Disc Golf using all the rules

[Disc Golf Live]

How's about this as an idea to spice up top-level competitive disc golf rounds?

Referees.

I watch a lot of videos in the course of putting out my shows. I see a lot of foot faults and stance violations even in top-notch divisions. I see very few calls. Very few. Its not in a player's best interest, most of the time, to call an infraction on other players, and often-times a player can't call one on himself. Making a call just marks a guy for calls himself, and few want that additional friction on their mojo. And even when I see matches where an Official is present, no calls are made on obvious violations. Its just not in our mindset to be aggressive with rule enforcement.

Imagine how the game would play out as a referee follows the action. Yellow flag in hand, the referee watches folks execute their throws. Foot fault! Flag flies. Re-throw. Now the referee watches that guy with a red flag in hand. Doh! Next one cost him a throw.

There are some chronic foot faulters out there, while other guys are dead nuts on all the time. Yet the solid guy gets no advantage unless he makes the call. Shouldn't be his job to enforce rules, at least when the competition heats up.

Anyway, I was just thinking about the idea mostly as a way to spice up the action among top players. When I'm playing casual, I still want my foot wedges and winter rules.

Thoughts?

Joe

 

[cydisc]

Ball golf professionals are the most honest when it comes to that sort of thing. There are all sorts of stories of how someone called themselves on an infraction that cost them a win or got them disqualified. Somehow, with a few exceptions, that part of the game didn't translate as well to the disc version of the game.

 

[Disc Golf Live]

Ball golfers will call themselves for all sorts of things, indeed. Then again, ball golfers have been DQed when a fan calls in after noticing an infraction that was reviewable on tape.

Given that disc golfers use a run up and typically don't watch their feet, they're not in a position to make that call on themselves most of the time. Ball golfers are more typically aware when they make an infraction. Often, they'll get a rules official involved just to be double sure they get any ruling accurately made during the round.

 

[revmatty]

Every thing is happening in real time. most of the time it's dificult to judge when the disc was released and the foot crossed the line at the same time.

 

[skinner21]

interesting idea. I do think that there to be more rule enforcement than ball golf, simply because in ball golf all of the rules are either scoring or with a ball that cannot move. In other words, everything is static. it does not matter where Tiger is standing when he hits the ball, just that he hit it. When discing, almost everything is dynamic. The players move and step as they throw, the discs are moved after each throw, it matters where you let go of the disc and where you go afterward (inside 10 meters). It's not the discers are more or less dishonest, there are just more rules that are harder to catch yourself on, esspecially in the heat of the moment during competition.

 

[scarpfish]

Its a nice thought, but its also logistically complicated. Foot faults can be sometimes tricky to see and there's no logical way you could position a referee without messing with the player's concentration.

 

[DavidSauls]

Another logistical problem---

18 referees per course.

Who wants to referee two solid days?

How much would you have to pay 18 people to do this?

Where would that money come from?

 

[DiscJunkie]

Heck, just read some of these forums. Could you find 18 people who could agree on what the rules say?

 

[Midnightbiker]

Another logistical problem---

18 referees per course.

Who wants to referee two solid days?

How much would you have to pay 18 people to do this?

Where would that money come from?

Those were my first thoughts. The logistics would not work.

 

[bongripper0420]

Seems a little unreasonable, but it would be intresting to see how many people would be called and how it would change the outcome of a event.

 

[Omega SuperSloth]

What are those dudes called that ride in your boat in a bass tourney? something like that could work

 

[taxman]

it will come naturally overtime as more people get into the sport and it becomes 'Bigger'. just like posted above it's a cost issue. you would either need to have a ref at each hole to watch each player or, my personal choice, to have an official score keeper travel with each group of players. i'm surprised this isn't already going on for the bigger tournies.

 

[Jaysus]

Skip the Refs... add cheerleaders.

 

[Omega SuperSloth]

i like that score keeper idea taxman, not necessarily for rules infractions but just to keep acurate scores

 

[Disc Golf Live]

Skip the Refs... add cheerleaders.

Scantily clad lady refs, perhaps? That might play well on TV as well

Not easy logistically, agreed, if applied to every group, every round. I was certainly thinking more of selective use, such as final nine groups and championship rounds. I'm curious how scrutiny would impact play, I'm sure it would effect some more than others.

Joe

 

[DavidSauls]

At the Hall-of-Fame Classic a few years ago, there were tee-times and thus someone to check you in at the first tee. That someone was an official.

He would call foot-faults. Not loudly or rudely, just matter-of-factly. Some players would turn with an astonished look on their face, as if they'd never heard a foot-fault called, which was probably true. At least while I was milling around, everyone took it well and re-threw.

 

[skinner21]

lady refs wearing only a few well placed discs... I like it.

I agree that an official will eventually be placed at each like ball golf has for questions and such. But the more I think about it, the more I don't think that they should be there waiting flag in hand for infractions. The players need to police themselves on issues like disc placement and other things that honest players have no problem with, which I think (hope?) most of us are, esspecially for tournemants. But as for the other infractions -- i.e. a foot a little too far forward or whatever the case may be. let's call them "moving violations" -- unless they are major I don't think that they will affect the game at all. And if it is a major violation, then the other players need to report the guy to the aforementioned and as yet nonexistent tournement offical. I think the last thing this sport needs to be micro managed and so full of rules that it gets so confusing that it turns into the NFL, with penalties on almost every play and the rules changing every year.