A quick recap on respect and courtesy…

Did you hear the other day that Fred, Bob & Jack were on a card, and Fred was NOT having a good day? After he missed a putt at one stage, he let go an expletive out of frustration. Bob and Jack came up and Bob quietly said, “Fred, I know that you’re having a tough trot at the moment, but as Jack & I are Christians, we are offended by bad language, and would appreciate it if you refrained.”

Well, Fred just lost it, “Well, you %!*&##g know what you can &^*+##$g do with your !~@&%$g religion…. etc, etc, etc”. Once he had finished his tirade, Bob turned to Jack quietly, and said, “I counted 15, is that what you counted?”, to which Jack replied, “Yep, that sounds right.”

Fred’s face lost all its colour, and he immediately left the tournament as his 15 added strokes were clearly not going to help his scoreline… (nor his reputation)!

You KNOW how hard it is to recover that stroke lost on an errant throw, don’t put yourself in a position to get strokes added to your score through lack of courtesy!

This blog’s topic is the Lie… how hard can it be, right? Considering verticality, it’s not so hard, but it goes hand-in-hand with Marking the Lie, and Stance (which of course is linked to Obstacles and Relief)…

Q:

An inexperienced player in my group flipped his disc to mark it and threw from there. What’s the call?

A:

That is a marking violation since an improper method was used to mark the lie. A player’s first marking violation results in a warning.

Read Rules 802.05, 802.06 and 802.07. Something mentioned in 802.06.B is the use of a mini marker. We’ll give you a hand up on this one, as it’s a little hard to find in the PDGA Technical Standards: 

Mini Marker discs must have a circular shape, with a diameter ranging from 7 cm to 15 cm and a height not exceeding 3 cm. Mini marker discs can be made from a variety of materials (e.g. plastic, metal, wood). 
Nope, putting at target #6 at Rocklea, I can’t use my mobile or my keys since I left my mini in the bag back at tee #7… I can of course putt from behind my disc from the previous, but a bit sad if I threw my putter and didn’t bring another disc… 30 seconds… Go!

Not a rule, but some practical advice: if your disc lands near a tree or other obstacle, think about your stance before placing your mini – it may be better to be able to use your thrown disc to stand further back to give you a clearer line for a throw, or to help save your hand hitting a tree in follow-through…

Verticality:

Q:

My throw landed on a bridge that spans an OB creek. Do I play from the bridge, or is my disc OB since it’s above the creek? What if I’m on the bridge but over land?

A:

A bridge is an example where one playing surface is vertically stacked above another playing surface. Each playing surface is treated independently. The bridge is in-bounds unless the TD has declared it to be OB, regardless of whether a playing surface above or below it is OB. If the two-meter rule is in use, it does not apply because your disc is on, not above, the playing surface. You mark your lie on the bridge, and there is no penalty.

Also:

Q:

Our course has two horizontal rainwater run-off culverts that exit from the side of a hill into the fairway. They are about two feet in diameter with metal grills over their exits that have gaps big enough for discs to enter but not a player. If a disc enters a culvert, can the player simply mark on the hillside directly above their disc’s location in the culvert with no penalty since the disc is below the playing surface?

A:

Yes. Inside the culvert is not a playing surface, but the hillside above it is. If the TD has not provided guidance on how to handle discs entering these culverts, then players can mark on the hillside directly above their disc with no penalty.

For those who recognise it, this could be your answer to that throw that ended up under the water main on hole #2 at Rocklea, or into the culvert on hole #2 at PRP. 
What about if your throw ended up under the bridge at hole #13 Carindale – could you throw from the bridge vertically above your disc (assuming no OB)?

Link to the rules: https://www.pdga.com/rules/official-rules-disc-golf

Next (and final) blog: Enforcement