Disc Golf Basket, purchase or DIY?
September 16, 2006 8:08 AM Subscribe
Are there truly no free plans for a DIY portable disc golf basket on the Internet? How do the fold-up portables hold up over time if you actually fold them up and transport them?
I have recently become enthusiastic about disc golf, and I am generally familiar with the various online resources like PDGA, discgolfreview.com, etc. Now I am looking for a practice disc golf basket that I can use in my back yard as well as take on car-camping trips.
I know there are two basic types of portable disc golf baskets:
- those somewhat heavier types that break down into 2 or 3 pieces for bulky transport in a back seat or trunk,
- and those that fold up like golf umbrellas and are carried to the back seat or trunk in a shoulder bag.
A few reviews exist on the Internets, and the folks at Teepad have a decent feature comparison chart, but I am not in a location where I can see and touch any of these models before making a purchase from them or anyone else.
Part of me wants something for home use that’s as close as I can portably get to one of the pro baskets at the typical courses, but another part of me keeps imagining trying to stuff something in the nearly full car when heading to the campsite. Since I will want to fit it in (or on the roof rack of) my Accord wagon along with a weekend’s worth of camping gear and 2 passengers, I may have settled on the DGA Mach Lite.
…
But another part of me is intrigued by the lack of (free) plans for a good DIY portable on the Internet, if that is the case. So I may or may not ever make one of my own, but I have been dwelling on which parts I would use if I were set on making my own durable, sturdy, and this is the approach I will likely eventually take:
BASE & POLE:
Fisher-Price or Little Tikes adjustable indoor/outdoor basketball goal. You can fill the base of these with water or sand, and they should withstand even the most killer of putts. (Remove the backboard and goal.) Extend it to its fullest height, and I think you’ve got a killer pole for a portable disc golf basket.
BASKET STRUCTURE:
Plastic garden border is usually available in black, green, or terra cotta from local home improvement / landscraping outfitters. This stuff is light, but should be durable enough to be used as the frame of the basket (top and bottom parts of the basket). You could cut the garden border to the proper lengths, leaving an extra inch or two for some bolts to be used to fasten the ends together, forming a hoop. Use one hoop for the top and another for the bottom.
CHAINS & BASKET ASSEMBLY:
Drill holes through the hoops and place eye bolts through the holes at regular intervals around the circumference. Get some lightweight chain from a home and garden center, and run lengths of chain from the eye bolts on the top hoop of the basket to the appropriate eye bolts on the bottom hoop. (I am thinking yellow plastic links I have seen on a spool in Home Depot.) You could use a series of caribiners to form an inner chain that would make a kind of collar that is used to pull the main chain system inward (toward the pole) as it travels down from the top to the bottom.
QUESTIONS:
Does anyone have advice about the use and durability of the DGA Mach Lite, or any constructive advice about a portable disc golf basket solution? Will the bases withstand semi-regular, careful transport?
- Has anyone ever used an Innova Traveler? It’s an alternate fold-up basket solution, but I have reservations about the shape and durability.
- Has anyone seen completed plans, ideally for free, that are similar to a portable basket like I am thinking about above?
- How do you think I should best mount the basket assembly I described to a base and stand like the Fisher-Price basketball rig?
I have recently become enthusiastic about disc golf, and I am generally familiar with the various online resources like PDGA, discgolfreview.com, etc. Now I am looking for a practice disc golf basket that I can use in my back yard as well as take on car-camping trips.
I know there are two basic types of portable disc golf baskets:
- those somewhat heavier types that break down into 2 or 3 pieces for bulky transport in a back seat or trunk,
- and those that fold up like golf umbrellas and are carried to the back seat or trunk in a shoulder bag.
A few reviews exist on the Internets, and the folks at Teepad have a decent feature comparison chart, but I am not in a location where I can see and touch any of these models before making a purchase from them or anyone else.
Part of me wants something for home use that’s as close as I can portably get to one of the pro baskets at the typical courses, but another part of me keeps imagining trying to stuff something in the nearly full car when heading to the campsite. Since I will want to fit it in (or on the roof rack of) my Accord wagon along with a weekend’s worth of camping gear and 2 passengers, I may have settled on the DGA Mach Lite.
…
But another part of me is intrigued by the lack of (free) plans for a good DIY portable on the Internet, if that is the case. So I may or may not ever make one of my own, but I have been dwelling on which parts I would use if I were set on making my own durable, sturdy, and this is the approach I will likely eventually take:
BASE & POLE:
Fisher-Price or Little Tikes adjustable indoor/outdoor basketball goal. You can fill the base of these with water or sand, and they should withstand even the most killer of putts. (Remove the backboard and goal.) Extend it to its fullest height, and I think you’ve got a killer pole for a portable disc golf basket.
BASKET STRUCTURE:
Plastic garden border is usually available in black, green, or terra cotta from local home improvement / landscraping outfitters. This stuff is light, but should be durable enough to be used as the frame of the basket (top and bottom parts of the basket). You could cut the garden border to the proper lengths, leaving an extra inch or two for some bolts to be used to fasten the ends together, forming a hoop. Use one hoop for the top and another for the bottom.
CHAINS & BASKET ASSEMBLY:
Drill holes through the hoops and place eye bolts through the holes at regular intervals around the circumference. Get some lightweight chain from a home and garden center, and run lengths of chain from the eye bolts on the top hoop of the basket to the appropriate eye bolts on the bottom hoop. (I am thinking yellow plastic links I have seen on a spool in Home Depot.) You could use a series of caribiners to form an inner chain that would make a kind of collar that is used to pull the main chain system inward (toward the pole) as it travels down from the top to the bottom.
QUESTIONS:
Does anyone have advice about the use and durability of the DGA Mach Lite, or any constructive advice about a portable disc golf basket solution? Will the bases withstand semi-regular, careful transport?
- Has anyone ever used an Innova Traveler? It’s an alternate fold-up basket solution, but I have reservations about the shape and durability.
- Has anyone seen completed plans, ideally for free, that are similar to a portable basket like I am thinking about above?
- How do you think I should best mount the basket assembly I described to a base and stand like the Fisher-Price basketball rig?
Response by poster: I bought the Mach Lite (and an ultra-glowy approach disc!), so I guess we'll see.
posted by dontrockwobble at 6:00 AM on September 17, 2006
posted by dontrockwobble at 6:00 AM on September 17, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
The DGA Match Lite has always looked a bit flimsy to me.
Good luck and send me pictures if you build one.
posted by bryanzera at 11:05 AM on September 16, 2006