a good way to practice putting without a basket?

[fireball42]

hey everybody. the closest disc golf basket to my house is a 25 minute drive so practicing putting can be difficult.

i was wondering if anyone has thought of a good way to practice putting with some kind of everyday object or makeshift "macgyver" basket.

thanks in advance.

 

[JR]

They sell practice baskets that you can fold away when you don't use one. If neighbors are a problem you can wrap a towel around the pole and tie the chains tighter (great aiming exercise after which normal baskets seem large) with a piece of string for way less noise. Object disc golf sometimes places tape to a tree or a pole at the height of the dick and nipples. That is roughly the height of the chains on a basket. A tighter and higher lower edge and a lower higher edge makes for more realistic putting since the marked area catches better on a real basket.

 

[bents]

If you have a big enough backyard, any tall enough object will do as a target. I use a laundry-drying pole with tape on it to mark the top and bottom of a basket.

Indoors is tricky because of the noise when you miss and hit a wall.

 

[dgdave]

Broom stick

 

[andrewv]

Coat rack.

 

[tampora]

Flip the mattress of your bed onto it's edge by the wall, so it still sits on the box-spring the long ways as it leans against the wall.

Then, admit to yourself, "no one cares what the underside of a mattress looks like", while you magic-marker a life-size drawing of a basket on the underside of your mattress.

Put a short, empty waste paper basket on top of the box-spring, just under the basket. Then, discs that hit center "chains" of the drawing will drop straight down and into the waste paper basket.

Use rolled-up blankets and pillows on the outer perimeter of the box-spring to prevent noisy rollaways. Line the bottom of your waste paper basket with a throw pillow to reduce noise and prevent tipovers.

It's really quiet, even when you put some mustard into it. For my mattress, they seem to not bounce off, but recoil straight down and (hopefully) in to the waste paper basket.

 

[Widdershins]

Putting at anything is better than not practicing and as good as putting at the newest, fanciest, most expensive and shiniest basket you can find.

The skill of putting is about consistently hitting a target. Some putts are uphill or downhill or in winds. So long as your target is exposed to the wind it doesn't matter much what it is or how high off the ground it is (within reason, of course ). A post, a tree or a taped X on a trash can are all great targets.

There are many different baskets out there. Most of them do a poor job of consistently catching solid putts to the center of the chains. Bounce outs and blow throughs are not your fault and cannot be avoided by a special technique or putting style or certain kind of putter. So don't worry about what you cannot control and do your best to hit your target. I mention this because there is no benefit to putting at a basket as opposed to another target of the same approximate size (although a smaller target may be even better which is why some players aim at a particular link of chain).

It is far better to putt more at a made up target than less on an official basket. Dip the basket in gold and sprinkle diamonds on it and it still is no better than a fence post with a red dot painted on it.

 

[cubeofsoup]

Mark I believe you'd agree with the "if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball" theory...

Side note...I bought a Rattler, it in no way whatsoever had anything at all to do with you preaching their awesomeness...but really it was all you. I wanted something to play catch with and something floaty for longer putts and touch shots, this should probably fit the bill.

 

[Stringbean]

So long as your target is exposed to the wind it doesn't matter much what it is or how high off the ground it is (within reason, of course ).

I learned this the hard way over the winter. I practiced putting in my basement December - March and improved quite a bit. Unfortunately, the improvements didn't fully translate to the course. The wind factor, coupled with differences in depth perception of wide open space are factors that can't be duplicated in an interior environment. That said, practicing in less than ideal conditions is better than not practicing at all. It will just taking some extra reps outdoors this spring to adjust to the outdoors environment.

 

[dgdave]

My putting always goes to shit when I practice. Don't know why. I just warm up before a round. It doesn't really matter if they go in or not, just get a feel for my stroke. I've actually became a reallygood putter like tthis. In all the tourneys I've played this year, my putting has been my strongest suit. This past weekend, for the 1st 2 rounds it's all I could do. Too bad it took me so many throws to get to the green. On 54 holes of golf. I only missed 2 inside 30 and it was from a really bad lie and one really bad putt on the 2nd hole.

 

[fireball42]

thanks everyone for the good suggestions. i have a big tree in my yard, that could really use a duct-tape X on it. Im a little hesitant to Purposely throw my putter at a tree, but the champ plastic combined with normal putting force shouldnt do too much damage. B)

 

[Stringbean]

You could tie a blanket around the tree to minimize damage (to the discs and the tree).

 

[coupe]

1 - 10' 1/2" schedule 40 pvc pipe, cut into thirds
3 - empty 2 liter soda/pop bottles

Total cost for three targets: < $5.

 

[Fritz]

Brilliant!!!

1 - 10' 1/2" schedule 40 pvc pipe, cut into thirds
3 - empty 2 liter soda/pop bottles

Total cost for three targets: < $5.

 

[BradC]

1 - 10' 1/2" schedule 40 pvc pipe, cut into thirds
3 - empty 2 liter soda/pop bottles

Total cost for three targets: < $5.

That's a damn fine idea sir.

 

[discraft]

Quiet too! Both my baskets are being borrowed for a friends course. I'll be making this friday.

 

[coupe]

I laid out a 9-hole course at my church using these as targets. (There are alternate pin positions on 6 holes, and the flow allows several hole to be combined, so effectively, we have "red" and a "white" courses.)

The course sees a lot of use because kids as young as kindergarten age can (and do!) get them out and set them up by themselves and put them away when they're done. (I installed 1' long 1" PVC pipe "ground sleeves" that they can simply drop the pole into instead of having to pound them into the ground.) Sometimes they'll only set up 2 or 3, but even just throwing back and forth between a couple of targets is better than nothing. (Heck, if I'm going to be at church for choir or a meeting, I'll sometimes go early/stay late and set up a couple of targets and work on upshots and putting.)

A lot of parents have told me their kids have made targets to practice on at home. It's a darn cheap way to get kids (and parents) hooked on disc golf.

 

[jtowneagle]

I will be doing this today. Great idea! how high off the ground is the sweet spot of a target normally?

 

[saucerslotz!]

Try this great new game saucerslotz. Its the perfect way to practice your putting and have a great game for a BBQ or tailgating. Check it out at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saucerslotz/saucerslotz-hard-to-say-and-fun-to-play