Should I give an over rated course a 1 out of 5?

[Thrival Time]

I am not sure how I should review a park where I have mixed experiences, and feel that a 1.5 or 2 star rating is most appropriate. However, the course as a 3.33 rating because some people gave it a 4 or 5 (even when some responses were unanimous that they were not helpful). Should I just give the course a 1.5 or a 2, or give it a 1 to try and lower the average DGCR rating.

It has only 9 holes, a high likelihood of wild throws crossing multiple holes, slippery tee pads, "trophy locals" (some who are serious dbags), and a broken map. However, it got about the same rating as an 18 hole course in the area (3.36) that has much better sinage, safer tee pads, some unique holes, varying distance, and none of the holes interfere with other holes (regarding flight paths).

I have never posted a course review on this site, so I thought I would ask the experts on how to handle this situation.

 

[S.Cann]

I would give it a fair rating. Eventually the overratings will work their way out.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

rate the course as you feel its worthy. who cares what others have said or reviewed it as and if your review contains enough "words" then it will be fine.

 

[ElementZ]

I would give it a fair rating. Eventually the overratings will work their way out.

I agree with this. Review it fairly and give it what you think it's worth. When people see that the reviewers who gave it a 4 or 5 are all thumbs-downed, they'll know what's up.

 

[DavidSauls]

Yeah, review the course. Don't review the other reviewers.

 

[Hector Chain]

If you give more than ten sentences in the review about what was deficient, you'll get some respect even if your opinion varies from the norm.

That said, you'll probably get some thumbs down if you've only reviewed one course and it's that far off of the average. People with one review can look like they have an agenda. So write some more reviews.

And don't worry, my courses I review typically get a lower rating than the average. There are homers, people who have little perspective because they've only played a couple courses (we were all that way once, and I've changed my reviews as I've gotten more experience), and grade inflaters who can't fathom giving any course less than 3.5.

 

[Golden Tuna]

Yeah, review the course. Don't review the other reviewers.

My first thought is, "who cares, why is this a thread?"
But the quoted response is probably more appropriate

 

[New013]

Yes do it, you know you want to.

 

[mashnut]

Never, ever rate a course just to adjust a rating or get back at other reviewers. If a course has a bunch of homeboy reviews and a review from an out of towner that's lower but seems justified it's really helpful when I'm traveling. If a course has a bunch of inflated homeboy reviews and one that's clearly retaliatory and just trying to "even things out" I thumb it down and ignore it. Just write a good review and rate the course how you think it should be rated. If you justify it well that's a lot more helpful to readers and the integrity of the rating system.

On a different note, you honestly think that a course with all the issues you list is worth a rating (2) that's just barely below average? Your description sounds more like a 1 disc course to me anyway. Just make sure you're giving it that rating because it deserves it, not in reaction to other reviewers.

 

[zenbot]

"Should I lie?"

No. No you should not.

 

[Thrival Time]

Thanks, guys. I will give it an honest detailed review and then review some of the other courses I played as well.

As for the "homeboy" reviews, I will just give those the thumbs down and thumb up the good reviews.

 

[grodney]

Germane to this topic, I noticed the following in a review of the Angry Beaver:
"
In general, I'm not a lengthy essay reviewer. I submit a review primarily to balance a Course Rating if I believe it is skewed high or low to the 95+ courses, 15 states I've played so far. At the time of this review, the course was a 3.83 rating.
"

The course was 3.83. This reviewer gave it a 3. Now it's 3.81. Derp.

I can't really tell if this person was trying to balance the reviews, or balance the rating. The quote says trying to balance the rating, but obviously giving a 3 doesn't accomplish much. Of course giving it a 1 wouldn't accomplish much either. But if you're trying to balance the reviews, you can't just write a tiny review and say "I'm not a lengthy essay reviewer". Odd.

 

[wake911]

Rate it what you think it is supposed to be rated. However, i feel if you rate it much higher or much lower than the avg, you should have a good review showing why you rated it as you did. Explain yourself as to what made you rate it where you did.

