We Have a New #5

[DiscSloth]

It is wicked. Look straight, into that headwind. Good luck parking that.

Water, water, water...

Wicked, wicked, wicked...

Enjoy.

And who has the best nickname for the 3-4-5 stretch?

Watery Grave?

The Ocean?

etc

[recovering addict]

The Toxic Trio! The first throw ever at 5 hit the drink.

[numbernine]

I aced it on my first throw.

and by aced it, I mean that I threw a buzz right where I wanted to, and it hit a tree, fell in the water, only to be later returned to me by Matt.

Much different hole now.

[ForeverBlue232]

Yeah the new 5 is much more wicked than the old one, but in a sadistic way I like it better. I stood on the tee pad for a minute or two trying to figure out how I wanted to throw my teeshot.

[numbernine]

there is a pretty brand new green Buzzz ESP FLX on the other bank somewhere by that hole.
Lost it today.

BOO.

[Tree Magnet]

You guys should keep in mind that most of the people that play are novice (at best). Most just play occasionally to have a good time and are not interested in playing on a course that has been made as difficult as possible... and are certainly not interested in losing the few expensive discs that they own.

It's been a while since I've played frequently, but when I did most of the people I saw out on the course were not leaguers or club members... just infrequent hobbyists who carry 3 or 4 discs.

For the 2% of the guys who play all the time and are really great players I'm sure that changes like this are fun... for everyone else it is very off-putting and alienating.

Just my 2 cents. Keep in mind it is a public park to be used by the entire community... it doesn't exist merely for the pleasure of the disc golf elite.

[numbernine]

it's really not "that" hard. it's straight ahead. I think the water being there just gets in people's heads.

[FarUnderPar]

For the 2% of the guys who play all the time and are really great players I'm sure that changes like this are fun... for everyone else it is very off-putting and alienating.

Interesting perspective...In all of the efforts to improve and change the course I guess it never crossed my mind that we may be making holes too challenging for the recreational player. Just out of curiosity are there other holes that you feel are off-putting/alienating to beginners? Ultimately, I like that think that most players, even leisurely, enjoy the challenge and change...hopefully the new shots open their eyes to new throws. But I can certainly see your point, especially with hole 5.

[discgolfer]

interesting

[numbernine]

I think the new location is interesting and challenging and can be very fun, for recreational players it is very hard and many are probably losing disc just like everyone else and this may keep people from coming back and playing more. It is never fun to go into the creek to look for and possibly not find the disc. I think challenging holes are great but losing disc in the creek is not fun. I don't know if anyone else feels this way...I read a post about distance driving people away from our course and i think that the creek is keeping more people from coming back than distance.

I have lost 2 disc on hole five...I was lucky enough to have one returned but I am still missing a star destroyer

At the risk of sounding like a complete bag of douche, I'd like people to consider two things:

1. the best way to keep discs out of the water is to not throw them in there.I have lost two on that hole, and thrown two or three more in there that I have successfully retrieved. Hazards are part of the game. And really, water can only be touched on 4 of our holes. I would only say that it comes into play on 3 of them. I'd HATE to play a course that had no hazards. how boring to play a course with no danger.

2. I don't know the post you are talking about, but I can't see how distance is keeping anyone away. We've got a very, very, very fair course. Most are 'reachable on your drive", leaving you a putt of some sort. 2,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,13, 15,16,17 are all legit birdy holes for more than half of the people who walk on the course. I played a course in St. Louis that had 4 holes over 800+ feet. lemon lake has a 1200 ft hole. those courses are championship caliber.

my "concern" is that we start worrying about what too many people think about the game, and then we are always worrying about who is happy with what. Then, in my humble opinion anyway, the course is getting ruined because we're trying to make everyone happy individually.
Personally, I think that our course is one of the best in the area. It's got good variety, it's in a good spot, the equipment is nice...man, we are lucky.
could it use some stuff? absolutely.
but changing all of the time just for change's sake ruins the course.

The club should vote on things and those things should happen.
past that, I have a hard time getting fired about making the course more "new player friendly". I think that just getting out there and playing with some new folks and getting them involved in the league will do more for our community than anything.
It's how I learned and got involved (aren't you people lucky? heh...), and I feel like people should just get in there and get involved if they want "change" or want their voice heard.

Again, not trying to be a douche, but that's my two cents on everything.