pdga rules 2011

New PDGA Rule Changes: Holing Out (803.13)

HOLING OUT: 803.13Starting in 2011, a player will not have to remove the disc to complete the process of holing out which was required under current rules. Once the group has decided the disc has come to rest, the player has holed out.

Several target related terms have been officially defined and added to the Definitions section 800 in support of the Holing Out rule. Definitions for Basket Target, Tray, Chains, Chain Support and Pole have been added.

Groups will now be responsible to make judgment calls on how discs enter the basket. Discs that attempt to enter or actually get all the way into the chains or basket thru the top of the chain support or thru the side or bottom of the basket now will not count if the group or official sees that happen. This means wedgies, most which wedge from the outside, now will not count unless it was a blind shot where no one saw how the disc wedged. Putts that are observed to properly enter the basket from above the rim and then wedge trying to get out will count as holed out like before.

These changes for holing out mean calls for the “putting tree” photo shown below that was in the Rules School story on Interference need to be updated. Under the old rules, only the yellow disc would not have been considered holed out when the player removed it. Under 2011 rules, the white and red discs are holed out (IN). The yellow disc as before and the orange disc hanging on the nub outside the basket are NOT IN. The orange disc balancing on the rim, which used to be considered IN, is now considered OUT in the 2011 rules because the disc is not entirely supported by the pole, inner wall or bottom of the basket. The orange wedgie is now NOT IN if the group observed it wedge from the outside. If the group did not see it or watched it clear the top basket wire then wedge on the way out, it is IN.

More rule changes here.