I recently created three new homemade baskets using old tires and rubber strapping or rope. They all seem to catch fairly well except when your disc is wet. Much better than the PULT but they are also heavier. My inspiration for this type of basket which I have affectionately named the Octopus, was the article in DGWN which talked about swinging baskets on private courses a couple of issues back. My total production cost on each of these was less than $25.00 which makes it a fairly cheap, effective target. I have made them so they could be pole mounted as well but so far I have only used them in the hanging mode. The stuff you will need is:

1 Old worn tire 25-26" in diameter Free from a local tire shop

1 10’ length of 1", thick - walled PVC pipe ~ $1.75 at your home improvement store

2 1" PVC T connectors ~ $1.50 for both " "

1 1" 4-way PVC connector ~ $1.50

1 1" PVC Cap ~ $.50

1 1" PVC straight connector ~ $.50

1 16-18" plastic planter saucer ~ $2.75

16 26" Rubber Straps ~ $16.00 Walmart

or

1 Heavy duty screw eye ~ $.25

2 2" Bolts w/nuts

1 ~ 2’ of heavy gauge wire

1 Can PVC glue

1 box of medium-large safety pins ~$1.00

various and sundry screws

1 Plastic Rope for hanging the basket ~$3.00 Walmart

Start by removing one of the sidewalls from the tire just before the tread starts. Believe me you don’t want to try to cut through the steel under the tread. Do this very carefully to avoid serious injury. I used a razor sharp craft knife and took it slow and easy. Keep both tire parts intact. The sidewall forms the top of the basket and the rest forms the bottom.

Next, cut 4 - 8" lengths of PVC pipe and 2 - 7" lengths. These will form the H pattern with the PVC connectors which will support the bottom of the basket. Measure to make sure these lengths form a big enough H to support the tire before you start cutting. Insert 2–8" pipes into a T-connector to form the cross bar of the T and a 7" pipe to form the bottom. Once you have 2 of these Ts you can fit the bottom of each one into opposite sides of the 4-way connector to form the H. Dry fit all connections first to make sure everything goes together right, then glue the Ts together as described. Before you glue the Ts into the 4-way connector you need to cut the center pipe for the basket. It should be about 29" long. The center pipe will help you make sure that the 4 way connector is straight up and down relative to the rest of the H so your basket hangs straight. This is the tricky part. Have the center pipe dry-fitted into the 4-way connector and a box or open trash can or something that you can use to put the PVC H on to straighten it up. Put glue on both Ts at the same time then insert them into the 4-way connector with the middle pipe sticking straight up and the Ts flat out to the sides. Use your box to press the ends of the H down on with the center pipe to get everything flat and the center pipe straight up and down. You only have 15-30 seconds before the glue sets so have everything ready to go before you start.

Don’t glue the center pipe unless you don’t want to be able to break the basket down for storage or transportation later. Instead drill a ¼" hole through the 4-way and the center pipe and use a bolt and nut to hold them together like a cotter pin. The opposite opening from the center pipe could be used later to mount the basket on a pole. If you don’t need this option, just use a T connector instead of the 4-way. Dry fit the straight connector to the other end of the center pipe and drill this for the second nut and bolt.

Drill a hole down through the center of the PVC end cap and twist in the screw eye. Make sure the hole is small enough to completely engage the threads of the screw eye. Next drill a hole in the center of the plastic planter saucer. This hole needs to be just large enough to allow the saucer to slip over a 1" PVC pipe. I used a large wood boring bit to make the hole then slowly enlarged it using my Dremmel’s sanding cylinder until it was just big enough. Cut a 1&1/4" section of PVC pipe and slide it through the hole in the saucer. Now you can glue the end of your straight connector that isn’t drilled on the top side of the saucer and the PVC cap on the bottom side using PVC glue. Press them completely together so they squeeze the saucer between them and the pipe section slides into both the cap and the straight connector.

Next attach the saucer to the tire sidewall using at least three screws. The saucer should be upside down supporting the sidewall from underneath. You can put the sidewall on either direction as you can see in the photos. Do whatever you think will look best. Make sure it is centered on the saucer when you attach it.

Now attach the rest of the tire to the H frame with 4 screws. Center the tire on the frame and drill pilot holes for the screws where you can see the PVC pipe making a dimple in the rubber of the sidewall then attach it with the screws.

Last comes the rubber straps or rope. You can attach the straps using the S-hooks that come with them. Make a six inch diameter ring of heavy gauge wire to go around the center pole and gather the outer straps together at the bottom. Use wire twist ties to attach the inner straps to small holes drilled in the saucer. Attach them to a larger heavy wire ring at the bottom using S-hooks. Hang left over S-hooks on one of the wire rings to give the Basket some "Ching" when a putt hits it. To use rubber rope, drill ½" holes in the sidewall that forms the top of the basket evenly spaced all the way around. I used existing markings on the tire to get the spacing right. Push on end of the rope up through the hole then push a safety pin through it to keep it from sliding back through. Split the other end of the rope about ½", slide it over the heavy wire ring and safety pin the loose ends together to attach. I went with all outer ropes on the rope baskets and a combination on the strap basket.

I also attached bells to the wire rings of the rope baskets to get a little ching instead of a dull thud.

I can personally attest that you can hit an ace on one of these baskets, but the sound is like a big THWACK instead of a ching.

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