The Gateway Spear is a 9-speed understable control driver. With published flight numbers of 9 / 6 / -2 / 1, it is most often described as suited for straight flights and long turnovers with a gentle finish, hyzer flips on wooded courses.
Overview
The Gateway Spear is a beadless 9/6/-2/1 control driver. Gateway pitches it as a slightly understable, high-glide fairway driver for straight flights, hyzer flips and long turnovers.[2] It has a low 1.4 cm profile and a wide 2.0 cm rim on a 21.2 cm diameter.[1] Retail sources list it as understable, and one reviewer says it starts out slightly more stable but beats in to become nicely understable.[3][4] It comes in Diamond, Hyper Diamond, Platinum, NXT and lightweight Sure Grip plastics, among others.[2][3]
Flight characteristics
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.
Recommended uses
Gateway recommends the Spear for players building technique or navigating tight woodland courses, on both backhand and forehand throws.[2] It works for long turnover lines and hyzer flips.[2] Retail listings mark it as suitable for beginners and experienced players alike.[3][4]
Best for:
- Straight flights and long turnovers with a gentle finish
- Hyzer flips on wooded courses
- Backhand and forehand control drives
- Beginners looking for distance without heavy fade
Community notes — how players actually use this disc
Plastics & variants
The Spear is available in the following plastic blends from Gateway:[2]
Diamond, Hyper Diamond, Platinum, NXT, NXT Lite, Sure Grip Lightweight, Nylon Blend
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 Spear was PDGA-approved on February 13, 2019, as a Gateway Disc Sports mold with a 21.2 cm diameter, 1.4 cm height and 2.0 cm rim width.[1] Gateway is a Maryland Heights, Missouri company founded in 1994 by David McCormack that has molded more than 50 PDGA-approved designs.[5] The Spear is still in the catalog and for 2026 Gateway lists an NXT-G signature edition for team player Drew Gibson.[2] The sources reviewed do not give a designer or further release details.[2][3]
Notable throwers
Drew Gibson
How it compares
How the Spear lines up against the discs players most often weigh it against, using each manufacturer's published flight numbers.
| Disc | Speed / Glide / Turn / Fade | Stability | Rim width |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Spear | 9 / 6 / -2 / 1 | Understable | 2 cm |
| Innova Shryke | 13 / 6 / -2 / 2 | Understable | 2.3 cm |
| Innova Leopard3 | 7 / 5 / -2 / 1 | Understable | 1.9 cm |
| Innova Sidewinder | 9 / 5 / -3 / 1 | Very Understable | 2.1 cm |
References & further reading
- How to read disc golf flight numbers — Discpedia primer
- PDGA Approved Disc List — search for "Spear" to find the Gateway Spear entry (PDGA-approved 2019)
- Gateway official site — manufacturer product page
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.
- Spear — PDGA Equipment Certification (approved Feb 13, 2019)
- Spear — Gateway Disc Sports (official product collection)
- Gateway Spear — Infinite Discs (flight numbers, plastics, dimensions)
- Gateway Spear — DiscMetrics
- About GDS — Gateway Disc Sports (company history)
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