The Innova Mako3 and the Discraft Buzzz are the two default answers to the question "what straight midrange should I throw?" — but they aren't the same kind of straight. The Mako3 is a 5/5/0/0 with zero turn and zero fade, built to fly exactly where you point it and land on that line. The Buzzz is a 5/4/-1/1, a stable midrange with a hint of turn and a hint of finish that Discraft has sold as its flagship for over two decades. The one-point differences in glide, turn, and fade are small on paper and large in the air.
If you only remember one thing: the Mako3 is the purer point-and-shoot disc, and the Buzzz is the more shapeable all-rounder. Here's where each one actually wins.
The quick answer
- Pick the Mako3 if: you want a true no-fade laser for tunnel shots and dead-straight lines, you value glide and float on smooth throws, or you want one neutral midrange that flies the same for a beginner arm and an advanced arm.
- Pick the Buzzz if: you want one midrange that covers every shot — straight lines, hyzer-flips, anhyzer flex shots, touch upshots — and you like a slightly deeper stable of plastic options and a small, predictable fade at the end of the flight.
- It comes down to the finish: the Mako3's 0 fade means it dies straight; the Buzzz's 1 fade means it signs off with a gentle left drift (for a right-hand backhand). Which of those you want at the end of your midrange shots decides this comparison for most players.
Flight numbers compared
Both are speed-5 midranges with identical diameters, so the flight-number differences carry the whole comparison.
| Innova Mako3 | Discraft Buzzz | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 5 | 5 |
| Glide | 5 | 4 |
| Turn | 0 | -1 |
| Fade | 0 | 1 |
| Stability | Straight | Stable |
| Diameter | 21.7 cm | 21.7 cm |
| Rim depth | 1.4 cm | 1.3 cm |
| Rim width | 1.2 cm | 1.3 cm |
| Manufacturer | Innova | Discraft |
A 5/5/0/0 is about as neutral as published flight numbers get: no high-speed turn, no low-speed fade, and a full point more glide than the Buzzz. The Buzzz's 5/4/-1/1 describes a disc that will flip up slightly on power and drift left at the end — small movements, but real ones. If you want a refresher on what each number means, our flight numbers guide breaks all four down.
Who throws the straighter line?
On a flat, clean release at moderate power, the Mako3 is the straighter disc — that is its entire design brief. Innova built it as the flatter, lower-profile successor to the original Mako, and the retool fixed the older disc's biggest weakness: the domey original didn't handle torque well, while the flatter Mako3 holds a much more predictable straight line. Point it down a fairway and, thrown flat, it goes there and lands there, with the 0 fade meaning it doesn't hook out of the lane at the end.
The Buzzz is also famously straight, but its straightness is of a different kind: it's super angle-neutral when thrown correctly, meaning a player with good spin and angle control can hold it on whatever line they set. Release it flat and it flies flat with a gentle finish; release it on a hyzer or anhyzer and it holds that angle unusually well. That's a subtle but important distinction — the Mako3 straightens the shot for you, while the Buzzz faithfully reproduces whatever angle you gave it, including your mistakes.
For tightly wooded tunnel shots where any drift ends in a tree, the Mako3's no-fade flight is the more forgiving lane-holder — it's one of the first discs we recommend in our tunnel shots guide. For players with clean form who want to choose their own finish, the Buzzz rewards the control.
Glide and the end of the flight
The Mako3's 5 glide against the Buzzz's 4 shows up as float. On the same smooth throw, the Mako3 tends to carry a little farther and sit in the air a little longer, which is part of why it works across such a wide range of arm speeds — slower arms still get a full flight out of it. The trade-off is that a floaty, no-fade disc offers less of a built-in ending: the Mako3 lands wherever its line runs out.
The Buzzz's single point of fade is the feature many players ultimately bag it for. That small, reliable left drift (RHBH) gives approach shots a predictable landing pattern — you can aim slightly right of the basket and let the disc work back — and it gives the disc a touch more wind resistance than a pure 0/0 flight. If your midrange game is built around approaches that need to land soft and predictable rather than lasers that need to stay in a lane, the Buzzz's finish is an asset, not a compromise.
What happens at higher power and in wind?
Throw both discs hard and the numbers start to speak. The Buzzz's -1 turn means big arms can push it into a slight rightward drift at high speed, then let the 1 fade bring it back — a shallow S-line that adds distance and makes the Buzzz a legitimate hyzer-flip and flex-shot disc. The Mako3's 0 turn resists that flip at moderate power, though like any neutral midrange it can be turned over deliberately with enough velocity or anhyzer.
