Course design

[Kevin Rounds]

I would like feedback from experienced players about course design. When viewing a potential property for design....I look for the prettiest place on the property, where ya GOTTA have this hole...maybe find 2,3 or 4 places where ya gotta use...then make connector holes to complete the course. Use elevation changes as much as possible(if ya got it) I feel there is a place for long and short tight holes. I think the player who is very accurate should get rewarded as well as the player who can throw very far....nothing like a "big arm" gacking a 220 foot alley shot and getting a bogey cause he or she has no "touch" game! I think every course should have at least 1 roller hole, where birdie can be achieved basically in one fashion, a roller shot....improves rolling skill for the locals...if you are gonna be a top player...ya gotta learn to roll..I also believe in a variety of throws...if you have a hole where a "trick" shot (overhead, scooby roller, inverted hyzer, etc), is required to get that putt at the hole, it really helps develop skills as well. Of course safety is paramount....tees should be selected where one CANNOT be hit from the previous or other holes. As far as balance...I like to see equal left and right alleys, along with dead straight alleys. I love the basket to be "framed" from the tee....the visual line might not be the preferred line in your mind's eye, but I am not a fan of many blind shots coming off the tee....I think the move for par 4 and 5's have been overdone...sometimes ruining a beautiful visual par 3... some par 4 and 5's are great...many are not....its only MY opinion...I like holes that require a low shot to make it under a ceiling...as well as "window" shots where one is required to hit that window to get a birdie opportunity....I like guarded pins too....I hate seeing a course that drags out a basket 60 feet into the clear, when there is a beautiful tree close that would enhance the pin position ....and Of course not all parks have the needed topography for a great course...but some I have seen here in the North East do....and I am sometimes second guessing the design here and there...in lieu of many future courses being designed in the near future, I would hate to see 340 foot right hand hyzers out there to be the norm....
..Come to Joralemon Park(J Park Jammer) on July 15th to see and play our sweet little gem of a course....we did a great job with little elevation contrast to work with. I would appreciate feedback from y'all on what you think a course should entail as far as design...

[Matt LaCourte]

Hey Kevin, course design is dependant on the land you have available to install. The first question is whom is this course designed for? If in a new disc golf area, the length and difficulty must be easy to encourage participation.

Balance is a key and use of elevation and woods are big positives. If I was you I'd use your 30+ years of experience as your guide.

[Kevin Rounds]

Hey Matt....congrats on getting all those courses in ....I dont have to worry about your designs...I am sure you are designing the best possible courses in the parks you have available...and still keeping in mind that Disc Golf is still in the pioneer stage, especially here in the North East, where we need to entice young players to discover our game...anyone who has your experience, and was a DeLevaga local....knows what a great Disc Golf hole is!!
I just wanted to post this thread, cause the current tendency is to make par 4 and 5 holes, and I feel sometimes these tendencies can produce a course that is not the best for all concerned in the state of the game at this time. If and when you come up and play J park, where it is tough to break par on a 5300' course for good players, yet all the newcomer novices absolutely love this course, we have done well!!