One of the things that my brother and I wondered when we first started playing disc golf was where you put your foot when you’re throwing from a disc in a fairway. We assumed that we placed our foot ‘close to where the last disc landed’. I see many beginners playing as if they came to the same conclusion. This article will explain the proper way to mark your lie, the role of the mini, and why you need one.
The Might Mini
A mini marker is a miniature version of a disc that players use to mark their lie. A lie is defined as the place on the playing surface upon which the player takes a stance in order to throw. The lie for the first throw on a hole is the tee box. A drop zone is also a lie. A drop zone is a designated area for throwing under certain specified situations.
Other than the tee box and drop zone, the lie is an area 20cm x 30cm, or roughly the size of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper, which is directly behind the mini marker or disc.
Let’s say a player is playing hole #1. His first throw is from the tee pad. He does not need to mark his lie on a tee pad. His drive lands in the middle of the fairway. He now has a choice: he can leave his disc where it’s at and throw in the 20cm x 30cm area behind the disc, or he can place his mini marker in front of his disc, pick up his disc, and throw in the area behind the mini marker.
The player will continue to mark his lie until he completes the hole by landing in the basket. The only exception is if he misses a mandatory (a designated direction that a disc must pass an obstacle) that has a drop zone. Players do not need to mark their lie at a Drop Zone.
What does a mini marker look like?
As mentioned above, a mini marker basically looks like a miniature disc. There are dimension standards set by the PDGA that must be met for a mini to be ‘legal’ to use. Here are the standards:
Mini Marker discs must have a circular shape, with a diameter ranging from 7 cm to 15 cm and a height not exceeding 3 cm. Mini marker discs can be made from a variety of materials (e.g. plastic, metal, wood). The Mini Disc Golf Federation officially defines mini discs suitable for mini golf competition ( via http://minidiscgolf.com/rules/).
When is a mini marker necessary?
Since you have the option to use the last disc you threw to mark your lie, does that mean you don’t need a mini? Most of the time you wouldn’t NEED a mini. However, if you are playing a PDGA sanctioned tournament, and you go out of bounds, you would have to have a mini to mark your lie. There is no other way to proceed without a mini.
With unsanctioned tournaments or casual league competition, you will commonly see people flip their disc to mark their lie. That is illegal in PDGA competition, but acceptable outside of sanctioned tournaments.
If you plan on playing sanctioned tournaments, it is a good idea to use a mini marker in casual rounds. Then you make a habit of using it, and won’t during a sanctioned tournament.
Here are the PDGA rules regarding mini markers and their use: