Ace Legitimacy

[Martin Dewgarita]

It's only legit if it happens on film. On the lead Card. Of a DGPT event. On the second Friday of the month. Within 6 hours of a solar eclipse. As far as I'm concerned nobody has ever had a legitimate ace.

 

[Casey 1988]

This is another reason I opted not to even touch this teepad with my feet - I've (stupidly and selfishly) done this in the past and paid the price by falling on my ass. Seeing a patch of kind of clear ground to the side of the tee, it wasn't even a second thought to tee off from there.

I only played 3 holes on this solo session (I had a few extra minutes to burn on the way to work), and the other two holes I played had big enough sections of teepad completely exposed where the snow and ice had melted away from sun exposure the previous day.

I agree 100% though - don't be like younger me and tee off from an uncleared teepad; I've been the one to shovel them off and it's a pain in the ASS to break up caked down ice from other golfers stomping the snow down.

Also, thank you for the congratulatory words!

I have had to play on the icy tee pad. The whole lower part of a course Richmond Lake State Park disc golf course near Aberdeenpark in South Dakota had a lower section in a valley all ice or near ice hardpack so we had to stand on the tee pad no run up and throw. Also walking on that hole was bad and everyone fell at least one time on that hole including the guy playing in full foot ice spike things that slip over the shoe or they were the chain grippers that slip over the shoe, I forget what he had as it was almost 12 years ago in January 2008.

 

[Gblambert]

I would call the throw described in the OP an ace.

Are there any limits though to what could be considered an ace? Lets say a player throws all of the discs in his bag on a single hole and hits an ace on his 20th throw. Is that really an ace?

Or how about an ace on a hole that's only 85 feet long. Does it count?

What about the guy that plays a round alone, not really keeping scrore, throws two drives on a couple of holes, then all of a sudden he hits an ace on his first throw on the hardest hole on the course. Count? Here's one players take on getting an unwitnessed ace:

https://flic.kr/p/2gZiGQt

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

If you mark a "1" on the scorecard, it's an ace.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

True of False: 99% of all aces were not intentional.

False.. I'd say more like 70 percent unintentional IME. There's always some luck involved but there's lots of times in Sunday dubs where we/ I am behind a stroke or two and you gotta make something happen. Its like pulling the goalie for an extra attacker, sometimes you just gotta run it and take some risks to get the win or just stay in the game. Especially if your partners parked, it's stiff competition 2's just won't do if someone's got more than you.

Alternatively if we have a big ace pot carryover and someone hits it you want your share, especially if your score is too bad to place in doubles or in the tourney. I hit more aces in tournaments on the second day, or second round when it's clear I'm out of the money.

 

[DiscFifty]

^^^ I'll give you that in regards to casual play, ace pots, rounds where you don't give a crap, etc, but in professional pdga tournaments, I'm sticking to the 90%.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

True of False: 99% of all aces were not intentional.

I have one that obviously wasn't intentional. There used to be a hole at Cold Brook Park (near Kalamazoo, MI), a short wooded one, where you could choose to skip under a tree trunk growing parallel to the ground at about head high and 75' or so from the tee, or go over it. It was a little under 200' if memory serves.

I was attempting, in 1998, to skip a Banshee off the ground under that trunk but ended up letting go of it way, way too high instead. It cleared the obstacle and slammed into the chains, right on the middle of the pole.

I was terrible at RHBH's back then. Nowadays it's the opposite.

All of my other 9 aces were exactly how I drew them up while standing on the tee, but only one of them has occurred since 2000. I'm on a 12.5-year drought, the last of which was accomplished with a 9x Gazelle.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Oh, and there's one I do indeed count that I couldn't today because of a rule change. You used to have a good hole-out if your Disc was stuck to the side of the cage, even if it didn't enter above the cage legally as defined today, so long as you retrieved it before it fell out. I remember on some rare occasions guys used to sprint up to the basket and grab their putters that had wedged in there like that and everybody would congratulate them on the good putt.

I had a Banshee stick to the outside of the cage just like when Sister Mary Elephant asked, "Young maaaan, give me that knife" in a Cheech and Chong sketch. "Shhhhhrrrr **Bldldldldld!!!**" "Thank you." I sprinted all the way from the tee and retrieved it. Legal ace in 1999 so I count it.

 

[Steve West]

Somewhere, are people spending as much thought on what is a legit 2?

 

[elmexdela]

^^^ I'll give you that in regards to casual play, ace pots, rounds where you don't give a crap, etc, but in professional pdga tournaments, I'm sticking to the 90%.

i only play rec rounds and 100% of my aces were intentional

but i also only play for the kill shots

 

[Dan Cooper]

Couldn't find a thread pertaining to this exact subject, and I know what counts as a legit ace is not the most important topic of discussion, but I'm curious to see what others think:

I hit an ace this morning on a not super long hole, but one that was really fun because it was cold AF outside, the ground was covered in snow/ice, and it was just a neat winter wonderland setting. Specifically w/r/t ice cover, the hole's concrete teepad - it was absolutely a slip and fall risk, there was a kind of bare patch of semi-exposed ground directly to the left of the tee (roughly in line with the middle of the tee) where the slip risk was way lower, you could get even a semblance of ground grip, I teed off from there, took a one step shot, and fired off a forehand ace.

