Why isn't the 10m circle marked?

[ferretdance03]

...I assume 1) sheer laziness...

Because I'm too busy cleaning up trash, clearing new fairways, going to park meetings, calling potential tournament sponsors, organizing lunch for the event, calling people about lost discs, etc so on and so forth.

[roman]

I'm 5' 11". I use 12 steps to mark 10m but whenever I see the white line drawn at events I feel like the circle is super small and I'm being very conservative with 12 steps.

That's probably because a lot of people are using the rounded down "30ft" measurement and paint that instead of the full 10 meters, which is almost 33 feet. Every time I see circles that I feel are a bit too small, they usually end up being 30 feet or just about 11 steps in my case.

[Timko]

I think what your touching on is the bigger point. If a circle is there, what's to gaurentee it's 10m? I remember a former Marshall telling me the point of the ciricle is to aid speed of play (who is out) and make foot faults easier to call. It's not a gold standard to measure all foot faults by.

[new013]

i think it's one of those things you'll just know after a certain point. because i played soccer growing up i just about know how far 18 yards is. eventually you'll just know about where the 10m mark is. if you know you're about where it is just putt like you're inside.

some courses do have the circle marked by placing bricks in to the ground, i think that's a good method. if it's grass every now and then somebody could come out with a can of grass killer attached to a 10 m string and just go around make the circle like that.

[BradC]

This reader marvels at the deft explanation that one can best approximate 10m with eleven 1m strides.

I'm assuming he errs on the side of caution to not get any ticky-tack BS calls in a tournament setting.

[Steve]

I do grant the point that the line will not be maintained in free casual play.

They do seem to figure out how to put lines down even in dirt in every other sport, and in other sports, specifically soccer and baseball, I've played many a free, casual scrimmage on un-maintained fields where you could still pretty much make out the lines. Can you imagine if first downs were measure in American football by stepping it out? So I'm expected to know how far my steps are, and that's a skill I should be acquiring by experience as I practice disc golf? Reminds me of navigating by compass, which I was never good at in Boy Scouts.

If this is something you need for playing tournaments then I would suggest volunteering to do it. Drive to Home Depot and buy some string and a can of paint and go mark the lines. Then there will be nothing to complain about.

[biscgolf]

...I assume 1) sheer laziness...

Because I'm too busy cleaning up trash, clearing new fairways, going to park meetings, calling potential tournament sponsors, organizing lunch for the event, calling people about lost discs, etc so on and so forth.

frigging slacker...

[Chuck Kennedy]

Until the RC makes the painted line "official" I think doing the painted lines isn't advisable, adds to expenses and it's not environmentally friendly.

[veganray]

Of course, as soon as the RC gives its "official" blessing, cost & environmental impact will disappear.

[mark12b]

It will take more than one can of paint, for sure... The circle has a radius of 10m, so its circumference is 194'. According to the technical data sheet for Rustoleum Athletic Field Marking Paint, a 15oz can will give you a 1.5" line that's about 300' long. So, if you make continuous circles, it will take 12 cans of paint for an 18-hole course. Of course dashed lines would use less.

That's a lot of time and expense for something that *only* affects players who jump putt and *only* comes into play when a shot lands about 10m from the basket.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Of course, as soon as the RC gives its "official" blessing, cost & environmental impact will disappear.

Nope, but if it becomes official, more people will find ways to install permanent marking to professionalize their courses and consider using more environmentally friendly alternatives if they mark more often. For example, the Parks Dept at one of our courses already has installed wood-chipped circles out to about 10m with a definitive border line.

[biscgolf]

there isn't actually any chance the RC would mandate such nonsense is there?

[Chuck Kennedy]

It likely would never be mandated. But I could see a rewrite where the 10m distance is the default putting circle in the event a line was not marked similar to the rule for marking mando drop zones, i.e., if it's marked, you go there if you miss. If it's not marked, the default is going to the mando object, move over up to 5m and back 1m.

[Pwingles]

What would happen if someone were to ask you if they were ~30 out and you say sure. Then you call them for a foot fault? I mean, besides that making you a giant dickass? Is that enforcable once youve ok'd that they were far enough out?

[Sean40474]

There are specific rules governing play within 10 meters of the basket. I don't really know how far 10 meters is, and certainly can't eyeball it. Why isn't a chalk line drawn to mark the 10m circle? I assume 1) sheer laziness 2) nobody takes the rules of disc golf seriously. It's like in basketball when the three point line isn't drawn. If there's no demarcation of when the rule comes into play, the rule should be nullified as far as I'm concerned.

To be hyperbolic, if we are allowed to just estimate where the 10m circle is, then why can't we just estimate where the baskets are and remove them, too?

Because it is not an important enough issue. In competitive play the competitors have figured out an easy way to resolve it.

"Hey, am I outside?" "It's a close call, why don't you step it off?"

This is what we've always done. It'd still be nice to have them painted, so there is no question. It appears that the circle is being marked more often as of late.