Rules & Etiquette

Provisional Throws

Play on when a ruling is in doubt.

Why it matters

A provisional throw is what stops a disagreement over a ruling from either halting the round or being settled badly under pressure. You play both outcomes, keep moving, and sort it out afterwards with somebody who knows. It is the most useful rule almost nobody uses.

How to do it

Use one when the group genuinely disagrees about a ruling, or when it is unclear whether a disc is lost or out of bounds (PDGA 805.01).
Announce it clearly to the group BEFORE throwing: say you are playing a provisional and what the two outcomes are.
Play out both: your score under each interpretation.
Resolve it after the round with an official, or with the rulebook, and record the correct score.
Keep playing. The whole purpose is that the round does not stop and nobody has to be right on the spot.

Common mistakes

Deciding a contested ruling on the spot and moving on.If it genuinely matters and the group disagrees, play a provisional. Being pressured into a ruling is how the wrong score gets kept.

Playing a provisional without announcing it.Announce it before the throw, clearly. An unannounced provisional is just a second throw.

Using one to retake a shot you did not like.It is for genuine rules uncertainty, not for a second attempt. Using it otherwise is cheating with extra steps.

Key points

Throw a provisional when the group disagrees on a ruling.
It avoids a re-throw later and keeps the round moving.

The drill

Drill · Say it out loud once — 1 practice announcement, before you ever need it. Next time a ruling is even slightly unclear in a casual round, practise announcing a provisional properly — what you are doing and what the two outcomes are. Having said the words once makes it far more likely you will use it when it actually counts.

Watch: PDGA Disc Golf Rules Q & A | Provisional Throws — PDGA