Top 5 Fairway Drivers For Beginners! (According to Disc Golfers) 

Agree with the River being voted #1. High glide, good hand feel, many plastic types to choose from, and it's great in Disc Golf Valley. Can't go wrong with the River.

Any list that doesn't include the Axiom Crave is erroneous!! Haha! I do love the River though.

River #1 seems good, but i feel like that should give an honorable mention to the Maul which is just a more flippy river. I could not flip a river when i was new and the maul is what helped me understand hyzer flips

The diamond also comes in a 170K mold that’s 170+ grams, I bag one that is incredible in the woods

I'm kind of surprised that the leopard didn't even make the list, I was almost sure it was going to be #1. That being said, I agree with the list.

If the buzz was a fairway it would actually be the discraft stalker. That is what it is basically. And the discraft glide is understandable cousin. All same hand feel similar throw

The F3 by prodigy is one of the most underrated discs on the market. For beginners it will give you a traditional teebird style flight. For intermediate players. Hyzer flips to flat and ride super straight. Furthest flying disc in my bag. Love the F3

my favorite beginner friendly disc is latitude 64° Maul. Its my favorite weapon on woods. (it just happen to be those i lose them more often and never get them back.)

Surprised the Leopard 3 didn't make the list. Also, lowkey, the Kevin Jones F5 is worth checking out for this category. Kind of reminds me of an old flat G-star Leopard 3. Hyzer flip machine. I found one (no name of course) and was surprised how much I liked it until I lost it in the trees/Ivy on #5 at East Roswell. **Side note: F' that hole. The gap from longs is getting smaller by the day.

I'm still figuring things out. My go-to driver past few months has been the Genius (7 5 -4 1). This weekend I tried the Underworld (7 6 -3 1) and it performed really well for me. First time I've consistently gotten the S turn you would expect from such understable discs.

All great recommendations. For sidearm, I definitely recommend the Innova Caiman. Such a good disc.

As a 69-year-old beginner, I definitely agree about the Diamond and the River (in a light weight). Both are discs that I love throwing, and due to their lighter weight, are discs that I can throw well. Another that throws beautifully straight for me is the Latitude 64 Jade. Several comments below mention the Axiom Crave, which is another fave of mine.

Lived this review! I took the plunge and bought a Lat 64 Diamond at 160g in Opto Ice Orbit plastic. I'm anxious to take it to the field to study it.

The arrival was helpful and will purchase one of the disks based on video

I agree with the River so much ❤

River & Diamond - they definitely worked for me in my first couple of years. And as your arm speed and touch improves the Diamond becomes a great turnover disc, or one for steep uphill drives.

Your number two was my favorite beginner disc. It made disc golf fun when I couldn't throw much further than 75 ft.. Great Disc.. Highly recommend it..

Good list but.. Fission Crave baby! They do sell heavier weight Diamonds though. Shout out to base plastic Discmania Genius for cheap n fun timez!🎉

I always hand new players my streamline drift or ascend (depending on arm speed). Anyone can get a beautiful flight out of those discs by the end of their first 18 holes.

I throw the Passion and it was one of my first go to fairways despite not having the arm speed. I get it flat, it can go get a nice lil turn and finish with a slight fade

Surprised fd didn’t make the list

I've been playing for just over a year and the River is still one of my favorite fairway drivers.

DGA Vortex PL -- Easy distance for noodle arms, like myself. Great flip to flat, with some turn. 7 6 -3 1

I've just started seriously playing DG about 6 months ago. The first disc I bought was the diamond. I don't have a big arm, so 235 feet is a good throw for me. As the diamond has become beat in, it has become very understable. I throw RHBH and if I release it flat, it will go left to right and it's not coming back. I have to release it with a good amount of hyzer and it will flip up, fly straight and fade left at the end. The glide on the diamond is beautiful to watch, unless it's going the wrong way lol. I have just bought the Essence and I really like it. I also bag the Leopard in the Star plastic and I've just bought the Mako 3. Both very good discs for beginners like me. I will look into the River now. Nice video, thanks.

