PDGA clarifies basket holed-out rule with new photo examples

The PDGA is using a new photo library to redraw one of disc golf’s most awkward finish-line calls: whether a disc is actually holed out when it appears to be sitting on the tray but is really being held up by a tree, the ground or another object. The images are tied to a proposed change to rule 807 and are meant to show, in real tournament terms, when a hole is complete and when a disc only looks complete.

Under the current rule, a basket-target hole is completed when the disc comes to rest supported by the tray or the chains below the chain support. The PDGA says that language can produce an unintended result when a disc is wedged between the outside of the tray and something else, yet still seems to meet the basic idea of being at rest. The proposed clarification would close that loophole by making clear that a disc is not holed out if it is only appearing to be supported by the tray while actually being supported by the playing surface or another object.

The photo library walks through the situations tournament directors and players see most often. A disc resting on top of the basket is not holed out. A disc stuck through the chain support is not holed out. A disc supported by the tray alone is holed out. A disc that looks supported by the tray but is really pinned by the ground or an outside object is not holed out. That distinction matters because it shifts the ruling from a fuzzy visual judgment to a narrower question about what is actually carrying the disc’s weight.

The PDGA says a rules fix is preferable to a course-design fix. Changing basket or course requirements would be harder to enforce and could force retrofits that many venues could not realistically make. The association is trying to keep the rulebook aligned with how targets work on the course while reducing a source of late-hole ambiguity that can turn a routine finish into a card-stopping discussion.

The proposed 2027 rule changes are still open for public comment through July 23, 2026. The Policy & Compliance team is overseeing the process with input from the Global Board of Directors, senior staff, the Rules & Regulations Advisory Committee, Disc Golf Pro Tour employees, and the PDGA Event Support & Training and Major Events teams. The online rules on PDGA.com remain the authoritative version, and major revisions are generally published and effective on January 1 each year.

The new clarification also follows the PDGA’s earlier educational approach. Rules School Episode 9, published in 2021, covered the same basic holing-out standard and used examples of discs squeezing through the tray or going straight into the chains.