2018-11-27 Goettingen On my stay in Goettingen, I played two rounds on the course there. It is a rather newish course around the university sports center. I like the nice fitting of the holes in those strips of nature between sports fields and footways. It seems to be diffi- cult or impossible to play if the fields are used or when crowds of people are walking the ways, but on the other hand, they managed to fit a twelve-hole course onto an area already filled. It was rather cold when I went there (about 3 degrees Celsius). Fortunately it was calm, and later on the sun warmed a bit. My only disc was a JB Zone -- not the worst disc for the course. The fade was definitely welcomed, only it lacked the distance necessary for some holes. There, for instance, is hole 5, a 116m pure hyzer hole! Par 3! It offers no direct route. You throw from just inside the woods out over the field to come back to the basket just inside the woods. It is a great hole if you have a RHBH 120m pure hyzer! Having 120m distance on the field is already rare, but it won't help here, as you can throw neither a hyzer-flip nor a flex-shot. The only way to birdie the hole is an over 100m pure hyzer. Lefties and RHFH players are pretty lost. Actually the hole isn't too bad. The best solution would be to make it some meters longer and a par 4. But it seems that there's a tendency to avoid a single par 4 on an otherwise completely par 3 course. There's another 105m hole (#10) with a gap, mando and lots of OB. Pretty difficult thus, but at least it's downhill. ;-) In summary, the course is not too easy. But not too hard neither. I shot +9 with only the Zone on my first round. On the second round I shot +2. Thus it cannot be too hard. Let's walk through the holes: #1: Right before the teepad is a 50cm high wall, which does not limit you too much, it just prevents you from a low forehand hyzer. I threw forehand both rounds. The Zone had the prefect fade for the long dogleg right. The first round on the first shot I put the disc 3m to the basket ... and missed the putt! :-( Hor- rible! I scored a 3 both rounds. #2: Downhill, too long for the Zone, basket on the right border of the scrubs. Both times I shot too left, resulting in fades to the border of the scrubs, but without an angle to the basket. First round I shot a thumb roller, which turned out just perfect! A great shot. I scored a 3 both rounds. #3: Straight to a narrow, wooded left turn to the basket. First round I hit the first tree and kicked onto the OB, eventually resulting in a 5. Second round the drive was okay, but from behind a tree I had to go forehand roller, then made the straddle putt. :-) That was a 3. #4: Only 38m but tightly wooded. First round hit an early tree and missed one putt -> 4. Second round the shot flew nice passed all trees, hit the putt -> Birdie! :-) (The only birdie overall.) #5: The long 116m pure hyzer. Both times I drove out onto the field. I should have gone a bit tighter, but, however, I had free room to work. First round the second drive was fine, with layup and putt it became a 4. Second round the second drive went to early into the woods, scrambling to a 5 (forehand roller again). #6: Open field with two big trees near the basket. An easy hole, actually. First round the only problem was missing the 4m putt. :-( Scored a 4 and a 3. #7: Handrail right before the teepad. (No problem if you drive from the back half of the teepad.) The basket sits on the top of a left to right slope. You drive uphill. If the disc doesn't roll, it is an easy hole. Had a jumper layup for an easy 3 both times. #8: The most terrible hole, as it forces you to play on paving stone steps and hand rails with lots of hard edges. The hole is innovative in design but horrible for the discs. You better have a trash disc to waste here ... or ace it. ;-) I only had one disc. Beating it a bit in is not the thing, but I wanted to avoid big cuts. This was my main goal. ;-) First round: forehand drive, landed well, then upstairs jumper landing right under the basket -> 3. Second round: forehand drive into the only scrubs, which it cut through, resting on the platform right behind the scrubs. (Again no harm done to the disc. ;-) ) Unfortunately had no room to work from there. Had to throw a forehand with the wrist only. That worked out great ... too great: Bounced off the hand rail, landed 10m past the basket. Sunk the long hyzer putt over the handrail! :-) That was the best putt today. Actually, a Zone is the prefect disc for that hole. #9: The best hole of the course. Wall right in front of the teepad. It prevents you from that low hyzer forehand, which would be best (or maybe a thumber). Instead it pushes you to throw a flatter forehand, which makes you go too straight. From there you approach downhill with OB 10m behind the basket. I really like this hole. It is wonderful! :-) First round my approach was too short, resulting in a 4, the second round I shot a 3. #10: Long, downhill, through a gap, then OB on both sides on the way to the basket. Difficult and risky to birdie, but (if you hit the gap and avoid OB), manageable to par. First round I was too short with everything -> 4. Second round the fade of the Zone nearly pushed my disc OB, fortunately it did not. Great approach -> 3. #11: Very difficult for newbies. Over a 50m aspalt field, into tightly wooded uphill slope to the basket. First round I wasn't sure if I'd make it over the field (which would result in pretty much a rethrow (dropzone?)), thus I kept left, where there is a 2m grass band until the scrubs start. I knew I had the fade of the Zone, thus I was pretty safe this way. (I wouldn't want to be a lefty on this hole!) Without any angle, I just went straight for the woods, then had to throw forehand anny to approach -> 4. Second round the drove was fine: Over the OB area directly into the woods. Then approach and putt -> 3. #12: Last hole, a bit hidden behind the building. Both times the drive was too high, hitting the branches. First round it kicked under the building, from where I had to chip out. Second round it just came short, leading to a long approach, which hit more branches. Both rounds I scored a 4. With one birdie, one bogey and one double bogey, the second round was pretty good. My putts had become better, but my approaches -- even difficult ones -- were the skill that saved my rounds. If I don't expect having the luck of making huge putts, I would hardly score better than that with only the Zone. Most holes are simply too long to reach them with one Zone drive. A Teebird would change a lot in this respect. On the course, I met a girl, practicing her putting and driving. She didn't want to play a round with me, but we talked some minutes each time I came around. She had half a dozen discs. Un- fortunately I didn't ask her to have a look at all of them. I just saw that she had two Magnets for putting and I picked up her Gazelle one time. (Not the worst discs so far.) Interestingly, she comes from a town between my home and the Soehnstetten course, where she had played several times already. Funny to meet someone from my home region here, so far away. :-) http://marmaro.de/discgolf/ markus schnalke