Contents
  1. Overview
  2. Flight characteristics
  3. Recommended uses
  4. Plastics & variants
  5. History
  6. Notable throwers
  7. Similar discs

The Westside Gatekeeper is a 4-speed stable midrange. With published flight numbers of 4 / 5 / 0 / 2, it is most often described as suited for flat straight midrange lines in the woods, hyzers that hold their angle instead of flexing out.

Overview

The Westside Gatekeeper is a 4/5/0/2 midrange whose entire design brief is holding the angle you give it. Westside's own copy says it "wants to go right where you throw it, and it excels at holding angles," staying true even when thrown with power before a slight tendency to fade.[2][3] At 21.7 cm diameter with a 1.4 cm rim and a 1.3 cm rim depth[1] it is a full-size, comfortable-rimmed mid rather than a small-diameter one, and Westside credits it with "surprising high-speed stability."[2][3]

Flight characteristics

Flight numbers: manufacturer vs. community
SourceSpeedGlide TurnFade
Westside (mfg) 4 5 0 2 Published spec
Discpedia community Loading ratings…

Flight numbers describe the published behavior of the disc when thrown at its design speed. Real-world flight varies with plastic, weight, age, and thrower power. The community-averaged numbers above reflect crowd-sourced observations from real throws — typically slightly more understable than the manufacturer's published values, which is the most consistent pattern across nearly every commercial mold.

Use the Gatekeeper where the shot is defined by an angle the disc has to keep: flat straight lines down a wooded fairway, hyzers that hold their pitch instead of flexing out, and long approaches where a glidey neutral mid would drift past. The 5 glide gives it more carry than most stable mids while the 2 fade means it finishes rather than dies. Westside's pitch is simply to "enlist the Gatekeeper to help you stay in the fairway."[2][3]

Best for:

  • Flat straight midrange lines in the woods
  • Hyzers that hold their angle instead of flexing out
  • Long approaches that need to finish rather than drift
  • Controlled midrange drives on tight fairways

Plastics & variants

The Gatekeeper is available in the following plastic blends from Westside:[2]

VIP, VIP Hybrid, VIP-Ice, Tournament, BT Hybrid

Plastic blend significantly affects flight character. Premium plastics like Champion, Z, or C-Line generally fly more overstable when fresh and hold their stability over time. Base plastics like DX, Pro, or Active beat in faster and become more understable workhorses with use.

History

The PDGA approved the Gatekeeper on 28 December 2018 under certification number 18-93, at 21.7 cm diameter, 1.8 cm height, 1.3 cm rim depth, a 1.4 cm rim and a 180.1 g maximum weight.[1] The PDGA published its new-disc announcement on 2 January 2019, quoting Westside's product copy verbatim.[3] Like most of the Westside line the disc carries a Finnish name drawn from the Kalevala — Westside gives it as Tuonen Poika and credits the stamp art to Oskar Åström in 2018 — but unlike the Queen, Boatman, Shield and Maiden, the PDGA record carries no Finnish subtitle and files the mold as plain "Gatekeeper."[1][2] It remains in full production in VIP, VIP Hybrid, VIP-Ice, Tournament and BT Hybrid, with Glimmer, Orbit and Splash effects, and Westside has issued a Joshua Patin Team Series VIP Hybrid run for 2026 — a signature stamp, which on its own is not evidence that a professional bags the mold, so no notable throwers are claimed here.[2] The store sells four weight brackets, 165–169 g, 170–172 g, 173–176 g and 177 g-plus; the typical weight range given above is derived from those brackets rather than quoted directly.[2]

Notable throwers

Currently no information

Similar discs

References & further reading

Sources

Content on this page has been cross-checked against the following sources. Numbered citations in the prose above link to the matching entry here.

  1. Gatekeeper from Westside Golf Discs — PDGA approved-disc record (cert 18-93)
  2. Gatekeeper — Westside Discs (official mold page)
  3. Westside Gatekeeper: Straight & True — PDGA announcement, 2 January 2019

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