High altitude

[gokayaksteven]

we just got our new course installed in telluride colorado. 18 [mach 5] holes of big elevation changes and long distance, mixed in with some tight ones. at 10,500 feet [is there a higher course? you take a free gondola ride to the start and finish of the 18 hole loop] the air is thin. light [150] and understable discs work much better for me here---can anyone comment on this and/or offer other suggestions for very high altitude play? uphill? downhill? discs? if anyone is interested in the course specifics or directions----- gokayaksteven@hotmail.com

[Sharky]

Sounds like a beautiful course. I spoke with Jim Myers about how discs fly at altitude as he just got back from the worlds. He expected them to fly quite differently then back east but was still amazed by how different they did fly. He said he basically never touched any of his three or four regular drivers because he couldn't keep them from going left (overstable). His best driver was a beat to sh*t driver that is normally an understable roller for him. he also mentioned that even with a 150 valk (probably pro line (?)) he had trouble keeping it from going left.

Let's see up hill "throw twice as high, and twice as hard" also take your time on your run up going uphill.

[drivethruliquor]

Steven

A course on Telluride Mountain!! Awesome That brings the count to 6 Resort Courses in Colorado as far as I know...Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, BeaverCreek, Copper, and now Telluride. Any plans for a tournament next year? The Durango gang should be available for tournament help and advice.

Apsen tees off at about 11,200 feet, so your course is not the highest /msgboard/images/clipart/sad.gif

As for throwing at elevation, particularly steep elevation...

Uphill -- throw understable driver (unless it's a short shot) not just a lighter disc, but a more beat up disc..lighter discs are still too stable when they slow down.

Downhill -- Throw stable or overstable midrange or putter and throw a shot that stays closer to the ground than you normally would. Discs pick up a lot of speed as they fly downhill. Even a disc that doesn't turn over on a flat shot, will pick up speed and flip over, never to return.

Putting -- Uphill putts must be higher, downhill putts must be lower. Make sure if your bid misses, it hits the hill at the same angle as the hill, ie. hitting on edge will tend to produce a rollaway. Going with a lighter putter can bring happy results too.

Obviously other shots work in certain situations, but those are good rules to live by.

Good Luck out there...Can't wait to came check out your course /msgboard/images/clipart/happy.gif

[Boneman]

I know this is an old post ... but since I play in Carbondale, CO, which is pretty high altituted, and I just visited Nashville, TN last week and played at low altitude, I thought I would post some interesting info.
My main distance drivers here at home are Avengers. Z and X. While playing in TN I found that I was turning over all most all my Avengers (1st runs, and Nate Doss sigs) accept the Z's. Now here at home, I hardly ever throw Orcs, because they are so overstable up here. I pulled out a pretty new Pro Orc while playing in TN (windy conditions too), and found that this was the ticket. I could get longer and more controllable drives with the Orc than with my usual drivers of choice. I also played with a new Z Preditor I got just before leaving, and it to was awesome and easy to control.
My Z Trackers were also very understable at lower altitude.
So there is definately something to considering what discs you play with at high altitude, vs. low altitude.
Just some interesting observations for those who are thinking of visiting the high country, or those from the high country going down to play at lower altitudes.
BTW, I totally agree with the posts above for high altitude play.

[the_kid]

When in Flagstaff 70000-10000ft this summer I noticed no difference in my mids or putters and the only thing I did different with my drivers was to not throw my Spike hyzer spirit any that week. I also think the flight of the disc is effected based on the power of the thrower. My dad who only can throw like 320' had to throw some really flippy stuff all week while I never changed any discs in my bag.

[jaxx]

At the Snowbowl course in Flagstaff I found myself using a 171 second run Orc a lot for straight drives, which under normal conditions would be really flippy. Upshots were about the same except that you couldn't get too much air under them or they would be gone. For putting, I found i could be more aggressive because jump putts especially dropped quicker than on lower elevation.
Also, like Matt wrote, spike hyzers are dangerous. It is hard to throw such an extreme hyzer in high altitude. But if you didn't flip a disc it would hold that line forever and just keep going at a slight hyzer. On one hole I threw a roc about 220 past the hole on a 400 footer just because it hyzered out. It is also difficult to throw anhyzers on uphill shots and it is difficult to adjust to the disc wanting to go down the slope on sidehill drives. It takes some time to get used to but high elevation golf is sweet if only because of the distance u can get.

[the_kid]

At the Snowbowl course in Flagstaff I found myself using a 171 second run Orc a lot for straight drives, which under normal conditions would be really flippy. Upshots were about the same except that you couldn't get too much air under them or they would be gone. For putting, I found i could be more aggressive because jump putts especially dropped quicker than on lower elevation.
Also, like Matt wrote, spike hyzers are dangerous. It is hard to throw such an extreme hyzer in high altitude. But if you didn't flip a disc it would hold that line forever and just keep going at a slight hyzer. On one hole I threw a roc about 220 past the hole on a 400 footer just because it hyzered out. It is also difficult to throw anhyzers on uphill shots and it is difficult to adjust to the disc wanting to go down the slope on sidehill drives. It takes some time to get used to but high elevation golf is sweet if only because of the distance u can get.



Yeah was that Roc shot of #5 where you took two fours? :DThat was your only BAD hole when I
played with you. :D

[gokayaksteven]

my home course [literally] is at 9200 feet. 2 other courses i regularly play are at 6500 and 10,000. i also play alot in the southeast, which is as different as it gets from the mountains, air wise. it is pretty basic. higher elevetion makes discs fly more overstable. discs also fly faster. they also fade harder, so distance is a toss-up. all this is more obvious when throwing a driver hard. i usually compensate by throwing my z avenger and z pred[overstable] more at sea level, and my x-avenger and z avenger[overstable] up high. my main putter and mid, [dx spider] i will go from max at sea level to 169 or so up high. it seems like i have thrown farther at sea level.

[quickdisc]

How about 150 plastic ?

[jaxx]

Yeah was that Roc shot of #5 where you took two fours? :DThat was your only BAD hole when I
played with you. :D


Yep hole 5. I was talking about the first round we played together there. The other time I 4'ed i didnt throw a bad drive i just putted into the tree directly in front of me. :cool:

[Parkntwoputt]

I have noticed differences in going from 800ft to sea level. I cannot imagine going up to 10k.