Disc Golf Rules History

The first known disc golf rules in 1982 were rediscovered in notes kept in the files of our founder, Steady Ed Headrick. These original rules and the rules updates since 1982 have been digitized and analyzed to show how the competitive rules of our sport have evolved. The next rules update in 1986 was the first published rulebook provided to PDGA members. The remaining major rules updates were 1990, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2018, and most recently 2022, which is our tenth version. 

Shown above is a snapshot of the 1978 rules sign DGA sold with their courses before the PDGA was founded. At the time, there were no official rules for how run tournaments, just the basic way to play the game. Note that the original name for what later became the "Two Meter rule" was "Unplayable Lie." At that time measurements in the game were indicated in English versus the Metric units used today to be consistent with the World Flying Disc Federation format for all disc sports.

The full text of our past rulebooks are provided below in PDF format. The text has been colored red to indicate additions to a rulebook from the previous version. Blue colored text shows where significant changes were made in the wording or concept from the previous version. Two historical progress charts are also provided. The first is a detailed timeline providing shorthand notes on the specific changes and additions made section by section throughout each rules edition over the years. The second shows the new terms and concepts that were added to the Glossary or Definitions for our sport over the years.

And of course, you can always find the current rules and regulations of disc golf at http://pdga.com/rules