Speak disc golf
by your second visit.

The glossary

A to Z, hyzer to worm burner.

Backhand

The classic throw — disc across your body, released like skipping a stone. Most players' bread and butter.

Forehand / Flick / Sidearm

Thrown from the same side as your throwing arm with a wrist snap, like a sidearm baseball throw. Spins the opposite way from a backhand.

Hyzer

Releasing the disc tilted away from your body (left edge down, for a righty backhand). The disc curves in that direction. The most-said word in disc golf.

Anhyzer

The opposite of hyzer — disc tilted toward your body at release, curving the other way.

Hyzer Flip

Throwing an understable disc on a hyzer angle so it "flips up" flat mid-flight and glides straight for days. Beautiful when it works.

Flex Shot

An overstable disc thrown on anhyzer — it swings one way, then "flexes" back the other. An S-shaped flight on purpose.

Roller

A throw designed to land on its edge and roll down the fairway like a wheel. Yes, it's legal. Yes, it's fun.

Thumber

An overhand throw gripped with the thumb inside the rim. The disc flies in a tumbling overhead arc.

Tomahawk

The thumber's sibling — overhand, but gripped with fingers inside the rim. Tumbles the opposite direction.

Turbo Putt

A putt released off the fingertips overhead like a waiter carrying a tray. Looks ridiculous. Occasionally works. Crowd goes wild.

Scoober

An upside-down flick tossed over the shoulder. A short-range trick shot for escaping trouble.

Jump Putt

A putt where you jump toward the basket as you release — legal only outside the 10-meter circle.

Straddle Putt

Putting with feet wide apart, facing the basket — handy for reaching around obstacles.

Field Work

Practicing throws in an open field (or a Flight Lab bay) instead of playing a round. How players actually get better.

Stability

How much a disc wants to curve during flight. The single most useful concept for picking a disc.

Overstable

A disc that curves hard in its natural fade direction, even into wind. Reliable, predictable, less distance for beginners.

Understable

A disc that turns the opposite way at speed. Easier for newer players to throw far and straight.

Turn

The disc's early-flight curve (to the right for a righty backhand) while it's moving fast. The third number on a disc's flight ratings.

Fade

The reliable hook at the end of flight (left for a righty backhand) as the disc slows down. The fourth flight number.

Glide

How long a disc stays airborne. High glide = floaty and forgiving. The second flight number.

S-Curve

A flight that turns one way, then fades back the other, tracing an S. Maximum distance lives here.

Skip

When a disc hits the ground at an angle and bounces forward. Sometimes planned. Sometimes a disaster.

Nose Angle

Whether the front edge of the disc points up or down in flight. Nose-up throws stall and drop; nose-down throws cut through. Flight Lab measures it exactly.

Wobble / OAT

Off-axis torque — the flutter on a disc that wasn't released cleanly. Eats distance. The number everyone wants to shrink.

Grip Lock

When the disc leaves your hand late and rockets off in the wrong direction. Universally followed by an apology to your card.

Worm Burner

A throw that dives straight into the dirt and slides. Every player's origin story.

Spike Hyzer

A steep hyzer thrown high so the disc drops almost vertically and sticks its landing. No skip, no roll, no drama.

Flippy

Slang for very understable. "That disc is flippy" = it turns over easily.

Beat In

A disc that's hit enough trees to become more understable than the day it was bought. A well-loved disc's retirement plan.

Driver

Sharp-rimmed disc built for maximum distance. Needs arm speed to fly right — the fast car of the bag.

Fairway Driver

A tamer driver — less distance, more control. What most players should throw more often.

Midrange

The all-purpose disc for approach shots and controlled lines. Rounder rim, friendlier flight.

Putter

Slow, blunt-edged, and straight-flying. For putts, short shots, and players who've learned that slow is smooth.

Basket / Pole Hole

The target — a pole with hanging chains over a basket. Disc in basket (or chains) = holed out.

Chains

The dangling metal that catches your disc. Also the best sound in the sport.

Tee Pad

Where each hole starts — usually a concrete or rubber pad you drive from.

Fairway

The intended route from tee to basket. The trees on either side have other plans.

Mando

Short for "mandatory" — an obstacle your disc must pass on a specific side. Miss it and there's a penalty.

OB

Out of bounds. Roads, water, parking lots. One penalty stroke and a bruised ego.

Island Hole

A hole where the landing zone is surrounded by OB. Land on the island or pay the toll.

Circle 1 / Circle 2

The 10-meter and 20-meter rings around the basket used for putting stats. "C1X putting" is how the pros measure clutch.

Plastic

Slang for discs themselves ("nice plastic") and the blend they're molded from — grippier base plastics vs. durable premium blends.

Flight Numbers

The four ratings printed on most discs: Speed / Glide / Turn / Fade. A cheat sheet for how it flies.

Ace

A hole-in-one. Tradition says you sign the disc and possibly buy the drinks. (Our Ace Club founding tier is named for it.)

Birdie

Finishing a hole one throw under par. The good kind of "one under."

Par

The expected number of throws for a hole. Most disc golf holes are par 3.

Bogey

One over par. Happens to everyone. Repeatedly.

Eagle

Two under par on a hole. Rare enough to earn a retelling at every league night for a month.

Turkey

Three birdies in a row. Gobble gobble.

The Card

Your playing group (from "scorecard"). "Who's on your card?" = who are you playing with.

Doubles

Team format where partners both throw and play the better shot. Great for mixing skill levels — and for league night here.

League Night

A recurring casual-competitive round with standings, tags, or payouts. The social heartbeat of disc golf.

Tag League

A league where players carry numbered bag tags and trade them based on results. Lowest tag bragging rights.

CTP

"Closest to pin" — a contest for the best drive on a chosen hole. A staple of leagues and charity events.

PDGA

The Professional Disc Golf Association — the sport's governing body, rating system, and sanctioning org.

Rating

Your PDGA player rating — a number that tracks how you score against course difficulty. The number Flight Lab exists to raise.

DNF

"Did not finish." Weather, injury, or a round best left unspoken.

Chain Music

The sound of a disc hitting chains. The reason putts feel better here than on a screen — until you hear our simulated version.

Parked

A drive that lands so close to the basket the putt is a formality. "That's parked." High praise.

Tree Love

When a tree knocks your disc somewhere better than you deserved. The forest giveth.

Kicked Out

When a tree knocks your disc somewhere worse. The forest taketh away.

Throw-In

Holing out from way outside putting range. Guaranteed celebration.

Death Putt

A putt where missing means your disc rolls away into trouble — downhill, OB, or water behind the basket.

Nice Rip

The standard compliment for a big drive. Deploy freely; it's always welcome.

Sky It

To throw a disc very high and very far. "He absolutely skied that one."

Disc Down

Choosing a slower disc for more control. The advice every coach gives and every player ignores once.

Taco'd

What happens to a disc that hits a tree dead-center at full speed — folded like a taco. Moment of silence.

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