most COMMON rule violations???

[Roc1Time]

People tossing thier discs bck to thier bags, stance violations, and just courtesy stuff

 

[tomschillin]

Holding on to something BEHIND your lie is not prohibited by the rules, provided that the tree that the golfer is using as a supporting point is in-bounds (803.03.A (3)). The branch must not be moved, or else the player would be in violation of one or both of 803.04.D and 803.05.A, which require you to take the stance that results in the least movement of objects that are part of the course and which prohibit you from moving a branch to "make room for a throwing motion".

trampling the grass would violate this....so would pushing back into the brush

damn, that's rough. i had no idea.

 

[AirMcNair]

Not gonna cite but

Pushing back into branches to make a shot, bending the brush is very common

trampling down long grass underbrush to get a run up is a common one I call people on

I thought it was you can't break the branches? as long as you don't break them you are good.

And the underbrush grass thing I don't think that is a rule. If it is I want to see where you got it.

 

[chrishysell]

A big one I've seen is taking practice throws, but not in the fashion you'd think, because any disc thrown over 5 feet or in the putting zone is a stroke, so if you go mark your lie, then turn and toss the disc back to your bag, its supposed to be a stroke, its looked over a lot though.

The distance is 2 meters. Definition of a practice throw below along with the penalty. There is no warning. You throw the shot and it counts.

Practice throw..During a round, the projection of a disc of a distance greater than two meters, or of any distance toward a target, intentional or not, which does not change the player's lie, either because it did not occur from the teeing area or the lie, or because the player had already thrown competitively from the teeing area or the lie. Throws that are re-thrown in accordance with the rules are not practice throws. Provisional throws made pursuant to 803.01 C and 803.01 D (3) are not practice throws. A player shall receive a penalty for a practice throw in accordance with sections 803.01 B or 804.02 A (2).

803.01B. Practice Throws. A player who throws a practice throw or an extra throw with any disc any time after the
start of his or her round and prior to his or her finishing the last hole of the round (except
for throws that must be re-thrown in accordance with the rules, provisional throws made
pursuant to 803.01 C and 803.01 D (3), or throws during a suspension or postponement of play) shall receive
one penalty throw. The practice throw or extra throw must be observed by any two players or an
official.

 

[ejvogie]

Throwing while stepping on whatever you're using to mark your lie. Your foot must not cross the line behind your marker. That extra inch is not going to make or break you anyway.

You have no idea how many putts (it seems) I miss by an inch.:wall:

I thought it was you can't break the branches? as long as you don't break them you are good.

Incorrect. No you cannot break the branches, and you also cannot move them if they are in front of your lie. If they're behind your lie, well, you don't really need to back into them.

 

[AirMcNair]

Not gonna cite but

Pushing back into branches to make a shot, bending the brush is very common

trampling down long grass underbrush to get a run up is a common one I call people on

I thought it was you can't break the branches? as long as you don't break them you are good. The rule says that you can move them some (little movement as possible).

And the underbrush grass thing I don't think that is a rule. The rule does not say anything about the underbrush. You are interpreting that way. IMO I would have to say you are wrong on this.

 

[John Rock]

Read 803.05A

Black & White.

 

[AirMcNair]

Incorrect. No you cannot break the branches, and you also cannot move them if they are in front of your lie. If they're behind your lie, well, you don't really need to back into them.[/QUOTE]

Yes I know that. Sorry let me clarify. I am saying if you are trying to get position you can move them to get into position to behind your lie. After in position you must not lean on the branches.

 

[Thumber]

I thought it was you can't break the branches? as long as you don't break them you are good.

And the underbrush grass thing I don't think that is a rule. If it is I want to see where you got it.

803.05 Obstacles and Relief

A. Obstacles to a Stance or Throwing Motion: Players must choose a stance which results in the least movement of any part of any obstacle except as allowed for casual obstacles by 803.05 C. (Obstacle: Any feature of the course that may impede any aspect of play.) No relief is granted from park equipment (such as signs, trash cans, picnic tables, etc.) as they are considered part of the course. Once a legal stance is taken, a player may not move an obstacle (or hold it back or bend it) in order to make room for a throwing motion. It is legal for a player's throwing motion to make incidental movement of an obstacle.

So this is obvious for branches....you can't bend them

For long grass it is a matter of is the grass itself is an obstacle. I think long grass has been left that way, is a permanent part of the course and thus an obstacle.

My club had a long discussion over this and sought clarification from the PDGA rules gurus....see below

*********************************

My email conversation with the PDGA Rules Committee:

----------------------------------------------------
My email:

Good day,

I have a couple of questions that pertain to the Obstacles and Relief rules.

