As we head into the 2026 season, there are several significant updates to the PDGA Official Rules of Disc Golf and Competition Manual. Some of these changes are global, while others are from the international guide and are specific for events held in Australia.

Below is a summary of the major changes you need to be aware of for your events this year.

Major Rule Changes (Effective Jan 1, 2026)

• Mandatory Scoring for All Players (Now Mandatory in Australia): Following the 2025 transition period, every player on a card must now keep an independent scorecard for the entire group. A player who refuses to keep score must be disqualified.
• New “45-Second” Fairway Rule: The traditional 30-second clock still applies to tee shots, drop zones, and putts within 20 meters. However, for all other fairway shots (scrambles/approaches), players now have 45 seconds.
• Addressing the Lie (Clock Start): The clock now officially starts when a player “addresses their lie.” This includes actions like marking with a mini, using a rangefinder, or clearing casual obstacles.
• Group Voting (Thrower Excluded): When a group needs to vote on a ruling (e.g., OB or a stance violation), the thrower is now excluded from the initial vote. If the remaining players are tied, only then does the thrower vote to break the tie. Lobbying the group for a favourable call is now a courtesy violation.
•  Relief areas: These are now named required relief areas and casual areas to avoid confusion. Required relief areas are played like out of bounds, but without a penalty throw, (you cannot also take line of play relief or return to the previous lie without penalty); casual areas allow for optional relocation without penalty. 
• Casual obstacles:  can be moved by a player without penalty. A casual obstacle must not be an item intentionally placed as part of the course, embedded into the playing surface and is not a larger item such as a large branch or rock.

TD Cheat Sheet: Quick Reminders for Players

To help your players adjust during the first few events of the year, here are the key bullet points for your player meetings:

• Scorekeeping: “Everyone on the card must keep score. If you don’t have a phone for digital scoring, you must use a paper card.”
• Fairway Clock: “You have 30 seconds on the tee and green, but 45 seconds on the fairway once you’ve addressed your lie.”
• Group Rulings: “If there’s a call to be made, the thrower stays quiet while the rest of the card votes. No lobbying for your own safe call.”
• Casual Obstacles: “You can move loose debris, but if it takes two people to move it, it’s not a casual obstacle—leave it alone.”
• Required Relief Areas: “If you land in a required relief area, you must take relief without a penalty, but you play it like OB (no line-of-play relief).”

For a full breakdown of the clerical and minor changes, please review the Official PDGA 2026 Update Page and international guide https://www.pdga.com/international/international-program-guide

One section of the PDGA International Program Guide we’d like to remind organisers of is the Target Requirements section.

Best of luck with your events this season!

At Australian Disc Golf, we want to ensure every new club has the tools they need to succeed. That is why we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the ADG Grant Program as we head into 2026.

We have streamlined our categories, and refined our selection process to be more transparent and objective to ensure that funding gets exactly where it’s needed most. To see what this looks like in practice, one need only look at the thriving new disc golf course in Wagga Wagga, where a recent grant helped turn a local vision into a concrete reality.

The Wagga Wagga Course

Last year, Wagga Disc Golf Club turned their vision of installing a disc golf course at Rawlings Reserve into a reality with the assistance of local council grants, community support and a successful ADG grant application for course signage. Janet and Dean Cartwright of Wagga Disc Golf Club share some words about the ADG grant process.

As a 2025 recipient of an ADG grant, we are pleased to share how valuable this support was for our new club and would strongly encourage other clubs to take advantage of the opportunity. The application process was remarkably straightforward, handled entirely via email, and coordinated smoothly with NSW Disc Golf backing. The grant funding was instrumental in helping us install course signage, increase community awareness, and demonstrate national backing for our parallel council grant application to purchase 9 baskets and install a course. We feel very fortunate to have a proactive national body that promotes disc golf and supports new clubs, and we encourage others to make use of this program to help grow the sport in their communities.

The course signage was huge for getting the word out and making their new club feel “real” to the community during those first few months. When they applied for the Wagga Wagga City Council Annual Grants Program, having ADG’s national support gave their application credibility and they were successful in securing $6,320 from the council to install a 12-basket course.

Where Will ADG’s Grant Program Take You?

The story of Wagga Wagga is a testament to what can happen when local passion meets national support. Dean and Janet “feel very fortunate to have a proactive national body that promotes disc golf and supports new clubs,” noting that for them, “this support was essential to our development and long-term success”.

We want to see your club tell a similar story. Whether you are running an event, expanding an existing course, or developing new coaching materials, the refreshed ADG Grant Program offers up to $1,000 to help move your project forward.

We strongly encourage clubs, tournament directors or other volunteers to take advantage of this opportunity to help grow the sport in their communities. The path is clear, the process is simple, and as Wagga Wagga has shown, the impact is lasting.

Visit the ADG Grant Program page today to find out more and submit your application.

Recently, ADG held its annual general meeting which saw the election of two new Board members, Mathew Wallis and Mark Donnelly. Today we would like to take some time to introduce ADG’s new State Representative Liaison for 2026, Mat Wallis, who is acts as the connection between the ADG Board and the State Representative Committee.

I’m Mat Wallis and I’ve volunteered to the be the ADG State Rep Liaison for 2026.

I started playing disc golf back in 2017 after walking through the Newington Armory and seeing a group of disc golfers throwing frisbees a crazy long way. 6 months later and I already had a bag, a stack of discs and well on my way to a plastic addiction.

My first tournament was the Aussie Disc Golf Championships in Canberra in 2018, where I finished dead last in MA2. Lots of practice and 12 months later, I was MA40 Champ at the next Aussie Championships in Mount Gambier. That is an amazing course and easily top of my must-play list.

Since then, disc golf has been a key part of my life. I’ve run numerous tournaments, been president of Sydney Disc Golf since 2021 and NSW state rep for ADG for the past 3 years. I’ve also dabbled with a YouTube channel called Disc Golf Down Under with a focus on MVP discs that got a shout out from Simon Lizotte when he signed for Team MVP in 2023.

Outside disc golf, I work as an engineer and live next to the Newington Armory course in Sydney. I’ve got 2 boys, who have zero interest in disc golf, but I have managed to drag my wife into the sport and she loves to come out and play in tournaments.

I’m hoping to play lots more disc golf in 2026 and looking forward to my role as state liaison on the ADG board.

Welcome to the Board, Mat. Here’s to fostering a strong relationship between the local clubs, state representatives and the ADG Board in the year ahead.