FD S-line from Discmania. Favorite disc, have an ace with it. Favorite disc for forehands. Decent under-stability when I rip it. Love the disc too much

My first fairway was a Discraft Stalker, still throw it sometimes, think it works great for beginners too

Great list, I have them all, but they just sit in the bag most of the time, as I usually choose to throw the Crave instead

I might have got a Monday version, but my River is stable and not straight at all. Kastaplast Falk is my preferred fairway. I'm a true beginner and 750ish rated and throw 250ft.

Leopard3 is certainly a great beginner disc.

I think the kastaplast Stig would be a super good pick here as well 6 5 -2 1 really comfortable in the hand and the plastic feels fantastic

I have the river and Diamond, yesss!! Subbed

Legacy Patriot is another good one Cole Redalen said it's one of the most underrated disc

Solid list. I'm not a fan of the it personally because of the dome like you mentioned. I've had or have the rest. There is a max weight diamond available but they aren't easy to find.

I bag both the river & diamond. They both get lots of use! {Playing about 9 months}

Got Essence and River from this list. They are both great. My favorite is Essence - its also my favorite disc from all my discs right now. My discgolf is basicly going out on a field and just throwing as fare as I can - its like 99% of my discgolf time. I love to watch the disc fly and I am really bad - like 260 ft is my maximum. Essence just flyes really nice and fare :-).

Y’all must be MVP/AXIOM/STREAMLINE haters(LOL, love guys really). They have so many beginner friendly discs. The Crave, the Relay, the Insanity just to name a few. I accidentally ordered a Streamline Lift it added almost 70 ft to my throw

Gotta shoutout the TL3 and FD

The Lone Star Mockingbird is an awesome fairway driver for beginners. 7/5/-2/1. Carries forever with a moderate turn, and reliable fade. I’ve played for less than a year, and can already power this disc out to 350ft. I will probably always bag this one!

A bit off topic, but someone explain the purpose of a Midrange if you're throwing a stable & understable fairway? My current bag consists of 2 Envys, one for a putting putter, other for driving. Streamline Lift in Nuetron plastic, and Innova Star Wraith/Streamline Trace for Drivers.

I absolutely hate the feel of the IT

Leopard3 and Crave should be here. And the Passion is the most awful feeling disc I’ve ever owned. Bought a couple and the instant I held it in my hand, knew I’d never bag it.

Never heard of the innova one but I think I’ll get one it seems promising

I have an orbit River that is a little more stable, and it is SOOO versatile. Great disk... My wife throws a gold line Diamond, and it's also MONEY.

I would say the crave or f5 are my favorite fair way drivers

It's absolutely criminal that the Axiom Crave wasn't on the list. I also feel like Kastaplast gets forgotten about. The Kastaplast Stig with 6/5/-2/1 is a disc that will grow with you and feels amazing to throw.

ya'll need to get hip the the DGA Catrina Allen Vortex

While I don't bag the Innova IT, I agree that it's surprising how overlooked that disc is, and that you seldom hear anything about. It's a great controlled fairway driver with impressive glide, esp. for lower arm speeds. In fact, there's not much reason to throw a Leopard 3 anymore, since the IT does everything better.

I'm a fan of the Mint Discs Jackalope

I have tried lots of disks as a beginner. The only disk that matches my arm speed is the Yuikon Jiao. I have one in Phoenix plastic, but the Dragon plastic is SOOO much better. I can get a full flex and I can shape shots with it. Every other disk just kinda goes left.

Diamond comes in carat weight too, 170g

I believe the crave is cracked a great disc for all arm speeds really but I like the list and vid

Champ leopard 3 and teebird for me, good list though.

I like the Passion, but they are pricey. The Discraft Mantis or Heat in Z plastic are great choices for less money.

