Best Disc Golf Driver For Beginners: Our Top 5 List
Being new at disc golf can be intimidating and overwhelming, especially when it comes to building your disc golf disc bag. Some people would say that you need to stay away from distance drivers if you’re a beginner since you still don’t have the power and mastery in throwing them.
Although a distance driver should not be a primary option if you’re still developing your skills, a good quality fairway driver will give you the opportunity to hone those skills until you’re ready for those powerful throws.
One thing to consider is that most beginners lack the arm strength and form to correctly throw distance drivers. This is not a reason to shy away however, as you will eventually need to learn how to throw them. A rule of thumb is stay with understable to slightly understable for the best results starting out.
With that being said, we rounded up some of the best distance drivers for beginners:
Top 5 Best Distance Drivers For Beginner Disc Golfers
- Innova Roadrunner
- Best choice for: First distance driver, Roller shots and Tailwind drives
- The Roadrunner is a long-range distance driver with lots of glide. Great for rollers. Best distance driver for turnover shots. Is suitable for beginners and pros alike
- Colors may vary
- Star material offers great grip and performance
- Speed 9, Glide 5, Turn -4 and Fade 1
It’s powerful enough for professionals but flexible enough for beginners. The Innova Roadrunner is a smart investment for a first-distance driver since it allows you to slowly build your throwing skills until you can maximize its power and distance.
This disc golf disc is rated a -4 turn and it’s one of the most understable discs from Innova, which means that you can throw it to cruising velocity even if you still have slow arms.
It also has a low fade rating, so it won’t skip off to the side when landing on the fairway. The Roadrunner is also known to have one of the straightest flying paths among all the disc golf drivers on the market, and you can use it as a beginner until you become a pro.
- Discraft Avenger SS
- Maximum distance golf driver
- Recommended for advanced to expert players
- Best for long distance turnover drives
- Discraft stability rating for this disc is 0.5
- Disc colors will vary
The super straight version of the highly successful Discraft Avenger model is probably the easiest fairway driver to use for any beginner. Because it’s designed to fly a straight path and reach long distances even with slow arms, you don’t need to exert too much effort or master a throwing style to achieve the distance that you need.
The Avenger SS also ticks all the boxes when it comes to fade, turn and glide, so it will give you the opportunity to slowly build your throwing skills while offering you a consistent distance.
- MVP Impulse
- MVP IMPULSE - The Impulse is an understable distance driver.
- UNDERSTABLE DISTANCE DRIVER - Its Neutral to Understable flight for even low power throwers will allow for reliably straight to turnover distance lines with accuracy.
- 18.5 MM CLASS - The Impulse completes our 20mm-wing distance driver class. The Impulse's understable profile will allow high power throwers to achieve controllable hyzerflips that will carry far and accurately. Speed 9 | Glide 5 | Turn -3 | Fade 1
- NEUTRON PLASTIC - MVP’s most premium material for exceptional look and feel. Shares great durability characteristics of Proton with a wider selection of bright opaque colors.
- PDGA APPROVED - For all professional disc golf play
If you prefer the MVP brand, the Impulse is a beginner-friendly disc that can give you a stable flight pattern and consistent speed. This disc golf driver features MVP’s patented “gyro” technology that combines two plastic blends for the rim and flight plate.
This revolutionary design means that the rim is made using heavy plastic to focus more weight on the disc’s perimeter, thus giving it a straight and stable flight pattern.
- Innova Sidewinder
- Roller shots
- Narrow woods driver
- Downhill distance
- Colors May Vary
The Sidewinder almost has the same features as the Roadrunner, but it can gain more speed even with slow throws because it’s a more understable disc golf disc.
This disc also comes in different plastics and the Halo and Champion plastics are the most ideal for beginners since they offer more fade and less turn than their counterparts.
The Sidewinder is especially good for making hyzer and flex lines, and you can grow with this disc as you develop your skills more.
- Legacy Bandit
- Flight Ratings: Speed 9, Glide 5, Turn -2, Fade 1
- Colors may vary
- Icon Edition Plastic
If you’re one of those beginners who naturally have that good throw and fast speed, the Legacy Bandit will be perfect for your bag. Although it’s not the most understable disc on this lineup, it’s an excellent option because it will allow you to make different moves like turnovers and hyzers even if you don’t have that mastery yet.
This disc golf disc also has a flat top and shallow rim that makes it very easy to grip when you’re still getting a feel of what’s it like to use a disc.
It will take some time and a lot of practice to maximize the Bandit’s potential in terms of speed and flight path, but it’s definitely a good investment because it will become a versatile point-and-shoot disc in your bag in the future.
This disc is also made with high-quality materials, so you can guarantee that it will last you for a long time.
Conclusion
As a beginner, you need to look for three things when choosing the best distance driver for you: low fade rating, high turn rating, and low rim depth.
Fairway drivers and understable discs are the best options for beginners since they’re easier to handle while giving you the opportunity to build your skills as you go.