Can you be considered a "Pro" and have 0 Aces?

[scunham]

that's him

 

[GLong]

i don't think cubby has the same mindset when he is playing competitively, but i could be wrong.

 

[scunham]

I doubt he does.

 

[dehaas]

i agree with what most people have said, most pros are playing holes for the 2 and not the 1. it's possible to play open and not have any aces, but i think realistically somebody who has played such a sheer amount of disc golf has had at least one shot that got away from them just enough to go in instead of coming up parked. just because somebody is a pro and is much more consistent than any of us doesn't mean that they still don't get lucky from time to time.

 

[bradharris]

I would guess that the ratio of aces to holes played is lower for pros than ams. Pros use shot selection carefully to potentially set up the easy two where an am may go for it more aggressively, often resulting in a four or worse.

To answer the original question, of course. Pros are pros because of a complete all around game and consistently low scores. Ace count doesn't matter.

 

[prerube]

^ Am I the only one confused by this? I'd rather take a "1" than a "2" any day

Even if aces are few and far between, if I could choose between "Birdie/Eagle/Double Eagle" or "ace" I think we all know the logical choice.

It is not hard to confuse you. He says he would take a 2 on every hole over playing his normal scores and getting a single ace.

 

[spikodelhyzer]

Re: question in OP

yes.

 

[djschnabel]

Wouldn't Cubby's rating be much higher if he could resist emptying his bag on every hole?

I kid.

Play to it, not through it and aces are shots 3 feet too high are my favorite answers so far.

However, I think while it's possible, the likelihood that a pro has no aces is pretty low. I always feel as if it's my job to get it close to the basket, and at that point, in many cases, it's up to nature on whether or not it hits the basket or stays in.

 

[dashiellx]

Looks to me that everyone pretty much agrees that aces don't matter. Look at Baseball--would you rather have a .200 hitter who hits 25 HRs a season in your line up or a .400 hitter who hits 3 home runs?

Besides, while it takes skill to get the distance and accuracy you need to get an ace (and it is skill that sets the pros apart), I would think we'd all agree that aces take a large amount of luck.

 

[slowRoll]

I've always believed that an ace isn't really the perfect shot, it is a shot that was coming in hot that got lucky and hit the basket to be stopped. Most of the ace runs I've had blow by the basket and don't leave me much of a putt. The perfect shot for me would be a drive that skips right underneath the basket so I hit my head holing out.

Heck yea you could be a pro and not have any aces, but this scenario is incredibly unlikely. Once you get your skills to that level(970+ rated golf), aces come through sheer repetition.

 

[Crazy Runner Guy]

He has more aces than I probably ever will, but he plays to the base of the pole, aces are shots that are 3 feet too high

My thoughts exactly. Play to park.

 

[giles]

My thoughts exactly. Play to park.

How about changing that mindset to "Play to be 15' deep".

 

[benjammin172]

You can absolutely be considered a pro without an ace. To me, an ace depends a lot on luck. Obviously it takes skill to consistently get the disc close to the basket, but you could hit chains 1,000 times on your drive and not have a disc drop in. I'm sure there are quite a few great disc golfers that have zero aces to their name.

Although I also have zero aces so I may be a bit biased

 

[Grungedude42]

All it takes to be a 'pro' is to have money to throw away.

 

[Discwrangler]

Yes. Aces are usually not good shots that get lucky. I know ams with huge ace counts and pros with low ace counts.

 

[DavidSauls]

I know when I've awarded ace pools at tournaments, it was rarely the top of the Open division who won them. (But they clean up on CTPs).

Another consideration is what kind of courses and layouts people play. If you're mostly playing a Gold course, you won't get many ace runs.

 

[giles]

Who won your local ace race?

I know Eric McCabe won one. I've also seen Emac slam the chains on his first shot off the first tee at Wilco when we were playing a casual round, and he just posted a video on Facebook yesterday that had him ace running a hole that he eventually got.

The Giggler (1003 rated) won the McKinney ace race.

 

[The Hammer]

I have zero aces during tournament, league, or competitive play. I only have a few that came from throwing multiple shots of the tee during practice. I'm no touring pro, but I have finished 3rd or 4th in every pro tournament I've played this year.

 

[codyroberts18]

One of my good friends who is a pro was telling me just the other day that while In a doubles tournament, there was a very easy hole that they both decide just to run at it and ace. What did he do? Ace it. He is professional, but not on the level of the very top. He is more like top 50-60 on the world so I know if he can ace on command essentially, then others pros can as well. The reason they are pros is because of the precise aim they have, so on say a 200 foot hole, they should be able to ace regardless.

To answer your question, yes. But it is hard to believe they would not have aces.

 

[Tmart]

I have 0 aces ever =( But I still shoot <54 most of the time. I'm def not a pro but I play better on average than all of my friends who do have aces.