Wild and Untamed vs Neat and Trimmed

[U_NICED_ME]

My home course in Zebulon has to be one of the most difficult courses I have ever played and I'm getting close to playing around 40 different courses now. I think part of what makes it so difficult is that if you get off the fairway, it's nearly impossible to recover for par. It's not so thick that you can't find your disc, but, you're left with few options out once you do.

I've noticed that at almost every other course, if your disc strays off the fairway, it's not all that difficult to play a different route or make enough progress to still get up and down in three.

I've tried to think of a few advantages to always practicing this course:
(1) I am forced to learn every throw possible: rollers, OH's, forehands
(2) I am getting better at making good decisions and looking at all lines
(3) I am learning how important placement/accuracy is versus distance

The problem that I see with the last one is that there are no holes less than 250 ft and most DG'ers will tend to go for too much and wind up in jail somewhere just off the fairway; especially if you get a big skip when using a driver.

I know ultimately the course designer probably wanted it this way, but lately, my impulse to hack down some of this cabbage is starting to get the best of me. I am on the club's board so I could get permission to do some of this. However, would I be detracting from the essence of the course by doing so?

I am attaching two images the first one is Hole 8, it is a long hyzer line. If you kick early to the left. You are basically screwed. It has taken me two strokes to even get back on the fairway before. The second is Hole 18, a long anhyzer. Same thing, if you go left or right of fairway, it's almost impossible to get a 3. To be safe, you must get past a creek that runs across the fairway at the 240 ft line or weaker arms just lay up in the middle.

TY in advance!

 

[billnchristy]

Ohhhh this is about disc golf....

Nevermind...




I like it trimmed, either way. Maybe clean up the first 5' or so.

 

[bcr123psu]

Ohhhh this is about disc golf....

Nevermind...




I like it trimmed, either way. Maybe clean up the first 5' or so.

Yeah, I was wondering where this thread was going too...

I like it in between...where recovery is possible after a bad throw, but you have to fight for it.

 

[jkdisc]

so this isnt about beards?

 

[optidiscic]

u niced me is onew of the few ladies who plays DG......lets not scare her off.........My rule is undergrowth bad/trees good........some random bushes are ok but you should be able to throw over and be able to get into the bush w/o too much trouble to get your plastic back.....Again....trees are good underbrush is bad.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Disc Golf - I like a course that penalizes you for a bad throw, but only if you get a decent distance off the fairway. If you have to pay too much for a not so bad shot, or not at all for a bad one, that takes away from it a bit, at least in my mind.

But as to the question: neat 'n' trimmed ...makes for a much more enjoyable time and is usually an indication of decent grooming habits and at least some consideration for appearances, if not a willingness to be at least a bit playful. :thmbup:

u niced me is onew of the few ladies who plays DG......lets not scare her off.........

too late!

 

[AdamE]

So there isn't much of a problem finding your disc and getting off the fairway usually costs you strokes? Sounds like good risk/reward to me, please don't change a thing!

As you've already noticed, there are plenty of courses where it's easy to throw a bad shot and still get a 3. Courses with good risk/reward are much less common. Zebulon is the highest rated course for about 40 miles exactly for that reason; its challenge makes it stand out among the other courses.

...there are no holes less than 250 ft and most DG'ers will tend to go for too much and wind up in jail somewhere just off the fairway; especially if you get a big skip when using a driver.

I wish this problem was more common. Seriously, discs has evolved rather quickly so the 4500ft course with lots of holes under 250 that used to be challenging 8 years ago is today's deuce or die course. There's nothing wrong with these courses, they're a great place for people to learn the game and improve their skill. But the future of the sport is courses like Zebulon.

Neat and trimmed is good for a fun round, but you said it yourself, the other courses don't encourage you to become a better player:

I've tried to think of a few advantages to always practicing this course:
(1) I am forced to learn every throw possible: rollers, OH's, forehands
(2) I am getting better at making good decisions and looking at all lines
(3) I am learning how important placement/accuracy is versus distance

 

[optidiscic]

costing strokes is fine....trees/trees/rocks/hillsides.....but losing plastic, time, blood, and ruining a good time is the issue here.I will never understand the thrill of losing plastic.....I like my scorecard to be destroyed by a course not my good time or my bag.

 

[AdamE]

costing strokes is fine....trees/trees/rocks/hillsides.....but losing plastic, time, blood, and ruining a good time is the issue here.I will never understand the thrill of losing plastic.....I like my scorecard to be destroyed by a course not my good time or my bag.

