Basket Heights_Low

[1978]

I've installed hundreds of baskets and played on thousands. I've have installed and played on many raised baskets from a few inches to you have to walk up a spiral ladder to get your disc out. When throwing, announcers praise discs on the low side and players relish the uphill putts. No one would rather putt downhill at a basket.

Why are there hardly any low (intentionally installed that way) baskets. I'm not talking about gimmick in the ground ball golf style baskets. Baskets that are a foot lower. Nose down or floating putts would have a hard time making a putt. The angle of approach closes and effectively makes the baskets smaller when putting down hill.

If you eliminate the discussion from traditionalists that only like a standardized height...

What do you all think about lower than normal disc golf baskets as a design element?
Why do we not see as many of them?

(I understand why DGPT does it...for the sponsor area)

 

[acrosley]

There's a basket that's basically just sitting on the ground at Murdock Park in Lafayette IN. It seems to have been designed that way to add a bit of challenge to an otherwise short hole through the woods.

There was also a basket a foot or two off the ground in Brazil IN but I think that one was due to some damage or vandalism.

I feel like changing the height one way or another is a good way to make an otherwise vanilla hole unique. However, I think the novelty quickly wears thin and any more than 3 or 4 drastically lowered or elevated baskets would be overkill.

 

[DavidSauls]

The old Hippodrome course seemed to have most baskets at non-standard heights -- some raised high on poles, one with the rim flushed with the ground, and a few that were just lower-than-normal, like they'd just been installed poorly. I didn't find the lowered ones to be very interesting -- they didn't really change the putt much.

 

[chevis]

the reward of making it in the basket is you don't have to bend down to retrieve your disc. where's the reward in a lowered basket?

 

[1978]

the reward of making it in the basket is you don't have to bend down to retrieve your disc. where's the reward in a lowered basket?

The reward is for all your cardmates that get to see that sweet georgia peach.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Victor Ashe in Knoxville, TN had some really low baskets. I think it is just due to the lay of the land. Prodigy baskets, too. So they tend to sometimes reject soft putts and especially soft pro side putts. It added to the challenge, but I didn't find it to be a particularly rewarding challenge.

They upgraded baskets this summer, but I honestly haven't paid attention to basket height. I just know that the new baskets make for a more enjoyable experience.

 

[DavidSauls]

I'll add that around here, there are a lot of baskets on slopes, so any time the lie is uphill, the putt is roughly the same as it would be on a short basket on flat ground. Except for the consequences of a miss, of course.

 

[Countchunkula]

This discussion reminds me a bit of the discussion I had with my wife about the basketball hoop in our driveway. I can set it to 8', 10', whatever, but due to the considerable slope the spot you are shooting from dictates the effective height. Most shots end up getting taken from even with the basket or downhill. I could set the rim at 8', but a shot from near the street would have an effective 10'+ height.

Back to dg, on a relatively flat course I could see a low basket or two adding some variety, but I don't think it will have a huge impact.

 

[ThrowBot]

Low basket benefits:

My 2-year-old son can reach in and retrieve his own disc.

Improves the chances of getting a SWEET roller ace.

 

[The Valkyrie Kid]

From my recent review on Mathews Park in Monroe, Georgia. You can see that I was a little confused and not at all amused by a basket set a foot too low.

Cons: WTF MOMENT - The catcher on basket 13 is about 6" off the ground. It doesn't look broken or vandalized but I sure hope this isn't planned like a raised basket because it's not fun at all.

 

[dmoore1998]

One of the obvious reasons might be that a raised basket makes most people put up at the raised basket, and if you miss there are more consequences (namely that your disc is likely farther away than it otherwise would be). A lower basket doesn't provide that missed-putt consequence, and it's relatively easy for most folks to lower themselves/their stroke either by releasing it lower or going down to a knee.

Same height/miss issues for approaches. A lower basket just makes it all much much easier than a normal height basket or a raised basket.

It's basically as gimmicky as a raised basket, but without most of the added risk/reward elements.

 

[Monocacy]

I'll add that around here, there are a lot of baskets on slopes, so any time the lie is uphill, the putt is roughly the same as it would be on a short basket on flat ground. Except for the consequences of a miss, of course.

^ This. Basket on a slope introduces elements of execution (landing soft and flat so your approach sticks) and strategy (whether to land on the high or low side).

In contrast to basket on a slope, a low basket seems like a gimmick.

 

[peabody]

Hole #22 Flyboy Aviation
I couldn't figure out how to capture and paste the pic but it's #34- 2nd page bottom left.
Definitely well below ground level.

 

[BillFleming]

Please, have mercy on us old folks! An elevated basket, I can putt at while standing. A low basket, I may have to bend my creaky bones to squat or kneel down - and then need help getting back up.

 

[ballgolfconvert]

Both higher and lower shrink the usable size of the basket. I would rather just have smaller baskets than have baskets of different heights all over the place.

 

[1978]

Please, have mercy on us old folks! An elevated basket, I can putt at while standing. A low basket, I may have to bend my creaky bones to squat or kneel down - and then need help getting back up.

You literally have to bend over everyone of the 115 flick rollers you throw per round. I don't think bending over 8 extra inches on 1 hole is going to make a difference. Lol

 

[DavidSauls]

Hole #22 Flyboy Aviation
I couldn't figure out how to capture and paste the pic but it's #34- 2nd page bottom left.
Definitely well below ground level.

There is (or was) one like that at Trophy Lakes in Charleston, SC; and was one at the Hippodrome course in Augusta, GA (now closed). And, I'm sure, other places. Fun as a very rare novelty, but I would want to see a lot of them.

 

[coupe]

There is (or was) one like that at Trophy Lakes in Charleston, SC; and was one at the Hippodrome course in Augusta, GA (now closed). And, I'm sure, other places. Fun as a very rare novelty, but I wouldn't want to see a lot of them.

FTFY???

 

[DavidSauls]

FTFY???

Yep. Changes the meaning a bit, doesn't it?

Curses of thinking faster than I can type. Definitely would NOT want to see a lot of those.

(We debated putting one in on our private course....to make a roller-ace possible....but playing it often, the thrill would certainly wear off).

 

[Rastnav]

One of the obvious reasons might be that a raised basket makes most people put up at the raised basket, and if you miss there are more consequences (namely that your disc is likely farther away than it otherwise would be). A lower basket doesn't provide that missed-putt consequence, and it's relatively easy for most folks to lower themselves/their stroke either by releasing it lower or going down to a knee.

Same height/miss issues for approaches. A lower basket just makes it all much much easier than a normal height basket or a raised basket.

It's basically as gimmicky as a raised basket, but without most of the added risk/reward elements.

This is the right answer, IMO. You can make yourself shorter, but not taller. Plus it punishes people that putt low to high, but for no particular reason.

The only way I could see it really being justified would be in combination with some other feature, like a large rock or low ridge, that made one side of the basket a prohibitively hard putt. Having good sides and bad sides on greens is a useful design element.