Basket or Tone pole

[Menacewarf]

does anyone know where one can buy tone poles?

Lol. I'll sell you some.

Seriously though I think the cheapest method is to duct tape three number ten cans together. Any restaurant or deli throws tons of those cans away every day.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Never played tone poles before but would they damage your discs more than a basket when hit?

Usually less damage from tone poles, as they're round and have no chain joints or tray nibs to hook up on.

I see tone poles as a way to get a course in the ground and being played, ultra quick and cheap. A lot less likely to be vandalized or stolen than baskets. Easy to remove when time to upgrade to baskets, or to [noooo!] pull the course.

In my firebase town of LaGrande OR, there's one prototypical CC 9-holer. But I've also got 45+ holes of private tonepole course in the wonderful hills above town.

 

[nevets4433]

I haven't played tonal pole courses...but I have played object courses. And let me say, I really missed the baskets!

There is no ambiguity of whether or not a putt is holed with a basket. Sure you have the occasional disc pop out.

I am a ball golfer first, a disc golfer second. And in ball golf, sometimes awesome putts "lip out." Even less frequently, I have had a putt go in the hole, hit the metal rim of the cup, and pop back out. These are frustrations that one gets used to in ball golf. I liken the chain-out to the bad lip-out. You thought you had a perfect putt, but it was just fractionally off. Is it frustrating, yes. Is it part of the game, yes.

I would much prefer the occasional frustration of a chain-out to the ambiguity of the tonal pole or object, where a grazing shot can be a point of dissention between parties.

 

[MPaq720]

Baskets are the way to go. The way they catch the disc is so much more satisfying than having it hit the pole and drop to the ground. I don't really mind playing with the tone poles, but i just prefer baskets.

By the way, I've seen plenty of arguments about questionable tone pole hits. The basket leaves no doubt about whether it's "good" or not.

 

[joecoin]

... Also how would tone poles work for the deaf? ...

I don't know, but they'd work better than baskets for the blind.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Tone poles would be superior for competition if a contact sensor system of some sort could be developed where LEDs would flash for 5 seconds if disc contact were made in the target area then stay on until it was reset by simply touching the target zone for a few seconds (or how about clapping to reset?). You would want the LED to stay on until reset to confirm a blind ace or fairway shot. The top of the pole could be solar cells to keep enough charge for the low power LEDs.

 

[Hyzer Ale]

It has been stated but tone poles are great for a few reasons. They are cheaper and easier to install. It helps to spread the sport to places where baskets don't make sense because of cost. I am taking a trip to Puerto Vallarta in a few months and would love if there was any type of course there. I feel that tone poles could help spread the sport to other parts of the world, mainly Asia and Latin America.
Another advantage is using them temporarily until you can afford to get baskets in. It gets the course open without having to raise all the necessary funds and can eventually be switched out for baskets.
I don't think that tone poles can even hold a flame to baskets when it comes to tournament golf. But they have their place and the more courses the better.

 

[Horsman]

I don't know, but they'd work better than baskets for the blind.

Yea but there is a pretty good community of deaf disc golfers and I don't know of any blind disc golfers.

 

[Cgkdisc]

I've seen where those putting in a new course just bought and installed the anchors and pipes because that's what they could afford. They just played to hitting the pipes until they could afford the targets then simply bolted them on the pipes at that point.

 

[SoCal Mike]

I've never played a course with tone poles, but I am open to trying it out. I think I would prefer baskets though.

 

[mashnut]

I prefer baskets, but tone poles are just fine with me. If that fits the land owner's requirements or makes it so the local club can afford to put in a course it's a perfectly fine alternative IMO.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Baskets are the way to go. The way they catch the disc is so much more satisfying than having it hit the pole and drop to the ground. I don't really mind playing with the tone poles, but i just prefer baskets.

By the way, I've seen plenty of arguments about questionable tone pole hits. The basket leaves no doubt about whether it's "good" or not.

As trite as the above points may seem, I think they're quite vaild. Even if I played the exact same round and got the same score on a course that had poles one day, then baskets the next, I'd find the experience of playing on baskets more satisfying somehow. Don't ask me why, perhaps it's just the paradigm I've come to expect, but it's the truth.

Additionally, baskets serve to greatly reduce the number of possible controversies in competitive situations.

 

[jesseleereed]

Yea but there is a pretty good community of deaf disc golfers and I don't know of any blind disc golfers.

https://www.facebook.com/BlindDiscGolf?ref=br_tf

 

[westondj]

Baskets all day, poles suck. I fully understand that the poles take that much more accuracy but its boring as hell to play a course that has poles compared to baskets. Plus that beautiful sound of sinking a shot in the chains is like no other.

 

[3j0hn]

Tone poles would be superior for competition if a contact sensor system of some sort could be developed where LEDs would flash for 5 seconds if disc contact were made in the target area then stay on until it was reset by simply touching the target zone for a few seconds (or how about clapping to reset?). You would want the LED to stay on until reset to confirm a blind ace or fairway shot. The top of the pole could be solar cells to keep enough charge for the low power LEDs.

This is a cool idea. Maybe just a contact mic on the outer part of the tone pole would work as a sensor. It would be cheap, but getting the sensitivity set up just right might be tough.

 

[jimbosprint]

Tone poles are also a great way to test a course layout or alternate pin location. They can be easily moved so you can see how a hole plays before investing in anything permanent.

 

[GB Phil G]

I've never played on tone poles. Does anyone know of any that are in wisconsin? Seems all we have are baskets. The farther north you go the more 'home made' they get.

 

[Cgkdisc]

This is a cool idea. Maybe just a contact mic on the outer part of the tone pole would work as a sensor. It would be cheap, but getting the sensitivity set up just right might be tough.

I'm not sure it matters regarding the sensitivity as long as it was consistent around the pole and from pole to pole. For example, if the lightest possible touch did not trigger the mic, that would be OK as long as that level of force did not trigger it anywhere on the pole and on all poles.

 

[Halcón]

Anything electronic would be destroyed/stolen in no time. We can't have nice things.

 

[Giv'r]

Tone poles are an excellent intermediate step between object and baskets. They're cheap and make tough targets.

We have a course in my region that is only playable in the very late fall and very early spring. It is too large and has too much vertical to mow in the summer. We put tonals in there and they are perfect.

I have also played a secret putter course where the tonals are nothing more than capped fence post hanging on rebar bases. Those are tough putting

Tonals have their place

Just ask the guys on Pender Island

I first started playing on Pender Island when it was all tonals and as far as I knew that was how disc golf was played. The first time I played at a different course and saw baskets I was really confused. I believe my actual words at the time were, "What the hell are those things?!"