That last line of rule 802.04 A states "The use of devices which assist in determining distances , such as range finders, are prohibited."

Are yardage books "devices which assist in determing distances"?

FLY 18 is moving disc golf to longer courses. Innova published the Driver chart with distances. I play courses today where the distance to the pole would help me determine the proper disc.

Any thoughts?

Yardage books are not illegal.

Many events with 2 shot holes will mark distances in the fairway for the second shot.

Range finders are useful on the days before a tournament to walk the course and measure the holes from different landmarks and make notes in your yardage book.

The above two avatars are in sync on my screen. Except one disc stays in and the other doesn't.

How about this one ?

I never got around to adding the background to the first one.

That was the original one.

I guess not, they are just a little different length now.

why are range finders illegal???? many tee signs have distances marked!!

I think range finders are illegal for 2 reasons....
Availability (some people wouldn't be able to have them due to cost)
Mechanical aid (taking the human element of gauging distance from the equation)

Tee signs only show distance from tee to basket, not from your fairway lie to the basket.

I think it also is a time consideration. Only one person has one, and everyone else wants to use it.

Not a great reason, but they are also illegal on ball golf courses.

i posed the same general question to the RC a while ago and got the answer that the primary reason what that the ability to accurate judge a distance with your own human abilities is a core part of the game, and allowing range finders dimishes that aspect.

they did encourage me to use the range finder all i wanted during pre-tournament practice.

btw, keep an eye out for binocs.monocs - any binoc/monoc can be used as a range fiunder. it does NOT need on-lens lines. you just need to take it out and site it in before you use it. all binocs/moconcs are illegal during sanctioned play.

Not a great reason, but they are also illegal on ball golf courses.



i am not a ball golfer , however i have played and i seem to recall there being distance markers from the fairway into the green!! I believe there was some sort of color coordination as well!! I see this as contradictory !! just my opinion!!

I don't think it is directly contradictory. Sure there is a painted stone marking 100 meters left to the pin. Not everyone will land next to that stone, so there is still the element of human judgement left in the game. Even with Tee signs giving the distance to the pins on most courses, how many do you know that are accurate. The ones on our course state the distance 3-5% further then actuality. And on one hole, it is 100ft off (stating 512, when it is really 412)!

I personally think range finders take the human element out of the game, and that is what makes it fun and challenging. Especially when you misjudge, "yeah I can get my Roc that far, and leave it 50ft short" or over shoot a hole by 60-70ft with your biggest driver. That is what makes it golf.

i am not saying they should be legal, just curious of this topic... **** 412 marked 512 , what an ego booster if your max D is around 400'!!

the last ball golf i played was at crystal falls, and the golf carts had a little screen in them that would tell you how far you were from the pin...So when you drove up to your ball, you knew exactly how far you were...pretty cool!!

then when you were about 3 holes from the club house, you could place a food order on them, so it would be ready when you got there!

no way!! modern technology!! you gotta love it!!!

yeah it was an ego boost when I first started because I thought I could throw 400ft after 2 weeks. But then me and a buddy measured the course with a tape and a wheel and found the mistakes.

No, I did not think you were arguing for the use of range finders, I was just rationalizing the usage of distance markers on the fairway of ball golf courses. Thats all I was saying, no hard feelings.

GPS is cool.

I've always been bothered by this rule.
The cost argument is the most common I've heard, but it's bull. There are plenty of examples of cost prohibitive products in play now. Special disc runs that cost a lot,carts,even some clothing.
The idea then is that you should judge distances based upon your own genetic founded skills. That's not too nice to exlude all those people with bad depth perception. And there are plenty of courses that are accurate with measured distance. The USDGC has several holes with fairway distances marked. While you may not land directly on them, I know everyone I played with down there referenced them.
So not everyone is judging distance by sight alone.
I believe the rule says nothing against the use of binoc/monoc. So they are legal. Or else, no glasses or contacts.

You could have a caddy, if you could afford one, use your range finder.

The only reason I could think this rule made sense was as a safety thing. I don't want to get an eyeful of someones laser range finder as they try and get a read on the baket so far away. And what about aeroplanes? Wouldn't want homeland security on our asses

The idea then is that you should judge distances based upon your own genetic founded skills. That's not too nice to exlude all those people with bad depth perception.



A person's genetic founded skills should come into play during competition. Otherwise people with short arms would be allowed to have arm extenders, short basketball players would be allowed to wear stilts and slow runners would be allowed perpulstion systems. Depth perception is something that good golfers should have.

The idea is that all you really need to play are some discs and a way to carry them. Distance markers on the course are fine because everybody has equal access to them. They're part of the course. Once you start allowing devices like range finders or arm extenders then all of a sudden you not only need discs and a way to carry them to compete, you also need to carry a range finder and an arm extender as well.

