After two years of persistence, our proposal for a new course was narrowly passed (on a 1 year trial basis :(- better than nothing though I guess). Anyway, a major concern from certain residence neighbouring the perspective course is the noise of the baskets. Does anyone have tried and true suggestions for how to make baskets quieter? Solving this issue would really help us make this course permanent.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

If you look closely at the PDGA basket standards, they are all legal for World level competition with the chain supports removed (just the basket) as long as all 18 are the same with no chains on them. That should be quiet enough and keep the cost down. Otherwise, ask the manufacturers if they could substitute plastic chains in place of the metal ones with your order.

plastic coated steel chain is available, probably quieter with the same stopping power

http://www.1st-chainsupply.com/chain/painted.htm

Call Reese at Fly 18. He has countered this problem quite well on the golf courses where this was a concern for noise pollution. He fills them with Sand and it "deadens" the sound quite nicely. This could alleviate some of the concerns that they have. I would call and ask about his baskets if that is of a the biggest concern.

Hope this helps.

Jack

Fill the center poles. Use Rebar and Concrete if you also want to deter theft.

I used great stuff (expanding closed cell foam) it quieted them down dramatically.

The chains still make some noise, but the center pole doesn't.

Pipe insulation around the center pole will also quiet them down considerably.

I have been making baskets quite from my first course.Jack was right about the sand or fill with dry concrete add water.This prevents them from being a pipe organ from the morman tabernackel quire.There has to be a misspelled word there but you know where i am going.A heavier weight chain the 3.0 verses the standard 2.0 is a lower tone .This has been a problem with poratable baskets at home...You can also get some rubber no slip strips for yuor bathtub with adhesive on it and cover the pole top side that makes them quite. ;)

I would imagine that you could cover the chains with a plastic sleeve or hose to deaden the sound. It would probably reduce the chain action also, but if you cut the pieces small enough, the action won't be affected as much.

I wrapped the pole with a layer of flashing tape from a builders supply store. Worked great, almost invisible and only took 5 minutes. Has lasted several years w/o any visible wear.

Try filling the main pipe with something that will dampen the sound too. I know someone that has played on baskets with aircraft cables instead of chains and he said that they caught well and were very quiet.

The absolutely best thing to do is put your drive under the basket, so all you have left to do is drop it in the pan.
THATS HOW I ROLL! :D

I have a Discatcher Sport and I put 1 layer of duct tape on the center pole (only the part inside of the chains), cut a strip from an old t-shirt and cut it to wrap around the pole once, then another layer of duct tape. It is much more quiet and allows me to putt late at night in my backyard without waking up the neighbors.