Stop asking if you are outside the circle!

[biscoe]

There is a vast opportunity to play disc golf for pure joy, outside the established rules. Casual play is a terrific outlet and rules can be selectively applied. When signing up for a sanctioned event, you agree to adhere and enforce PDGA rules. Not the spirit of the rules, not an emotional interpretation of the rules. The idea is once you find your disc and can get to it, you get a half minute to see your shot and execute.

You have been playing quite a while. How many calls on time have you personally witnessed or made? I can count the actual calls made by players on another in their group on one hand with fingers to spare. (I have had them come complaining to me as a TD many more times than that.)

 

[Dcinmd]

There is a vast opportunity to play disc golf for pure joy, outside the established rules. Casual play is a terrific outlet and rules can be selectively applied. When signing up for a sanctioned event, you agree to adhere and enforce PDGA rules. Not the spirit of the rules, not an emotional interpretation of the rules. The idea is once you find your disc and can get to it, you get a half minute to see your shot and execute.

The rules state 4 things need to happen before the 30 second start.

1. A player has taken excessive time if they are present and have not thrown within 30 seconds:
   1. After the previous player has thrown; and,
   2. After they have had a reasonable amount of time to arrive at and determine the lie; and,
   3. After they are next in the throwing order; and,
   4. During which the playing area remains clear.

 

[DumfriesLizzie]

Look at what I found today: PDGA Members: Preview Proposed Rule Changes for 2025

See proposed 802.03 B4 in particular, which separates 30 seconds to throw from this new timeout option.

I guess I either didn't know comments on rule changes for 2025 was due on 6/30/24, or I did and plumb forgot about it.

The new proposed rule does not indicate what the player cannot do. The non-rule intro text says "where additional time is necessary to establish footing or execute the shot". So (presumably) if a player needs a timeout to measure their putt or rangefind their approach or whatever is necessary to be ready to throw, all of that is good...

I like that only 2 timeouts per round are allowed. We will find out if it is enough to (1) stem the complaints about time and (2) prevent folks from overusing the grace allowed here.

I only have a few more tournaments this year, so my snarky "forever hold your peace" strategy won't be necessary for long.

 

[biscoe]

Timeout thing is to appease the Pro Tour. I don't see it as either necessary or useful for the most part unless players are going to start calling the clock regularly which is not going to happen.

 

[ru4por]

Timeout thing is to appease the Pro Tour. I don't see it as either necessary or useful for the most part unless players are going to start calling the clock regularly which is not going to happen.

Christ.....this would be an AM nightmare. Rules to appease the perceived needs of the pro side of the sport, are becoming tedious.

 

[Casey 1988]

Agreed. I don't mind range finders, but I do mind people being assholes


There are rules for pace of play. I don't use my range finder very often, but it's helpful on open courses where you don't have trees and stuff to help with perspective

Or brush type wooded courses where brush/bushes is/are so dense course is made like one bush. I have played a course like this before where a rangefinder would have been useful for finding distance as course did not have distances on tee pad/a map or distances online/bulletin board.

 

[Casey 1988]

Christ.....this would be an AM nightmare. Rules to appease the perceived needs of the pro side of the sport, are becoming tedious.

Right, rule could have been added Via Disc Golf Pro Tour as a specific rule used for DGPT and on PDGA side as a rule used for Pro level only majors.

 

[DumfriesLizzie]

I never knew we were supposed to be recording penalties in the dialog box next to names. Have just been recording the total score.

As for the new timeouts rule, I say let's give it a try first. I don't think we have a choice at this point anyway, correct? Unless the feedback that PDGA did receive was overwhelmingly negative. Time will tell.

Presently, I am in favor of it for all divisions (Pro and Am).

If it turns out to not accomplish what it is trying to do, it will be one of those bad ideas that dies an eventual death. Like the 2-meter rule.

Said is dying the death. Notice this in rule 805.02: "It [the 2-meter 1-stroke penalty] is not in effect unless the Director declares it to be in effect." I've never played a tournament where this rule was in effect. I've been playing tournaments since 2020.

 

[ejvogie]

I've seen it in effect once since 2009.

The parks dept. had just neutered the course by removing some (probably) dead or dying trees. It was instituted to (maybe?) make the course a bit tougher.

