Just Baskets

These are shots from the, "Coal Miner's Disc Golf Course."



"Creative baskets made by restless locals. Double tees make a fun 18 with elevated tees and blind shots through trees."



This place looks really fun! Restless locals seems to = unique basketry.



Visit:
http://www.imt.net/~jburman/red_lodge.htm

A bed and breakfast retreat.....with an 18 hole course featuring homemade baskets! Guess where I'm going on my next vacation?



Club Mud has it all and for $100 a night you can have yourself a reasonable break from this unreasonable, unforgiving, un-nerving world!



http://www.luckymud.com/

Here is the top half of a well-constructed basket. I believe it is called the Pin Op's 'Reflex'and it was submitted by "whofarted." There are at least 20 of these baskets and they sure are nice looking!

Definitely home-grown! Looks as if some kind of bike or wagon wheel supports the chain assembly.

http://www.discgolf.com.au/gardenstateopen/media.htm

This is another one I'm not sure about....maybe you can help me. It's a saucer basket featured at the Fin and Feather Resort. I'm almost certain it is homemade because I can't find a manufacturer but who knows?

When I searched "saucer basket" I found one that is quite different at hole 3, in Hansen Park, New Brighton, MN. It looks a lot like the "Beatrice Cone Head."

Anyone in Minnesota able to get me a close-up jpeg of this model? I would love to check it out.

Alright....I know what you are thinking, I said just baskets. Well I guess that is basket-centric thinking.

This tonepole is the homemade variety and was built with donated materials. Sounds like the course it is used at is near completion!

http://members.shaw.ca/discgolf/lacombe/lacombe.html

I'm not certain, but by the looks of it this is indeed a homemade basket. It can be found at Camp CILCA, a year-round Christian retreat center. The basket looks sturdy but I wonder about the catchability with the limited count of chains. Pray for birdies!

This is the first international basket and was submitted by KT~Zeppo. I'm unsure if it's homemade or manufactured but it sure is an interesting design. I wonder how it catches without a basket?

http://www.prsc.qld.gov.au/c/prsc?a=da&did=1026535&pid=1095566101

Craig built this model with some help from the kin folk.

"We began construction at my grandfathers farm. There, he had plenty metal to work with to make the basket, top, and center pole. Previously my father and I went down to our course in Beatrice and recorded all the measurements. Height, radius, circumphrence, lenght of chains, ect. All played a vital role in making our hole identical to regular holes. Needless to say I was thankful for my geometry class."

"After we seperated an old tire from its hub cap we had the perfect base at no cost. In fact, the only thing we had to pay for were the chains. And these, I’m sorry to say, were no cheap item. We used only 12 chains total instead of the usual 18 and price still ran about 40 dollars total."

Craig and I have been in email contact. He tells me the basket hasn't been used much lately and he wouldn't mind selling it so if you need a basket and want a great deal follow the link below and get in touch with him.

http://nebdisc.7host.com/news/0025.htm

-also from Beatrice-



Presenting the, "Cone Head"

Chiz sent this one in from his personal collection.

"Not home made, but a very interesting basket. This is from the first course installed in Nebraska at Elmwood Park, Omaha, in the 1970s. Financial backing was by JC Penny's. The fiberglass "cone head" baskets did not survive the winters very well."

"Demonstrating where the disc needs to strike is Nebraska's Mr. Bill. He has been instrumental with distributing discs and directing tournaments in Omaha for at least the last 10 years. The picture was taken at a fundraiser for Chautauqua Park in Beatrice, October of 1998. Today the course is boasted as one of the nicest 18 hole courses in the state, including the first with three cement tee pads per hole."

There is no doubt in my mind that this far out, groovy basket is from the 70's. I wonder if anyone stashed anything inside it? It might even be a disc golf time capsule!

Is that basket made of leather?



This is the Russell Gulch Country Club and Disc Golf Sanctuary also known as "The Ghost Town Course"

"This course is a private course on private property with 16 homemade baskets. _It also is a pay to play course. _Prices are $3.00 per round or $5.00 per day. _No dog's allowed on this course please. _This course is very technical with most holes ranging between 200-300 ft."



