Disc Golf Articles: What makes a golf disc fly?
by David McCormack

The aerodynamics of a golf discs are very similar to a wing on a plane except for one thing: it is spinning. We will use a right handed back-handed throw for all explanations.

There are 5 main factors which affect the aerodynamics of a flying golf disc:

1.	Low pressure: the air that comes over the nose of the disc and up to the center
2.	High pressure: the air that hits the wing of the disc
3.	Lift: created from high and low pressure and the air as it goes down the backside of the top of the disc.
4.	Drag: the air that hits the underside of the rim at the back of the disc
5.	Speed: the nose radius and resistance from high and low pressure dictate the speed of the disc

When a right-handed player throws backhanded the disc is spinning clockwise. As soon as the air hits the disc it is diverted to between 12 and 4 o'clock. The air that comes over the top (low pressure) is pushing the right side down making it want to go right. The air that hits the wing moves along it under the rim on the right pushing upwards making it want to go left. The combination and differential between the two will decide if the disc will fly over or under stable.

The claims made in the current patent describe the gyroscopic effect the weight in the rim has on how far a disc will travel. It also mentions that the flexibility helps with lift, but almost every aerodynamics expert that I have talked to has contradicted this. In fact, the more flexible they are, the less repeatability and the less control you have. (Do you throw your gummy putter for long lay-ups? NO, not if you want control. Another topic.)

Since distance is not the only thing you expect from your disc, I have made some changes to the design of Gateway discs to add to the control. Taking some of the weight off of the rim and adding it to the flight plate right behind the rim and in the center this adds to the centrifugal spin. This feature is new to the market and adds reinforcement to the design of the disc, which keeps it from getting bent out of shape when it hits trees. It also helps the disc stay flying on it original flight plane without tailing off so much as it loses its rotation. Finally, this design takes away from the gyroscopic affect and adds to the centrifugal spin allowing the disc to drop closer to the flight plane that it was on without gyroscopically looping off line.