The line at the hole was EVER so slightly different starting off a couple of feet to the left - I absolutely think this is a legit ace to claim given that the actual tee was unsafe to shoot from (and I didn't pass the front of the tee line on the follow through), but am curious for others thoughts if altering the line at all constitutes levels of BS on par with stuff like cubby aces.

I know this isn't huge topic of discussion stuff, but I couldn't find any other threads when I searched, so please don't flame me for failing to look lol

I say count it. Good for you.

 

[Olorin]

I hit an ace this morning on a not super long hole, but one that was really fun because it was cold AF outside, the ground was covered in snow/ice, and it was just a neat winter wonderland setting. Specifically w/r/t ice cover, the hole's concrete teepad - it was absolutely a slip and fall risk, there was a kind of bare patch of semi-exposed ground directly to the left of the tee (roughly in line with the middle of the tee) where the slip risk was way lower, you could get even a semblance of ground grip, I teed off from there, took a one step shot, and fired off a forehand ace.

...I absolutely think this is a legit ace to claim given that the actual tee was unsafe to shoot from (and I didn't pass the front of the tee line on the follow through)...

Kegel,

You can count this as an ace, but if you do are you willing to live with the consequences? You have just publicly confessed to a transgression of not throwing from the standard tee, so at any moment of the day or night the Ace Standards Squad (ASS) now has every right to come without warning, break down your door, wag their finger in your face, and yell at you! Do you really want this happening in the middle of some cold frozen night? Do you realize that they actively monitor every post on all disc golf message boards? If you have a family think how this will traumatize your wife and kids? How will your wife even show her face at the grocery store? You will need to resign your church membership and maybe even move. What if your boss finds out? Forget any government job that needs a security clearance. If you have kids in school think of how they will be They will be mercilessly taunted! Can you live with them being forever marked and scarred from this?

So before you add this to your Ace list I urge you to do some soul searching and seriously ask if you can live with these consequences.

 

[Olorin]

1st throw from a legit teeing area that lands in and stays in the basket = ace.

So here is my honest answer... it depends, mainly on the sensitivity of your conscience. The vast majority of players would call that an ace. Under the circumstances it was your first throw from a legitimate tee. In the end, you are the only person that this matters to, so since you said it absolutely should count then count it as an ace.

But here is my personal perspective that is unique to me alone. This is not prescriptive for any other person, and I know I'm weird and super picky. I also have a super sensitive conscience.

My personal definition of a legitimate ace for my count is "The first throw from a standard tee that lands in and stays in the basket."

If I threw the shot that you did, I think I would always consider that an asterisk ace, and I wouldn't record it in my ace count because it just wasn't from the standard tee. I would put it on another mental list with an * next to it. But that's just me. You do whatever you are comfortable with and don't worry any more about it.

I do think much more strongly that a legitimate ace must only be your first shot. Any shots after your first "real" shot are a "Practice Ace". I've had a couple of those and that's how I categorize them. The upside is that they still leave a permanent glow that you remember every time you play that hole in the future. I always think, "I made it once in 1 throw, so maybe this time I will do it again with a real shot."

 

[DavidSauls]

The Ace Standards Squad!!!!!!

 

[Jack Straw ICT]

Olarin's 1984 post: Bwahahaha!!!

By the way kegelexercise, congrats on a most excellent ace!

 

[Olorin]

And in my world hole length does not matter for an ace. If it is on a hole at a permanent course and I meet my personal criteria then it is an ace.

A few of the shortest holes in the U.S. are attached. If I have a legitimate ace on one of these holes it goes on my list, and I have a clear conscience to stand up to the Ace Standards Squad bullies.

On my Ace list--
#2 was on hole 2 of the Tiki course in Spotsylvania VA, 69 ft
#6 was on hole 5 of the New River DGC in Todd NC, 90 ft

*OK, full disclosure, I do think the Tiki course ace is a little iffy, but it sure felt good nonetheless. Aces on par 2 holes are not quite as satisfying, but they do still feel mighty good.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

FWIW - when conditions on the tee are slippery or otherwise unsafe, and it's not feasible to make them safe in time for a tournament, it's pretty common for TD's to announce that it's "OK to tee off from an area immediately adjacent to the tee box."


Personally, I've never counted aces on holes under a hundred feet, and I couldn't tell you how many I've at Civic Center in Auburn Hills, when I worked near that course.

But as has been said, what you choose to count them and what you can live with, is entirely up to you.

 

[Jack Straw ICT]

So being an ace virgin, I've got these possibilities:

Legit Ace
Practice Ace (but still a virgin)
Black Ace (but still a virgin) This is an unintentional throw-in from your tee to a basket on another hole, right?
Safari Ace (still a virgin) This is what, on a safari hole I make up?

Any other?

 

[Olorin]

So being an ace virgin, I've got these possibilities:

Legit Ace
Practice Ace (but still a virgin)
Black Ace (but still a virgin) This is an unintentional throw-in from your tee to a basket on another hole, right?
Safari Ace (still a virgin) This is what, on a safari hole I make up?

Any other?

Asterisk Ace? or Ace*. (I just invented that one today.)

 

[Jack Straw ICT]

Oh right yes you did. I read that in your post, two previous.

Asterisk Ace is a good one. (But I think Kegel's was a Legit Ace cuz it's legit like an adjacent TD approved tee that a TD might designate for messed-up tees)