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StanceCites 802.07 · 802.04 · QA-TEE-2 · QA-STA · 801.02 · 801.03

Was that a foot fault? Who can call it, and what's the penalty?

What counts as a legal disc golf stance, who is allowed to call a foot fault, and the one-throw penalty for a stance violation under PDGA rule 802.07.

What a legal stance requires

When you release the disc, three things need to be true at the same time. You need at least one supporting point on the lie. You need no supporting point closer to the target than the back of the marker. And all of your supporting points must be in-bounds.

Anything that supports you counts as a supporting point: shoes, clothing, and mobility aids that bear your weight are all part of your stance.

The penalty

Break any of those three conditions and it is a stance violation, which is one penalty throw under 802.07 Stance. There is no free re-throw and no warning first.

Who gets to call it

The card makes the call under the enforcement rules in 801.02. A rules violation has to be called by a player in the group or an official, and a group ruling needs agreement from the group. It is not “whoever yells first on Twitter”: a clip going viral does not create a penalty. If the group cannot agree, the ruling goes to an official or the tournament director on appeal (801.03 Appeals), and the TD’s decision is final.

Tee pads: only what touches the pad matters

On the tee, the stance rule is about the points that are actually touching the pad or teeing area. A toe hanging over the front edge in the air is not a supporting point, so it is not a foot fault. See 802.04 Teeing Off and the PDGA’s own answer in QA-TEE-2.

Cited rules

All citations link to the official text on pdga.com/rules.

Still not sure about your lie?

Curious about a weird video still? Ask the Fairway and get the answer with citations to the Official Rules and Competition Manual.

Not affiliated with the PDGA. The Fairway summarizes the PDGA Official Rules of Disc Golf and Competition Manual for convenience; it is not an official rules source. On the course, the group makes the call and the tournament director’s ruling is final (801.02 / 801.03). Rules change; re-check pdga.com/rules after each update.