Damn! This place is trippy.

Check it out:
http://www.coloradodisc.com/rgccdgs.htm

Chiz sent this popular homemade basket from the Midwest.

"It is a "Harvey" basket, constructed by Harvey of Winfield, KS, fame (the Friz). Kansas is "littered" with Harvey baskets."

Sounds like the Johnny Appleseed of disc golf.

Andrew, a.k.a. “Chiz” is sending in some classics! I will slowly post them all. Here is one from Muny Park. It’s small and busy 9-hole situated in a public park. Chiz has played it and comments:

“The nine baskets in Cozad, NE, are solid. I mean they are actually solid. From what we can tell, they connected the chains to the top piece, then hot-dipped the whole unit for galvanizing. The process fused many of the chain links together. No "ching" here, more like a "thud" sound.”

Nebdisc.com added:

“Shot selection is limited, as most holes require you to simply drive and putt. However there is a huge advantage for left handed throwers as many holes favor the left to right hyzer. When using the asphalt walking path as a vertical out of bounds line, the course is much more challenging.”

More info:

http://nebdisc.7host.com/courses/cozad/muny.htm

I was back at it again this weekend. I call this one, “The Roadie”



My motivation was to build a lightweight, compact basket that could be broken down quickly and would fit into my trunk…one I can take to the soccer field or beach to practice with. My original concept was to make one that would hang inside the trunk of my car but upon second thought I realized that was a really stupid idea. With my shitty aim I would take out a window in no time at all.



I intentionally wanted this basket to be undersized and small for the same reasons as Robbie in Austin. I also wanted to have success with the PVC “Octopus” frame idea suggested by Matt in Huntsville. After building an Octopus-inspired basket I knew the PVC had a difficult time supporting a tire. Instead I used a plastic washtub basin.



The whole thing must be about 10 pounds (I haven’t weighed it.) It breaks down and sets up in about 20 seconds, fits perfectly in my trunk and cost me less than $25 to build. It catches reasonably well which is fine for a practice basket and I certainly dig having instant access to one.



Yeah….it won’t win any awards for beauty….it’s actually pretty butt ugly, but it’s functional and serves my objectives well. If you need any more info drop me a line.

Andrew sent in a few....here's one of 'em.

"This basket is from Camp Luther near Schuyler, NE.....perhaps Nebraska's oldest home made basket course. The course opened in 1991."

NebDisc.com had this to say about the 9-hole course:
"Even though most of the baskets are broken, it makes holing out even more of a challenge. The schule is extra thick, so be sure to stay on the fairway!"

Note: I looked up holing and schule in the dictionary but neither term appeared. I think it may be some regional lingo.

See more:
http://nebdisc.7host.com/courses/schuyler/schuyler.htm

Check out this awesome wood design sent in by Seamus.

"I built these baskets on Martha's Vineyard in I think 1998. I built them from old wood I had laying around my unfinished house. We eventually built 16 of these before we could replace them with the real thing. I think there are still a few standing, including the all wood one which is the first I built, the rubber tire baskets came next."

These baskets are featured at the Sumac Hills Disc Golf Course located on the Ray farm in Barrett, MN. If you follow the link (and I think you should) you can't help but feel the sense of community built around this special place. This course is homemade and homestyle:

The Sumac Hills course was started in the woods at the Tim & Kathy Ray farm with a few simple buckets and hubcaps hanging from trees for targets. It is evolving every year and now has SEVERAL CHAIN TARGETS, creamery can targets, signs and 18 holes.



The event of the year in Barrett is "Discstock". They do it up right with bands, food and fire.



It touched my heart to learn that the fellow who built this course, Jason Ray, died in a kayaking accident on the Snake River this past year. His family continues to maintain and operate the course with the same love and passion he put into it. The course now serves as a memorial of his spirit.

Learn more here:
http://www.mnray.net/sumachills/index.html

Introducing "The Turbo 3000 Disc Catcher":

It is an 18 chain Pole Hole, 32" high at the basket rim. The basket is 26" in diameter and 7" deep. The distance from rim of basket to top of chains is 21".Top Diameter of chains is 22"-24".



