I have been playing ball golf since '68 and "frisbee" / disc golf since about '78. One of the practices in ball golf I would like to see us adopt is in how we determine who's away. I'm sure you've played with people that seem to always think the other guy is away. I work with a tape measure for a living and I know sometimes these guys are just wrong when they say " you're away ". In ball golf I've always gone by the process of asking someone who's inside of me and the other guy " who's away?", and no matter what I think or the other player that's involved thinks, we go by the answer of the player not involved. Sometimes it is an advantage to get to see what the other guy does with his shot and to assume that it's okay for you to say it's not you is not fair to the other guy 'cause he wants to see what you do with your shot and he thinks he's inside of you. I may have gotten too confusing here for you to clearly see my point, but I just would like to see us get in the practice of asking player ''C'' to say who's away between players ''A'' and ''B''. Whatever player ''C'' says goes and we move on. I don't like to be told to play by a player that in my opinion is further away than me. If ''C'' says I'm away I don't argue, I just play.
There's one other matter of courtesy I would like to address, also, and that is when a player asks if he can play out while you are getting ready and assumes that means it's okay for him to walk on up to the basket and bend over, pick up his disc, slap the chains, and move on out of the way. This is perfectly fine with me if the player that's away says go ahead before the other guy has made a move to the basket. If the player that's away, though, is ready to putt and doesn't give verbal consent to go ahead, then don't go ahead!! Stand back and allow him to make his shot, please. He should not have to delay his putt by even one second for you to clear your disc if he doesn't want to wait. Sometimes letting a shot linger in your head for any length of time can contribute to a miss. Don't assume it's okay to clear your disc just because you asked permission. Get his response first. Thanks

Agreed on both points, although in my experience, there's little dispute over 'who's out'. it's really not that big of a deal, frankly, and I really don't care if I'm out or not. I usually am.

BUT
[harcore rules grunt mode]
walk on up to the basket and bend over, pick up his disc, slap the chains, and move on out of the way.
is not a legal hole out. The disc has to come to rest either in the basket or supported by the chains (or in the facemask, or any other defined 'hole out')
Slapping the chains while holding the disc isn't good enough. [hardcore rules grunt mode]

On the "who's out", in my experience, I frequently see a neutral 3rd party asked.

But often, when it's close enough to ask, many of us believe it really doesn't matter. We're just trying to avoid going at the same time. The exception would be late in the final round at the top of the division, when my decision on what to throw or how to throw it may be affected by the results of my opponent's throw.

Good topic, here's a related thought:
Your group is walking up towards the basket say your disc is 30 feet short of the pin and another in the groups disc is 30 feet to the right of the basket. Courtesy suggests that you should putt first but often the player to the right will walk up to his disc (perhaps thinking he may be out) then (when he is in your line of sight) when he gets to his disc decides you are out. That burns me up, my rule of thumb is that if someone (rashly) walks past lies to get to their disc then by golly they are out and better putt first then get completely out of the way.

There's one other matter of courtesy I would like to address, also, and that is when a player asks if he can play out while you are getting ready and assumes that means it's okay for him to walk on up to the basket and bend over, pick up his disc, slap the chains, and move on out of the way. This is perfectly fine with me if the player that's away says go ahead before the other guy has made a move to the basket. If the player that's away, though, is ready to putt and doesn't give verbal consent to go ahead, then don't go ahead!! Stand back and allow him to make his shot, please. He should not have to delay his putt by even one second for you to clear your disc if he doesn't want to wait. Sometimes letting a shot linger in your head for any length of time can contribute to a miss. Don't assume it's okay to clear your disc just because you asked permission. Get his response first. Thanks

respectfully disagree here, hear me out. in the scenario above, the second player to putt should not already be at his disc ready to make his shot. by my understanding of etiquette, the initial putter hasn't completed his turn. this is the same to me as allowing for time to return to my bag and set down my equipment. i see this often. it is not my fault you were distracted. i wasn't given a fair chance to get out of your way. of course, we are both too respectful for such a thing to ever happen in our group.

To say that the next person to putt should not be ready is being naive due to a persistence to define written rules literally. It is not uncommon at all for player "A" to be 16 ft. away at a 3 oclock position and player "B" to be 15 ft. away at six oclock. Both players arrive at thier putts together, setting down their bags while grabbing their markers and putters, they go to their discs and determine who's away. At that point "B" backs up two feet, crosses his hands behind his back while holding his putter, and waits his turn. "A" misses his putt, banging the pan and falling under the metal. At this point "A" should not assume it's alright for him to go to his disc and finish out quickly before allowing "B" the perogative of making his putt in a timely manner. It is discourteous for "A" to make him wait. That's all I'm saying.

