Artificial OB: Is it good for the Pro Tour?
The Open at Austin is a wrap, and if you follow any disc golf discussions online, you’ll find there were many mixed opinions about the course played at Harvey Penick Golf Campus. I won’t get into the actual play during the tournament even though it was an epic finish in both divisions, with Page Pierce quieting the naysayers with a decisive victory, and the young Gannon Buhr making a charge from the chase card to take home the cowboy hat. What I’m here to talk about, and what many said about this past weekend, is there was too much ‘artificial out of bounds.’ As the Pro Tour grows and seeks out new venues, this aspect of course design will continue to be a point of contention. I’m going to discuss my thoughts on the matter, and explore both pros and cons of artificial OB.
First, let’s explore the fact that in the last few years, there has been a massive upswing in the number of players that can throw discs a country mile. On the MPO side, 400 feet is the new average for the top tier players, while on the FPO side the shots just keep getting longer and longer. But with this newfound power must come a measure of accuracy, which brings me to my first pro: As courses become longer, they must also become more precise. Introducing smaller landing zones and narrow fairways adds to the difficulty, and thus the challenge of being a pro level disc golfer. It doesn’t matter if you can throw 624 feet if you can’t control that distance and land the disc in a specific spot. Course designers and tournament directors are looking for ways to increase the difficulty on existing courses and that often comes in the form of artificial OB.
Second, the Pro Tour is growing. What we saw in Austin, and already have seen on other courses in recent years is just proof that existing ball golf courses already have the infrastructure to accommodate the growing crowds and the need for longer courses. Nobody wants to watch the pros burn through a par 54, all par 3 course and shoot 13-15 under par. We want more par 4 and par 5 holes, and we want holes that require multiple shots. We want holes to bring uncertainty, and we want the opportunity for score separation and leaderboard separations to be present on just about every hole. To accomplish this on a ball golf course, there is a need to shape the courses by using OB lines and hazard bunkers and other obstacles. This also results in more places for the crowds to watch.
Third, by adding artificial OB, you are making pro play more exciting. Now a player must weigh the risk vs. the reward of any shot; do they push it and bomb over that OB green, or layup and play for par? Narrowing fairways and greens surrounded by OB makes it much more challenging to score on any given hole and increases the drama and competition for spectators.
The last thing I’ll say in favor of artificial OB is that it is no different than a course with lots of natural OB. Think of courses like Harmony Bends or Maple Hill, both have lots of OB and we don’t seem to mind. Imagine if those OB lines were just white spray paint; would that take away from the challenge? No. One could argue that it does take away from the aesthetic, but that is for another blog.
Now let’s look at the other side of this coin. Why is artificial OB such a bad thing? I’ll start by saying that artificial OB takes away from the spirit of the game. In the early days, nature guided what was and was not OB. Lines were shaped by the trees and grasslands, not by spray paint. One of the most exciting things about this game is finding yourself in some deep rough, only to lace a perfect throw through a tiny gap in the trees to find yourself landing 20 feet from the basket. You can’t do that if you cross a white line and must take a stroke penalty. Artificial OB takes away the potential for great scramble shots.
Another reason why artificial OB is bad for the game is that it makes it hard to watch. Your favorite pro is on the tee and rips a beautiful hyzer-flip-to-flat shot that sails on a rope, only to have it land just inches over the OB line. Nobody wants to see great shots get penalized like this. It’s detrimental to the player, and an insult to the spectator. We want to see low scores and epic shots, not penalties and bogeys
My last argument against artificial OB is this: there is too much variance. For example, how many titles would Kevin Jones have if it weren’t for an unlucky roll away into the OB that cost him the win? Put another way, players with the better skill sets that should be winning end up losing to players with lesser skill sets because they got lucky and stayed in bounds. Competition should be based on players pure disc golf skills, not whether they can get a fortunate roll when the others do not. Artificial OB not only takes away from the spirit of competition, but it also allows for ‘fluke’ wins.
How do you feel about artificial OB? Is it good or bad for the game? Is it an inevitable part of our growing sport? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment down below. Thanks for reading, see you next week.
