2023 Reviewer of the Year

[DFrah]

WOW - I still had a review queue too at the end of last year. :wall:

Thanks for all of the work on this Tyler - it has been really fun to follow along.

 

[knobby325]

Still working on my review queue, but would not have been even close to achieve silver. I'll take the two bronze and be humbled by it. Getting tougher to get out to new courses, but have a couple of road trips with the wife planned and will snag a few courses along the way.

Thank you Tyler. This has been fun to see.

Thank you wellsbranch250 for the thread to begin with.

 

[Tyler V]

D, I was typing that list knowing you'd have feelings about that placement, lol.

Knobby, I've been waiting for a Miller Park review in Grinnell. I need people to vent to about the lake I chucked plastic into for 2 years of my life.

 

[knobby325]

Played in once before I started reviewing. Will do it justice when I can get back there. I know I just barely made my Dragon get over the water on #18. It's on the list... hopefully soon.

 

[wolfhaley]

What are you planning to play around Chicago? I am getting pretty close to having nothing new to play within an hour of home, just a bit left up by the Wisconsin state line.

It's a tight schedule in Chicago. Planning on 3 niners and The 4 hole course at Ty Warner park. We got a couple concerts to go to. On the way to Rockford were playing Jericho lake and working our way west.

 

[wolfhaley]

Hit me up, I bet I can still sneak away for a round!

I was planning on it. Wasn't sure if you'd be free or not.

 

[EspressoPatronum]

It's a tight schedule in Chicago. Planning on 3 niners and The 4 hole course at Ty Warner park. We got a couple concerts to go to. On the way to Rockford were playing Jericho lake and working our way west.

I have to wonder if we have some sort of record for most 9ers in a metro area. Most are boring but there are a couple I love. I actually just hit Rockford for the first time last month despite living so close most of my life. Enjoy your trip!

 

[DeanMoriarty]

I have to wonder if we have some sort of record for most 9ers in a metro area. Most are boring but there are a couple I love. I actually just hit Rockford for the first time last month despite living so close most of my life. Enjoy your trip!

I've played every single 9er in the CHGO area and the only even remotely few memorable ones are Adler(oldest running course in the ground in the Chicago area), Campton Hills (a super fun wooded course open during the summer), and Summit (because of how difficult it is but very fun during the off seasons if you like super challenging wooded courses which are rare in Illinois).

 

[EspressoPatronum]

I've played every single 9er in the CHGO area and the only even remotely few memorable ones are Adler(oldest running course in the ground in the Chicago area), Campton Hills (a super fun wooded course open during the summer), and Summit (because of how difficult it is but very fun during the off seasons if you like super challenging wooded courses which are rare in Illinois).

I would generally agree. I love Campton Hills (one of only 2 niners in my favorites) and Adler is good too. I also like Avery Preserve. I'm curious now if Summit used to be 9 holes; as far as I can recall it's been 18 for some time. Just played it this morning, actually. But yeah, most of the niners around here are utterly forgettable.

 

[Tyler V]

I will irrationally hype up Volunteer Park in Romeoville like it's a 5-star course till I die.

I didn't get to explore much of Chicago before moving away, but all I know is Lewis University is NOT in discussion for most memorable 9 in Chicago unless it's for all the wrong reasons.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

I would generally agree. I love Campton Hills (one of only 2 niners in my favorites) and Adler is good too. I also like Avery Preserve. I'm curious now if Summit used to be 9 holes; as far as I can recall it's been 18 for some time. Just played it this morning, actually. But yeah, most of the niners around here are utterly forgettable.

Ah yea Summit's an 18er. Central Park (the good one) was actually pretty decent.

 

[HyooMac]

While Shadrach has gotten plenty of attention the past couple of years, HyooMac is not one to be overlooked. Having appearances in the top 25 each year they have been reviewing, they have consistently moved up the ranks in these lists, with 2021 being the only slight downtick in review count for them. With Shadrach slowing down this year, HyooMac is currently in the drivers seat in 2023 as we approach the Summer months, with a double digit lead over provisional second place wolfhaley.

Thanks for your comments and your efforts (I'm a "he" by the way...)

Some observations based on my own experience:

Having exceeded 200 uniques, it seems like the flow of new uniques has REALLY slowed down for me. It's been 14 reviews since my last one (thank you mrstherembo). I have received only four new uniques in the last 31 reviews I've posted.

Obviously the solution is to travel to other parts of the country to play, and/or to play more overall Top Rated courses in order to attract new eyeballs.

...but that's not really practical.



And lest this whiney post suggest otherwise, I am grateful for EVERY SINGLE UPVOTE, and especially smile when I see any familiar name on one of my reviews.


But I wonder if this is just a sign of a site in decline...if it's largely the same set of "regulars" , whether they be posters, reviewers or voters. Maybe there's a large group of people reading reviews but not voting - just as there are a lot of people who read reviews and have no idea of the value in the forums, of that they even have inboxes for messages.

As much pleasure as I get from writing reviews, some days I wonder why bother. I'm at 334 reviews now, and have promised myself to at least continue to 350 - because that's a nice round number.

Not asking for anything - just wondering if others feel the same way.

