Quote Originally Posted by thumbhole View Post
I have been setting courses for HFT and FT for over 20 years ... no one has cleared a course I have set in either.
I don't think that's a great accolade.

I think the desire of course setters to try and make sure no one clears their courses has been a negative in HFT/FT.

As stated above only a very few shooters will be in the very top class ( as good as it gets ).

So for me a good course has a number of targets that put shooters out of a normal 'practice range' comfort zone ... but that doesn't mean ridiculous angles that test flexibility instead of shooting ability. If a top shooter gets every shot 95% or better right then that course should be cleared.

The problem will always be wind. No matter what course someone puts out ( within rules ) on a still day ( very rare ) then top shooters will be capable of clearing it ... if they get all aspects of every shot right. As we introduce wind and that wind gets up to a certain level, then some targets are lottery targets. I've talked about this many times. Very steady stances for the greatest majority of shots in both sports have driven course setters to push lots of targets right to the edge of the rules re kill size and range ... and angles. So when you get those courses and the wind is above a certain level ( doesn't have to be a lot ), then there is too much chance in too many targets for even the best, and for the weaker shooters it can be a pointless day.