Throwing Question

[dewrag]

I've been playing since 01', and have allways played that throwing underhanded was against the rules, this subject came up the other day were a player threw underhanded and I told him it was against the rules, and he said it wasn't. So i was hoping for a little clarification on this. If there is an official link on throwing rules that would be great!!

Thanks!

[JimW]

There are a few things involving throwing.

http://www.pdga.com/rules/800-definitions

Throw: The propulsion of a disc that causes it to change its position from the teeing area or the lie.

http://www.pdga.com/rules/80204-artificial-devices

During a round, a player shall not use any artificial device that may assist in making a
throw, except those devices that reduce or control abrasion to the skin (such as gloves, tape,
bandages, gauze, etc.) and medical items (such as knee and ankle braces, etc.). Items used to prevent slipping on the teeing surface are also allowed. A player is specifically prohibited from using any artificial device that changes the position of the disc in the player's hand or artificially lengthens any of the player's throwing levers (fingers, wrist, arm, shoulder, etc.).

Then there's clarification on exactly what a throw is, regarding a question about drops: http://www.pdga.com/files/documents/RulesQ&A.pdf

The ruling here hinges on what constitutes a throw, or to put it another way, when a throw begins. A strict construal would have the throw begin once the player has taken a stance. One problem with that is that it is not obvious when a player has taken the stance they will throw from. Also, any release of the disc after that point (even setting the disc on the ground) could be interpreted as a throw. Such a strict interpretation raises other problems.

An alternative is to consider that the throw begins when movement of the disc in the intended direction begins. Under that interpretation, a disc dropped or knocked out before or during a backswing does not count as a throw. The rules committee prefers this more forgiving interpretation.

So essentially what you have is this: Throwing is the movement of the disc forward from the tee or lie without the use of any artificial devices (such as shooting it out of a cannon) and is counted as a throw once you begin to move the disc in the intended direction. Those are the only rules on throwing that I am aware of (and a quick look at the other rules topics makes it seem unlikely there'd be info on it anywhere else) so by the rules it's legal to throw it in basically any fashion you want to, including underhanded.

[dewrag]

thanks for the info!!

[some call me...tim?]

you could kick the disc if you wanted to...or throw it with your lips.

[Donkeypuncher]

What if you have a prosthetic arm? Is that considered an artificial device that may assist in making a throw? Just wondering.

[Chuck Kennedy]

At the Am Worlds in Tulsa, a player kicked one of his other discs on the ground in disgust after shanking his throw. The kicked disc took off and smoothly flew 100 ft. Marshal Juliana happened to be monitoring the action on the hole and he got penalized for a practice throw.

[JimW]

That's a hell of a kick!

What if you have a prosthetic arm? Is that considered an artificial device that may assist in making a throw? Just wondering.

That's a really interesting question. The obvious answer would be that it's just a replacement to return the player to a fully functioning body and therefore considered part of him/her BUT there was that controversy before the last Olympics about the runner with prosthetic legs that some people thought were actually enhancements over flesh and bone and gave him an advantage. He didn't end up qualifying anyway but I think the final ruling was that he wouldn't be allowed to compete.

It would be hard to make that complaint in disc golf though, proper form and technique are so much more important than raw strength, someone with a prosthetic would have to go through the development process just like anyone else.

Chuck, has a possibility like this ever come up in PDGA discussions?

[some call me...tim?]

Hehe, that'd be one badass prosthetic arm! In order to have an arm that actually worked, it'd take some pretty intricate engineering to control the grip/speed/angle/timing/etc. I'd imagine if such a device did exist, it'd be illegal. FWIW, there's a guy that plays tourneys around here from time to time who only has one arm and seems to do fine with it.

[ChUcK]

The kicked disc took off and smoothly flew 100 ft.

I bet it would have gone twice as far if it was a boss.

If someone wanted to throw with their prosthetic arm, then I'd say who cares? Like Tim said, the practical technology of prosthetics doesn't really lend itself to such a technical affair like throwing a golf disc. They might be better off with the lip-toss. *Ptooey!

[Chuck Kennedy]

It would be hard to make that complaint in disc golf though, proper form and technique are so much more important than raw strength, someone with a prosthetic would have to go through the development process just like anyone else. Chuck, has a possibility like this ever come up in PDGA discussions?

It's been discussed but more in the vein of producing an Iron Byron throwing device for testing discs. If that ever gets developed, then the PDGA would have to think about some future portable version as an arm attachment.

[some call me...tim?]

I happened to see this one too while looking for the first pic...ChUcK, your new avatar is calling...