Winter Rules

Chuck Kennedy · Post by **Chuck Kennedy** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:11 pm

I've been given the opportunity to develop PDGA "Winter Rules" for the Competition group. Here's your opportunity to comment on the things that I should try to incorporate as special situtations different from the regular PDGA rules that TDs could use for winter sanctioned events. One of the ones we use in Minnesota is reverting to the old lost disc rule where you play it from the point last seen.

Eric Maurer · Post by **Eric Maurer** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:35 pm

Additional time to find lost discs would be nice. Maybe 5 minutes?

Mike Dussault · Post by **Mike Dussault** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 6:55 pm

putting a towel down on ice, when that is your lie.

Chuck Kennedy · Post by **Chuck Kennedy** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:16 pm

That's one that's needed. Right now, you can put down a towel but only can use your knee or other hand as your supporting point, not your foot.

Bill Newman · Post by **Bill Newman** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:23 pm

Howabout if the course is covered in snow and you throw a white disc, nobody has to look for it.........we use that one at the Mt. Kisco Ice Bowl

Chuck Kennedy · Post by **Chuck Kennedy** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:29 pm

I don't know about just white. Sometimes there's yellow snow in spots...

James Lane · Post by **James Lane** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:20 am

No pond or lake OB's

Ribbons could be allowed

Bill Newman · Post by **Bill Newman** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:57 am

how about a uniform rule/some guidelines about what you can do to mark your disc thats under snow

Matt Stroika · Post by **Matt Stroika** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:59 am

'Tombstoning' your disc in the snow is an acceptable alternative to a mini. When it is cold and windy, the less objects in and out of my bag is key to keeping the hands warm.

Chuck Kennedy · Post by **Chuck Kennedy** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:50 am

Good ideas here. I thought about the tombstoning but I'm thinking it would be seen in the same way as flipping your disc as a marker which is OK for rec play but not allowed for sanctioned play. The parallel is when your disc buries in a leaf pile. You can brush off the leaves to find it and even lift it for identification. But you then need to leave it on the ground on top of the leaves as the marker or mark it with a mini.

Jeff LaGrassa · Post by **Jeff LaGrassa** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:17 pm

This may have been alluded to earlier by James, but when covered with snow it's sometimes very very difficult to determine where OB lines are around frozen ponds and lakes. Unless a wintertime TD is going to artificially mark a boundary, to make things easier it's sometimes preferable to declare these hazards as IB during the winter.

Karl Molitoris · Post by **Karl Molitoris** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:28 pm

As someone who hates all OB, I'd love to see less...but the TD's going to have to "state" a bunch of things in the player's meeting anyway, i.e. that this IS a "winter rules tournament", etc., so they should - if they WANT to declare such - state that "there's no OB" (or not, depending). TD's responsibility.

Any water's edge issue is up for question (for sure) when ice is "iffy" (regarding to walking on it), so the TD's got to mention that too!

And I'd hate to compromise the rules too much....

Karl

Joe Wander · Post by **Joe Wander** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:59 pm

When tee pad conditions are bad, we play that the player has the option to tee from either side as desired.

Matt Stroika · Post by **Matt Stroika** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:14 pm

Chuck Kennedy wrote:Good ideas here. I thought about the tombstoning but I'm thinking it would be seen in the same way as flipping your disc as a marker which is OK for rec play but not allowed for sanctioned play. The parallel is when your disc buries in a leaf pile. You can brush off the leaves to find it and even lift it for identification. But you then need to leave it on the ground on top of the leaves as the marker or mark it with a mini.

Agreed that it would be seen the same way as flipping but you are being asked to provide alternate rules specifically for the winter.

If anyone out there playing in the snow with big boots and 6 layers is worried about me foot faulting due to a flipped disc, I am going to ask them to get a grip and go home because maybe their mommy might care. I would hope that perhaps winter golf and ice bowl season may be seen in a slightly less competitive nature. Stay in shape and hang out with the boys is my reason for this insane practice of playing disc golf in the winter.

Chuck Kennedy · Post by **Chuck Kennedy** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:30 pm

I wouldn't call these alternative rules but rule tweaks that seem necessary, not just desired, to deal with winter issues. The whole issue of water/H2O and what that means in winter with snow and ice in relation to the meaning of "water" in the regular rules is certainly an issue. Remember that (liquid) water is not automatically OB unless the TD says so. In the case of frozen water, it technically could be played as casual relief with extended relief allowed if needed to move back to shore without penalty if more than 5 meters out on the ice. So, if the player wants to play from on the ice, they can. If the ice is iffy or the player chooses, they could take casual relief according to the current rules with no penalty.