Playing Tournaments with beginners...

[bballr4567]

I had a new guy in our last tournament that REFUSED to accept that he gets a penalty throw for missing a mando that was in play. Said that he just gets to rethrow from the tee for his 2. Pulled out the 'ole handy dandy rulebook and he said that I was a rule nazi. He ended up throwing three 5s in a row because he got pissed off at me.

In other words, doesnt matter if they are new or not. People mess up the rules all the time. If its something that is iffy, just have a quick chat with the new guy and let him know whats up.

 

[UCF_Knight]

...However, when it comes to others, rules that affect play should be called. Picking up a putter from under the basket, or within 1' of it should not be called. It's fine to nicely let someone know that they should mark that putt, but I wouldn't stroke them for it. On the other hand, if someone is gaining a competitive advantage they should be called on that...

How are you defining competitive advantage? A player might not be making a shot easier for themselves by throwing from a foot and a half behind their mark but they can definitely focus more on the shot if they are not worried about where their foot lands in relation to the mark. Not playing by the rules either intentionally or unintentionally is a competitive advantage.

If everyone one called infractions at every level the rule Nazi stigma would not be a thing. If someone doesn't want to follow the rules of the competition they shouldn't be competing. The rule book already allows for a warning so not marking a drop in putt should never cost you a stroke even if you don't know the rule the first time.

 

[KDFrosty]

Ben. I feel your pain. Move up.

 

[JedV]

Excellent thread. I agree with the majority, rules are to be adhered to regardless of division. Hopefully it can be done in a respectful and tactful way. If it sets people off the wrong way, we'll, it then depends on your mental game as to how the round will end up. I was once at a tournament where I was threatened by another player with physical violence. There were numerous witnesses. We all kind of laughed out off, but deep down it got to me. In retrospect, and if that happens again, I won't hesitate to report the player's conduct to the TD, who could decide if the person gets kicked out. Sorry for the thread derail

Tlr - Sanctioned tournaments are not casual play.

 

[professorkevlar]

I have been playing Disc for a while now, and recently got my PDGA membership, with the plan of playing in some tournaments this year. After reading through this thread I am now somewhat apprehenssive to do so. I don't want to be the guy who ruins someone elses round or looks like a fool with the rules out there. I want to complete, have fun and build a good reputation as a player. I have "reviewed" the rulebook, but sometimes until a situation comes up I don't know exactly what it means. Would some of you mind posting what are some common rules violations you see and what is the actual play to make? Thank you and look forward to seeing you out on the course. :thmbup:

 

[bballr4567]

Its not YOUR fault that someone doesnt know the rules. I dont feel bad when I call someone out when they make a mistake. Its their mistake not mine. I had one called on me in my last tournament BEFORE I threw because I had taken time to educate the guy on a rule he didnt know too well. He helped me and I helped him.

Dont turn your back blindly just because you dont want to be "that guy".

 

[DougCrawford]

I have been playing Disc for a while now, and recently got my PDGA membership, with the plan of playing in some tournaments this year. After reading through this thread I am now somewhat apprehenssive to do so. I don't want to be the guy who ruins someone elses round or looks like a fool with the rules out there. I want to complete, have fun and build a good reputation as a player. I have "reviewed" the rulebook, but sometimes until a situation comes up I don't know exactly what it means. Would some of you mind posting what are some common rules violations you see and what is the actual play to make? Thank you and look forward to seeing you out on the course. :thmbup:

I played in my first tournament last month, and was a little nervous about knowing all the rules too. Going into it I read all of them, some seemed rather vague but there are lots of things in there that wont ever come up much- just in there cause it happened one time and they didnt have a rule for it.

The big ones that you need to know: Dont advance past the throwing player, always mark your lie, always hole out(put the disc in the basket), foot needs to be in line with the basket behind your mini (but not touching it) within 30 cm, or about 11.5 inches on release, no falling forward past your mark inside the circle(30 ft.)

Standard stuff that I knew before going in, and most golfers should know- anything else you are unclear on will probably be explained if you need to know it. Let the people you are playing with know that its your first and they will probably be happy to act as a mentor for you.

 

[bsnone]

Mistakes I most often see in intermediate:

Falling putts (this one happens a lot) - you have to show balance behind your lie - there is a great video on this somewhere on the pdga site giving examples of what is and isn't legal.

Not marking or improper marking. Walk up to your disc, either use the disc as your mark or place a mini marker at the front of the disc (in line with the target) and then remove the disc - don't remove the disc and then mark the disc.

