Model Rules Language
Clear and precise course rules are important for fair tournament play. As a TD, you should write your course rules in a way that is understandable to all players and leaves no room for misinterpretation. A poorly written rule that can be interpreted in different ways can lead to misplays and penalties for your players.
TDs should follow these general principles when writing course rules:
- Do not rewrite the Official Rules of Disc Golf; instead, you should reference them. For example, do not write "Road and across is out of bounds. Play from either your last spot in bounds or your previous lie with a 1 throw penalty". Instead you should simply write "Road and across is out of bounds (806.02)."
- Balance clarity with brevity. Be clear, but be clear in as few words as possible. If players have to scroll to read the note, it's probably too long.
- Don't use local slang when writing your rules. "Plays as river" or "plays as island" do not have definitions that are universally understood. Write your descriptions so that all players can understand them with no prior knowledge.
The table below lists many rules that TDs may deal with on their courses and the PDGA's suggested language for these situations. Items in brackets [ ] are for the TD to fill out. For example, the model language of "The area marked by [boundary marker] is a Hazard Area (806.05)" would be written by the TD as "The area marked by yellow paint is a Hazard Area (806.05)".
| Situation | Recommended Language |
| General Notes |
General Notes are rules that apply to the entire course. This saves you from having to repeat yourself in every hole, and it also solves the case where a player goes OB into a general OB area on a hole where you did not specifically call it out. Examples: |
| Out of bounds - enclosed area | Inside/surrounded by [boundary marker] is out of bounds (806.02). |
| Out of bounds - line and beyond | [Boundary marker] and beyond is out of bounds (806.02). |
| Out of bounds drop zone | [Specific OB description from above]. Drop zone is available for any OB throw, and [may/may not] also be used for [mandatory, lost disc, abandoned throw]. |
| Water or OB carry drop zone | [type of area] is out of bounds (806.02). Drop zone is available for any OB throw. The drop zone is marked with [method], and [may/may not] also be used for [missed mandatory, lost disc, abandoned throw]. |
| Casual Area | The area marked by [boundary marker] is a Casual Area (806.03). |
| Relief Area | The area marked by [boundary marker] is a Relief Area (806.04). |
| Hazard Area | The area marked by [boundary marker] is a Hazard Area (806.05). |
| Mandatory with drop zone | Mandatory (804.01). The restricted plane extends [direction] from the marked [object(s)] to [endpoint/infinity]. The drop zone is marked with [method], and [may/may not] also be used for [OB, lost disc, abandoned throw]. |
| Mandatory without drop zone (mandatory must be 10m or less away from teeing area) | Mandatory (804.01). The restricted plane extends [direction] from the marked [object(s)] to [endpoint/infinity]. The teeing area for the hole serves as the drop zone. |
| Proceed directly to drop zone | Drop zone, marked with [method], available for [penalty]. Players may take two penalty throws and proceed directly to the drop zone instead of throwing from the teeing area. |
| Relief from obstacles | Players may take relief from [object] (803.02.A). |
| "Island rules" that limit OB options (Waiver required) | Island Green: Any throw from the Tee must come to rest on the Island Green to be able to mark on the Island Green. Throws from the Tee that don’t come to rest on the Island Green must proceed to the Drop Zone with a penalty throw. All other throws use normal OB rules (806.02). |
| "Island rules" that limit OB options with IB fairway (Waiver required) | Island Green: An initial throw beyond the inbounds fairway must come to rest on the Island Green to be able to mark on the Island Green (this rule still applies if the initial throw is abandoned). If the throw comes to rest OB, the next throw is from the Drop Zone with a penalty throw. All throws made from the Drop Zone or the Island Green itself use normal OB rules (806.02). |