Tee Pad or basket position

[optidiscic]

When deciding upon a course layout...all too often you are met with this problem....is that elevated area a prime tee position or a prime basket location......how do you decide whats best.

This might seem like a dumb question but I keep walking in circles in the woods and need a little advice in how to make this decision.

[sirflicksalot]

if it is real open i would like to shot down hill but if is kind of wooded i would like to shot uphill but thats just me

[DSmith]

What exactly do you mean by elevated? Like on some sort of knob? If the fairway is level and your talking about one of the ends being on a raised location, I'd go with the green being on the raised area. But it depends on if being elevated is actually going to effect the putts or not. If not whats the point of it being up there, right?
Having the tee elevated will effect the height of the drive down the fairway which could mean that if you get kicked off the fairway you really are going deep. The other thing is that It'll keep the pad out of any drainage and make for a drier pad.

[DavidSauls]

Sometimes it's dictated by the other holes you find, and what's the best routing. Keep that spot in mind for either a tee or green, and see what evolves around it.

[esdubya]

Disc Golf axiom #1: Throwing downhill is cool!!

If forced with a choice I favor elevated tees more than elevated baskets. Variety is also good though, so use your discretion as a designer.

[andrewkh]

take out some flags or some marking piant and set it up both ways and just throw it, get a group of guys together and have everyone throw it both up and down the hill.....go with which layout is more fun. but personally i like a big old open downhill bomber, there are not enough shots like that in the world

[Sadjo]

I find the best thing when designing a course is to mark on a map all the holes that natural fit into a property. You might have 100 or you might have 10. Then figure the best flow...knowing you will lose some nice holes. After you've done that, go back and play the hole backwards from what you intended. You might find some holes work best the other direction.

That was a tip I got from John Houck's website and that help has influenced me when I've been involved in course design in the past.

[prerube]

It depends on the flow of your other holes. Which makes most sense, personally if there is no difference go with elevated basket for small elevation, tee if it is wide open.

[Elderberen]

cane we get some pics of the lay out of this hole.

[bwiese]

This isnt going to help you, but depends:

You want to have a balanced course between ups, downs, flats, right turning, left, and straight. The best thing to do would be make different course layouts and like others have said see which make sense, which are the most fun when you throw them, and What is going to be your best course over all.

What is the land like? Woods, open, both.

You can also find 1 or 2 signature holes that would be unforgetable and start working the course around them. Houck has a few articles you can check out on his homepage.

good luck

[Peterb]

Don't forget to place pins on slopes. There's little more that's challenging in DG than a butt clenching putt on a downward sloping pin area.

In response to your original question, I would pick elevated tees over pins for the most part. For variety's sake I would certainly have some elevated pins but the ratio of elevated tees to pins should probably be 1 and 1/2:1 or more...just because throwing downhill is a more fun.

Each piece of land is unique and the challenge of the designer is to get to know the land well enough to make the course the most fun it can be for the level of player you're designing for. Given the constraints placed upon us by the park department, neighbors, and the land itself, it can be quite a puzzle. Spend as much time as you can out there and try to draw inspiration from deep within yourself. Remember that flow is pretty important as well, since most of us don't want to have the 1/4 mile walk uphill to the next tee...

Good luck!

[Steve West]

The very top (and the very bottom) of any hill is flat. A pin there will develop a depression ring around the pole, which will hold water.

If you want a pin at the top of a hill, move it over enough to get drainage.

[denny ritner]

IN SHORT: basket locations are much more important than tee locations. use every opportunity to design dynamic "greens" that create opportunities for three putts. this is the most under-developed aspect of our game on most current courses. do NOT design holes that go straight downhill with the basket at the very bottom. these do appeal to the masses in terms of "weeeeeee" factor, but are a waste of topography. for the downhill shots, put the basket BEFORE the bottom of the hill or UP the other side of a ravine. this requires players to control nose angle and distance much more. also, as a general rule it's much better to diagonal up/down hills.


EXTENDED TANGENTS: i believe in taking the time to "pre-scout" a property before fairways are ever envisioned. don't fall into the trap of falling in love with "THE signature hole". i've seen way too many courses where design has been sacrificed at the altar of the signature hole. as one designer i know puts it, "you always have to polish a few turds to keep the good holes and make the flow work". NOOOO TURDS ALLOWED!!! if the property is great and the designer is competent, signature holes will take care of themselves.

the pre-scout entails extensive walking to feel the "flavor" of the course that will be and a general concept of the routing that allows for two loops of nine holes. be mindful of areas that potentially collect water and potential erosion areas. while walking, first identify as many choice "greens" as possible. mark these very visibly with some large, bright objects/tape/whatever. map these locations as you go, i'd highly recommend using a gps unit for this task these things are very cheap now and are extremely useful. (just don't trust it for actual tee-sign distances, those should be rolled or shot with a laser sighter.)

next stage: identify shots to those potential greens. don't worry initially if those would be fairway shots on par 4's/5's or tee shots on par 3's. map these locations.

next: sit down with your map (make copies if you're going to draw on the map) and whip out several potential routings. then walk each of these potential routes to get a feel for that potential layout. pay close attention to safety buffers.

now: sit in a lotus position somewhere on the course and ask the course to tell you which of these proposed routings is best. the course will never lie to you as long as you drown out the false course prophets. (this is why it is good to NOT DESIGN BY COMMITTEE!!!)

then: mark fairways, rough cut, double-check, mark specific basket locations, NOW mark tee locations, double-check, NOW bring in your assistants and tweak out tee and basket locations, next trim out the course, clear debris, plant tees, tee signs, and directional signs and FINALLY plant the baskets. LAST: buy me a plane ticket so i can come and play your masterpiece!!!

if you really read all that, you're a complete design dork and i love you.

[esdubya]

Thanks Denny, I will print that out and read it every day. Focus on the greens.. I like it.