course etiquette

[the invisible tree]

I've gotten into some pretty bad habits playing alone all the time. I won't putt unless everyone is out my field of view. I always wait for cars, golf carts, joggers, ect. to pass before I putt. I can't stand for anyone to make noise before or during my throw. I pretty much feel like I should at least have the illusion that I'm by myself on the course even when I have an opponent. I'm entering my first tournament at the start of Nov. and am wondering if there will be a problem getting people to comply with me peculiarities. Say, for example, that a group is teeing off somewhere behind the basket where I've got a putt , can I wait until the entire group ahead has moved out before I throw?

[Rooster]

you have "ample time" to be free of distractions. once you have your disc in hand you have 30 sec. to make your throw. PDGA rules.

[Rob]

I played my first tourny a few weeks ago and i wasnt sure about this either. Im not too picky about it but there was one person in my group who had people move a few times. He was nice about it and the people of course moved. Im not sure about waiting if people are on the tee ahead of you. This happened a couple times to me and it is a bit distracting but I just tried to block them out.

[chris86wm]

I think all you have to do is ask nicely and people will be glad to move. I know exactly what you mean though. I have a friend that always gets in my line of sight and stares me down while I attempt to make a putt. Its very distracting!

[some call me...tim?]

In my experience, not only will people at a tourney be glad to cater to your requests, but by and large, they'll be quiet and respectful anyway. Even guys that are walking from one hole to the other will usually stop and be quiet if they see somebody is about drive or putt.

[AciDBatH666]

I usually make sure to not stare at ppl when they putt. Or even make sure to look away, Cuz i hate to have a whole group watch my try to make a putt in and see a dumb shot miss.

I just make sure im out of their LOS, and try to be aware of players on other holes as well when I can.

[trogdor]

801.01 Courtesy

A. Players should not throw until they are certain that the thrown disc will not distract another player or potentially injure anyone present. Players should watch the other members of their group throw in order to aid in locating errant throws and to ensure compliance with the rules.

So...
"Please move out of my line of sight" --- OK
"Please don't watch me" --- Not OK

[bigs348]

you have "ample time" to be free of distractions. once you have your disc in hand you have 30 sec. to make your throw. PDGA rules.

Not quite. Here's the rule:

801.03 Excessive Time
A. A maximum of 30 seconds is allowed to each player to make a throw after:
(1) the previous player has thrown; and,
(2) the player has taken a reasonable time to arrive at the disc and mark the lie; and,
(3) the playing area is clear and free of distractions.

So you're allowed to be free from distractions. This would include people talking, a group in your line of sight teeing off, or things like that, but its not all inclusive. Sure, "free from distractions" is kind of subjective, but there is a line. I've seen guys who say that the wind distracts them and they're going to wait for it to die down before they putt. That's just ridiculous. Gotta be smart about it and choose your battles.

[trogdor]

Interesting argument.

Chains distract me...Rules distract me...I'm just too distracted by my own presence

I think the INTENT of the thirty second rule is to keep people from waiting out the weather.

[Blake_T]

my advice is this:

expect there to be some distractions at all times and accept that you may sink or swim under those conditions.

i always assume i will play 2-4 strokes worse than my average in at least 1 if not more than 1 rounds of a tournament.

if a fly sneezing psyches you out, then you are a choker and you should not play competitive DG. jk

i've found most players that get overly competitive and blame distractions are simply looking for a scapegoat. bill over there scratched his nose while i was putting and that's why i missed the 8' putt. no. someone who misses an 8' putt just sucks at putting.

my take on strong mental game: having a strong mental game is a SKILL. the un-measurable skill in DG. an average putter who hits a 20' putt in a playoff = a great clutch putter, even though the putt was rather routine.

as a player with a strong mental game has a skill advantage, a player with a weaker mental game has a skill deficiency. i would say that ken climo's mental game gives him a 2-4 stroke advantage per round over most top pros.

the rule of thumb is: the faster you perform your throw when clear, the less chance there is for something/someone to distract you.

rule of thumb #2 is: if the disctractions bother you too much, then competitive play (which is an inherently social activity) is probably not for you unless you are okay with playing worse than your average.