What doesn't make sense to me is that chairs and caddys are legal but sometimes motorized carts aren't. Those things all have to do with what goes on inbetween throws. It seems like if you allow one you have to allow them all...but that's another thread.

Interesting topic, my thought is range finders should be legal on ALL holes without proper distance markers...our sibling sport of ball golf provides hole distances from various positions on each individual hole (200yd, 150yd and 100 yard distance markers are very common on ball golf courses.)

Rule change for 2006??? :cool:

I also like the idea of markers on the fairway...An ideal course would be marked 10 meters from each basket- and then depending on the hole, you could have 50' away, 100' feet away and so on....I think it would be sweet!

Yardage books are not illegal.




Thanks. This was where I was going.

The idea of bringing a range finder out (during a tournament) doesn't appeal to me personally. I would like to build a yardage book and not worry when I use it for reference.

Also. On the avatar. Hopy you don't mind. I'm not sure where I found it.

Well why allow glasses or cleats or any number of talent enhancers. No, I don't think we want to have competition based on only geneticly founded skills. Although deciding to budget and buy talent enhancers is possibly a genetic skill.

Well this is Disc Golf, not some kind of freestyle golf where anything goes. The rules are there to balance the competiton. Hence disc and basket specs, guidlines for conduct, descriptions of stance and penalties for violating the rules. A laser range finder is a tool you can use to determine true distances within a few feet. It does not aid your throw. Just your decision to throw.

No, I don't think we want to have competition based on only geneticly founded skills.



I never said that. I just said that a person's genetically founded skills, and their ability to get over them or exploit them, should come into play during a round. There's more to golf, disc or othewise, than just the swing or throw. A player's ability to manage the mental aspect of the game is part of the game. Should we allow pepole who can't focus or concentrate as well extra time to throw?

Glasses are a different subject. If someone needs a range finder to drive a car or walk around without running into stuff then it would be considered a medical device and not something that the person is using to gain an advantage. I can see how one would be allowed then but that's a pretty extreme and not very likely situation.

believe the rule says nothing against the use of binoc/monoc. So they are legal. Or else, no glasses or contacts.

The glasses/contacts analogy is grossly flawed because, unlike bin-/mon-oculars, glasses and contacts are regulated, medically prescribe devices issued at the direction of a duly licensed medical practitioner. (Yes, it's possible to obtain non-prescription glasses, null power safety glasses, and sports goggles without a prescription, however, none of those materially enhance visual acuity, correct ocular defects, or enhance visual resolution, as glasses, contacts, and bin-/mon-oculars do.) Until such time as bin-/mon-oculars are similarly regulated, the attempt to equate them with glasses and/or contacts will simply not stand up, even to cursory examination.

I'll be using my gps this year as a range fimder. Nothing in the rules against it and no one can be blinded by it. As one might be blinded by a laser range finder.

So After all this I now agree laser range finder should remain illegal for tournament play, due to the chance of blinding someone.

Thanks for the views on this rule.

I'll be using my gps this year as a range fimder. Nothing in the rules against it.

Except the actual rule! "The use of devices which assist in determining distances , such as range finders, are prohibited."

The problem with distance markers on fairways is the number of courses with multiple pin placements.

Distance markers can have multiple distances marked on them for all of the pin placements(color coding, a,b,c... would be nice).

That last line of rule 802.04 A states "The use of devices which assist in determining distances , such as range finders, are prohibited."

Are yardage books "devices which assist in determing distances"?

FLY 18 is moving disc golf to longer courses. Innova published the Driver chart with distances. I play courses today where the distance to the pole would help me determine the proper disc.

Any thoughts?



You got one that goes 410 yards Gary?

Please mail me one.

LOL! :D

Quoted from various news sources:



Starting Jan. 1, golfers can toss out that yardage book and whip out one of those high-tech laser range finders.

In its biennial update of the Rules of Golf released Tuesday, the U.S. Golf Association said that starting in 2006, it will be a �local rule� as to whether courses or tournaments permit the use of laser range finders or global positioning systems to determine exact yardages.

Range finders resemble binoculars and use laser beams to measure yardages. GPS devices show yardages on computer screens in golf carts. Both are becoming common, even though they hadn�t been permitted under the rules.

On the PGA Tour, virtually every caddie carries a range finder during practice rounds to augment the yardage book. GPS devices are common at resort courses and high-end daily-fee courses.

�There just didn�t seem to be a good reason not to allow them,� Craig Ammerman, a member of the USGA�s executive and rules committees, said Tuesday.

One argument in favor of the range finders and GPS devices is that they speed up play.

As a local rule, however, it will be up to clubs, courses and tournaments to allow them.

As a local rule, however, it will be up to clubs, courses and tournaments to allow them.



So its kinda like the 2 meter rule :eek:

More like the new 200 meter rule since that's as far as anyone might need to see for a throw :D