Not holing out - always hole out regardless how close to the basket you are, this isn't leagues, there are no gimmes. I once missed a 3 foot putt trying to lay it into the tray and it fell out on me.

Common courtesy - don't talk while someone is throwing or getting ready to throw. Try not to curse and don't blow up.

Watch placing discs that have been marked - don't throw the disc back to your bag, walk it back or set it to the side (this could be considered a practice throw)

Have fun! Be open to suggestions if you're new and try and take things as a learning experience! Don't take correction personally (as hard as that may be) and try and keep an open mind and if you disagree, allow for provisional shots - let the TD decide and go from there.

 

[DavidSauls]

I have been playing Disc for a while now, and recently got my PDGA membership, with the plan of playing in some tournaments this year. After reading through this thread I am now somewhat apprehenssive to do so. I don't want to be the guy who ruins someone elses round or looks like a fool with the rules out there. I want to complete, have fun and build a good reputation as a player. I have "reviewed" the rulebook, but sometimes until a situation comes up I don't know exactly what it means. Would some of you mind posting what are some common rules violations you see and what is the actual play to make? Thank you and look forward to seeing you out on the course. :thmbup:

Relax. My standard advice is: tell the group it's your first tournament. If they think you're a veteran and you break rules or etiquette, they'll think you're a jerk. If they know it's your first tournament, the overwhelmingly likelihood is that they'll help you along.

Don't worry about knowing all the rules. It seems few people do, anyway. You need the basics. After that, a lot of the rulebook is there to give a definitive answer in case something very rare happens, and it's hard to retain it all at the beginning. There'll be time to learn what happens if you throw into a beehive or poison ivy, or what happens if the disc shatters in mid flight, or what it means when the starter horn blasts in the middle of your round.

 

[Timeetyo]

I had a new guy in our last tournament that REFUSED to accept that he gets a penalty throw for missing a mando that was in play. Said that he just gets to rethrow from the tee for his 2. Pulled out the 'ole handy dandy rulebook and he said that I was a rule nazi. He ended up throwing three 5s in a row because he got pissed off at me.

In other words, doesnt matter if they are new or not. People mess up the rules all the time. If its something that is iffy, just have a quick chat with the new guy and let him know whats up.

Relax. My standard advice is: tell the group it's your first tournament. If they think you're a veteran and you break rules or etiquette, they'll think you're a jerk. If they know it's your first tournament, the overwhelmingly likelihood is that they'll help you along.

Don't worry about knowing all the rules. It seems few people do, anyway. You need the basics. After that, a lot of the rulebook is there to give a definitive answer in case something very rare happens, and it's hard to retain it all at the beginning. There'll be time to learn what happens if you throw into a beehive or poison ivy, or what happens if the disc shatters in mid flight, or what it means when the starter horn blasts in the middle of your round.

^^ This.

Lots of bad stories in this thread but they are much less common that it seems here (at least in my area). After 5 tournies my first season (in REC & INT) I have yet to have any of the above bad stories happen. Did run into some folks oblivious to some rules, but when handled APPROPRIATELY there wasn't an issue with correcting them and the player appreciated the info.

 

[DavidSauls]

^^ This.

Lots of bad stories in this thread but they are much less common that it seems here (at least in my area). After 5 tournies my first season (in REC & INT) I have yet to have any of the above bad stories happen. Did run into some folks oblivious to some rules, but when handled APPROPRIATELY there wasn't an issue with correcting them and the player appreciated the info.

Excellent point.

I've been playing tournaments almost 20 years, and the horror stories have indeed been very rare.

 

[GMcAtee]

Certain regions have more experienced tournament players than others. For example: playing around Cincinnati, there are a ton of experienced players that know the rules. There is also great competition and great courses.

This past weekend, I ventured into south central Indiana close to my hometown and played a tournament. I decided to play advanced, because I knew the level of competition in this area is not that great. There is a major lack of quality courses in the central part of Indiana. Feels like disc golf is 20 years behind.

Unfortunately my card in Advanced were pretty much noobs to the tournament scene. They argued over the meter relief from OB with one player saying, "The TD said no 2 meter rule, dude."

The second round, I had a meat head kid that somehow shot an amazing score while throwing the most horrible shots I've seen in a tournament in a while. Towards the end of the round, I checked the scorecard and he had written a 4 in on hole 1 when he got a 5. Of course he held the card most of the round.

Plus, the course was so gimmicked up with artificial OB and bad design. I tried not to let all of this bother my round, but I was so ready to go home at the end of this tournament. I managed to keep my mouth shut about the travesty since I have such a bad reputation of speaking my mind about how bad Indiana disc golf really is. I figured speaking up about anything or being a rule nazi would only cement my legacy of being an *******. It reminded me of playing Southern National tournaments down south.

