For my first year of disc golf, I avoided understable discs like they were defective. Someone at a shop told me they were “flippy” \u2014 said it like it was a bad thing \u2014 and I internalized that. Flippy sounded unreliable. Flippy sounded like a disc that wouldn’t do what I wanted. I wanted stable, overstable, discs that fought back and finished hard. Those felt serious. Professional.
This was completely backwards and it cost me probably a year of development.
The thing nobody explained to me \u2014 or maybe they did and I wasn’t listening \u2014 is that understable discs are easier to throw correctly at lower arm speeds. They work WITH you instead of against you. The “flip” everyone warned me about is actually the disc doing what it’s supposed to do, which is turn before fading. That’s not a bug. That’s how flight works.
Anyway. Here’s everything I wish I’d understood about understable discs when I started.
What Understable Actually Means
When you throw a disc backhand (right-handed), it naturally wants to fade left at the end of its flight. That’s fade \u2014 the disc’s tendency to hook in the direction of its spin as it slows down. Every disc fades eventually.
Before the fade, there’s turn. Turn is the disc’s tendency to bank right during the high-speed part of the flight. Understable discs turn more. Overstable discs turn less (or not at all).
So an understable disc thrown flat will: go straight initially, turn right as it’s moving fast, then fade back left as it slows down. The flight path looks like a gentle S-curve.
An overstable disc thrown flat will: maybe go straight briefly, then fade left. No turn, just fade. The flight path looks like a hook.
Neither is better or worse \u2014 they’re tools for different situations. But here’s the key thing: understable flight requires less arm speed to achieve. You can throw an understable disc at 50 mph and see the turn. An overstable disc at 50 mph just fades immediately because you’re not throwing it fast enough to access the high-speed portion of its flight.
Why This Matters for Beginners
Most beginners throw somewhere between 35-50 mph. Maybe less. That’s not an insult \u2014 it takes time to develop arm speed, and technique matters more than raw power anyway.
At those speeds, overstable discs don’t fly correctly. They fade out immediately, die short, and give you no feedback about what you’re doing right or wrong. You’re just fighting the disc constantly.
Understable discs at those same speeds actually fly. They turn, they glide, they show you what a disc is supposed to do in the air. You can shape shots. You can see the flight path develop. You learn what “throw it on a hyzer and let it flip up” means because the disc actually flips.
I spent my first year throwing overstable stuff because I thought understable was for weak arms. The irony is that overstable discs were hiding my weak arm from me. Once I switched to understable, I could actually see my form problems \u2014 and start fixing them.
The Flight Numbers Thing
Most discs have four flight numbers printed on them. The third number is turn \u2014 negative numbers mean more understable. So a disc rated -3 turn is more understable than one rated -1 turn. A disc rated 0 turn is basically neutral.
For beginners, I’d recommend discs with turn ratings of -2 or -3. That’s understable enough to actually turn at lower arm speeds.
Some examples:
Leopard (6/5/-2/1) \u2014 this is the disc that finally taught me how flight works. At moderate arm speed, it turns right, holds that turn, then fades back gently. It showed me what a proper S-curve looks like.
Roadrunner (9/5/-4/1) \u2014 very understable driver. Will turn over easily at almost any arm speed. Good for learning turnovers and rollers.
Fuse (5/6/-1/0) \u2014 understable midrange with tons of glide. Very forgiving, floats forever.
The fourth number is fade \u2014 how hard the disc hooks at the end. Lower fade numbers mean less hook. Understable discs usually have low fade too, which makes them even easier to control.
The Shots Understable Discs Unlock
Once I started throwing understable plastic, a bunch of shots became possible that I couldn’t do before.
The turnover: throw on a slight anhyzer (tilted right) and let the disc turn further right through the whole flight. Great for holes that curve right, or getting around obstacles on your left side. Overstable discs fight turnovers. Understable discs embrace them.
The hyzer flip: throw on hyzer (tilted left), but let the disc’s understable nature flip it up to flat, then ride straight. This gives you a penetrating straight shot with a lot of distance. One of the most useful shots in disc golf once you learn it.
The roller: throw the disc so it lands on its edge and rolls. Understable discs are easier to turn over into roller angle. Rollers can go incredibly far on the right terrain.
None of these shots are accessible with overstable plastic unless you have serious arm speed. Understable opens up the game.
But Won’t They Flip Into the Woods?
This is the fear, right? Throw an understable disc and it’ll turn over uncontrollably and end up in trouble on the right side.
Sometimes, yeah. If you throw a -4 turn disc on an anhyzer line with too much power, it’ll keep turning and potentially roll away. But that’s user error, not disc error. You threw the wrong disc for that shot, or you threw it wrong.
The solution isn’t to avoid understable discs \u2014 it’s to learn how they fly and throw them appropriately. Throw them on hyzer and let them flip to flat. Throw them with less power when you don’t want full turn. Match the disc to the shot.
Overstable discs are more forgiving of bad releases because they fade no matter what. But that forgiveness is actually hiding your mistakes from you. Understable discs punish bad releases more, which means they also teach you more.
My Understable Bag
Right now I carry:
A beat-in Buzzz that’s gone understable from wear. This is my go-to turnover mid. Started life as neutral, now it flips.
A Leopard in Star plastic. Been throwing some version of this disc since 2017. It’s my straight-to-turnover fairway, the disc I reach for on wooded holes where I need control.
A Roadrunner for big turnovers and rollers. Don’t throw it often but when I need that shot shape, nothing else does it.
I resisted all of these discs early on. Thought they were training wheels. They’re not \u2014 they’re tools. Different tools for different jobs.
When to Move to Stable/Overstable
Once you’re consistently throwing 280-300 feet with your understable driver and it’s turning too much \u2014 like, you’re not intending the turn and it’s causing problems \u2014 that’s when you add something more stable.
The progression should be: understable until it’s too flippy, then neutral, then overstable. Not the reverse. Don’t start with overstable and try to power through it. Start with understable and grow into more stability as your arm speed develops.
Most amateurs I play with are throwing discs that are too stable for their arm speed. They’d score better with flipper plastic. It’s just not as satisfying to the ego.
Anyway
Understable discs aren’t defective. They’re not for weak arms. They’re tools that work at lower arm speeds, and lower arm speeds are where most of us live.
If I could restart my disc golf journey, I’d spend the first year throwing nothing but understable plastic. Leopards, Fuses, Darts. I’d learn what flight actually looks like before trying to overpower overstable stuff. It would’ve been humbling but I’d have improved faster.
Don’t make my mistake. Flip is not a four-letter word.