If while looking for a disc in the woods a player unintentionally broke a branch between the lie and the basket, without yet knowing were the disc was, does the player get penalized 1 stroke?

Secondly, in very long grass, on the sides of a very generous and mowed fairway, is a player allowed to flatten the grass behind the lie (in the run up area) to ease the run up? Does the long grass become an Obstacle.

Thanks for you time.

---------------------------------------------------

The reply from Conrad Damon:

In response to your first question, I wouldn't assess a penalty stroke for two reasons: the lie had not been determined at the time the branch was broken, and it was unintentional. I know that intent can be difficult to determine, but there is always some subjectivity in the application of rules.

As to your second question, grass is not on the list of casual obstacles which can be moved. I would consider flattening the grass to be moving it, though its location doesn't change. The situation is the same as if there were tall weeds, or bushes, or any other plant life that makes a runup difficult. That's what makes it the rough.

-Conrad

 

[AirMcNair]

A. Obstacles to a Stance or Throwing Motion: Players must choose a stance which results in the least movement of any part of any obstacle except as allowed for casual obstacles by 803.05

As the rule states the least movement of any part of any obstacle. That is all I am trying to say. You can't go on stroking people if they are barely moving a branch. the rule says least movement.

The grass thing I have never done but if the rules committee says you can't do it then I guess you can't.

 

[Thumber]

A. Obstacles to a Stance or Throwing Motion: Players must choose a stance which results in the least movement of any part of any obstacle except as allowed for casual obstacles by 803.05

As the rule states the least movement of any part of any obstacle. That is all I am trying to say. You can't go on stroking people if they are barely moving a branch. the rule says least movement.

The grass thing I have never done but if the rules committee says you can't do it then I guess you can't.

I agree on the branches....my issue is with people backing their butt into the branches instead of coming in from behind the lie. You can't bend everything back from in front of the lie.

The grass one is an interpretation, but makes sense. If you were in say milkweeds, or some other tall weed patch, you couldn't flatten out a section behind the lie. That would be destroying part of the course, which is alos a stroke (or maybe 2).

 

[Cgkdisc]

Again, how tall does the grass have to be before tromping it down isn't allowed? I think this needs to be clarified but I'm also not sure how that could be written. We talked about whether maybe defining foliage obstacles as having a woody stalk before it counts as an obstacle such as reeds or cattails.

 

[chrishysell]

When i'm playing with someone who is annoying me I use this rule on them....

B. Obstacles Between the Lie and Hole: A player may not move, alter, bend, break, or hold back any
part of any obstacle, including casual obstacles, between the lie and the hole, with one exception: A player may move obstacles between the lie and the hole that became a factor during the round, such as
spectators, players' equipment, open gates, or branches that fell during the round. Where it is
not known if an obstacle has become a factor during a round, it shall not be moved. It is legal
for a player's throwing motion to make incidental movement of an obstacle.

I call them on the rule violation when they walk in front of their lie or the tee and pick up grass or leaves to check the wind direction/strength. Of course i'm not serious but it is a violation.

 

[John Rock]

The rule doesn't say you get to determine what the least amount of movement is. If someone in your group says you can take a different stance that will result in less movement than the stance you are trying to take, you must take the stance that will result in the least amount of movement of the object in question. Or take an Un-playable lie (sole descretion of the thrower).

 

[Thumber]

Again, how tall does the grass have to be before tromping it down isn't allowed? I think this needs to be clarified but I'm also not sure how that could be written. We talked about whether maybe defining foliage obstacles as having a woody stalk before it counts as an obstacle such as reeds or cattails.

The thing is, I think you could do a run up in the long grass, regardless of length, as long as you don't beat down a patch before you make your throw. You can't do 2-3 runup practices to beat it down. its kind of like a sandtrap in ball golf.No practice swings touching the sand

I may be wrong on this, but that is my interpretation.

 

[Cgkdisc]

A related issue to the grass being tromped down is whether snow can be tromped down behind a lie. It is casual water and not living.

 

[billnchristy]

Most common rule violation-->not knowing the rule but still spouting off as if you do.

 

[Thumber]

A related issue to the grass being tromped down is whether snow can be tromped down behind a lie. It is casual water and not living.

Winter rules are very different from summer rules

Once there is snow on the ground, the rules get pretty loose around here

 

[slowRoll]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. But the one I see broken constantly is; not letting go of your putter before you cross your lie on a jump putt. As a matter of fact, I don't know if I've ever seen this done properly by anyone I've ever played with.

 

[John Rock]

Isn't the only requirement for the jump putt to be legal is to have at least one foot on the ground (at your lie)when the release happens? Doesn't matter if you've crossed your mini or not.