Hole Layout - Distance Question

[roblee]

Can you clearly see the entire shoreline/OB from 300' away to know if a disc rolls in from short side or from far side? If not you may benefit from a DZ; another detail.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

This looks like an open hole subject to varying wind speed and direction. So, you want to design for the shortest distance a typical white level player could throw into the wind if your goal is for most white and blue level players to be able to cross it following a good drive, especially if there's no way to safely play around it. The PDGA has guidelines for different skill levels pertaining to water crossings and doglegs to give you an idea of those distance ranges. I know this doesn't directly answer where to set your tee so players can reach the desired landing for their drive but it does provide an idea how far that should be from the front edge of the pond.

I went out yesterday to throw on this hole with a few players of varying skill levels and distance abilities.The wind cooperated by blowing in our face for a while,at our backs for a while and calming for a bit. The layup is viable and may be required for lower skill players against the wind. Across the water is easily reachable from the landing area by all, although into the wind presents disc selection challenges and distance issues. Across the water is an uphill much the reverse of the downhill and the safe distance to clear the water is much closer than anticipated. Any disc that hits even just beyond the water will almost certainly stay safe and, at the very least, be retrievable. The water is very shallow near the bank.

I have tentatively placed the basket about 65 feet past the water. I think for the initial tee positions (tees will be natural and remain easily movable) I'll probably move the tee up a little making the initial landing zone about 280' to cross the water, and about 240-250 to the basket.

There is another, later hole that is similar and that I will be longer just due to the location of the hill that provides the elevation change. It will allow a little better differentiation between white and blue. After some experimentation with tee locations, I can probably designate some separate tees for those two groups on some holes and add gold tees to accommodate higher skilled groups for tournament play.

Tee markers consist of 3/4" PVC pipe with a cap, a 60d galvanized nail, a flat washer, lock washer and a quarter.