Welcome to Rules School. I'm Brian Earhart here to help you
learn the basics of the official rules of disc golf. Welcome to Rules School Episode six: out of bounds. It's going to happen sooner or later. Your disc is going to land out of bounds
or OB. An OB area is an area
designated by the TD as off limits. Landing in an out of bounds
area comes with a penalty and shots cannot be thrown
from an out-of-bounds area.
OB areas can come in the form of park
features like lakes, streams, unplayable areas or sometimes they are artificially created
with ropes or painted lines to add challenge to a course or to keep fairways
separated from one another. Shots are considered out of bounds
only when they are completely surrounded by the OB area as any part of the disc is inbounds
then the disc is considered safe. But be careful. The OB line is considered
to be part of the out-of-bounds area, so a disc that is on the line
but not touching the inbound side of the line is still out of bounds. In the event that you do land OB,
you'll have a few options.
The most commonly used option
by far is to play from a new lie marked at any point
along a one meter line, extending from the point
where the disc was last in bounds. Make sure to give yourself enough space
for a legal stance, as you cannot have any supporting point
touching the OB area. When you release your next shot,
if the TD has provided a drop zone for throws landing O.B.,
you may throw from there instead.
Finally, you may throw from
your previous lie. In each of these cases. one penalty throw will be
added to your score for the hole, so if you went OB on your tee shot,
your next shot will be your third throw. While taking optional relief
is always available at the cost of one penalty throw,
after going OB and marking a new lie, you may take optional relief
without a penalty. To do this, mark your new lie
to establish the line of play and mark another new lie
back along the line of play as far as you'd like
without taking an additional penalty.
Let's say that there is a bad footing
next to a creek where your disc went OB. You can take optional relief back
from the creek as far back as you care to go, so long as that
you are on the line of play and get better footing for your next shot. If you believe your disc has gone
out of bounds, you should work with your group to determine if and where
it crossed into the out-of-bounds area. Make sure to consult with your group
before playing your next shot. If the thrower moves the disc before a
determination regarding its out-of-bounds status is made, the disc is
automatically considered out of bounds. If a disc cannot be found
and the group agrees that there is compelling evidence
that it came to rest out of bounds and the disc is treated
as if it was found in the OB area . Of course, the best way to play out of bounds is to avoid it altogether. Make sure you know where the OB is on
any hole before you throw your tee shot. If you're not sure, check the Caddy book
or ask another player on your card.
For more information on out of bounds,
including more specific examples, visit PDGA.com/rules.