played my first tourney - word to the undecided newbs like myself

[Thumber]

I played my first tourney about 2 months ago. It wasn't the best experience I've ever had. I should have played in the recreational/novice group. Instead, I manned up and played the amateur level. BIG mistake. There were guys who should have been playing in Advanced Am. and Masters levels who sandbagged down to the Am. level. I was pissed.

Hope no one else would make the same mistake I did. I will play in another tourney, this time I learned my lesson and will play the Rec. level......

I don't really see how this was a mistake. You only get better by playing against better players.

Makes me laugh when people complain they got beat by someone better than them and call them out as "baggers".

 

[Sadjo]

I don't really see how this was a mistake. You only get better by playing against better players.

Makes me laugh when people complain they got beat by someone better than them and call them out as "baggers".

I think when you're playing in a first tournament you need to play in the lowest division offered. Be it Rec or Novice. Problem is most tournaments don't offer rec or novice.

Problem I see is lots of Int players should actually be playing in the Rec and then complain that someone is bagging when a 912 rated player wins the Int.

 

[slowRoll]

You only get better by playing against better players.

Makes me laugh when people complain they got beat by someone better than them and call them out as "baggers".

I used to think this too, but I've been improving this year all on my own. When it boils down to it on the course, you are all you've really got anyway. Off topic, but thought needed to be said.

Also Bill, how far away are your tournaments from Nashville Tn, and when can I come play in one?

 

[scarpfish]

Last weekend, I played Int and finished 22nd out of 30. It took four DNF's for me to get up to 22nd. This was on a course that I usually do good at with the pins short. I thought it was one of my worst performances all year.

Thing is after seeing the results, had I played Rec, which my 845 rating easily allows me to do, I'd have finished 4th out of 11 and probably got around $30 in merch. Faced with that conundrum, I could see where a lot of people would have played down.

But alas, I'm not out there to win discs, which I have too many of already. The lack of rules knowledge by a lot of MA3 players doesn't really entice me to play with them either. I'm there to improve my game, and I think a greater good was achieved in letting someone else get that shwag. I just hope when their skills improve, they know when to pay it forward.

 

[mentally_understable]

I don't really see how this was a mistake. You only get better by playing against better players.

Makes me laugh when people complain they got beat by someone better than them and call them out as "baggers".

IF there was a difference in scores between the Masters, Advanced Amateurs, and Amateurs I would not complain; But when the amateurs are scoring the same and some cases better, yeah i think they were sandbaggin' big time!

I'm so glad I could make you laugh...... I would normally follow this up with calling you a few names that would mostly likely get me kicked off the site, but I will refrain. Only for that reason.

 

[sidewinder22]

Am's should be trophy only. Open should sliding scale entry fee.

 

[Thumber]

IF there was a difference in scores between the Masters, Advanced Amateurs, and Amateurs I would not complain; But when the amateurs are scoring the same and some cases better, yeah i think they were sandbaggin' big time!

I'm so glad I could make you laugh...... I would normally follow this up with calling you a few names that would mostly likely get me kicked off the site, but I will refrain. Only for that reason.

you have yet to provide any info justifying any statement above. All I have seen is people were better than me and it sucked to not win, therefore they were baggers

 

[mentally_understable]

you have yet to provide any info justifying any statement above. All I have seen is people were better than me and it sucked to not win, therefore they were baggers

Are you just not reading my posts?!?! Or perhaps your not aware of how tourneys are set up. Advanced Amateur and amateur scores should not be the same. Nor should they have the same score as those in Masters, or Open for that matter.

How bout this Thumber, mind your own business. I was posting this so no one made the same mistake when playing their first tournament, not to argue with the likes of you.

 

[slowRoll]

Are you just not reading my posts?!?! Or perhaps your not aware of how tourneys are set up. Advanced Amateur and amateur scores should not be the same. Nor should they have the same score as those in Masters, or Open for that matter.

How bout this Thumber, mind your own business. I was posting this so no one made the same mistake when playing their first tournament, not to argue with the likes of you.

Easy now... Thumber didn't say anything out of line, he just has a differing opinion. If you're going to put thoughts out there for anyone to read and respond to, you have to be prepared to disagree.

I felt that there were players that were "too good" for INT when I first moved up from REC. The truth was, those guys had been playing longer, had all kinds of tournament experience and merchendise that made them appear to be better than INT to me, but their skill level had topped out, and they were rated INT. It didn't take me long to pass them by because I worked on improving my skills through the knowledge I fond on the web and simple hard work practicing. I'm now in ADV, they are still INT...and so it goes. I suspect that if you are spending your time reading forums and working to improve yourself, it's only a matter of time before you too will outgrow these people and put them in your rearview mirror. Good luck.

