Innova Discs

Updated on Oct 22, 2023

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CEO Dave Dunipace (1983–)		Founder Dave Dunipace

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Innova is a company founded in 1983 to produce equipment for the growing number of disc golf players. In that year, Dave Dunipace created and patented the Eagle, the world's first disc designed specifically for the sport of disc golf. Innova discs are used by top professionals. Twelve-time world champion Ken Climo endorses and uses Innova Discs.

In addition to discs, Innova manufactures other disc golfing equipment including bags, accessories, and their DISCatcher targets which were introduced in 1995. Their 60+ golf discs are manufactured using various molds and plastics. Innova manufactures discs in 4 distinct lines of plastic with distinct flight characteristics: Star, Champion, Pro, and DX. There are also subtypes related to the main 4: Echo star, Gstar, Starlite, Champion Edition, Blizzard Champion, Glow Champion, R-Pro, XT-Pro, KC-Pro, KC-Glow, MC-Pro, JK-Pro, Yeti-pro Proline and Glow DX.

Disc ratings

Innova uses a numeric scale to rate the performance of its discs. The ratings represent:

Speed - Speed is the rating of the throw speed at which is required to throw the disc on the line the other flight numbers suggest, and is largely determined by the thickness of the rim, with 2.6 cm being the thickest allowed for PDGA approved play, but it has also been described as how easily the disc cuts through the air. Ratings range from 1 to 14, with 14 being the "fastest" drivers and 1 being the "slowest" putt and approach discs.

Glide - The glide of a disc is best described as how much it is affected by wind. Ratings range from 1 to 6. A disc with a glide of 1 will be relatively unaffected by winds and will tend to fly on the thrower's power more than anything. A disc with a glide of 6 will be very sensitive to crosswinds and headwinds, but will ride a tailwind much further than it could be thrown via force alone.

Turn - The turn of a disc (also known as high speed stability) describes how hard a disc will fight against its natural inclination to fade (see below) during the flight. Turn is rated from -5 to +1. A -5 rated disc will turn from a straight line of flight very easily with relatively little power behind it, while a +1 is unlikely to turn at all and will usually begin fading earlier in the flight.

Fade - The fade of a disc (also known as low speed stability) is the degree to which a disc will fall to one side as it loses speed. The direction of the fade depends on how it is thrown. For example, for a right handed person throwing in the traditional backhand style, the disc will fade to the left, but when thrown forehand, it will fade to the right. Fade is rated from 0 to 5, with a 5 rated disc fading hard and early, and a 0 rated disc barely fading off of its original line of flight at all.

References

Innova Discs Wikipedia

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