The term “stroke and distance” is one that strikes fear into the hearts of professional disc golfers. If you’re new to the sport or don’t have a ball-golf background, you likely don’t know what it means. And now that you’re following the DGPT like a champ, it’s time to educate yourself.
“Stroke and distance” refers to a type of penalty. When stroke-and-distance rules are in play, should a player throw out of bounds, they’re both assessed a penalty stroke and required to rethrow from the same lie. You don’t need a Columbo trench coat to see the logic in this:
- Stroke – Like normal, a disc golfer is penalized for throwing out of bounds.
- Distance – The penalized doesn’t get it, forced instead to rethrow the same shot.
“Stroke” + “Distance” = “Stroke and Distance”
This might seem fine on paper, but in practice, things can get REALLY ugly REALLY quickly. The best example of this is at the United States Disc Golf Championship. For years, the 17th island hole at Winthrop Gold adhered to strict, stroke-and-distance rules – it’s a brutal setup.
As OB throws add up, the number of discs required to reach the island safely gets smaller. With only 30 seconds to throw, there’s no time to go and retrieve discs – you have to make do with what you’ve got. Rounds are ruined. Momentum is crushed. Tournaments are destroyed.
These are real-life horror stories from Winthrop Island:
- Example No. 1 – Steve Brinster once took a 12 on it. Matt Bell carded a 15, too.
- Example No. 2 – After missing the island four times, JohnE McCray began praying.
- Example No. 3 – Following a comeback, the 17th ended Calvin Heimburg’s 2020 charge.
If the sadism is strong in you, here’s EIGHT MORE MINUTES of disc-induced pain …
All on the 17th, of course:
It’s because of this, the PDGA is none too fond of the “stroke-and-distance” stuff …
In fact, if you’re putting on a sanctioned tournament and want a hardcore, stroke-and-distance hole involved, you’ll need to apply for a waiver with the PDGA to do so. Another option is to toss an “X” in front of your tournament’s tier: XA-tier, XB-tier, XC-tier, etc. The “X” indicates that the event is experimental in format or that it deviates from the PDGA’s set-in-stone rules.
* Note: For example, run by Innova, USDGC is an “XM-tier” tournament, as it’s a major.
There’s a myth out there, however, that NOTHING even remotely close to stroke-and-distance play can exist at a sanctioned event – this simply isn’t true. If a player loses a disc and is unable to find it within three minutes, they’re assessed a penalty stroke and rethrow from the same spot.
Likewise, according to rule No. 804.01.C, if a player misses a mandatory, and no drop zone exists, “the lie for the next throw is the previous lie.” With an added penalty stroke, of course.
Given the above, you won’t find much stroke-and-distance action on Disc Golf Network, but you’ll still see shades of it. Until the PDGA changes its wayward ways, that’ll have to suffice.
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
You’ve got stroke and distance (as well as the watered-down versions of it) to thank for that.
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