What constitutes a Foot Foul???????

I was watching the Music City Open on youtube last night. Barry Schultz called Nikko Locastro out on a foot foul. It was an inside the circle putt. I NEVER saw EITHER of Nikko's feet leave the ground after watching over and over. But, someone in the group called the second on Barry's call, and Nikko had to re-putt. 

I looked in the PDGA Rulebook, but I didn't see exactly what constitutes a Foot Foul. Anyone????

[xians421]

A decent tourney has a painted circle. Jumping inside 50 feet just isn't manly.

[Disc Player Sports]

Been to many a tournament, Worlds alike... never seen one.... National Tour NO.... never

[xians421]

They had painted circles at the 2011 Worlds in Santa Cruz. GCC in Vegas and the Spring Fling in San Diego, painted circles on every hole.

[Disc Player Sports]

Exception. Good for them.

How many local tournaments will make that effort?

More work for volunteers.... good luck.

[Jim Coonradt]

I have a friend who uses a straddle stance to putt, and when he finishes the foot that was not behind the marker disc tends to end up in front of the one that was behind the marker disc. Not by much mind you, maybe an inch or so. Is this a foot fault? I think that it is but don't generally call it on him because we are just playing casual. I believe that the motion of that foot fails to demonstrate balance. He has somewhat of a jerky putting motion.

x

[xians421]

/^\ Foot Fault /^\

[Steve West]

Nikko had one of his feet closer to the hole than his marker disc.  It did not matter whether he was within the circle or not, it was a stance violation for throwing from closer to the basket than his lie. Does anyone want to let players move in front of their lie to throw?  By how much? An inch?  A foot?  Just beyond the next tree?

In most other sports, there is a line you should not (or must) cross, and a fraction of an inch on the wrong side makes all the difference.  Basketball: free throw line, three-point arc, OB line.  Football: goal line, OB, first down, line of scrimmage (for forward passes).  Bowling: foul line (and gutter).  Baseball: batter's box, pitcher's plate, fair/foul line, touching the base, Tennis: all those lines painted on the court.  You get the idea.

There is no reason for tournament disc golf to be more lax about that kind of rule.  Nor is there any reason a rule like "have no supporting point contact with the marker disc or any object closer to the hole than the rear edge of the marker disc" needs to be softened up.

However, to me, the silliest play in disc golf is when a player asks "Is it outside the circle?" and then is told to "pace it off to make sure", and the player does a goose-step dance from the target to his disc, which is ALWAYS "just outside the circle", so he undergoes a full-body spasm style of putt that looks like it was induced by a cattle prod, which seemingly NEVER goes in the basket.

[xians421]

^This

[Disc Player Sports]

All for the stance, it's everything else that is foolish.

[xians421]

So it's really windy and I'm 8 feet from the basket, I just hold the disc as high as I can (8feet) and fall forward, effectively dunking the disc and avoiding the consequences of the wind. You want this to be legal?!?

[Disc Player Sports]

Take a video of this.

Like to see it actually happen.

People dunk it from 2 feet away.

[David Sauls]

While I'd like to see this rule changed, what I'd really like to see is the culture of rule-calling changed.  Calling a rule violation shouldn't be seen as gamesmanship or "working" the opponent or something requiring retaliation.  It should be called and accepted as matter-of-factly as out-of-bounds or missing a mando or requiring a player to record his correct score.