guides · Updated 2026-10-25

Misplays: Wrong Lies, Wrong Holes, and Fixing Them

Every disc golfer eventually throws from the wrong spot. Maybe it was your cardmate’s identical Buzzz, maybe you sailed past a mandatory and nobody noticed, maybe the whole group wandered onto the wrong tee pad because the arrows were behind a tree. PDGA 811 Misplay is the rule that cleans it up, and its message is simple: playing the course correctly is your job, and catching a mistake early is cheaper than catching it late.

Related: Stance and Foot Faults · Out of Bounds and Mandos · Hazards vs. Required Relief Areas · Moved Discs and Interference · Excessive Time.

The ground rules (811.A through 811.E)

• It’s on you. 811 opens by saying it is the player’s responsibility to play the course correctly, and that players are expected to attend the players’ meeting to learn about special conditions: extra holes, alternate tees, alternate pin placements, out-of-bounds areas, mandatories, and drop zones. Skipping the meeting is not a defense.
• What counts. A misplay happens when a player fails to complete every hole correctly and in the proper order, or plays from an incorrect lie for any throw.
• Late discoveries still count. If a misplay is found after the scorecard has been turned in, the player still gets the penalty throws that apply.
• It’s its own thing. A misplay is not a stance violation and not a practice throw. Different rule, different math.
• Don’t try to game it. A player who deliberately misplays to gain a competitive advantage may be disqualified under Section 3.03 of the Competition Manual.

Wrong lie or foot fault?

This is the distinction people mix up most. The PDGA’s QA-MIS-2 puts it neatly: if you accidentally throw from another player’s disc, that’s a misplay, because you used the wrong lie. A foot fault (stance violation) assumes you were at the correct lie and just missed it with your feet.

Short version: stance violations are about how you stood at the right spot. Misplays are about standing at the wrong spot.

811.F.1: Incorrect lie

The rule lists five classic ways to end up at the wrong lie. You:

• Teed off from the wrong teeing area for the hole;
• Threw from a lie other than the one your thrown disc established (the cardmate’s-Buzzz problem);
• Played an out-of-bounds disc as if it were in-bounds;
• Threw from a lie set by a throw that missed a mandatory; or
• Played a disc in a required relief area as if it weren’t in one.

The fix depends on whether you’ve thrown again since:

Either way, penalties that apply to the throws you actually used (an OB stroke, a missed-mando stroke) are added on top of the misplay penalty.

The mandatory example (QA-MIS-3)

You miss a mando on your drive, nobody notices, and you throw your second shot from where the drive landed. Then someone says, “Wait, that went right of the tree.” Because you caught it after a single misplayed throw, the PDGA says you don’t count or play that second throw. You take one penalty throw for the misplay and play your next shot from the correct lie for the missed mandatory (the drop zone, or the tee if there isn’t one). And the missed-mandatory penalty still applies, since that happened on the drive, before the misplay. For how mandos work in the first place, see Out of Bounds and Mandos.

811.F.2: Failure to complete a hole

You moved on to the next hole (or finished the round) without actually holing out on a previous one. The score for that hole is:

throws made + 1 for completing the hole + 2 penalty throws.

QA-MIS-4 confirms the same math applies even if you only realize it after the scorecard was submitted. And QA-MIS-7 adds a funny-but-real case: if your disc lands in a basket that isn’t the target for the hole you’re playing, treat that basket like any other obstacle, mark your lie on the playing surface below the disc, and keep going. If you mistakenly treated it as holed out and moved on, that’s failure to complete.

Intentionally not completing a hole is treated as withdrawal from competition.

811.F.3: Non-sequential play

You completed holes in the wrong order. Get back on the proper order and continue. No matter how many holes you played out of sequence, it’s two penalty throws total added to your round score, and the scores for holes you completed stand.

811.F.4 and F.5: Absent and missing

These two are close cousins:

• Absent: not there at the start of the round with your assigned group, or you didn’t play the previous hole and aren’t there when the group is ready to start the next one. You don’t play the hole and get par plus four for each hole not played. Par is set by the Tournament Director.
• Missing: you were with the group but aren’t there when it’s your turn. You get 30 seconds to rejoin. Still gone after that, and you’re absent for the hole: par plus four. (811 points to 802.03.H for an exception; see our Excessive Time guide for the bathroom-break details.)

QA-MIS-5 is the honest emergency: stomach trouble, a long restroom visit, and your group played a hole without you. Yes, you can rejoin them, and the hole you missed is handled under these absent and missing rules.

811.F.6: Omitted hole

The round is done and you skipped one or more holes entirely. Each unplayed hole gets par plus four. As with F.2, doing it on purpose counts as withdrawal from competition.

811.F.7 and F.8: Incorrect hole vs. extra hole

QA-MIS-1 sums up the split:

This is exactly why the players’ meeting matters: alternate layouts and temporary holes are where these mistakes are born.

811.F.9: Wrong starting group

You began play in a group you weren’t assigned to. Go find your assigned group. Any throws you made with the wrong group are disregarded, and you’re subject to the absent penalties for whatever you missed with your real group.

QA-MIS-6 shuts down the clever version. Late player, assigned to a hole across the park, notices a nearby threesome and figures two penalty strokes beats par plus four. The PDGA’s answer, in so many words: not so much. Intentionally misplaying to your advantage can get you disqualified, the throws with the wrong group are disregarded, and you still need to find your assigned group.

811.F.10: Wrong starting hole

The whole group started on the wrong hole. What it costs depends on how far you got:

• If any player made more than one throw on that hole, the entire group has misplayed it. Finish the hole, and each player adds two penalty throws to their score for that hole.
• Otherwise, players who made a single throw each get one penalty throw, that throw is disregarded, and the group heads to the correct hole to start.

Quick reference

Penalties tied to the throws you actually used are added on top, and a deliberate misplay for advantage can mean disqualification.

Habits that keep you out of 811

These aren’t PDGA rules, just good sense:

• Go to the players’ meeting and write the special conditions in your caddie book.
• Name your disc before you walk up. “Mine’s the orange Buzzz with the dot” saves the QA-MIS-2 conversation.
• Say the mando out loud on the tee so the whole card watches the line.
• Check the tee sign number before anyone throws, especially on the first hole of a shotgun start.
• Speak up the moment something looks off. The rule rewards early catches: one stroke instead of two.
• Not sure? Throw a provisional and sort it out before you sign.

Where to read the rules yourself

• PDGA 811 Misplay
• PDGA 802.03 Excessive Time (802.03.H)
• PDGA Rules Questions and Answers (QA-MIS-1 through QA-MIS-7)
• PDGA Competition Manual 3.03 Player Misconduct

Rules checked on 2026-10-24 against pdga.com (811 last updated April 9, 2026; Q&A March 18, 2026). The PDGA updates its rules most years, so check the current text before you settle a dispute on the card.

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