Elevated basket

[jacobsladder]

I will have to try to find some pictures for you, but Blue Ribbon Pines #26 is a landscapers' dream when it comes to elevating a basket. It would require a enormous rocks.

Otherwise courses have used stumps or placing them in the trees; this can usually add about two to four feet of height, but that does not look like an option here as you have the basket in the open.

At a local small course, they just built up a mound of dirt, packed it down, and seeded it (to hold the mound). It created a quick elevation rise that ultimately was no more than 15 to 20 feet in diameter but raised the basket up by five feet.

I do not know how vandalism is in your area, but I have seen baskets placed on top of platforms like mini-decks/ balconies or on top of stands that you would use for hunting. It obviously looks very artificial and will upset a few people, but if it looks professional, it could become a marquee hole or very photogenic. It will also be a vandal magnet.

I am not sure how it would work here in this instance without making it look like a torture device, but I have also seen hanging baskets. Personally I do not like this idea, but again it adds that extra flare to the course to help distinguish it from other courses in the area.

Blue Ribbon Pines has many innovations to this problem. One solution they have tried for the past year or so is to hang a basket from a tree with a chain. You can also swing it from side to side for a challenging moving target.

 

[skottyb]

Luckily 'knock' we haven't had any vandals, some tee signs down which is about it, it is in a state park so that helps. I am going to come up with a simple paint sketch and post it to see what everyone thinks, thanks for the good ideas though, I should keep it simple, maybe even some landscape pavers, I just need to create a good base or extension and build around it. The park director already shot down the idea of a platform, my ultimate goal is to see the pin from the tee, which is over a ridge and back up. Anyone ever extend a basket in the air if so how'd you secure it?

 

[discoholic]

I like the idea of hanging it from a chain. But only if there is a substantial branch to hang it from, cuz you know some idiot is going to swing on it.

I also like building up a berm. This will penalize missed putts by a possible roll away. And it's dirt cheap.

You could just use a Sonotube (cardboard form available at any hardware store) to extend the concrete footing as high as you need above the current grade. Pour the concrete, set the sleeve like normal, let cure, remove sonotube, and make putts. If you want it to last a long time, you might want to jamb some rebar in there.

 

[AZ Thrower]

Looking for feedback. Some members in our disc golf club wonder if our elevated Mach Xs are safe. We elevate baskets with an extra pole in the sleeve and the basket pole goes in that pole. No extra supports are used other than the basic setup outlined by DGA for regular (non-elevated baskets); that is, we use a basic sleeve (i.e., anchor) setup in an irrigation box and concrete. The ground is grass and park soil. Two baskets usually are only elevated temporarily for tournaments. It has been noted that people sometimes hang on the baskets (e.g., kids or shorter people trying to retrieve discs)... I've never seen it but it could happen anytime they are up.

I'm open to all input. Two questions might be... 1) Is this normal or do most courses add extra support to their elevated baskets? Would you add extra support to your elevated baskets beyond the normal sleeve install?

Thanks.

 

[DavidSauls]

I wouldn't sweat it.

You can't guard against everything, of course. Some idiot could climb on the basket and fall. They can do that on trees, too.

But.....if your basket is elevated to the degree that some players have difficulty retrieving discs, I'd give that a second thought.

 

[Gblambert]

Hole 11, the Lighthouse Hole, on the Flying Armadillo Gold Mini course. The basket is 10' high, with some of the bottom rungs cut out so discs drop through to a platform and can be retrieved by reaching into one of the windows. I wouldn't want to see one of these on a full size course, but on the putt-putt course it fits right in.

 

[AZ Thrower]

I wouldn't sweat it.

You can't guard against everything, of course. Some idiot could climb on the basket and fall. They can do that on trees, too.

But.....if your basket is elevated to the degree that some players have difficulty retrieving discs, I'd give that a second thought.

Thanks for the input. It's close to being a little too high but most don't have a problem with it. I am not sure when the height was decided. I think if/when a new extension pole is made the club would probably go a little shorter.

 

[DavidSauls]

I'm not saying it's a good idea. Just that I wouldn't worry about danger.

Personally, I'm not a fan of baskets elevated on poles, etc. If they're slightly elevated I find them annoying; if they're greatly elevated I find them gimmicky. On the other hand, baskets elevated on mounds, platforms, etc., present the player a choice of putting at the raised basket, with increased challenge and danger, or laying up. These, I like, at least in moderation.

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

I think using a longer pole to achieve the desired height, then backfilling a mound around the pole would be a good solution on that hole. Keeps people from climbing on it, and makes a tougher area to stick just around the basket. Could even work the slope to encourage roll aways to say 15'.

 

[AZ Thrower]

I think using a longer pole to achieve the desired height, then backfilling a mound around the pole would be a good solution on that hole. Keeps people from climbing on it, and makes a tougher area to stick just around the basket. Could even work the slope to encourage roll aways to say 15'.

Thanks. That is a good idea for most courses. We can't though. If you saw the course, you would understand instantly. Basically it is a town's beautiful park that allows a disc golf course and most residents do not play disc golf.

 

[dysmike]

Looking for feedback. Some members in our disc golf club wonder if our elevated Mach Xs are safe. We elevate baskets with an extra pole in the sleeve and the basket pole goes in that pole. No extra supports are used other than the basic setup outlined by DGA for regular (non-elevated baskets); that is, we use a basic sleeve (i.e., anchor) setup in an irrigation box and concrete. The ground is grass and park soil. Two baskets usually are only elevated temporarily for tournaments. It has been noted that people sometimes hang on the baskets (e.g., kids or shorter people trying to retrieve discs)... I've never seen it but it could happen anytime they are up.
.

We have a local course that's had an elevated basket like this for several years. We've had more problems with people cutting the chains of the baskets than anything that we're seen specific to the elevated one. Is it ideal? No, does it allow flexibility? Yep.

 

[1978]

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

Thanks. That is a good idea for most courses. We can't though. If you saw the course, you would understand instantly. Basically it is a town's beautiful park that allows a disc golf course and most residents do not play disc golf.

You could always ask. They let the course be built in the first place, they may be amenable to a small mound being built. I'm only talking like 8' diameter by maybe 2' tall. If they don't want a soil mound you could mulch it maybe.

Really anything outside of just a longer pole is going to require some form of landscaping, whether that be finding and moving a large stone, installing a stump, pyramid of timbers backfilled, etc.