PDGA Ratings and Am Divisions... what's the limit?

[milesd37]

so you have 3 Am divisions...

what are suggested ratings maximums for the lower divisions? i noticed in a previous tournament- the guy who won am 3 by 5 strokes had a 941 rating... though there could be a good reason for him dropping down like that, it seems like sandbagging to me...

so what are your opinions?

wheres the cut off for am 3? am2? rest in am then? or a cut off there too before you "should" for open?

 

[scarpfish]

Am2 max rating is 934

Am 3 max rating is 899

Am 4 max rating is 849

Could you post a link to the tournament results? Did this guy have a 941 rating going in, or did he shoot a 941 rated round?

 

[Giv'r]

http://www.pdga.com/files/documents/PlayersDivisionGrid.pdf

 

[Dave Walters]

I've called a kid out in a tourney before right after a ratings update. He is a frequent player locally and I saw his rating went over 934 so when he tried registering Am2 at the next tourney and claiming he didnt know his current rating I whipped out my iphone and looked it up. BAM he had to play am1. My only problem with it is because he constantly plays am2 when he is clearly an AM1 player.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Players have a 2-week grace period after a ratings update to use their old rating for entering a lower division as long as they pre-registered for that lower division before the ratings update was posted.

 

[Dave Walters]

Players have a 2-week grace period after a ratings update to use their old rating for entering a lower division as long as they pre-registered for that lower division before the ratings update was posted.

In my case there was no Pre-Registration

The kid was trying to hustle and got caught

 

[cjskier]

He only won by 5? That's hardly a run away win.

There are a couple guys that play the norcal circuit that are always bouncing between am2 and am1 depending on their current rating. I hate the fact they play down in AM2 when their rating is just below the cut-off. They are the true baggers of our sport.

 

[ejvogie]

so you have 3 Am divisions...

4 actually, unless you want to include age and gender protected divisions.

what are suggested ratings maximums for the lower divisions?

wheres the cut off for am 3? am2? rest in am then? or a cut off there too before you "should" for open?

Am2 max rating is 934

Am 3 max rating is 899

Am 4 max rating is 849

^^^This

As far as Am1, there is no set ratings cap. However, if a Pro wishes to petition the PDGA for Amateur status, his rating must be under 970 to drop down to Am1.

 

[vonDrehle]

I still kind of go by how the divisions used to be. If I get to be 910+ (894 currently) I'm playing advanced. This is because from what I have seen a majority of the people that played Int before, still play it now and those 2 new divisions are rarely seen and if they are they just have beginners.

 

[mashnut]

I still kind of go by how the divisions used to be. If I get to be 910+ (894 currently) I'm playing advanced. This is because from what I have seen a majority of the people that played Int before, still play it now and those 2 new divisions are rarely seen and if they are they just have beginners.

That's really dependent on where you are. Here in Chicago (and in nearby areas of Illinois and Wisconsin) we get huge rec divisions, and often pretty good sized novice divisions too. There are lots of people who play up a little, but lots of people play their ratings in all the am divisions around here.

 

[vonDrehle]

That's really dependent on where you are. Here in Chicago (and in nearby areas of Illinois and Wisconsin) we get huge rec divisions, and often pretty good sized novice divisions too. There are lots of people who play up a little, but lots of people play their ratings in all the am divisions around here.

I've also been out of Tournaments for a year so maybe stuff in NC has changed a bit and now there are more AM divisions being presented. I'm doing a One Day C-Tier tomorrow and there is a good size Rec division. Though the rating spread in Rec is 821-892 which seems a bit much to me.

 

[mashnut]

I've also been out of Tournaments for a year so maybe stuff in NC has changed a bit and now there are more AM divisions being presented. I'm doing a One Day C-Tier tomorrow and there is a good size Rec division. Though the rating spread in Rec is 821-892 which seems a bit much to me.

What are the rating spreads in the other divisions? I've seen 850-980 in advanced.

 

[vonDrehle]

Int 835-924
Adv 887-970
Open 853(lol)-993

I guess the large spread is present in all the divisions. I just don't remember them being this spread out when the Advanced cut off was 915 but maybe I didn't notice. I think a lot of the higher Advanced in this tourney could easily play in Open since there is a Pro Only tournament in Raleigh that has taken most of NC's Top Pros this weekend.

G-Town Throwdown II

 

[Apoth]

I don't know that I entirely understand why someone rated 975+ doesn't just move up and play Open at that point. There are plenty of sponsored pros who have ratings sub 1000 and such Ams could likely do well in open.

 

[mashnut]

Some people want to stay eligible for am worlds/am nats, some people don't want t play for cash, some people want to win a certain number of tournies at one level before moving up to the next.

 

[Emoney]

I know alot of ppl that have very high ratings but only play local tourneys. Its hard to keep a high rating if u travel to tourneys at courses u rarely play or never played. Baggers arent people that take advantage of the current rating rules, they are the guys that dont keep a current pdga card so they can play in a low division that they know they can win.

Not being a pdga member ruins the whole system they have in place

 

[jeverett]

I know alot of ppl that have very high ratings but only play local tourneys. Its hard to keep a high rating if u travel to tourneys at courses u rarely play or never played. Baggers arent people that take advantage of the current rating rules, they are the guys that dont keep a current pdga card so they can play in a low division that they know they can win.

Not being a pdga member ruins the whole system they have in place

I thought that could be tracked now? I thought that even non-PDGA members were still internally being assigned unique identifiers, so TD's have the ability to look up non-PDGA members' previous events and ratings? I could be totally wrong on this, though..

 

[GT Chris]

I don't know that I entirely understand why someone rated 975+ doesn't just move up and play Open at that point. There are plenty of sponsored pros who have ratings sub 1000 and such Ams could likely do well in open.

Regardless of where my rating goes, I'm staying Am for at least one more year to maintain eligibility for collegiate play. Obviously you can't be a professional student athlete. So that's one reason, albeit only valid for students.

 

[mashnut]

I thought that could be tracked now? I thought that even non-PDGA members were still internally being assigned unique identifiers, so TD's have the ability to look up non-PDGA members' previous events and ratings? I could be totally wrong on this, though..

I'm not sure all TDs are good about looking at that for every person registering for a tourney though, especially if lots of people don't supply their 'supporting member' number.

 

[Cgkdisc]

I thought that could be tracked now? I thought that even non-PDGA members were still internally being assigned unique identifiers, so TD's have the ability to look up non-PDGA members' previous events and ratings? I could be totally wrong on this, though..

This is correct as long as they have a PDGA number. Those who never had a PDGA number can fly under the radar unless the TD knows them and makes them play in the appropriate division.