Thankfully, the number of incidents are very small. Cases where a member of the public is either impacted negatively or injured because of disc golf, are extremely rare. Statistics suggest that disc golf may even be safer that other sports where projectiles are involved, like cricket or football. Nevertheless, a high-speed disc, thrown hard, does have the potential to cause serious injury. Under our code of conduct – The Respect Agreement – All Australian Disc Golfers are required to comply with the following guidelines when playing; either in tournaments or socially. They are based around one idea – the public always has right of way.

Look – Spot – Wait – Approach – Skip the hole

Look

Before throwing any shot, Check to see that all members of the public are at least 50m further away than your biggest throw radius for the shot you are about to throw. This radius begins either side of you. If you can see a member of the public, and they are within 50m of your throw distance, you don’t throw.

Spot

Can you see where you are throwing? Or is it obscured? If you can’t see where you are throwing, the last person in playing order in your group becomes the spotter. The spotter walks to where they can see where your shot will go. You only throw when they signal that it is safe to do so.

Wait

You wait for the member of the public to move out of the danger zone. You wait patiently. You never wave, shout or call out to them. If they are moving very slowly or have stopped in the fairway, you approach them.

Approach

In a group, the person last on the card becomes the spotter and walks up to the member of the public. Do not shout or wave from the tee or where you are about to throw. You must approach.

If you are unsure what to say. Here’s a suggested script.

‘Hi, we are playing disc golf and my friends down there (points to rest of the group) will be throwing Frisbees past you in a minute. I can stand here and guard you if you like or it might be safer if you moved just over there (points to a safe place off the fairway). Thanks.’

Skip the hole

In the unlikely even that the member(s) of the public don’t want to move? Don’t get into an argument with them. Skip the hole and come back to play it later.

In tournament play you can’t automatically skip the hole without approval. In this instance, contact the TD and seek their advice on resolving the issue.