Kansas Disc Golf Association

Okay, I was out having a casual round with my nephew the other day. Here's the scenario:

OB territory is left of the tee on this particular hole. He throws a flick hyzer past the OB plane. On the disc's way back in, it ricochets off the foliage part of a tree which straddles the OB line, and lands OB. Note that the trunk of this tree is in bounds, but the actual spot on the tree where the disc actually hit may not be, or may be in dispute.

He's obviously OB, but from where does he make his next shot? I gave him the benefit of the doubt and take it at the tree, but I would hate to see this situation rear its head in a tournament.

If it never crosses the plane of OB on the way back in, it's gotta be played where it originally went out. If it hit the tree outside of OB and kicked back in towards OB without ever crossing the plane, you're an awfully nice guy...

If it straddles the line to the point where its fair game saying it did or didn't cross -

benefit of the doubt goes to the player.

Same thing goes if the disc is stuck in the tree? I would think so, but thought I'd add that to the scenario too.

mrsenortyler wrote:Same thing goes if the disc is stuck in the tree? I would think so, but thought I'd add that to the scenario too.

Same thing.. if it's stuck above the OB line and any part of it crossing the imaginary vertical line upwards..it's in. Otherwise the lie goes back to where it originally crossed into OB.

Benefit of the doubt should go to the player. In a tournament, the group makes a decision. If I have a clear view of a shot, I'll give my say whether it crossed the plane or not. If I have a doubt though, I'd give the benefit of the doubt to the player. Keep in mind that in some situations, you can roughly determine where a shot went out by the combination of the original flight path and where the disc ends up. Example, for an ordinary flight, you do not play a disc straight in from where it ends up OB. Even discs nearing the end of their flight move more forward then they do laterally.

One OB situation that sometimes baffles me is the OB curb. A disc flies over an OB road and doesn't quite skip in. (Leaners are OB) Instead it keeps hopping up against the curb and falling back in the road. At several times, the disc looks like it may have crossed the plane, but it really isn't clear. If it did, which one of the hops crossed and which didn't? They height and width of the curb are the biggest factor here.

You can take the guess work out by making them re-tee or go to a drop zone (one or the other, not both )

I know at the Shunga a number of years ago there was a hole where you shot over the lake. You had to hit land and roll in to be able to take it over the water. If you hit the over hanging tree (who's trunk was obviously IB) and splashed, you went to the drop zone.

New scenario:

I tee off my drive, and it really looks good, but hyzers into a tree. This is the middle of the course, so there is no OB anywhere near me. The tree seems to have eaten my disc alive, cannot be found under the tree or in the branches. PDGA tournament, What do I do?

I'd say it is lost and you have 3 minutes to find it. Everyone on the card is required to help if you ask. If you cannot find it, you have to use the new ruling and throw your 3rd shot from the tee pad.