Foot Faults And The 2018 PDGA Rule Change

What comes to mind when you hear the words “foot fault”? For those of you who watched coverage from this year’s Memorial, you were probably instantly taken back to hole 11 at Vista del Camino. After his tee shot, Ricky Wysocki stepped up to his lie and threw a smooth forehand line that appeared to be fairly routine.

Yet moments after his release, fellow cardmate Nikko Locastro insisted that Wysocki did not stand within the regulated lie area and called a foot fault on him. None of the other players on the card could confirm or deny the allegation, so the group continued to play as normal.

Why did Nikko think Ricky was out of line and how does the new PDGA rule change play into this event? Let’s look at foot faults in general and then perhaps you can decide for yourself what actually happened in Arizona.

A Flexible Zone

In years past, the PDGA Official Rules of Disc Golf stated that you must have at least one of your supporting points both in contact with and behind your lie when throwing a disc. The exact verbiage, taken from the 2013 booklet, is as follows:

“When the disc is released, a player must: (1) Have at least one supporting point that is in contact with the lie; and, (2) Have no supporting point in contact with the marker disc or any object (including the playing surface) closer to the target than the rear edge of the marker disc.”

This means that until 2018, all shots thrown behind a mini marker ended with a player’s foot directly behind the lie - not six inches behind, and obviously not in front.

How It’s Changed

Unless you live in a cave, you’ve heard that the PDGA changed the rules regarding your lie in 2018. Instead of having your foot in contact with the lie, you now have a zone to utilize. Measuring 20cm by 30cm, basically a standard size of printing paper, this area is considered to be the legal place where your supporting point must be.

What does that mean? It gives players more wiggle room in all directions when setting up their shot. As long as a portion of your foot is within that zone when you release your disc, you’re good to go. While this rule change makes it easier for players who are learning how to judge their footwork appropriately, it has the potential to create more confusion.

Now that you’re fully aware of the new rule change, apply it to the situation in Arizona. Wysocki was exercising his right to use any part of his 20cm by 30cm zone, and it’s clear that his foot was not directly behind his lie upon release. Yet from where Locastro was standing, he judged that Ricky’s foot was more than 30cm behind his lie and thus called the foot fault. See the issue? Giving more room to throw may actually make it harder to judge whether a player was using the correct footing.

Do you think Wysocki foot faulted on hole 11 or was he within his designated area? How do you feel about the rule change as a whole? We’d love to know your thoughts!