Player's Guide to PDGA League Disc Golf All Ages 2027

Under rule 802.02 (Order of Play):

• First tee: the order players are listed on the scorecard.
• Every later tee: lowest score on the previous hole throws first, and so on. Ties don't change the order.
• After everyone has teed off: the player farthest from the target ("away") throws next. If lies are the same distance, the lie established first goes first.
• If you're re-throwing from the same lie, you stay next.

To keep things moving, you can throw out of turn if the player who is next agrees or won't be affected. Otherwise throwing out of order is a courtesy violation (warning first, then 1 penalty throw for each later courtesy violation in the round). Don't walk past the away player while they're throwing.

Under rule 802.03 (Excessive Time):

• 30 seconds from the tee, a drop zone, or within 20 meters of the target.
• 45 seconds from any other lie.

Your clock starts once the previous player has thrown, you're next, you've found your lie and addressed it (for example marking it, stepping onto it, starting your routine, using a rangefinder, checking the wind or clearing debris), and the playing area is clear. If someone walks into the fairway, the clock resets once it's clear again.

Dawdling to your lie or refusing to address it also counts as excessive time.

Penalty: a warning for the first violation in the round, then 1 penalty throw for each later one. You may ask the group for time for a bathroom break.

Marking (rule 802.06): your thrown disc marks your lie where it lies. Or place a mini marker disc on the ground touching the front of your thrown disc, on the line to the target. Throwing from a lie marked any other way: warning first, then 1 penalty throw for each later marking violation in the round.

Stance (rule 802.07, consolidated for 2027) at the moment you release:

A stance violation is 1 penalty throw. A tee pad defines the teeing area; with no pad, it extends 3 meters behind the tee line.

A disc is out-of-bounds (OB) when it is clearly and completely surrounded by the OB area. The OB line itself is OB (rule 806.02).

You receive 1 penalty throw and play your next throw from either:

• your previous lie; or
• a spot up to 1 meter from where the disc was last in-bounds. You may then move back on the line of play with no extra penalty.

The director may also allow a drop zone, or a spot up to 1 meter from the OB line nearest where the disc came to rest, or announce more than 1 meter of relief for a particular area. These are announced before the round.

If your disc is in-bounds but within 1 meter of the OB line, you may move it up to 1 meter in from the line, with no penalty. If you pick up the disc before the group decides whether it's OB, it's treated as OB.

Only if the two-meter rule is in effect. It applies only when the director declares it, for the whole course, particular holes or particular objects (rule 805.02).

When it is in effect and your disc comes to rest at least 2 meters above the in-bounds playing surface (measured from the lowest point of the disc):

• You receive 1 penalty throw.
• Your lie is on the playing surface directly below the disc. You may then move back on the line of play with no extra penalty.
• A disc held up by the target of the hole you're playing is exempt.
• If you move the disc before the group decides, it counts as above 2 meters.

When the rule isn't in effect, there's no penalty: your lie is directly below the disc.

Under rule 805.03:

• You have 3 minutes from arriving in the area where the disc is thought to be. Anyone in the group (or an Official) can start the clock, and must tell the group.
• Everyone in the group must help search. Not helping is a courtesy violation.
• If it isn't found, the disc is declared lost: 1 penalty throw, and you throw again from your previous lie (or from a lost-disc drop zone, if the hole has one).
• Once declared lost, it stays lost even if found a moment later, though you can keep using the disc.

This doesn't apply when there's compelling evidence the disc went out-of-bounds. In that case it's treated as OB and doesn't need to be found.

If you're unsure whether a disc is lost or OB, you can declare and throw a provisional to save walking back: say you're starting a provisional, why, and which sequence will count in which case.

A mandatory ("mando") restricts the path your disc may take. Under rule 804.01, if any part of your thrown disc clearly passes into the restricted side of the mandatory, you receive 1 penalty throw and play your next throw from:

• the drop zone for that mandatory, if one has been designated; otherwise
• your previous lie.

The same applies if you release your throw from the wrong side of the mandatory's line. Provisional throws aren't allowed when the only question is whether you missed a mandatory.

You must play the course as you find it (rules 803 and 806.03):

• Choose the stance that moves fixed obstacles least. Once you've taken your stance you can't bend or move anything to make room for your throw (incidental movement during the throw is fine).
• You may move loose debris (small stones, pinecones, leaves, twigs, small unconnected branches) lying farther from the target than the front of your lie, ask people to move themselves or their gear, and remove litter.
• Moving any other obstacle costs 1 penalty throw.

Free relief:

• Harmful insects or animals, or anything the director designates: move back on the line of play to the nearest point that gives relief.
• An obstacle that physically stops you taking a legal stance behind your marker: mark a new lie on the line of play immediately behind it.
• Casual areas: any in-bounds water not declared in play is a casual area by default. You may move back on the line of play to the nearest lie outside it.

Anywhere else, you can take optional relief back along the line of play for 1 penalty throw.

On a basket target, the hole is complete when you release the disc and it comes to rest supported by the tray, the chains below the chain support, or both (rule 807).

New for 2027: a disc that only meets that test because it is also supported by the ground or another object has not completed the hole. For example, a disc wedged between the outside of the tray and a tree has not holed out. A disc resting on another disc or a branch while inside the tray still counts, because the tray would hold it anyway.

On an object target, the disc must strike the marked target area.

No. A throw that is clearly not related to the competition is a practice throw and costs 1 penalty throw. The practice throw itself isn't counted (rule 809.03).

From 2027 these are not throws at all, so they carry no penalty (rule 802.01):

• Setting aside an unused disc, or tossing a disc back to a player, where it travels less than 5 meters in the air.
• Dropping a disc (unless you are deliberately dropping or placing it into the target to finish the hole, which counts).

Under rule 808 (Scoring):

• Every player keeps score for the whole group after each hole. Refusing to keep score means disqualification. You can delegate scorekeeping only to your designated caddie, and you stay responsible for the card.
• Record a number for every player on every hole, with any warnings or penalty throws noted. Anything other than a number (including a blank) is penalized.
• Your hole score is all throws plus penalty throws.
• If the group disagrees about a score, review the hole together. If you can't agree, get an Official. If everyone agrees a score is wrong, fix it before the card is submitted.
• Submit your reconciled card within 30 minutes of your group finishing, or receive 2 penalty throws.
• Once submitted, the total is final. If you submit a card with a wrong, missing or improperly recorded score, 2 penalty throws are added to your correct total. You aren't penalized for a mistake on someone else's submitted card.

If the League Director decides lightning, heavy rain or other hazardous conditions make play impractical or dangerous, play is suspended (PDGA Competition Manual 1.07):

• The suspension signal is sounded, then sounded again after 60 seconds.
• Stop immediately, mark each player's lie in your group (a natural object is enough to mark the approximate spot) and take shelter.
• Play is suspended for at least 30 minutes from the signal. The director sets the resume time.
• When play resumes, each player throws from the approximate lie, as agreed by a majority of the group.

The director can also postpone the rest of the round if conditions won't improve or darkness will fall first. A PDGA league can skip a week for weather only with PDGA staff approval.