With time being a valuable resource, I'm going to have to be very choosey about what tournaments I play if any.

 

[GMcAtee]

In the past, I would have spoken up about the correct ruling or a pencil whipper. But, my older age and my give a damn being busted has changed that. I'm paying money to play a tournament, not be a babysitter! I get paid to babysit at work!

 

[sumo21]

Picking up your disc and not holing out just shows that you don't care, and probably shouldn't be in a tournament to begin with.

I call people out all the time for picking up their putter without marking and putting out. It's amazing to me how little people in INT know about the actual rules. I still laugh about the guy who said it was in the rules to turn around while somebody was putting.

Not just that Stardoggy, but anything and everything. The one that I see often is the disc is the water hazard. Some people, whom I try not to play with, will never take the one stroke penalty and score it if it didn't land there. The last time I played with them was my crappiest game ever. They just threw the etiquette out the window and proceeded to snicker and laugh because I hit every tree on every hole. And they were recording their scores by shaving off strokes. Even if the 89 was my worst game they were not 20+ shots better. So I stopped playing with them altogether. The guy who got me into the sport was always positive about pointing out all of this to me. He told me come tournament time, you don't get mulligans so play it as it lies and penalize yourself when warranted.

 

[sumo21]

It's kinda like they need the First Tee for disc golf. :doh: :wall:

 

[Ender175]

Great thread since I plan to start playing tournaments this summer and don't want to get penalty strokes for something I do all the time in league play (like tossing my old disc back towards my bag after I've marked it. Totally makes sense tho).

My league is pretty lax overall, but the half dozen of us that are intending to start competing have mutually agreed to start calling eachother much more closely on stance violations, etc. Should help get more familiar with strictly following the rules we all know, but also get me used to being called/warned so that it wont rattle me if it happens in a tournament.

for the people nervous about playing your first tournaments, if you play with any more experienced players, ask them watch you and call any violations they see. It's definitely made me feel more ready to play some serious golf.

 

[Stardoggy]

I rarely mark my disc if it's not giving me a discernible advantage, or using that disc again.

 

[TalbotTrojan]

I have seen a guy in Open disqualified for shaving strokes off his score. It was pretty tough for him to defend himself when the whole card was able to testify to his score on one of the tougher holes being one or two throws worse than was on the card.

Play by the rules or don't play in tournaments. Call the rules as it is the only way to ensure that things are fair to everyone. If you are a TD, blame the rule book but enforce the rules.

I had one of the worst tournament rounds ever when one of the guys on my card started smoking after the TD specifically said not to in the players meeting because the property we were on banned it. He also started drinking and downed a 6 pack during the round. The TD was a friend of his but had no choice but to disqualify him, especially after on of the other guys quit, went to the TD and asked for his money back since it was clearly not living up to the sanctioning agreement.

Find TD's that know and will enforce the rules. Play in those tournaments.

 

[burdphil]

Certain regions have more experienced tournament players than others. For example: playing around Cincinnati, there are a ton of experienced players that know the rules. There is also great competition and great courses.

This past weekend, I ventured into south central Indiana close to my hometown and played a tournament. I decided to play advanced, because I knew the level of competition in this area is not that great. There is a major lack of quality courses in the central part of Indiana. Feels like disc golf is 20 years behind.

Unfortunately my card in Advanced were pretty much noobs to the tournament scene. They argued over the meter relief from OB with one player saying, "The TD said no 2 meter rule, dude."

The second round, I had a meat head kid that somehow shot an amazing score while throwing the most horrible shots I've seen in a tournament in a while. Towards the end of the round, I checked the scorecard and he had written a 4 in on hole 1 when he got a 5. Of course he held the card most of the round.

Plus, the course was so gimmicked up with artificial OB and bad design. I tried not to let all of this bother my round, but I was so ready to go home at the end of this tournament. I managed to keep my mouth shut about the travesty since I have such a bad reputation of speaking my mind about how bad Indiana disc golf really is. I figured speaking up about anything or being a rule nazi would only cement my legacy of being an *******. It reminded me of playing Southern National tournaments down south.

With time being a valuable resource, I'm going to have to be very choosey about what tournaments I play if any.

Gotta love the guy who goes to a winter charity tournament for a fellow disc golfer who's living and working as a missionary in the slums of Nigeria and sh!ts all over everything and everyone.

 

[ru4por]

Beginners in tournaments are an opportunity to teach and spread the love I have for the game.