The T-3000 is the featured basket type at the Nordland Tall Grass Disc Course:

A short, challenging 9 hole course that rewards accuracy not distance. Each hole has up to three different tee locations allowing for a new perspective and distance during each round.

I am in love with this course, it's baskets and the website that promotes it! My enthusiastic kudos to Ross Otto....the course guru.



For more info and to reserve your tee time visit:
http://www.mlecmn.net/~rossotto/Disc2001_cover.html

This one is from the ubiquitous Baskethead.com. This company sells lots of disc related gear. On their company web site they posted these pictures and more. Their homemade baskets seem to bop around the casinos of fabulous Las Vegas.



See more at:
http://baskethead.com/didl/index.html

The best part of stockpiling homemade baskets is having the opportunity to create your own course. Grandaddy Brown and associates have done just that very thing in western New York. The Brown's helped create two private courses and from the look of the pictures they have established some very special places to enjoy our great sport.



Their homemade baskets have since been replaced with Chainstars (too bad) but they are giving their old baskets away as tourney prizes (how cool).

I want my own course!

Check out the story and the awesome pics:
http://www.chainbiters.com/paynplay.html

I really enjoy learning the stories behind the baskets. This one was devised by college students looking to make their campus better:

It started as an idea for a campus improvement project in a 2002 leadership class. Students in the class were put into groups and challenged to develop a project that could improve life on campus and benefit the entire student body.

Once we got the baskets designed, most of our spare time each day was spent in the shop….Using computer aided design software, the group designed the baskets. Working from those plans, the group then got to work cutting, bending and rolling the steel for the first basket. We had the assistance of several mechanical engineering technology students who were not part of our design group for the final assembly…one of the most challenging aspects was maintaining the projected fabrication date. From start to finish, the group spent more than 300 hours on the project.

Laser cutting and metal inert gas welding techniques were used, as well as a sheet roller purchased specifically for the project. Students used a laser to cut Powercat emblems to adorn the tops of the baskets.

More:
http://www.mediarelations.ksu.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/discgolf31105.html

And anyone in the know who has been searching for info on homemade baskets certainly has seen this one before. The Flying Disc Hunter offers you the plans for this perennially listed ebay item for anywhere between $9-$19.99.



With these plans you can supposedly build a basket for less than $60. “In fact, the plans include a comprehensive shopping list complete with exact item numbers, pictures, and prices from…,” ….two mega-chain hardware stores that need no more free advertising from this site.

If you seek the rest of the sales pitch visit:
http://www.flyingdischunter.com/realhomepage.htm

.........and



From what I gather, the designer of this basket used to sell another homeade basket over the internet. It retailed around $100. I read a performance review for this model which offered some critique:

"The cut sheet metal for the basket top and bottom are decorative and work fairly well, but using cut sheet metal for the foot was a pretty bad idea. It's just too flimsy and bends too easily with the result that unless they're on perfectly even ground the baskets tend to to become overbalanced as the main post sags a bit and then the foot isn't sturdy enough and they tip over kind of like an old man collapsing."



"I noticed that because of the double links the basket tended to reject hits near the top of the chains, while the light weight of the chains caused angled putts that hit the middle to go through too often, and the short length of the chains makes them hang too straight, reducing target area and causing hard puts to bounce out of the basket without ever even hitting chain."

Read the full review:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/18/031823.php

This one was sent in from Lego Land. Apparently disc golf has taken the toy universe by storm.



You can tell, by the crude construction, that the Lego people are struggling to conceive ideas for baskets. With limited parts and pieces they seem to do the best they can.



Their course however is extraordinarily complex with challenges that range from the difficult…..



….to the impossible! Watch out for that lava flow on Hole 17!

Cool name, huh? This is from the College of the Siskiyous.

What you see here may be the finest, most professionally designed and built homemade baskets ever produced! The University of OB's welding shop created 18 baskets for the school's disc golf course and these beauties are absolutely fabulous....can't wait to get to this course!

See:
www.geocities.com/universityofob/Home.html