What’s up, Disc Golf People?
A certain veteran disc golf writer/instructor/talking head had never attended a PDGA major (other than the three he played in, long ago), nor been on-site for a live Disc Golf Network production, until May 2025. That’s Jack Tupp!
My disc golf jobs require that I mostly stay local, but the Champions Cup taking place less than 2 hours away meant that I could card several birdies with one throw, so to speak. So I secured a media credential and made a plan to do three things: capture a variety of videos, images, and impressions for use in future blog and vlog content; meet with my marketing partners at Idio Sports and TECHDISC; and take in the whole experience as a fan.
Mission accomplished, and then some! In addition to content for planned posts about the DGPT fan experience and backhand form, I recorded a few great interviews, including one with my old Discmasters co-star and Presidents Cup captain Avery Jenkins. I ran into Nate and Val, too, but they were both headed for their shifts calling the action at the time.
Expect more fresh posts from this trip in the weeks to come, but the thing I want to address right away is the controversy that resulted from a PDGA marshall’s decision to take the initiative in calling a foot fault penalty on Kristen Latt on the event’s third-from-final hole.
If you need the details about what happened and what other talking heads said about it, just search for “disc golf + PDGA + Kristen + marshall.” That ought to do it.
No one wants a repeat of what happened, so the PDGA needs to scrutinize both the incident and the flawed rule (and others like it) that enabled it to happen.
First the incident.
I agree with the frustration/outrage about the seemingly random (and rare, and nit-picky) application of a rule. At this point, it would seem that what’s going to be said has been said:
- Video shows she likely barely, technically touched her marker with her toe while her disc was still touching her hand- barely
- Such “infractions” do not provide any kind of advantage
- Such infractions happen all the time
- It’s not fair to have a few players scrutinized by an outside monitor while most are not
While I don’t disagree with any of the points above, the fact that I walked next to said marshall for a couple of hours for four straight days and have experience as a sports official qualifies me to have a fresh take.
Officials in sports are the umpires in baseball, the referees in football and basketball. They are judges who are there to know and apply rules and ensure fair play.
I did a little research (shocking, I know) because I was curious about the distinction between a marshall and an official in a golf tournament. Marshalls handle crowd control and safety issues, and assist with pace-of-play. But they are quite pointedly not authorized to make rulings. That is the job of . . . you guessed it . . . an official.
The person who on his own assessed Latt a penalty, even after the other players in her group told him they saw no infraction, has the title of Marshall. In the 4 rounds (two each following the MPO and FPO lead cards) where I used my press credential to observe the action — and the ballet dance of the DGN camera operators who capture it — he acted admirably in his role as a marshall. I witnessed him repeatedly guide spectators to the best areas for viewing the current or next hole.
So I guess one question is, has the PDGA combined the tournament staff roles of marshall and official into one? And if so, did they do it in any official way?
Maybe there is internal documentation detailing the job description of PDGA marshall at an event, and maybe it officially includes duties normally associated with an official. But what if what happened to Kristin Latt was the result of a less formal arrangement, where the Marshall was told vaguely that he would have the power to make stance rulings?
The answer is important because a person does not wake up one day prepared to officiate a major professional sporting event. Anyone who has volunteered to officiate even kids’ baseball or soccer knows how overwhelming it can be when thrown into such an environment.
As someone with plenty of officiating experience in my past (baseball, back when it was OK to yell at the ump), my best guess is that the marshall saw Latt’s foot bump the disc, asked the other players, then, despite their answering in the negative, assessed a penalty anyway. He probably panicked and thought he had to, since he brought it up.
Maybe deep in his subconscious he wanted to be the center of attention and acted before thinking. Or he could be acting solely or with others to thwart Europeans from dominating the FPO division.
Nah.
If there is any action to be taken (as opposed to reaction, better known as “talking about it,” it would involve better defining the roles and use of marshalls (as opposed to officials) in disc golf, and better preparing individuals who are expected to act as lone judge and jury. Whatever we call them.
As for the flawed rule that set the stage for Champions Cup v. Kristin II, the flaw lies in the inability to clearly determine an infraction. After the marshall assessed his penalty, Latt asked him if he saw the disc leave her hand.
He said, quite honestly, “No. I can’t watch two things at once.” In baseball, the only way umpires make the call at first base is by watching the runner’s foot touch the base while listening for the sound of the ball smacking the fielder’s leather glove. Because their eyes can’t focus on two things at one time.
Another aspect of this rule that is even more controversial involves “step” putts where a player strides toward the target past their marker, releasing the disc just before a foot touches down illegally well past the lie. If it appears to happen simultaneously, what do we say? Tie goes against the thrower?
I showed two images and one video clip of a legal Anthony Barela putt above as an example of why the stance rules can’t and shouldn’t be enforced in any but the most egregious cases. Not by cardmates, not even by officials . . . . and by no means marshalls.