You’ve seen your buddy sink a 40′ putt after shaving off 10′ using their “totally legal jump putt.” Well, to your friends surprise it was most likely an illegal toss. We’re here to clear up the arguments on the course regarding the jump putt.

What is a Jump Putt?

You’ve probably seen it a hundred times. Someone dialing in their putt, suddenly leaping up and out toward the basket, limbs flailing around in the air like a fish out of water. Like an injured gazelle, jumping for its life to escape the jaws of a lion. They are rarely pretty, often loud and dramatic scenes when approaching a basket. We’re talking about the jump putt.

A jump putt is a sort of throw that gives the player extra momentum behind the disc, or a little extra loft in their putt. A player achieves this by jumping and leaping forward, towards the basket during their putt attempt. This a completely legal technique if you follow all the rules. I’d bet that the majority of average players are not using the jump putt correctly in their gameplay.

Because the PGDA doesn’t provide a rule involving jump putts specifically, we can only use the rules provided to come to our own conclusion. For this we will focus on the rule of stance (rule 802.07).

According to the PDGA, the rules applying to stance are as follows and can also be found here:

1. If the lie has been marked by a marker disc, then when the disc is released, the player must:
   1. Have at least one supporting point that is in contact with the lie; and,
   2. Have no supporting point closer to the target than the rear edge of the marker disc; and,
   3. Have all supporting points in-bounds.

So, you can jump all you want, but that lead supporting point (the foot that is touching your lie) needs to remain on the ground until your disc is released.

Mastering this technique involves lots of coordination and practice. Be sure that the jump putt is an effective tool to use when you think of bringing out. Me, I prefer to find a more traditional approach before reaching for that one. You sacrifice control when you’re adding another step to your throw. You’re not as stable during your release which means you could lose precious accuracy in your putt. You’re jump putting to put extra heat behind the disc, but do you remember what happened on your last drive you decided to give the beans? Practice keeping that foot down until you release the disc, and no one can give you shit for it.

Now you can call out your friends with impunity when they are releasing their discs halfway thru their jump putt, successfully ridding themselves of the 5′ of ground they covered to the basket. Don’t get me wrong, a jump putt can be the difference between bangin’ chains or just kissing the outside of the basket, just make sure you’re doing it right. Any time your supporting foot that is in contact with the lie is lifted from the ground before the disc is released is a stance violation.

The jump putt is not allowed in Circle 1. This would give players a guaranteed shot in the basket, basically a slam dunk of their disc. This allows tiny mistakes to be made in high stress putting scenarios where the player misjudged and thought the putt was a gimme. There’s no better feeling than someone just trailing behind the leader watching them biff a ten foot putt.