Beginnings

The Disc Lab began as a group of engineers sitting around at lunch dreaming about taking the afternoon off to play a round. Inevitably, the topic of disc rating systems came up. Being engineers (nerds), the group had questions like "what are the units of speed?" and "how do you define glide?". There didn't seem to be any satisfactory scientific answers which troubled the group of engineers.

The Trouble with Flight Ratings

Before The Disc Lab, the origin of disc ratings are shrouded in secrecy. Different manufacturers use different subjective systems. Even when using the most common rating system (speed, glide, turn, fade), there are differences between manufacturers due to the subjective nature of how ratings are assigned. That's not to say that the current ratings aren't useful. They have their place, particularly for veteran players buying within a familiar brand. However, there are significant limitations for how disc golf consumers can use ratings.

Take a quick look around the web and you'll find forums filled with questions like "what is a disc that's like X, but a bit more stable?" or "I have a max weight version of disc Y. Would a lighter weight fly better for my arm speed?". These questions are symptoms of disc golfers looking to make informed purchases, but lacking a source of knowledge to buy with confidence.

Mission

Our mission is to use our technology to create and present objective, accurate, and detailed information about how discs fly for the benefit of the disc golf community. Specifically, The Disc Lab aims to grow the sport of disc golf by providing:

• done Ratings:

  3rd party flight ratings consistent for all manufacturers

• done Flight Paths:

  More accurate and informative flight paths graphics

• done Info for All Types of Golfers:

  Disc flight data for different arm speeds and disc weights

• done Disc Matches:

  Tools to find similar disc across all manufacturers