One other improvement we could easily make in the name of progress. I played this past weekend in a sanctioned "C" tier event with some very good friends. We've all been playing for awhile and I tried to get them to play a little more relaxed approach to holing out than they're used to doing. In ball golf, if a putt stops 6 inches from the cup, the player is not required to mark his ball. He is allowed to just go tap it in and I would like to see us adopt a similar practice. Making sure one of your fellow players is witnessing your play ( as you should be doing anyway ) you walk up to your disc laying two to four feet from the bucket, step up behind the disc, pick it up, and set it in the basket. Simple, quick, and less effort than using a mini in the process of playing out. To demand that we should bend over and place a mini down, then putt out, and then bend back over to pick it up is to just be retentive. I'm sorry, but if you need to watch grown men bend over to get your pleasure out of competition, then you might want to consider checking out the Rainbow Lounge downtown. This just isn't a neccessary part of scoring.

If you're that close to the basket, you should grab any disc in your bag and putt out from behind the disc on the ground. Then pick it up, then the one in the basket. No mini required and you bend over just once.

Wasn't that kind of the reasoning for the "Speed of play" rules that were put in place several years ago? I try to NOT use a mini in an event if I can, it's kind of a bonus to me if I can get through a whole event without ever pulling out the mini, since that means no OBs, no suspended above the playing surface, mostly short putts, etc...

Also, I didn't realize that a player had to mark their ball in ball golf. I thought they only had to if they wanted to pick it up while it was on the green, like to clean it or line up their markings on the ball with their projected line of putt. Of course, I've never played ball golf but I have watched a lot of it on TV (thank you Golf Channel!).

This is a good discussion here! Many good points have been brought up.

The person who is farthest out should usually go first, and definetly have the final say in who goes and doesn't go. But, speed of play should definetely be a factor in that decision.
"Honors" on the green in disc golf aren't as big of a factor as ball golf because, you don't get a "read" from the green per say. Granted, in competition, sometimes knowing what your opponent did determins what you will do, and that's why if there is a question, asking player C who's out between A and B, is the most fair.

I have to agree with cgkdisc on the not using a marker disc, If your close enough for a tap in, pull another disc out of your bag and putt out with it.

I am a fan of speed of play but I also am a bigger fan of giving a player a chance to putt without other players proceeding forward of the putter. To me, this is the biggest courtesy violation that occurs most often, and I see it directly affect player’s shots.

Example, all players have shot their approach landing within a 10-meter circle of the basket. Player A disc is out and is the first disc the group walks up to and as Player A places his marker and prepares to putt, all the other players proceed to walk forward of Player A, place their marker, and then stand in the peripheral view of the putter waiting for their turn. I have even seen players cross in front of the putter’s line of play or walk behind the basket while Player A is preparing to putt. Furthermore, the players in the peripheral view are moving, scratching themselves, fidgeting, or worst of all they anticipate the putt and lean forward as you go to putt. (I think some people do this intentionally.)

For now on before the round starts, I kindly remind the card that while putting, please give everyone space and not proceed past the putter. This seems to help out. If I have players in front of me, I ask them to stand behind me before I even go up to my marker. Once they are out of my view, then I walk up to my marker to putt.

I hear what you are saying but am curious. What do you want the other players to do in when this is the case...?

1 player is 12m past the basket and the others are 9m short of the basket. Do all the players need to go 20m past the basket to be out of the way for the first putt and then come back to the short side of the basket for their own putts?

Or do you want the players who are not away to putt and when they are done they get out of the way of the 12m past person?

Just curious

There is really no rule that precludes moving forward of a lie on the green, only while moving down the fairway. Once around the green, the farthest from the basket should be putting first without regard to who is farthest from the tee.

I hear what you are saying but am curious. What do you want the other players to do in when this is the case...?

1 player is 12m past the basket and the others are 9m short of the basket. Do all the players need to go 20m past the basket to be out of the way for the first putt and then come back to the short side of the basket for their own putts?

Or do you want the players who are not away to putt and when they are done they get out of the way of the 12m past person?

Just curious
Good question, as stated in 801.02C Order of Play, �To facilitate flow of play, a player who is not farthest away may play next if the away player consents.�

This happened in a recent tourney I played in. My approach was 8 meters in front of the basket, while the remaining three players� approaches were farther and directly behind the basket. I turned to all three players and asked if I could putt out to facilitate speed of play. I putted, and then we all moved in position behind the remaining putters. Everyone made their putt, kudos.