Also, some people (At least I do) rate 9 hole courses as a 9 hole course. I don't compare them to a full 18, i don't take points off for only having 9 holes. I rate the holes on the course and that course as a whole. I would rather play an awesome 9 hole course than a crappy 27 hole course any day of the week.

 

[bobmcnelly]

I would give it a fair rating. Eventually the overratings will work their way out.

This

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Thanks, guys. I will give it an honest detailed review and then review some of the other courses I played as well.

As for the "homeboy" reviews, I will just give those the thumbs down and thumb up the good reviews.

If I may comment on this, before casting your vote for a review, consider what was written as much (if not more) than the rating. Was the review itself helpful? Does it provide a reasonable idea what to expect? Does it give enough info to determine if the course is worth going out of your way for, or maybe even taking a day trip?

You may not necessarily agree with the rating a reviewer gave a particular course, but that doesn't necessarily mean what they wrote wasn't helpful. Don't forget, reviews are most helpful to people who haven't played that course yet. They have no basis to determine if a rating seems reasonable - all they can do is vote based on what they read.

Just some food for thought.

 

[DiscChainBasket18]

But how do you really feel?

This topic has been bantered about many times before. Trying to compensate for inflated ratings is nearly impossible so you might as well just be honest & say what you feel! It will all come out in the wash so-to-speak!

 

[ru4por]

If I may comment on this, before casting your vote for a review, consider what was written as much (if not more) than the rating. Was the review itself helpful? Does it provide a reasonable idea what to expect? Does it give enough info to determine if the course is worth going out of your way for, or maybe even taking a day trip?

You may not necessarily agree with the rating a reviewer gave a particular course, but that doesn't necessarily mean what they wrote wasn't helpful. Don't forget, reviews are most helpful to people who haven't played that course yet. They have no basis to determine if a rating seems reasonable - all they can do is vote based on what they read.

Just some food for thought.

Bogey is on the mark here. I don't write reviews, but I sure as heck use them. Rating are neat, and a lot of fun to debate, but generally not important. I could care less what the top rated courses here are. Now reviews are vital. They provide me the insight to find out if the course is for me. There are 3.5 rated courses I would have little interest in playing and some 3.5 courses that I am dying to play. Are they both "true" 3.5 courses, maybe, but I don't care. :hfive:

 

[Thrival Time]

Reviewed the courses

Hey guys, thanks for the advice. I just reviewed the courses, and your advice definitely helped. In the reviews for both courses, most of my likes and dislikes were already addressed, and I did not have as much to add as I thought. With the course I disliked, majority of the reviews that got three or more stars got marked as not helpful 2-10 times, and would have only one or two people say they were helpful. I gave the one I disliked a 1.5 and in the other comments section, brought up that it could go up to 2 or 3 if they add sinage and fix some parts of the course.

The only thing (if anything at all) that seemed to stand out to me was that with both courses, is that I was the first to review them in over a year.

Thanks for answering all my questions, all the advice helped a lot, and I am glad I did not give it a 0, .5, or 1 to intentionally drive down the ratings.

 

[scarpfish]

I am not sure how I should review a park where I have mixed experiences, and feel that a 1.5 or 2 star rating is most appropriate. However, the course as a 3.33 rating because some people gave it a 4 or 5 (even when some responses were unanimous that they were not helpful). Should I just give the course a 1.5 or a 2, or give it a 1 to try and lower the average DGCR rating.

Anyone trying to use their review score to manipulate a course's average rating is missing the concept. Review the course on its own merits, or lack thereof.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

So, let me get this straight. The whole point of this thread was to have a debate over a half-point in your rating? Your hypothetical low-ball, trying to cheat the system, rating was going to be a 1.0, and instead you gave the course a 1.5. The difference that half point would have made on the course's overall rating would have been a 3.22 (with a 1.0) versus 3.25 (with your 1.5).

Oh, and because you wanted input on your review, it's "signage" not "sinage".

As others have said, just be honest with your review. People respect honest reviews, even if they don't agree with a certain rating or what you might say about a course. Looking at the course, it's a pretty short nine-holer, so your rating is probably a more accurate reflection of the course's quality than all the 3.5 - 5.0 ratings.