 

[DumfriesLizzie]

More from Mr. Lion:

"Determining your lie" commonly includes "determining the status of your lie" as well. We see this often when players have a rules question about how to properly play a lie in a hazard or near an obstacle. The group might have a conversation about the status of the disc or the rules that apply to the lie, and those conversations are commonly not included in the 30-second limit. Similarly, making a determination about a lie that's borderline inside/outside the 10m circle would not be included in the 30-second limit. [emphasis mine]

Rules suggestions can be emailed to this address [[email protected]]. Several members of the rules committee read and post on DGCR, and we see many of the ideas that pop up there.

Thanks,
Todd Lion
Deputy Director of Event Support and Training
Professional Disc Golf Association

 

[biscoe]

I never knew we were supposed to be recording penalties in the dialog box next to names. Have just been recording the total score.

As for the new timeouts rule, I say let's give it a try first. I don't think we have a choice at this point anyway, correct? Unless the feedback that PDGA did receive was overwhelmingly negative. Time will tell.

Presently, I am in favor of it for all divisions (Pro and Am).

If it turns out to not accomplish what it is trying to do, it will be one of those bad ideas that dies an eventual death. Like the 2-meter rule.

Said is dying the death. Notice this in rule 805.02: "It [the 2-meter 1-stroke penalty] is not in effect unless the Director declares it to be in effect." I've never played a tournament where this rule was in effect. I've been playing tournaments since 2020.

While it has been in hospice for quite some time the 2 meter rule (unfortunately) still has not breathed its last. Near us it is still in use at Seneca in MD I believe. Also still commonly in place in California.

 

[DumfriesLizzie]

While it has been in hospice for quite some time the 2 meter rule (unfortunately) still has not breathed its last. Near us it is still in use at Seneca in MD I believe. Also still commonly in place in California.

I've not known the Women's Open of Maryland to have it. Only tournament I'm playing at Seneca. IMHO that course is hard enough without any help (its navigation in particular). I almost played a CA WGE this year and a few years ago (have family etc in SoCAL). I gather 2-meter has been kept on the open CA courses with few trees. Shall keep this in mind. Thanks, John.

 

[Steve West]

While it has been in hospice for quite some time the 2 meter rule (unfortunately) still has not breathed its last. Near us it is still in use at Seneca in MD I believe. Also still commonly in place in California.

Quite a few courses could use it to increase the risk for players who might otherwise be tempted to throw into a particular tree near the basket hoping for the disc to fall to an easy putt. Maybe the hole with the hobbit hutch (or whatever) at the DMC this weekend. The 2 meter rule would only apply to that one tree.

 

[biscoe]

And throwing at it and remaining stuck in it above the completely arbitrary height of 2 meters would remain a random outcome- no thanks.

 

[Steve West]

And throwing at it and remaining stuck in it above the completely arbitrary height of 2 meters would remain a random outcome- no thanks.

Depends on the tree and the TD's penchant for luck. Some trees are pretty reliable at stopping anything coming in from above. Some TDs want to test players' ability to deal with randomness - which is a testable skill.

Most TDs are experienced enough to stay far away from rarely used rules that can cause confusion.

Hence, the "could", not "should".

 

[biscoe]

Check. There's plenty of randomness in the game of golf already imo.

 

[Monocacy]

While it has been in hospice for quite some time the 2 meter rule (unfortunately) still has not breathed its last. Near us it is still in use at Seneca in MD I believe. Also still commonly in place in California.

In recent years, whether the 2-meter rule was in effect at Seneca Creek depended on who was running the tournament. Some TDs were pro, and some against. Been a while since I have played tournaments, though. I don't recall the 2-meter rule being in use at Wednesday Night Dubs, but perhaps my memory is faulty.

Still lots of 2-meter poles around the course, which are useful for retrieving discs that get stuck in junipers.

The 2-meter rule made the most sense before Seneca Creek was redesigned to 27 holes. The old 18-hole course had a few holes where the designers wanted players to hit a gap rather than just bombing it into the junipers protecting the green.

Anyway, back to arguing about circle's edge putts . . .

 

[Casey 1988]

While it has been in hospice for quite some time the 2 meter rule (unfortunately) still has not breathed its last. Near us it is still in use at Seneca in MD I believe. Also still commonly in place in California.

And in some older smaller Tournaments in Upper Plains USA/western Midwest especially in regards for some having for specific Cottonwoods/similar tall trees but very specific ones you need to go around in a Mandatory/Mando throw.