to drift right, so it goes straight to the fade: It hooks left early and drops. A fairway driver thrown by the same arm gets close to its rated flight, so it holds the line longer.
- 1Leopard3Innova75−21
- 2DestroyerInnova125−13
A quick test from your own rounds:
- Your distance driver finishes left early and short. Your arm is below its speed. A fairway driver around speed 7 will likely fly straighter and about as far.
- Your fairway drivers turn right and keep going, even thrown flat. Often your arm has outgrown them, but a shaky or nose-up release sends a disc right as well, so rule that out first. Then a fairway with more stability, or a distance driver, is worth a try.
- Both land in the same place. Throw the fairway driver. Same distance, more control.
Not sure which of these is you? Watch where your drives land over a few rounds, not on a single throw. The pattern tells you more than any one good or bad release.
Arm speed changes everything here. A faster arm makes any disc act less stable, a slower arm makes it act more stable. That is why the same disc can turn too far right for one player and fly straight for another.
Understable, stable and overstable fairway drivers
The answer: The last two flight numbers, turn and fade, tell you which kind a disc is. For the full picture, see understable vs overstable.
- 1Leopard3Innova75−21
- 2Teebird3Innova8402
- 3FirebirdInnova9304
Understable fairway driver
A turn of −2 or lower with a fade of 0 to 1. It drifts right while it flies fast, then finishes softly.
Discs like the Leopard3 or Latitude 64’s Diamond suit:
- newer players and slower arms, for whom they fly long and fairly straight
- shots that should curve gently right
- shots where you tilt the disc’s right edge down a little so it bends right on purpose
The downside: In a headwind, or from a fast arm, they can turn too far and never come back.
Stable fairway driver
A turn of about 0 to −1 and a fade of 1 to 2. It flies where you aim it and drifts a little left at the end.
The Teebird, the Teebird3 and Latitude 64’s Explorer are this kind.
A stable fairway is the disc to carry if you carry only one, because it is honest: A bad release shows, a good one goes straight.
Overstable fairway driver
A turn of 0 or more and a fade of 3 or more. It resists turning even when thrown hard and hooks left as it slows.
The Firebird and Discraft’s Raptor are examples.
They are the discs for:
- headwinds, which make every disc act more understable
- forehand throws, which tend to tip a disc over to the side as it leaves the hand, so a disc that resists turning holds its line
- shots that must finish left, around a tree line or a fairway that bends left
The downside: Thrown by a slower arm, they fade left early, much like a distance driver does.
A disc with a turn of −1 and a fade of 3, like the Eagle, sits between these.
The Eagle moves right a touch, then still finishes firmly left. That makes it stable with a firm finish, not overstable.
How many fairway drivers should you carry?
The answer: One to three, each doing a different job.
- Start with one stable fairway driver. It shows you what a clean release looks like.
- Add an understable one when you want more straight distance or a line that curves right.
- Add an overstable one when wind or forehand shots keep beating you.
Two discs with nearly the same numbers do the same job. A Teebird and an Explorer, with the same four numbers, are a backup for each other, not two different shots. Before you buy a fourth fairway, check whether it does something the first three don’t. Write their flight numbers side by side, and the ones that fly the same line are easy to spot.
Choosing your first fairway driver
The answer: Speed 6 to 7, turn −1 to −2, and a weight you can throw comfortably.
That range forgives a slower arm and still flies straight. Discs like the Leopard3, the understable example above, fit it.
Which disc in that range suits you still depends on how you throw, so once Digo is out you can ask it to pick your first fairway from how you describe your drives.
If you are completely new, the beginner discs guide covers the full starter set.
On weight: A heavier disc of the same mold (the same model, like two Leopard3s) usually flies a little more stable, a lighter one a little less. The disc weight guide explains which to pick.
The short version
Throw the disc your arm can reach. For many players who play a few rounds a month, that is a fairway driver, not a distance driver. Carry a stable one first, add an understable and an overstable one as the shots ask for them, and drop any disc that flies the same line as another.
Sort out your drivers
Digo is still on its way. When it lands, say your drivers out loud (“a Teebird, a Leopard3 and a Firebird”) and they appear in your bag with their flight numbers. Then ask which one belongs on the hole that keeps beating you.
Questions
What speed is a fairway driver?
Most fairway drivers are rated speed 6 to 9. Midranges sit below them, and distance drivers start at speed 10. A speed 9 disc is a fast fairway driver.
Is a fairway driver better than a distance driver for beginners?
Usually, yes. A distance driver needs a lot of arm speed to fly as rated. Below that it fades early and lands short, while a fairway driver can go about as far, for slower arms, and straighter.
What is the difference between an understable and an overstable fairway driver?
For a right-hand backhand, an understable fairway driver (turn −2 or lower, fade 0 to 1) drifts right and flies long and straight for a slower arm. An overstable one (turn 0 or more and fade 3 or more) holds its line and hooks left at the end, which helps in wind and on forehands.
How many fairway drivers should I carry?
One to three. Start with one stable fairway driver, then add an understable one for straight or right-curving lines and an overstable one for wind and shots that must finish left.
What are the best fairway drivers?
There is no single best fairway driver, only the one that fits your arm and the shot. Look at the flight numbers: Speed 6 to 7 and a turn of −1 to −2 for a newer player, a turn of about 0 to −1 with a fade of 1 to 2 for a straight, stable disc, and a turn of 0 or more with a fade of 3 or more for a disc that finishes hard.
Keep reading
- Types of disc golf discs: Putters, midranges, fairways and driversFour types, sorted by speed, with one flight path each. And why how fast you throw matters more than the label.
- Disc golf disc weight: Does it matter, and how to chooseWhat a few grams change, who should throw lighter discs, and how to read the weight on a disc before you buy it.
- Disc golf discs for beginners: The three you need, and starter setsThree slow discs, the flight numbers to look for in a starter set, and what to add as your fourth and fifth.