Our club, the MIGHTY MFA (the oldest flying disc sports organization), is holding a match play tournament and I was wondering what some thoughts were on the 30 second ruling.

Let's say you duff a tee shot and your opponent throws into some deep shule. Can you walk up and look to see where he/she is before throwing your shot (obviously taking more than your 30 second alloted time)?

I say yes, some rules zealots may say no...what say you?

To my knowledge the rule is you have 30 seconds once a lie has been chosen and marked.

801.03 Excessive Time

A. A maximum of 30 seconds is allowed to each player to make a throw after:
(1) the previous player has thrown; and,
(2) the player has taken a reasonable time to arrive at the disc and mark the lie; and,
(3) the playing area is clear and free of distractions.

B. A player shall receive a warning for the first excessive time violation if observed by two or more players of the group or an official. The player shall be assessed one penalty throw for each subsequent excessive time violation in the same round if observed by two or more players of the group or an official.

You can do it once without penalty -- or if no one calls it you can do it forever

i would say that "reasonable time to arrive at the disc..." could easily be construed to include checking your opponent's lie in match play as that is a fundamental part of match play competition.

I assumed that the rule meant a reasonable time to arrive at your own disc, not walk past your lie, into deep shule (possibly out of sight since you can't see it anyway) to look for someone else's lie.

The same condition could be in stroke play ... do you get to walk down a fairway into the rough to look at someone else's lie before you throw? Knowing where your opponents lie is located is no less important (fundamental) especially at the last holes of any tournament.

Important to know since we have a match play end of month.

i would say that "reasonable time to arrive at the disc..." could easily be construed to include checking your opponent's lie in match play as that is a fundamental part of match play competition.



good point...

do you think the same way about doubles? your partner throws and you're not sure if he's OB or in a bad spot.. does he have the time to run up and take a look to signal back if he's ok or not?

The 30 second rule is very easy to overcome. You just have to call some soret of distraction. Hey that cloud looks like Elvis and distracted me. Darn this ADD.

Shouldn't you find out where your opponent's disc is, in the shule, to determine who is furthest from the basket?

And if it's never found, your opponent is re-teeing, so his lie is clearly further from the basket. You won't know until you help look.

I just got done play the Can Am Cup which is a team match play event in NY. I played 10 nine hole matches in two days and I really only had a handful of times where the :30 second rule could have been called. But, those times were key moments where the match was in jeopardy.

For instance, Player A is lying 3 on the green. Player B is lying 2 with a fifty footer. Player B should walk up to Player A's lie to see if that player has a higher percentage putt. That way Player B would know whether to run at it or just lay up hoping Player A misses so they would push the hole.