-Hugh

 

[Nate32]

I'm having trouble getting unique votes as well. I think I only need 2-3 more for Gold. It's kind of wild since I have quite a few reviews from 2019-2020 when it was a bit easier to get unique votes during COVID. Back in 2016 when I started reviewing, it was harder to actually get thumb ups on your reviews and writing longer reviews guaranteed more thumbs. Hopefully this site doesn't burn out.

 

[DFrah]

Obviously the solution [to get more uniques] is to travel to other parts of the country to play, and/or to play more overall Top Rated courses in order to attract new eyeballs.

...but that's not really practical.

I would have thought the same about traveling, but the data for my reviews doesn't really back it up. I have now reviewed courses from all across the US (Alaska, Florida, California, Vermont, Washington state...) and I would say on average each new state bagged only yields 1-2 new uniques, if that. If anything, seeing a review of a local course might persuade those 1-2 people to log in and thumb it up when otherwise they would just skip it. But mostly it's the same dedicated contingent of "thumbers" that I'm sure you get on all of your reviews.

The top rated courses definitely do help though.

But I wonder if this is just a sign of a site in decline...if it's largely the same set of "regulars" , whether they be posters, reviewers or voters. Maybe there's a large group of people reading reviews but not voting - just as there are a lot of people who read reviews and have no idea of the value in the forums, of that they even have inboxes for messages.

As much pleasure as I get from writing reviews, some days I wonder why bother. I'm at 334 reviews now, and have promised myself to at least continue to 350 - because that's a nice round number.

Not asking for anything - just wondering if others feel the same way.

-Hugh

I have thought about this too and for me, what I realized is it really comes back to: Why do I write reviews in the first place?

For me, sure I hope that the reviews help other site users. But the primary reason for me is just that I enjoy doing it. I'm not sure if I think this site is really in decline or not (I have started backing up all of my reviews just in case). But that's sort of irrelevant if the primary point is just to enjoy the process of playing different courses, maybe updating the documentation here, and writing the detailed reviews. This still seems like the best place, by far, to do that.

I enjoy reading your reviews too so I hope you keep it up.

 

[DFrah]

And that said, what I actually came here to say is WOW - is it just me or did all kinds of people suddenly decide to start gunning for the 2023 RoTY title! I posted three reviews this weekend and I can't even keep them on the front page for more than a few hours. :clap: :thmbup:

 

[adlacro]

Yeah, there are a lot of people gunning for the top. I just want to be top 25 so I can have it said that I was top 25 both this year and the first year of the site, 2007. Might have to do some bagging trips just to get those reviews in and stay up there.

 

[HyooMac]

And that said, what I actually came here to say is WOW - is it just me or did all kinds of people suddenly decide to start gunning for the 2023 RoTY title! I posted three reviews this weekend and I can't even keep them on the front page for more than a few hours. :clap: :thmbup:

I think its a Memorial Day Weekend Rush!



Thanks for sharing your experience about travel and the relatively low number of uniques it generates.

And like you, I think the main reason I write reviews is because I enjoy writing reviews. I know I started with no idea of Trusted Reviewer status or upvotes (and my earliest ones reflect that - I sort of cringe when I read the early ones for places I haven't been able to re-visit).

I particularly enjoy seeing the different "styles" used by different regulars. Some really emphasize organization and categorization, some invest time in bolding and italicizing, some really want to give a full picture of nature and the course setting, etc.

The more I write, the more I admire those who can write a "complete" review with relatively few words. Of course my idea of what makes for a "complete review" reflects my own opinions about what to include and what NOT to include. And as I keep trimming them back, if they keep getting upvotes from other Trusted Reviewers, I figure I'm still on the right track

 

[Cerealman]

Maybe there's a large group of people reading reviews but not voting - just as there are a lot of people who read reviews and have no idea of the value in the forums, of that they even have inboxes for messages.

There is definitely a subset of individuals who read reviews but don't vote, as well as Trusted Reviewers who don't vote. I'm always surprised when I see usernames with a silver or gold or even diamond icon who I haven't heard of (or received a unique vote from). C'mom, help us out here!

I have thought about this too and for me, what I realized is it really comes back to: Why do I write reviews in the first place?

The 2023 Reviewer of the Year race sparked a bit of competitive drive in me, plus I do want to reach Diamond status. But maybe more so, I'm reminded of the need to have voices who can be relied on for accurate course reviews, just as I have valued and utilized many of you in my disc golf road trips. Plus the idea of Wellsbranch visiting the Greater Chattanooga area and reviewing some of these courses before I did kicked me in the butt a little.

Might have to do some bagging trips just to get those reviews in and stay up there.

Staying in the top 25 is a great motivator, but really, do you need an excuse to do a bagging trip?

 

[sillybizz]

I heard rumors that Sillybizz is back in the course bagging business and business will be booming this summer. It's the only SFW rumor you'll ever hear about him. Guess who wants in the top 25 again?

 

[adlacro]

Staying in the top 25 is a great motivator, but really, do you need an excuse to do a bagging trip?

This time of year in south Florida? I actually do. I have pretty much played out everything here except for like 3 or 4 courses, and none of them drain well at all. Not really like I want to slosh my way through inches of standing water to bag a course, plus prepare for 100-105 heat index rounds and drive an hour plus each way to do so.

Now when the weather changes in late October? I'm all ears.