Moved Discs and Interference Explained
Disc golf is played outdoors, among other people, often near dogs with strong opinions about flying plastic. Sooner or later something will move your disc after it lands, or get in its way while it’s flying. PDGA 810 Interference is the rule that sorts it out, and its core idea fits on a sticky note: play from where the disc first came to rest, and penalize people only when they meant it (or when it was their own fault).
This guide walks through all eight parts of 810, in the order the rulebook gives them.
Related: How to Mark Your Lie · The Two-Meter Rule · The Abandoned Throw · Lost Disc Rule · Obstacles and Relief.
810.A: Your disc moved after it landed
If a thrown disc moves after coming to rest on the in-bounds playing surface, it goes back to where it first came to rest, as agreed on by the group. A dog carried it off, a kid picked it up, another player’s drive clattered into it: the cause doesn’t matter. Put it back where it was.
The same paragraph covers discs that came to rest somewhere else (in a tree, out-of-bounds, in a hazard). Those don’t have to be physically replaced, but the disc’s position is still based on where it first came to rest, again as agreed on by the group.
“As agreed on by the group” is doing real work here. Nobody needs a tape measure or video replay; the card makes its best call together and moves on.
The tree example from the PDGA Q&A
The official Rules Q&A has exactly one interference question, and it’s a good one. QA-INT-1: your disc is stuck far above two meters with the two-meter rule in effect, and another player’s throw knocks it to the ground. Where’s your lie, and do you still take the penalty?
The PDGA’s answer: a moved disc is played relative to where it first came to rest. That was clearly above two meters, so you take the two-meter penalty just as if the disc had stayed in the tree. Your buddy’s drive is not a get-out-of-jail card.
A related Q&A from the completion section (QA-COM-6) shows the flip side. If your disc came to rest in the chains and the next player’s putt knocks it out, you already completed the hole under 807. Pick it up and go to the next tee.
810.B: Your marker disc moved
A marker disc that has moved is replaced to its original location, as agreed on by the group. Someone’s approach skips into your mini, someone kicks it on the walk up: put it back. No penalty for anyone just because it moved.
If you need a refresher on what a proper mark looks like, see How to Mark Your Lie.
810.C: Your disc hit a person or an animal
A thrown disc that strikes a person or animal is played where it first comes to rest. No re-throw, no penalty, no do-over. If it caromed off a spectator’s shoulder into the fairway, enjoy it. If it bounced off a jogger into the creek, that’s where it is.
Important note for actual humans: 812 Courtesy says a player must not throw if the throw might injure someone, and it allows shouting to warn someone at risk of being struck. “Fore” beats a rules discussion every time.
810.D: You (or your stuff) interfered with your own throw
This one costs you. It’s a violation if a player or their equipment interferes with the course of their own thrown disc. The PDGA’s remedy:
- The throw and one penalty throw count in your score.
- You continue from the previous lie.
- Any other penalty throws that throw picked up are disregarded.
And if someone interferes with your throw because you asked them to (“grab it before it rolls in the pond!”), that’s treated the same as interfering with it yourself.
That remedy should look familiar: it’s the same math as an abandoned throw under 809.01 (throw plus one, play from the previous lie, other penalties from that throw disregarded).
810.E: Someone else intentionally changed your disc’s flight
If someone other than the thrower intentionally alters the course of a thrown disc, the disc gets a position at the point of contact, as agreed on by the group. Then you, the thrower, choose:
- Play from that lie, or
- Abandon the throw without penalty. The original throw isn’t counted in your score at all.
So you can’t be hurt by someone else’s deliberate swat. If the point of contact is a gift, take it. If it’s worse than a re-throw, re-throw for free.
810.F: The two-stroke penalty for meddling
A player who intentionally interferes with another player’s disc gets two penalty throws for either of these:
- Altering the course of a thrown disc, other than to prevent injury; or
- Moving or obscuring a thrown disc or marker disc, other than while identifying, retrieving, or marking it, or as allowed by 810.H (below).
Two details worth noticing. Stopping a disc to keep someone from getting hurt is explicitly carved out. And picking up a disc to see whose it is, or to mark it, is part of normal play, not meddling.
810.G: Don’t park yourself (or your bag) in the flight path
Players must not stand or leave their equipment where interference with a disc in play may occur. Before you throw, you may require other players to move themselves or their equipment if either could interfere. Refusing is a courtesy violation.
Under 812, a courtesy violation means a warning first, then one penalty throw for each later courtesy violation by that player in the same round. 812 also separately lists leaving equipment where it may interfere with a thrown disc, and moving equipment when asked, as courtesy obligations.
810.H: Another player’s disc is on or behind your lie
If a disc in play that someone else threw comes to rest on or behind your lie, it may be moved. After you throw, it’s replaced to where it came to rest, as agreed on by the group. This is why lifting someone’s disc out of your stance isn’t 810.F meddling; the rule allows it, as long as it goes back.
Quick reference
| What happened | Rule | Where you play | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your disc moved after landing in-bounds | 810.A | Where it first came to rest (replaced) | None |
| Your disc in a tree got knocked down (two-meter rule in effect) | 810.A, QA-INT-1 | Relative to where it first came to rest | Two-meter penalty still applies |
| Your marker got moved | 810.B | Original marker spot (replaced) | None |
| Your throw hit a person or animal | 810.C | Where it comes to rest | None |
| You or your bag interfered with your own throw (or you asked someone to) | 810.D | Previous lie | Throw + 1; other penalties from that throw disregarded |
| Someone deliberately altered your throw | 810.E | Point of contact, or abandon for free | None for you |
| Someone deliberately altered, moved, or hid another player’s disc | 810.F | n/a | 2 for the meddler |
| Someone won’t move themselves or their bag when asked | 810.G, 812 | n/a | Courtesy: warning, then 1 per later violation |
| Another player’s disc on or behind your lie | 810.H | Move it, throw, replace it | None |
Habits that keep the card quiet
These aren’t PDGA rules, just good sense:
- Note where discs land before you walk. The group decides “where it first came to rest,” and a quick shared look from the tee makes that easy.
- Speak up when something moves. “A dog just took my Buzzz from about here” invites agreement before anyone forgets.
- Bags behind the thrower. If your bag is never in front of anyone, 810.D and 810.G never come up.
- Ask before you lift someone’s disc off your lie, and set it back where it was.
- Warn loudly, early. It’s the one kind of shouting the courtesy rule protects.
- Unsure about a lie? Throw a provisional and get a ruling later.
Where to read the rules yourself
- PDGA 810 Interference
- PDGA 807 Completing the Hole
- PDGA 809.01 Abandoned Throw
- PDGA 812 Courtesy
- PDGA Rules Questions and Answers (QA-INT-1, QA-COM-6)
Rules checked on 2026-10-23 against pdga.com (810 last updated Dec 31, 2023; 812 Dec 31, 2025; 807 and 809.01 Dec 31, 2021; 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.