2008 Worlds

OK, how many of you are going to attend the 2008 Worlds in Lansing Michigan? How many of you have taken the time and looked at what the courses look like? Well I have looked and it looks like on most holes that they just took a big front end loader or a bulldozer and rode thru the woods. . The fairway are from 4 to 14 feet wide, very few field shots, and no down hill or off a cliff shots. Some of the courses do not have concrete or even rubber mats. If these are championship course, the people in Michigan should get out of state more often. Playing in the World's one would expect to play on real championship courses. These course are far from that. Now lets hear from the locals in Lansing.

[Ben Calhoun]

It's Kalamazoo, not Lansing. I am from Michigan and agree whole-heartedly. There are half dozen better locales in Michigan course-wise. Ann Arbor, Ludington, Traverse City, Lansing, Detroit..

[Gary Burdick]

Only two of the ten courses being used are in Kalamazoo.

[Joal Kozma]

Ludington!!!!!!2013

[mark ellis]

Oshtemo and Kimball Pines are fine courses. I haven't played Albion but have heard good things about it. Coldbrook and Robert Morris Parks are short, tight and totally unfair to lefty throwers. Even if Coldbrook and Robert Morris were balanced they would not be of championship caliber.

I try to play Coldbrook and Robert Morris every year to keep my handicap rating low.

I played Three Rivers last year when course revisions had just been installed. It is long and tough (which I like). There were a number of blind shots where my group lost a few discs and we had spotters. I'm talking about drives that looked good off the fingertips and we never saw them again. BTW our spotters weren't some non-player, disinterested types you sometimes find at tournaments. We were sending Pros out from our group.

I played Timber Ridge in one tournament. It is built on a ski resort. It is a tougher walk than the Tobbogan course. If you happen to be part Mountain Goat this will come in handy. When I played it they had not mowed it in weeks or months. When we threw blind shots up or down the steep hills it was very hard to find them. It is a big arm, power course.

[Gary Burdick]

Hello Mark, GB here, out of the 10 courses that are being used, our group of MPS plays Robert Morris, Oshtemo, Cold Brook, and Victory - Albion. From my looking at the courses, holes, pictures that are on the Worlds web page, these are surely a poor choice of courses. I have played Kensington, both courses, Firefighters, Wagners, Hudson Mills, these are disc golf courses. Nothing like what is being offered in Kalamazoo. Let alone the lost discs, not seeing the basket, no side arm shots, not much about discgolf here. Have you ever seen a hole hid for a ball golfer? So why hide them for discgolfers?

[Ben Calhoun]

Ha gary, I just played a hole (in PA) that was about 600', and at the end the basket is behind a tree from sight of the fairway, as the only obstacle besides a hill to the right and wind. the tree does not protect the basket or block shots, just makes it hard to tell where to go. i hear ya on k-zoo vs. detroit

[Terry "the Pirate" Calhoun]

I like Coldbrook. Haven't been there for 3-4 years and understand it's better now. Hopefully they got rid of the crossing fairway situation.

[Bruce Brakel]

I've played disc golf all over and have played or been to several Worlds. These are not the best Worlds courses and definately not the worst. Albion and Three Rivers will have more open holes than the others. Oshtemo, Coldbrook, and Kimble Pines have more stuff in the woods. If Timber Ridge does not have big hill shots, I missed out on the redesign! These are tough, challenging Par 3 courses, and higher rated players with "Eastern course" game will shoot better.

On all those courses there are holes I throw left handed. The courses have about as much lefty-righty balance as most courses you'll play at big tournaments, which is probably about 1:3. Mark complains about almost every course being righty favorable because almost every course is righty favorable. Mark would be 1030 rated on a lefty favorable planet. But Mark thinks the way to throw a left turning drive is to throw an overstable driver forehand and then yell, "Flip! Flip, dammit!"

I'm not sure which courses have fly pads. There has been some concrete installation going on. Most of them have concrete tees. Timber Ridge is probably fly pads since it is a ski hill in the winter time. I think all the permanent courses, which are all of the rest except for one, have concrete tees or are scheduled to get them.

Most of the courses have moderate elevation but other than Timber Ridge I don't think any of them have ooh-aah elevation. Albion is pretty flat.

I think the original poster outs himself as to how much credibility his opinion carries. 912 rated, played all of two tournaments last year, and does not know what town he was in. Maybe he did play the Lansing courses!

[Ben Calhoun]

Have you SEEN coldbrook's tees? Those are a serious hazard, with all those potholes big enough to fall in. They must be smoothed out and filled in or replaced or someone will likely get hurt.

[Gary Burdick]

Tell Dave Gentry about it. He sent me an email wondering why I was commenting on the 4 courses that we MPS have to play. How is the road trip going?

[Ben Calhoun]

Great overall besides the weather, more rain in 2 weeks than 4 months last time.
I'd imagine Larry has plans for those tees..there's no way i'm the only one who thought of it.

[Taylor Cimala]

The teepads are being redone. I played there the last two Thursdays when I was in town and most have already been replaced with the few remaining to be done here soon.

Meyer Broadway (Three Rivers) had a work day last Saturday and they continue to do a ton of work to get that course in the awesome shape it could be. Lots of different shot decisions there and good mix of some (relative) elevation. Timber Ridge has plenty and most people haven't played there since it was only in for one summer.

I used to live in Kalamazoo and I'm disappointed to have left such a great disc golf area. Not really sure where these opinions and comparisons are coming from especially based on some of the qualifying statements made along side.