That's why not all courses are the same. Most don't cost you plastic, time, blood and ruin a good time...

but occasionally I want to play Idlewild

 

[optidiscic]

That's why not all courses are the same. Most don't cost you plastic, time, blood and ruin a good time...

but occasionally I want to play Idlewild

Idlewild doesnt cost you time, money or blood...I thought it was hard but well maintained.......I didnt see a thorn all day there.

 

[DavidSauls]

If the fairway is fair, them I'm fine with off-the-fairway being punishing, score-wise.

Shouldn't be brutal as far as difficult to find discs or get to your disc (briars, very thick brush, 4' grass, etc.)

Pictures in the original post seem perfectly fine to me.

 

[AdamE]

Idlewild doesnt cost you time, money or blood...I thought it was hard but well maintained.......I didnt see a thorn all day there.

Good point, I don't seem to remember any thorns there either. But you can spend time looking for discs when you get off the fairway and I lost two in the water during a tournament but was lucky enough to recover them afterward.

 

[chrishysell]

Zebulon isn't that tough compared to Buckhorn, which isn't that tough either. Check out Sontag. It's a true test.

I like tough rough, it sure beats that artificial golden rope. I learned to get myself out of the rough, it's a valuable skill.

 

[billnchristy]

Sue won't get scared off by you guys...err...us guys since I started it...

I guess my bias comes in the fact that everything here will overgrow with kudzu if you don't keep it clean...kudzu eats discs mercilessly and is just annoying...hell I have seen kudzu mounds that look like there is solid earth underneath but if you step wrong you will fall 10'. There should be no reason to have to put up with that.

Then again those fairways looked pretty fair to me so I would play smart and throw fairways or mids...the old Navy adage really works best here "The stupid shall be punished". If you want to try to park your boss on a 400' hole with a 10' fairway pay the damn price.

 

[Noill]

I'd say nvr cut down a tree, young or old... however, wack out some of the shule crap.. I can't stand thorn bushes and overgrown crap.. That is just beyond the rough its downright annoying... Trees are good and you should have to work to get out but you shouldn't have to work too hard to walk in and out to get your disc and throw it...

I was at Lemon Lake and playing Gold... everytime someone in the group shanked it was an expedition to hunt it down... way too much for me... I don't mind shule or trees but overgrown areas that are supposed to be the 'rough' (I don't think 'rough' should mean nearly impossible to get into and out of) is just out of control and not worth a repeat visit

 

[jkdisc]

Zebulon isn't that tough compared to Buckhorn, which isn't that tough either. Check out Sontag. It's a true test.

I like tough rough, it sure beats that artificial golden rope. I learned to get myself out of the rough, it's a valuable skill.

i was wondering if anyone else got out to sontag

 

[superberry]

I like 'em both. Don't much mind what's on the ground since my disc is either in the air or in the chains! J/K - as long as a defined fairway of reasonable width is kept manicured enough to not lose discs in plain site, that's good by me. The rough is supposed to be rough - they don't call it the nice. And this isn't pansy bolf where there is a fringe area around the green as well. I also prefer obstacles and bushes to block off wide open greens.

Being forced to learn new throws - disc, throwing arm styles, and throwing stance styles - is a GOOD thing indeed.

Being punished for a bad drive is also a good thing. Being able to make it up and down a hole in 3, after you've shanked a drive, isn't something that should come easy, it should take tremendous skill and make you feel good about "saving par".

I am a bit more on the sadistic side in general, but still believe off fairway punishment is necessary. As people play through more, open up lanes, and unfortunately actually break trees and branches, the rough will open up. And also unfortunate, it will eventually open up too much and you'll be left with a less than stellar course, but at least the local worthless vandals will like it and come play it more often.

 

[DavidSauls]

One of my course design mottos is that there should be a right place to land and a wrong place to land....and when you land in the wrong place, you should know it.

 

[fairweather_fan]

One of my course design mottos is that there should be a right place to land and a wrong place to land....and when you land in the wrong place, you should know it.

 

[Porkchop]

One of my course design mottos is that there should be a right place to land and a wrong place to land....and when you land in the wrong place, you should know it.

QFT

Big Creek in Des Moines is carved out of a nasty thicket. The name of the game is to keep it in the fairway (which are more than fair). Those that bitch about losing discs, the poison ivy, and searching on almost every hole are playing the course wrong. THIS IS THE CHALLENGE AT BIG CREEK. Its called playing smart and strategic golf. Sure there are a ton of opportunities for go got the gusto, but that's why there called risk reward. If you miss the line by a touch you won't get rewarded. Most that bitch are the ones who go for the gusto but don't execute the shot. They blame there lack of skill or strategy on the course not themselves. At Big Creek you have to play within your game or you will get punished = Solid Course.