[-Frank-]

Wow, what a bunch of Tiger Woods...

If you played with my friends, you'd get used to distractions. For some reason, I can get in the zone easily. Unfortunately, I suck at putting, so I miss anyway. Time to replace that Z Putt'r with a black chalky S soft Wizard. I think I make more tough putts with distractions than without. Weird.

[Amateur]

The first tournament I played in was a fun tournament (non-sanctioned). There was this guy Steve on my card calling everybody out on the rules (which was life or death to him) and yelling at people to be quiet when he was throwing. Another guy on my card (Mike) wife and kid showed up for the last 9 holes and the first guy yelled at a 2 year old kid who wanted to be in the park with his dad. He also had created a 3 card bottleneck by making everyone be behind his line of sight and his excessive use of a mini.

I would have had a blast if Steve wasn't such a cocksucker about everything not under his control. Steve even cheated on the scorecards, but I didn't care. He cheated himself, and I still threw better.

My advice is to just be cool and everyone will cater to your every throwing need. Be an asshole and everyone will cater to your every throwing need, possibly hate you for the rest of your life, and you will possibly ruin tournament play/DG in general for anyone in their first tournament. I feel better now.

[Thatdirtykid]

The first tournament I played in was a fun tournament (non-sanctioned). There was this guy Steve on my card calling everybody out on the rules (which was life or death to him) and yelling at people to be quiet when he was throwing. Another guy on my card (Mike) wife and kid showed up for the last 9 holes and the first guy yelled at a 2 year old kid who wanted to be in the park with his dad. He also had created a 3 card bottleneck by making everyone be behind his line of sight and his excessive use of a mini.

I would have had a blast if Steve wasn't such a cocksucker about everything not under his control. Steve even cheated on the scorecards, but I didn't care. He cheated himself, and I still threw better.

My advice is to just be cool and everyone will cater to your every throwing need. Be an asshole and everyone will cater to your every throwing need, possibly hate you for the rest of your life, and you will possibly ruin tournament play/DG in general for anyone in their first tournament. I feel better now.

this is why i mentioned 99% earlier, there are some of those guys out there.

[Weebl]

I have a steve here too, in fact... his name is Steve too!!! creepy.


I'm with Blake on this one, it doesnt matter if a car drives by 200' away from you at 30mph, if you are able to make that 30' putt 9/10 times in practice but not even 4/10 in a round that counts, you have something other than physical technique to work on.

[the invisible tree]

The first tournament I played in was a fun tournament (non-sanctioned). There was this guy Steve on my card calling everybody out on the rules (which was life or death to him) and yelling at people to be quiet when he was throwing. Another guy on my card (Mike) wife and kid showed up for the last 9 holes and the first guy yelled at a 2 year old kid who wanted to be in the park with his dad. He also had created a 3 card bottleneck by making everyone be behind his line of sight and his excessive use of a mini.

I would have had a blast if Steve wasn't such a cocksucker about everything not under his control. Steve even cheated on the scorecards, but I didn't care. He cheated himself, and I still threw better.

My advice is to just be cool and everyone will cater to your every throwing need. Be an asshole and everyone will cater to your every throwing need, possibly hate you for the rest of your life, and you will possibly ruin tournament play/DG in general for anyone in their first tournament. I feel better now.

What is wrong with calling someone for cheating? I wished that I had done that when I played that doubles tourney last month. The team that was on our card the second round were constantly taking great liberties with their lie. If something was in the way they'd just stand in front of their marker or hold the limb or vines back that were blocking them. We ended up losing to those bastards by one stroke.
It's obviously better to be polite in making requests but people playing in a tournament should know how to behave. If I wanted to play a beer league casual tournament then I would. I don't think it's wrong to expect people to act like they are on a golf course especially at tournament time. If someone's kid or pet or whatever cannot behave appropriately then they shouldn't be at a [/b]disc golf tournament[/b].
What is excessive use of the mini? When is an appropriate time vs. an inappropriate time?
How much longer does it take to wait behind the away player while he throws and then walk to your lie when you're the away player?