In a headwind, neither is the ideal choice — wind effectively adds turn to every disc, and neutral midranges get pushed understable quickly. But between the two, the Buzzz's point of fade gives it slightly more margin before a headwind turns it over, while the Mako3's dead-neutral flight makes it the more honest tailwind and calm-day disc. Players who want a midrange specifically for wind usually step up to something like the Innova Roc3 (5/4/0/3) instead of asking either of these discs to fight gusts.
How they age
Both discs get better with wear, but on different schedules depending on plastic. Buzzzes in premium ESP and Z are renowned for their longevity — they age slowly over years into incredibly flippy, glidey touch discs, and many players keep a cycle of Buzzzes at different wear stages the way distance-driver throwers cycle Destroyers.
The Mako3 follows the same pattern in Star and Champion: Champion holds the neutral flight longest, Star wears in gradually, and baseline DX beats in relatively quickly into a slightly understable disc that's useful for turnover lines. If you want a beat-in turnover midrange on a budget, a DX Mako3 gets there fastest; if you want your straight disc to stay straight for seasons, Champion Mako3 and Z Buzzz are the keepers.
Plastic options
Both molds come in deep plastic lineups, and the blend you pick nudges both feel and flight.
- Star Mako3: the most common premium run — grippy, durable, and the standard recommendation.
- Champion Mako3: plays the most stable and lasts the longest; the pick if you want the neutral flight preserved.
- GStar / XT / DX Mako3: GStar is a flexier premium feel, XT offers a tackier grip, and DX is the inexpensive break-in option that wears into a slightly understable flight.
- ESP Buzzz: the most popular Buzzz plastic — solid durability with a flexible, tacky feel.
- Z Buzzz: stiff, slick, translucent, with a slightly stronger fade than ESP; the longevity pick.
- Jawbreaker / CryZtal / Titanium Buzzz: Jawbreaker is the grippier baseline-plus blend, CryZtal a candy premium run, and Titanium the very stiff, maximum-durability premium version.
If plastic feel is likely to decide this for you, note the rim difference too: the Mako3's rim is slightly deeper (1.4 cm vs 1.3 cm) and narrower (1.2 cm vs 1.3 cm), and hands tend to prefer one or the other immediately. There's no substitute for holding both.
Two different pedigrees
The Buzzz is the elder statesman: PDGA-approved on September 30, 2003, and famously created by removing the bead from Discraft's overstable Wasp mold and tweaking the wing. It has been Discraft's flagship midrange ever since — the mold Paul McBeth and Paige Pierce have carried — and it anchors a whole family that includes the more overstable Buzzz OS and the more understable Buzzz SS.
The Mako3 arrived a decade later, first released in 2013 as part of Innova's "3 Series" of flatter, lower-drag retools of classic molds (it wasn't formally PDGA-approved until August 29, 2017, when Innova ran the whole series through approval en masse). Of all the 3-Series retools it may have been the biggest improvement over its original — and it has since become so dominant in the neutral-midrange slot that it crowded older Innova mids like the Shark and Cobra out of most bags.
How to choose
Three questions usually settle it:
- What do you want at the end of the flight? Nothing — the disc lands on its line? Mako3. A small, dependable left finish you can plan approaches around? Buzzz.
- How's your angle control? If your release angles wander, the Mako3's self-straightening neutrality is more forgiving. If your angles are clean, the Buzzz gives you more shot shapes from one mold.
- How much power are you bringing? Big arms get a usable S-line and flex game out of the Buzzz's -1 turn; smoother or developing arms often get more effortless carry from the Mako3's extra glide.
For most players the honest answer is that these are the two best straight midranges in disc golf and either will serve for years. If you're forced to one: tunnel-heavy wooded golf and maximum forgiveness favor the Mako3; all-purpose versatility and approach-shot predictability favor the Buzzz.
If neither is quite right
- Axiom Hex — a 5/5/-1/1 straight-stable midrange that splits the difference: more glide than a Buzzz, a touch more workability than a Mako3.
- Discmania MD3 — a 5/5/0/1 stable midrange for players who want the Mako3's neutrality with a Buzzz-style point of fade.
- Innova Roc3 — a 5/4/0/3 overstable midrange when you need a finish and wind resistance neither of these offers.
- Discraft Buzzz SS — a 5/4/-2/1 understable Buzzz for slower arms or dedicated turnover lines.
Related
- Discraft Buzzz vs Innova Roc3
- Innova vs Discraft: complete brand comparison
- Best discs for tunnel shots and wooded courses
- What is glide in disc golf?
- The complete flight numbers guide
Compare these two discs with overlaid flight paths in the comparison tool.