Are Whiskers Here to Stay

[biscoe]

ugly, contrived, and unneeded.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

ugly, contrived, and unneeded.

:hfive:

 

[air show]

ugly, contrived, and unneeded.

What course have you played that made you come to this conclusion?

 

[jjtwinnova]

I don't find this any more useful than paint on the ground. I'm all for a well defined circle when I am playing a tournament, but if a course has these at all times it could get quite annoying. There are many different options such as the classic paint and flags. These help with seeing the circle on camera though, which helped me gauge putt distance during USDGC, but in a casual setting, unnecessary and distracting.

 

[biscoe]

i see little (if any) value in marked putting circles of any sort. it is virtually never an actual issue in play and a waste of time and paint.

 

[biscoe]

What course have you played that made you come to this conclusion?

None, I am merely making educated assumptions based on the images i have seen.

 

[Halcón]

ugly, contrived, and unneeded.

With UDisc type stats, there will be an increasing need to mark both the 10m circle, and "circle 2" (which I think is 20m?? Not sure).

So much to our dismay, we'll start seeing more of these ugly buggers out on the course. (I still haven't seen them in person. Paint is bad enough)

 

[BrotherDave]

With UDisc type stats, there will be an increasing need to mark both the 10m circle, and "circle 2" (which I think is 20m?? Not sure).

So much to our dismay, we'll start seeing more of these ugly buggers out on the course. (I still haven't seen them in person. Paint is bad enough)

Yeah but actually needing these stats is highly debatable. It seems to me that they're an effort to legitimize disc golf by copying the egregious use of advanced stats in popular sports. I tolerate it cos I know that lots of people derive much of their enjoyment of sports through nerding out over stats but truth be told I can take it or leave it.

I just think that there's a middle ground that isn't being looked for, like using actual landscaping features like mulch or flowers or cairns or anything that doesn't look blatantly artificial like whiskers or spray paint. :\

 

[filobedo]

I would not mind if they were not named "whiskers." Another attempt by hipsters to control the universe.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Yeah but actually needing these stats is highly debatable. It seems to me that they're an effort to legitimize disc golf by copying the egregious use of advanced stats in popular sports. I tolerate it cos I know that lots of people derive much of their enjoyment of sports through nerding out over stats but truth be told I can take it or leave it.

I just think that there's a middle ground that isn't being looked for, like using actual landscaping features like mulch or flowers or cairns or anything that doesn't look blatantly artificial like whiskers or spray paint. :\

Some of our local courses have bricks flush to the ground 10m out from the pin.

Not all the way around in a circle mind you, just a single brick located in the middle of the main approach from the fairway, and maybe a 2nd along the same arc at another typical approach angle... definitely helps you gauge how far out you are. Not nearly as tacky as whiskers, lower maintenance, and probably lower cost to boot.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

i see little (if any) value in marked putting circles of any sort. it is virtually never an actual issue in play and a waste of time and paint.

The only truly useful value I see is in helping to clearly define where one can/cannot legally jump-putt in for tournament & league play.

 

[biscoe]

The only truly useful value I see is in helping to clearly define where one can/cannot legally jump-putt in for tournament & league play.

I have played hundreds of events at every level of competition over the past 20 years and never once have i seen this actually be an issue that took more than 10 seconds to decide. If people feel there is a need for it I thoroughly support using bricks, etc as you say above.

The idea that ropes, whiskers, etc make for better disc golf on video is off base to me. What would make for better disc golf on video would be filming techniques/technology that can actually express the beauty of a disc in flight and the beauty and variety of some of the places disc golf is played. Some of the edited coverage achieves this, live not so much due to the restrictions of the tech being used.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

The idea that ropes, whiskers, etc make for better disc golf on video is off base to me.

Maybe I missed it, but did someone actually claim visually defining the putting circle would enhance the "watchability" of disc golf on video? I'm with you on that... I just don't see it. :|

I would think putting in the whiskers would discourage multi pin positions and movement? Re-whiskering each move? A couple or more idle whiskered circles on a hole might look awful. A course with one set of whiskers might be more likely to leave the basket in whisker position more often.
Might just be me, but a couple courses I play on regularly I'm bummed if the baskets don't shuffle every couple weeks. I would not want anything that would discourage using multiple pin positions.

Excellent point. I'm a big fan of rotating pin placements to:
1) Enhance variety.
2) Combat erosion and general wear and tear around pin placements. It gives the grass around the pin a chance to recover and greatly reduces growth rate of the "ever-widening circle of dirt" around baskets on busy courses.

A brick or two for each pin position makes a lot more sense than a bunch of whiskers.

My only beef with multiple placements is that tee signs should indicate the current position (bolt in a hole, or whatever).

 

[lyleoross]

OMG - I'm agreeing with Chains, hate them. It helps the watcher to know the player is outside the 10M circle, and the player to know the same.

The more of this stuff you add, the worse it looks, sorry. The solution is one no one wants, you aren't allowed to play past your lie. That eliminates the falling putt, but it also changes fairway play, something no one wants. Sigh.

If you're gonna do anything, do one or the other, but not both. But when you have whiskers, without the line, you can't really be sure. Both just looks stupid.

 

[ODRB]

This was the best photo I could find online of my favorite solution.
As Shelton Springs, for example, there are 10m pieces of wire rope clamped around the base of each basket. When you move the basket, the wire rope comes with it.
You want to know if you are in the circle? Pull the rope out towards your disc.
Want to paint the circle for a tourney? Trace around the basket using the rope as a compass.
Simple, elegant solution.

 

[sisyphus]

Even more elegant: you don't have to paint.
In a tournament, if someone is marginal, cardmates may just have them pull the wire out to their lie.

...the only trick I see is bundling up the wire when not in use, so it doesn't interfere with course maintenance (mowing, trimming...)

 

[sjberry2017]

This was the best photo I could find online of my favorite solution.
As Shelton Springs, for example, there are 10m pieces of wire rope clamped around the base of each basket. When you move the basket, the wire rope comes with it.
You want to know if you are in the circle? Pull the rope out towards your disc.
Want to paint the circle for a tourney? Trace around the basket using the rope as a compass.
Simple, elegant solution.

This looks like SUCH a better solution than the whiskers

 

[BogeyNoMore]

This was the best photo I could find online of my favorite solution.
As Shelton Springs, for example, there are 10m pieces of wire rope clamped around the base of each basket. When you move the basket, the wire rope comes with it.
You want to know if you are in the circle? Pull the rope out towards your disc.
Want to paint the circle for a tourney? Trace around the basket using the rope as a compass.
Simple, elegant solution.

Would also make it quick and easy to know whether (or not) to move the flag on CTP's.

 

[JTacoma03]

Yeah but actually needing these stats is highly debatable.

I completely disagree, there's not a real debate about the necessity of measuring and tracking stats.

Look at sports that don't use objective stats (gymnastics, X-games competitions, etc.) - they're hard to follow outside of the niche market.

If mass appeal is the objective (which I believe is the debatable point you're looking for), stats are 100% necessary. If you don't want mass appeal, or don't believe we should be striving for that...the argument against them becomes contextualized and I see where you're coming from.

...but mass appeal is the objective for both DGPT and DGWT, so that's kind of an irrelevant debate itself.

 

[Moose33]

I thought this was going to be a thread about the many pros now sporting beards.

Disappointed.