Caddy duties?

[jhgonzo]

Maybe someone could clarify this for me...

I was playing a tourney a few years back, and one of the guys in our group had his son caddying for him (just a little 10- or 11-year-old carrying his bag, no advice on shots or disc selection). Anyways, another guy in our group was kind of a rule dick (this was Rec division) and would call everything he possibly could like we were vying for the title of world champ, and on one hole we're waiting at the tee for another group and the guy's son takes out a putter and starts throwing it high in the air, catching it, and doing this for a couple tosses, when Rule Richard proclaims, "You're responsible for your caddy's actions, and technically every time he throws a disc, it's a stroke for you...I'm not gonna make you take the strokes, but just so you know." So this kid/caddy ends up getting really embarrassed (and unable to play a little catch to ease his boredom, to boot!) and spends the rest of the round quiet just carrying his dad's bag.

I've scoured my PDGA rule book, even asked at other tourneys, and have been unable to get a solid answer on this...but I think the dude was just making it up 'cause he wasn't having the greatest round and got more thrills out of watching for foot faults, falling putts, and apparently caddy violations/stroke penalties.

[TalbotTrojan]

I am not sure about the caddy throwing discs rules. That seems a little silly if you ask me. Now if he threw a disc back to his caddy and it traveled more than 2 meters that is a practice throw and a penalty. Even throwing the mini back to the caddy and having it go more than two meters is a practice throw and penalty.

Colo, so you know, you will see me using my dad as my caddy at Johnny Roberts and the worst thing that I have gotten teased about in the past is the unfair advantage of not having to carry my own discs but there is nothing against it in the rule book.

I once sent my dad to look for a disc that I threw out of bounds because I knew that I would not find it quickly. He caught up with me after a couple of holes with my disc, and another one that he found. At Johnny the water is really not deep enough to be strapped for time so the fishing the disc out may not be a problem. I would still pick up your own minis and clear your own discs from the basket. Also the advice thing is key if the caddy knwos what they are doing. In a tournament I played out in So Cal one of the top Ams out there was injured and caddied for his wife who was in my group in the first round (One of my favorite rounds ever, mostly because I had a really good conversation with this guy). He knew enough to give great advice and yet it was still up to his wife to make the decision. I was able to ask him questions after the fact that have helped my game out to this day, particularly with shot selection. I have seen pros and top ams use the caddy for advice more so that they know what shot they are throwing and are less likely to second guess themselves.

Look forward to seeing you at Johnny Roberts, hopefully I will have your white Force in tow.

[cydisc]

You are responsible for the actions of your caddy, but only in terms of behavior. If the kid was causing a distraction to other players, the player would be warned/penalized the same if he had done it himself.

[TalbotTrojan]

Originally Posted by cydisc

You are responsible for the actions of your caddy, but only in terms of behavior. If the kid was causing a distraction to other players, the player would be warned/penalized the same if he had done it himself.

So does that apply to throwing a disc? I would guess not.

[sidewinder22]

If its your disc that was thrown, wouldn't you be responsible for it, since you're responsible for your caddy's actions. I've heard that just throwing a disc in the air 2 meters and catching it is a stroke.

[Keokuk Discer]

Originally Posted by cydisc

There's no rule that says you have to clear your own putt.

Actually under the interference rules 803.07 B, if your caddy moves a disc at rest (which a disc in the entrapment area would be) it must be replaced and you could be stroked for the caddy's interference under 803.07 C.

[Keokuk Discer]

Originally Posted by jhgonzo

Maybe someone could clarify this for me...

I was playing a tourney a few years back, and one of the guys in our group had his son caddying for him (just a little 10- or 11-year-old carrying his bag, no advice on shots or disc selection). Anyways, another guy in our group was kind of a rule dick (this was Rec division) and would call everything he possibly could like we were vying for the title of world champ, and on one hole we're waiting at the tee for another group and the guy's son takes out a putter and starts throwing it high in the air, catching it, and doing this for a couple tosses, when Rule Richard proclaims, "You're responsible for your caddy's actions, and technically every time he throws a disc, it's a stroke for you...I'm not gonna make you take the strokes, but just so you know." So this kid/caddy ends up getting really embarrassed (and unable to play a little catch to ease his boredom, to boot!) and spends the rest of the round quiet just carrying his dad's bag.

I've scoured my PDGA rule book, even asked at other tourneys, and have been unable to get a solid answer on this...but I think the dude was just making it up 'cause he wasn't having the greatest round and got more thrills out of watching for foot faults, falling putts, and apparently caddy violations/stroke penalties.

The guy was correct. A practice throw is a throw in any direction of more than 2 meters or of any distance toward the target. It sounds like the guy was doing you a favor so that it doesn't happen when a real rules-nazi plalys on your card. This is why you should always hand disc to people at tournaments.