How Do We Feel About Out-of-Bounds
One of the questions on the 2018 State of Disc Golf Survey asked disc golfers how they feel about out-of-bounds rules. It was a straight-forward question and the breakdown of the responses is pretty basic. While some players feel strongly in favor of, or against the use of “OB” in the game, most players seem indifferent and feel like the use of Out-of-Bounds is generally fine.
These were the possible responses:
–> I don’t like OB and feel it should only be implemented when necessary. 16.9%
–> I feel indifferent about OB. Some OB is good, and other OB detracts from disc golf. 64.6%
–> I like lots of OB and feel that added OB enhances the disc golf experience. Bring on the islands! 14.8%
–> N/A I don’t play out-of-bounds rules anyway. 3.7%
It appears that most players understand that OB lines can be necessary to discourage players from crossing fairways or throwing toward areas where discs shouldn’t fly. But when it comes to adding more OB’s just for the sake of adding difficulty to the course, slightly more players appear to feel that it can go too far (16.9%) while a slightly smaller number feel like more OB lines add to the experience (14.8%).
We asked our own crew what they felt about OB lines, and while most are as indifferent as the majority of survey participants, the most poignant response was from our Open level player. He basically said that OB’s which are drawn artificially around naturally occurring hazards, like trees or rough terrain, should be removed. Why? Because if you throw into those areas, then navigating out of the rough terrain or throwing out of trees can be like a penalty stroke already– you either pay the price by wasting a throw to get back onto the fairway, or you prove your skill by escaping unscathed. He feels that any time a stroke is added to his score card that he did not throw, it is unwarranted. The exception would be obvious out-of-bounds lines that protect other fairways, roads, foot traffic areas, etc.
If you have opinions about OB’s that you’d like to share, please feel free to leave comments below.