Black Holes on the course

[bazillion]

What do you do about black holes on the course? I'm talking about "features" such as this drain (La Mirada front (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=252)), where if your disc goes in, you WILL NOT get it back. (This particular drain involves a vertical drop of many feet - anything going in there basically winds up in the Pacific.)

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=612&pictureid=18548

Clearly you cannot guarantee that an errant shot will always avoid the hole, but it seems unfair that the risk should be so absolute (even though it's slight) that you're basically playing Russian roulette with your plastic.

So do you protect the drain with a grid of some sort? Revise your design so that your fairways avoid the hazard completely? Or do you leave it as is, man up and take your shot, knowing that if you griplock or gripslip (depending on the direction of your approach) you run the risk of losing your disc forever?

[optidiscic]

South Mountain in PA has a drain about 10m from basket 18....it's downhill from the basket as well after a downhill drive so it's very much in play...I think it's been jammed with sticks and debris by disgruntled players over the years....I always thought the drain was stupid even if it was only on the last hole and it would not ruin your entire round.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/media.php?id=28&mode=media&view=hole&hole=18&page=1#

[MikePinchico]

Scenario 1, my disc is safe: Put your man boots on and suck it up.

Scenario 2, my disc is gone forever: F this course it's terribly designed.

[Steve West]

Whatever you do, don't mess with the drains or any other equipment out there.

If it is a safety hazard (people might drop in), then the landowner should take care of it.

Otherwise, it's just a piece of plastic and a score. Perfecting the hole design is not worth messing up the infrastructure.

[Brall]

use a spotter whenever possible, meaning, send your friend down range to block for ya.

[Aim For The Chains]

couldnt they just enclose the drain with something that allows water to penetrate but not a disc? I have seen before, where the drain has a cage or small fence surrounding it which keeps large debris out and prevents any safety issues which could arise from someone walking over it etc.

[TOURNEYPLAYER]

what about the black holes of briars on courses. I have played courses, where if you throw left (or right) too far, you are in some shiz that you are never getting your disc out of. Stoney Hill has a few such places that are currently holding onto a few of my zones.

[bazillion]

That's what's done sometimes around here. The result though is often a huge pile of cr@p there that blocks the water from going out and makes a lake.

The engineering work-around is to make a catch basin that will fill up with debris but not block water and can be cleaned out periodically. I don't know if this particular drain has a catch basin underground (that's usually where they are) but I sort of doubt it - there's usually an access hatch that they use when they clean those out, about once a year.

[Paulie]

Drains should have grates over them to keep people, other animals and debris out of the collection system. It's safer, easier and less expensive to clean off grates than it is to clean out pipes.

[DocHaole]

I have played that course hundreds of times and that drain has never come into play. Obviously I feel bad for anyone who lost a disc in that drain but I have never seen a shot go back there. I think the course design avoids that drain pretty well.

However I have a beef with the drain on hole #2 La Mirada lakeside. Even with the grate I have seen people lose discs in that drain. When the pin is in the long position that drain easily comes into play.

[DocHaole]

Here's one for black holes. . . BUCKTHORN!!!!!

Sky High in Wrightwood has that craziest buckthrorn hazard I've ever seen. I lost a disc in that stuff in the Socal Champs this year and had to take a penalty for lost disc. Throw a disc there and you can end up with bloody shins and still no disc.

[bazillion]

Yeah that stuff is a b1tch but hey - that's what they make chain mail for :D

Re LaMa - I had a disc teeter on the brink of oblivion on the drain hole illustrated. Maybe the best real solution is to hit the practice field until that type of errant shot simply no longer occurs.

Still, I'd probably find a way to do it anyway :)

[Peterb]

Golden Gate Park has an old concrete tree well on the left side of hole 12's fairway (used for planting monterey pines ) that has since grown over with thick brambles. But...occasionally while searching for an errant disc, I'll check to see if one is in there. Have found a few that way actually...

[1978]

They are no fun...but I have played plenty of courses along creeks and rivers that have baskets within 15' of the hazard, unlike a lake, there is NO chance of retrieval if your disc enters after a rain. So...if you are unlucky and land in the drain... sorry...same as if you lose your disc in a river or under leaves in the middle of the fairway, or down an animal hole (I've seen this numerous times)

[1978]

I meant drains are no fun if you land in them. The courses with the rivers and creeks I have played WERE fun!

[ohtobediscing]

If its big enough for a person[or a child] to get inside, its a safety hazard and should be dealt with. This looks like a city park---take the issue to them.