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Competition Manual for Disc Golf Events

1.06 Grouping and Sectioning

Last updated: Tuesday, December 31, 2024 - 17:32
  1. Professional and Amateur players should not be grouped together. Divisions should be grouped together as much as is practicable.
  2. When there are more entrants than can play together in one round, the field of competitors may be split into pools. Players within a division must play the exact same layouts during competition.
  3. All players within a division should be grouped for the first round via one of the following methods (see 1.05.B.3.b and 6.03.E for exceptions):
    1. Random grouping; players within a division may be randomly grouped for the first round. All team events should use this option.
    2. Player Rating grouping; players within a division may be grouped by player rating to set first round groups. Highest-rated player starting on the lowest number hole, the second-highest-rated player starting on the following hole, etc. This process would continue until all starting holes have been filled. For example, a division of 12 players across 3 holes set by the ranking of their ratings would be:
      1. Hole 1: Players 1, 4, 7, and 10
      2. Hole 2: Players 2, 5, 8, and 11
      3. Hole 3: Players 3, 6, 9, and 12
    3. In the case of a division that is large enough to be in multiple pools, the players must be split by rating (example: 72 highest ratings in Pool A and 72 lowest ratings in Pool B) and then randomized within each pool for the first round.
    4. At PDGA Leagues, players may determine their own groups and, if the League uses staggered start times, their own start time (see 1.14.C.6).
  4. For all subsequent rounds, players should be grouped by division as much as is practicable.
  5. Within a division, players should be grouped by lowest score (see 1.09 for breaking ties). The group with the lowest scores starts on the lowest-numbered hole, and so on. If tee times are in use, the group with the lowest scores has the latest tee time.
  6. For tiebreaking procedures for players with the same total score, see 1.09.
  7. To promote fairness, groups shall not consist of fewer than three players, except under extenuating circumstances, as deemed necessary by the Tournament Director. In cases where fewer than three players are required to play together, a designated Tournament Official (see 1.12.A) must accompany the group and may play as long as that does not interfere with the competing players.
  8. Groups shall not be more than five players and should be limited to four players whenever possible. In teams play, groups may exceed five players due to team size or odd numbers of teams competing.
  9. First round feature groups for media purposes are not allowed unless for video coverage and previously approved by each player within the group and by the PDGA Director of Event Support.
  10. A ghost group is a designation for a secondary group of players that is assigned a starting hole already occupied by another group of players. Ghost groups are only to be used to resolve emergency situations, such as a hole being unexpectedly rendered unplayable by flooding, downed power line, or other circumstances outside the control of the Tournament Director.
    1. A ghost group will always tee second on the hole as the lowered-numbered hole for both first-round groupings (see 1.06.B) and subsequent rounds (see 1.06.D).
    2. Ghost groups should start on a shorter length hole after a longer/more difficult hole to minimize the impact on course-flow and speed of play.
  11. At staggered start events with scheduled tee times, Tournament Directors must post tee times on the PDGA event page for all players in a given division no later than 12 hours prior to the first tee time for that division or one hour after the conclusion of play of the previous round for that division, whichever is later.

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Disc Golf Rules and Standards