River is my go-to fairway disc. I have a Diamond in premium plastic, even a hyper flip turns into a roller and I don’t even throw that far. 290-300 feet max drive. I prefer the Underworld as my understable fairway.

F7 doesn't get enough love. Free distance for beginners, then you learn to throw smooth with understable discs for long hyzer flip to turn over shots. I still bag one now for when I can't seem to throw a side arm to save my life.

The passion is similar to the Eclipse i bought in 2001

GATEWAY's Amphibian (floats at full weight), Assassin (Scott Stokley's roller) , Spear and Cyborg are all great beginner fairway drivers

A little sad the Axiom Crave didn't make it. I have all but the Passion on this list and for me the 2 best flyers when I was starting were the Crave and the Diamond. I still bag both and use the Crave about 8 times a round and the Diamond about 4 times a round.

The 3 I definitely recommend are the River, Diamond (for very low arm speeds), and the Crave. All are great for beginners. The Leapord is fantastic in premium plastic too. The Ascent from Streamline is anoyher amazing beginner fairway disc.

Love The river but they are SO different run to run. I have personally bought and thrown 2 rivers that were overstable

Thought Space Athletics Mantra, especially in Aura plastic! Maybe a 9-speed is too much? 9/6/-2/1…But so straight and manageable for easy distance and shots in the woods. Amazing disc!

Passion esp is much money!

As a beginner I feel the axiom crave is amazing

Regarding the IT, dude I hate that thing. It is so flippy when I throw it. My distaste is personal, but man, I suck at getting it to go straight lol, but the Passion, the Passion is wonderful!

I bought an Opto Diamond, only throw 250 or so, and it turns turns turns - it's like a -5 , 0.5 If it turns over at my arm speed, brand new, I don't know how you can recommend it.

Sorta shocked to not see the FD or Maverick in there. Then again, it is only 5 spots. I’d be shocked it they weren’t top 10.

surprised the crave didn't make it lol

crave #1

Tried all these discs i’ll take the crave over all of them. That disc bombs.

I don’t like my river because it’s extremely under-stable. It’s definitely not reflective of its numbers

how tf was the Heat NOT on this list...?!?!

Ahh, the river. That's where all my fairway drivers end up. Maybe I should buy the disc.

There are some heavier Diamonds… I have 2 of course 😅

I've had my eye on the Innova IT. I bag the old Discmania FD and the new FD is not the same. Innova reused the FD mold to release the Dark Rebel but it was perhaps not well received that the mold was reused and the Dark Rebel was labeled "The original FD". I was kinda expecting that they then changed the mold very very superficially to call it "Innova Tech" (IT fo short) and put it back on the market. Maybe it's a conspiracy theory but I want to check it out for sure...

Clash soda is a option 👍

The Jade would be a much better choice than diamond. The diamond is way for more overstable.

I say the best starter disc is the saint the big brother to the river

archangel was my favorite for a while

It's weird to me the River is rated so highly. It's one of the most uncomfortable discs I've ever held personally. I bag a Fuse, Sapphire, and Glory but my River always ends up staying home. I just can't figure it out.

Prodigy F3

Passion is goated

Diamond over the river

They actually make/made some max weight diamonds. I think they called them 1ct diamonds or something.

Diamonds come in 175g as well just fyi

QJLS hands done favorite fairway driver

Diamond carat is 170+ on weight

The diamond comes in full weight

My 8yo son yeets that diamond like crazy. Solid disc.

Westside Discs Stag

the pipeline by DGA is one of the best fairway drivers. end of.

Diamond is a legit roller disc

All us Banshee throwers chillin in the background like 🙄

Undertaker not making the list makes me question the validity of this list 🧐

When I want to hyzerflip with ease I’m Lovin’ IT, like Mickey D’s Uh, yeah, word to your mother.

Lima Mockingbird.

no MVP??

“discraft plastic is second to none” maybe second to the worst but yanno… just innova and trilogy and kastaplast… and mvp… and discmania producing better plastic

Underworld and maul Crave and drift