So you want to make the basket smaller for Pros? (No, we don't.) Here's how we do it.
 

We've heard many arguments that putting is too easy for the pros so they need smaller baskets.

I believe having 99.9% of players using different equipment than the pros we idolize is a cure that's worse than the disease. The Disc Golf Pro Tour can afford to buy special baskets but local clubs and cities cannot afford to replace what we have.

Here is the solution.

Thread a steel cable through an upper chain link and pull it to a measured length and lock in place with a cable lock. Instant marksman basket. Cable and lock cost $3.00, takes 2 minutes in install.

If the pro tour adopted this method any course that wishes can follow suit. This can be permanent or just done for a specific event. Have one hole that is just too easy? You can make that one basket a marksman and leave the rest alone.

Beginner friendly courses are critical to a local disc golf ecosystem but for a one day event you can make that easy course challenging again for more advanced players.

As a community we would have to experiment with what chain link to use and how tight and different specifications for different brand baskets but that can be worked out, the general principle is sound.

Not all baskets have sliding links that can do this... but most importantly:

It's NEVER a good idea to advocate people go rogue, installing aftermarket parts on park equipment they don't own

You were on to something - we should use the same equipment as the pros. Don't change a thing

If they did this for tour events, pretty soon we have people installing junk in the baskets all over the country. They rust / not warrantied anymore, beginners get to the course and are Mad that someone made the baskets "harder" and they leave feeling mad.

Nice try, but----nahhh. There's already enough sharpie/totems/beer castoffs on the baskets.

Us old guys have the solution: "You kids quit 4u<king with the baskets!"

Sure, let's make the baskets smaller. So, we don't get on ESPN anymore because there is 80% less aces.

Things would get boring: no more spin putts, players laying up, etc.

The best small basket is basically a tone pole and it doesn't suit to tournament play, even though it's quite convenient in COVID times. So, that says a lot about keeping baskets as they are now.

I've never heard anyone argue for this. They're fine how they are imo.

This was a thing a few years ago. now it's just going to crop up here and there and we'll rehash the same things again

I think that would make watching the pros worse anyway. Then your great putters would really run away more than they already do.

Smaller baskets are dead. Long live appropriately set par!

Exactly. There's been plenty of talk about making baskets tougher for the pro players, but I don't think anyone has been advocating for all courses to change their baskets to appease the pro game. Whatever temporary changes they want to make to baskets when the pro tour comes around is ok by me (maybe, it depends), as long as they change it back after the tournament.

Also, I don't think it would change much in the end if they shrunk the targets down, they would be the new normal and pros would just get good at putting on those, and we would be back to square one.

I'm just glad my home course got Mach V's last year. They catch so much nicer than the janky homemade ones they had for 30 years. Putting is hard enough as is.