I think blind baskets are good, not a con if they are marked well on a teesign.
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One of my pet peeves here is people who put blind baskets as a con in their reviews since it made their first time through more difficult and less fun.
So let me get this straight. The guy that wrote the following review for Kilborne TPC is gonna start a thread complaining about how other people review courses.
Review By: Dave242
Played: 223 Reviewed: 223 Exp: 15.5 Years
Pros: What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- A-
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- A
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- B
5) Bonus amount for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- C+
That's not a review, it's report card.
So let me get this straight. The guy that wrote the following review for Kilborne TPC is gonna start a thread complaining about how other people review courses.
Review By: Dave242
Played: 223 Reviewed: 223 Exp: 15.5 Years
Pros: What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- A-
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- A
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- B
5) Bonus amount for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- C+
That's not a review, it's report card.
So let me get this straight. The guy that wrote the following review for Kilborne TPC is gonna start a thread complaining about how other people review courses.
Review By: Dave242
Played: 223 Reviewed: 223 Exp: 15.5 Years
Pros: What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- A-
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- A
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- B
5) Bonus amount for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- C+
That's not a review, it's report card.
Provide an example of a sport where a blind shot is part of the game. I couldn't think of one. A principle in any sport is allowing the player who is projecting something to be able to see where they need to go and gage how much speed, angle and energy. Blind holes in DG produce an unfair challenge with a homey bias such that those who regularly play the hole have developed muscle memory and disc selection. I can see why some players like or are at least fine with blind holes because they have practiced the holes and it gives them an advantage over others (except for the lucky ace story). Disc golf shot challenges should be presented in a way that someone can step up and reasonably see what they need to do.
As already mentioned, ball golf does not have have any blind holes from the tee on par 3s where you can't see the flag or on par 4s or 5s from the intended landing area prior to your approach to the green. In fact, I'm not sure there are any golf greens that slope away from the tee. They are either reasonably level or more commonly tipped toward the tee so you can see the green even better upon approach. If you have a blind shot in ball golf, it's only because your shot didn't land in an intended landing area.
If you can see the flag, it's not blind. The place you hole out is at the bottom of the flag just like the basket is under the chains and number plate (and sometimes flag). There are hundreds of holes in disc golf where you cannot see the basket, chains, number plate or flag on top from the tee or par 4/5 landing area.
You can always see the flag in ball golf from the tee on par 3s and from the approach shot landing areas on par 4s and 5s. The pin and/or next landing area can be seen from the tee or previous lie. Never seen a single exception at least on the ball golf courses I've played and the many more we've seen on TV.
In b-ball and f-ball, the game isn't set up for those shots to be blind, but if you're in the wrong position they might be. Nonetheless, the player has the visual references needed to make those throws because at some point they saw the movement of the other player they are throwing to. The very name "fishing" means you're poking around blind although these days they have the electronic fish finders. Bikers and motorists aren't projecting an object and can actually see what they need to as they are moving which is essentially what's needed.
The point from the original post asks why blind shots are negatives. It's apparent that blind is worse than visible. How much is matter of other factors involved. I can see a hole that would rate 8 out 10 if visible but gets only 7 due to being blind. Likewise, a decent hole that's totally visible might rate a 6. We see hundreds of those. The blind hole is still better than the visible one and sometimes can't be any better because even relocating the pin to a visible spot it might still rate a 7. So blind holes can still be OK in the mix of holes.
I think blind baskets is what helps makes a great course great. I think courses where all 18 pins are straight off the tee are well worse than than if a course had 18 blind holes. Although, I have never, ever seen the latter.