Best golf discs (2024): Disc sets, putters, more

You may have noticed that most discs are marked with a set of four numbers. This is (almost) the industry-wide standard for describing flight patterns, and a basic understanding of them can help you know what type of disc you’re looking at without having to go out and throw it away.

The first number is speed, which is pretty self-explanatory. Discs with higher numbers are designed to travel farther and faster, while discs with lower numbers fly at slower speeds over shorter distances. The trade-off is often that higher speed discs are more difficult to throw accurately.

Next is glide, which describes the disc’s ability to stay in the air longer. A taller sliding disc catches the air underneath as it moves, which can give the disc a longer air time, but it also means the disc is more susceptible to wind gusts.

Spin and fade refer to the nature of the disc’s flight path and are a bit more nuanced. As the disc leaves your hand, it will naturally tilt to the right, but lower rotation will cause the disc to tilt more sharply, and higher rotation will keep the disc more stable. On the other hand, Fade describes how much the disc will curve to the left after completing the initial sequence. Remember that this is for right-handed players who throw backhand, so if you’re a lefty, rotate to see how much it tilts initially and fade out how much it curves to the right.