Hinton DG course difficulty - Where does it sit compared to the grand scheme

[Mediocrefellow]

Hey all,

It's my home course and the only I've ever played. Tight and technical in the woods with lots of elevation changes. DGCR has its rating estimated quite low in difficulty (I think) but Id like an opinion from someone who has a proper frame of reference.

Trying to gauge my own level of skill since I'm just starting to get to know some folks who have been at it a while and am planning to attend a few tournaments this summer but not sure if registering for intermediate in the AB open was wise in regards to placing well (but I'm sure its gonna be fun regardless) lol.

Thanks!

 

[DavidSauls]

What do you mean by "rated quite low in difficulty". Estimated SSE?

And where is your course? For some reason, it didn't come up in a search.

 

[roggenb3]

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/mobile/course.php?id=9116

 

[DavidSauls]

Thanks. For some reason, when I put "Hinton" into the course name search (on a desktop), the only result I get is Sycamore Creek in Collierville, TN. The city search worked, though.

Hard to judge difficulty from here; the SSE is 46.7, which would be on the somewhat easy side, but take that with a grain of salt---it's just based on scores people have submitted. Under 5000' is a bit short. Only two photos, but they are enticing.

Have there been any sanctioned events there? If so, you might find a clue in their results.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

What do you mean by "rated quite low in difficulty". Estimated SSE?

Yes, I just couldn't remember the metric acronym off the top of my head, my apologies.

It's estimated that a 1000 rated round would come out just below 10 under par. That seemed like a lot but the more I think about it that might not be a terrible estimate but I have no real frame of reference for comparison hence needing the additional insight.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

Have there been any sanctioned events there? If so, you might find a clue in their results.

Negative, that's why I'm having a hard time to establish a scale.

It's a fun course, winds through the rocky mountain foothills. There are a lot of doglegs, at least 3 each of elevation changes with doglegs, low ceilings, 10' openings, strong headwinds on the open holes and baskets that if you make a run at them and miss you're off the side of a cliff. It certainly punishes greed while offering a lot of different, albeit precise lines the the basket with lots of different ways to tackle them. It's a fun course to learn on, but not sure how it stacks up compared to some of the more open style courses around so Im hoping I dont end up caught with my pants down at the open.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

Not sure if this will work or not but if it does I have a few more pics.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

 

[Mediocrefellow]

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1J8IX8K3aSUc5i19ohSg_Ly66BbatOFG1

 

[tbird888]

Thanks. For some reason, when I put "Hinton" into the course name search (on a desktop), the only result I get is Sycamore Creek in Collierville, TN. The city search worked, though.

The course is in Canada. The search defaults to US.

 

[scarpfish]

Tight, technical and elevated doesn't mean much when 17 of your 18 holes are barely 300', and eight of them are under 250'. Pros and even advanced Ams have no issues carding lots of 2's at those distances.

Much like 85% of the directory, it's a standard red level rec course.

 

[roggenb3]

The course is in Canada. The search defaults to US.

It's funny.... I dont even search on here, I use Google to search DGCR courses by searching the course name or city + "dgcr". Usually the first result is what I want.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

Is length really the dominant metric when determining course difficulty?

I don't disagree regarding Hinton as I can usually get within putting distance on i can"t see a longer wide open course being more challenging but having not played one I have no concept of the unknown unknowns obviously to predict with any accuracy.

 

[DavidSauls]

Is length really the dominant metric when determining course difficulty?

I don't disagree regarding Hinton as I can usually get within putting distance on i can"t see a longer wide open course being more challenging but having not played one I have no concept of the unknown unknowns obviously to predict with any accuracy.

No, just one factor, easy to tell from a distance.

A longer course may not be wide open. It might be 7000' and tightly wooded.

Just as I can't tell how open Hinton is---with only 2 pictures---but I know from 4900' that it's not terribly long.

Don't get me wrong; I know some fine courses of that size. But it's still a limitation on the difficulty; it may require accuracy, but it doesn't require distance.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Is length really the dominant metric when determining course difficulty?

I don't disagree regarding Hinton as I can usually get within putting distance on i can"t see a longer wide open course being more challenging but having not played one I have no concept of the unknown unknowns obviously to predict with any accuracy.

Yeah I think the distance is very limiting when trying to have a better than rec course. Our course out here is small and well revered since it's been in for 30+ years. That being said the big boys come over with putters and mids and rip it up. So it's kinda mini golf but tougher.. I haven't played Hinton but sounds like the same deal, it's not a bad thing though, a 20' gap looks huge to you and other guys will think it's tiny.

I have heard good things about Hinton though... I get into trouble when I leave here and have to play wide open where wind is much more of a factor. If you change elevation and go down to sea level your stable discs will become less stable... take heavier backups than what you usually throw.

 

[Mediocrefellow]

Yeah I think the distance is very limiting when trying to have a better than rec course. Our course out here is small and well revered since it's been in for 30+ years. That being said the big boys come over with putters and mids and rip it up. So it's kinda mini golf but tougher.. I haven't played Hinton but sounds like the same deal, it's not a bad thing though, a 20' gap looks huge to you and other guys will think it's tiny.

I have heard good things about Hinton though... I get into trouble when I leave here and have to play wide open where wind is much more of a factor. If you change elevation and go down to sea level your stable discs will become less stable... take heavier backups than what you usually throw.

Yeah I can totally see that. I think you know Tanya, she told me Pender is her fav course - If I hadn't made the decision to compete this year after the registration closed for the tourney you guys have coming up I'd of loved to come check it out. I'll try and make a trip out there this summer if I can anyway. I used to live in North Van and Burnaby and I still have some friends there to visit as an excuse lol.

Yeah I've been aware of the stability issue with elevation and I've started picking up some of my discs in max weight since I normally throw in the 170's. Now that I know which molds I keep coming back to I've been buying different plastics and weights of them. It'll be interesting to see how some of them are meant to fly because even though I can throw speed 10s 350ish and 12s around 400 I tend to have a hard time getting the turn out of a champ beast (x wing) with a clean release at 90% doing field work. Sometimes I have to purposefully add some oat on known flippy fairway drivers like my beat big Z archer to get it to hold a reliable anny line to the ground. Learning in the cold at elevation may make for some interesting throws in Calgary and Edmonton but I can't wait

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Nice man... there's still the big tourney coming end of May... I got a thread going too for Canadian disc golf

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132578

 

[Treeplant]

I would like to play this course, Hinton is a beautiful setting with a mixed bag town. I'll never forget staying in the Timberland Hotel and having the front desk clerk offer to sell me cocaine unprompted (I don't do drugs nor do I think like I look like I do, I think it was just a common thing for this person to check as an upsale tactic). Classiest joint in Northern Alberta, though the Valley Zoo does come close.