The Abandoned Throw: Taking the Stroke and Starting Over
Every disc golfer has stood over a lie and thought, I would rather not. The disc is wedged in a thicket, perched in a tree, or sitting behind a wall of poison ivy, and the honest answer is that the shot from there is worse than the shot you just took. The PDGA rules have an exit for exactly that moment. It’s called the abandoned throw, and it costs one stroke.
Think of it as the rules’ undo button. It isn’t free, and it only reaches back one throw, but used well it saves more strokes than it spends.
Related: Provisional Throws Explained · Hazards vs. Required Relief Areas · Lost Disc: The 3-Minute Search · Out of Bounds and Mandos · The Two-Meter Rule Explained.
The rule in one paragraph
PDGA 809.01 says a player may abandon their most recent throw by declaring it to the group. The abandoned throw and one penalty throw both count on the scorecard, and the player plays again from the lie the abandoned throw was made from. Any penalty throws incurred by the abandoned throw are disregarded. If the TD has designated a drop zone for abandoned throws on that hole, the player may throw from the drop zone instead of the previous lie.
That’s the whole rule. Four moving parts:
- Declare it to your group. It’s not something you decide silently on the walk back.
- Count the throw plus one penalty.
- Go back to the previous lie, or to the abandoned-throw drop zone if the hole has one.
- Forget the penalties that bad throw would have earned.
The math, using the PDGA’s own example
The PDGA Q&A walks through the classic case (QA-ABA-2): a shanked drive on a short hole sticks high in a tree in a dense forest, and the two-meter rule is in effect. The player would rather re-tee than play from the woods. Are they throwing 3 or 4?
Three. The drive counts as 1, the abandon penalty makes it 2, and the re-tee is throw 3. The two-meter penalty that drive would have triggered is not added, because penalties incurred by an abandoned throw are disregarded.
QA-ABA-1 puts it neatly: except for being added to the score, the abandoned throw never happened. The lie it produced is gone, and so are its penalties.
When you already picked up your marker
Changed your mind a little late? QA-ABA-3 covers it. If you threw, picked up your mini, and then decided to abandon, you can still do it. The group agrees on an approximate spot the abandoned throw was made from, and you play from there.
What abandoning can’t do
- It only reaches one throw back. The rule says your most recent throw. You can’t skip two bad shots in a row with one penalty.
- It isn’t a provisional. 809.02 specifically says provisional throws are not available when the player is considering abandoning the throw. Abandoning is a decision, not a “let’s play both and see.” If you’re torn, decide, declare, and play one sequence.
- No drop zone unless the TD made one. The drop zone option only applies if the TD designated one for abandoned throws on that hole. Otherwise it’s the previous lie. Check the caddie book or hole notes.
How it compares to your other escape routes
Abandoning isn’t the only way to get out of a bad lie for one stroke. Here’s how it lines up with the nearby rules, straight from the rule text:
| Option | Cost | Where you play next |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned throw (809.01) | Throw counts, plus 1 penalty; that throw’s own penalties disregarded | Previous lie, or abandoned-throw drop zone if designated |
| Optional line-of-play relief (803.03) | 1 penalty | A new lie farther from the target, on the line of play |
| Out-of-bounds, previous-lie option (806.02) | 1 penalty for the OB | Previous lie (other OB options: up to 1 m from where last in bounds, then free walk-back on the line of play) |
The Q&A uses these side by side. When a disc lands in irritating plants like poison ivy (QA-OBS-5), in sensitive foliage the TD hasn’t specially marked (QA-OBS-6), or in a casual creek you’d rather not stand in (QA-CAS-1), the answer is the same: take optional relief or abandon the throw, at the cost of a penalty throw.
And for an OB pond ringed by reeds (QA-OB-2), going back to the tee under the OB rule or declaring an abandoned throw gives the same result. The Q&A adds that the free walk-back along the line of play after marking under 806.02 is “probably your best option” there. The lesson is to price out every exit before you march back to the tee pad.
One more place it matters: in a required relief area, the previous-lie option that OB normally gives you is removed by 806.04, but you may still abandon the throw under 809.01. Our hazards vs. required relief guide covers that wrinkle.
Habits that keep it clean
These aren’t PDGA rules, just ways to keep the card honest and the group moving:
- Say the words out loud. “I’m abandoning that throw” is clearer than a sigh and a walk back to the tee. Your group has to understand what you did to score it right.
- Price it before you declare. Compare the abandon (back to the previous lie) with optional relief (back on the line of play) and, when OB is involved, the OB options. Sometimes walking back 15 feet beats walking back 300.
- Remember the penalty math. If the bad throw landed somewhere that would have cost a stroke on its own (two-meter, OB, hazard), abandoning erases that stroke and replaces it with the one-stroke abandon penalty. You never pay both.
- Leave the previous lie findable. If there’s any chance you’ll abandon, don’t wander off with your mini. QA-ABA-3 lets the group estimate, but a mark is better than a guess.
- Mind the clock. Deciding to abandon doesn’t stop the expectation of reasonable pace. Make the call while you walk, not while you stand there.
Where to read the rules yourself
- PDGA 809.01 Abandoned Throw
- PDGA 809.02 Provisional Throw
- PDGA 803.03 Optional Line of Play Relief
- PDGA 806.02 Out-of-Bounds
- PDGA 806.04 Required Relief Area
- PDGA Rules Questions and Answers (QA-ABA-1, QA-ABA-2, QA-ABA-3, QA-OB-2, QA-OBS-5, QA-OBS-6, QA-CAS-1)
Rules checked against pdga.com on 2026-10-19 (809.01 last updated Dec 31, 2021; 809.02, 803.03, and 806.02 Dec 31, 2025; 806.04 Apr 9, 2026; Q&A Mar 18, 2026). The PDGA updates its rules most years, so check the current text before you settle a dispute on the card.