 

[wkelly42]

You also have to factor in whether the INT and AM groups played the same tees. I've seen tournaments where the winning AM scores were about the same as the third place INT scores, and this made me wonder. Then I saw that the INT players played the longest tees and the AM group played the shortest tees, and I understood why the scores looked the way they did. No sandbagging, just a different layout.

 

[scarpfish]

I think anyone entering a tournament division where there's a skill based division above the one they enter has to keep the following in mind. This is really applicable in any Am division, but moreso true as you approach the bottom levels...

There will always be that guy who is a tourney noob (not neccesarily DG noob) who beat you because he underestimated his abilities.

There will always be that guy who beat you because he had the day of his life.

There will always be that guy who beat you because his rating is lagging behind his actual skill.

There will always be that guy who beat you because the course was set up to favor his skill set better than yours.

There will always be that guy who beat you, well, because on that day at least, he was better than you.

And yes, there will always be that occasional unabashed sandbagger. They should tell him to move up or run him off, but even if he does one of those things, another will come along to take his place.

Just remember that to all those other frustrated tourney players, perhaps today, or on some other day, or on some other course, well to them, you might be one of the above.

The point is, you can't get discouraged and give up because you're not beating people. I think a lot of Am players would be better off in the long run, if they felt the tourney experience itself was worth the price of the entry fee. If they happen to win some merch at the end of the day, well, consider that a bonus.

 

[mentally_understable]

You also have to factor in whether the INT and AM groups played the same tees. I've seen tournaments where the winning AM scores were about the same as the third place INT scores, and this made me wonder. Then I saw that the INT players played the longest tees and the AM group played the shortest tees, and I understood why the scores looked the way they did. No sandbagging, just a different layout.

This was taken into consideration, the Master and Open levels had ONE pin position that was further, but that shouldn't make that big of a difference. I'm not the only one that day that was upset about it. I have some friends that were playing in the Advanced Am., Masters, and Open levels, and they were the ones that said these guys were sandbagging. I didn't realize it until they said something, because I didn't know for sure. There were 20 guys playing in the Amateurs, The three I played with finished in 1st, 2nd, and 4th. I finished in dead last. I know I wasn't going to win the tourney, and probably wouldn't even place, I did it for the experience and knowledge. Needless to say, I learned a lot about the people I was playing with.

 

[thecomet]

I totally agree with what scarpfish just said. I see a lot of people in lower divisions get really mad when a couple people dominate their division, but you have to realize that that is just one of the things that happens. Some people play poorly in their first few tournies, build up some confidence/comfort, and then subsequently tear it up the next tourney. Some people randomly start getting things to click one day. Some people take time off of tournaments, come back, and underestimate how much they've improved. I have seen a lot of people accused of bagging that I know (because I know them personally) played way above what you/they would normally expect. You can't expect everyone who is improving or is the least bit unsure about their level to be like "well I might be in for a really sick round today so maybe I should play pro open". And yes, you are going to see the occasional legit bagger (although they are a lot less common than I think most people suspect... repeat offenders usually get a lot of crap from the dg community and stop). Basically, my point is that you are going to see a couple ridiculous scores in the lower amateur divisions. That is just how it is. That is why I tell anyone in the lower division not to expect to win, but rather, try to keep up or beat the majority of the field and play their best. Lower divisions aren't for expecting to win. Lower divisions are for giving newer/weaker players the ability to be competitive/win prizes, and to play competitively with people at their level, and gain some tourney experience, and have fun. That is why they often have guaranteed player packs and why the payouts are usually deeper and less steep.

 

[mentally_understable]

Ohh, believe me, I've taken all these things into consideration. I will play in tourneys again. I have one scheduled for the end of this month. I will not be playing in the Amatuer level. I'm gonna stick to Recreational/Novice for now. Once I win that, I will move myself back up to Amateurs.

Thanks everyone for the input. Looks like I'm the one who leanred the most out of this thread.....

 

[Stetz1010]

Yeah? Well I was once on a mission, on a cruise ship I was wishin', that my mom was in the kitchen, making chicken, finger lickin'!!!

I played Am2 my first tourney and ended up 13th out of 33 players in my division. I don't blame anyone for my end result but myself. Like Climo has said on numerous occassions - You're not playing against the other players, you're playing against the course - Regardless of where these "baggers" placed it isn't THEIR fault you came dead last, if anything blame it on your ability, or inability, to score well on the course. You think if Tiger Woods loses to Jack Nickolaus he complains that it wasn't fair b/c Jack has been playing longer or he's too old to be playing in the same division? No, he blames himself for his poor performance.

 

[robasse]

I love tourney's, but holy crap do I play bad in them so far. I've played two tier C pdga tourney's and in both, I played the worst disc golf of my life. I felt like a just learned how to play. I sure hope things get better. Gotta stay positive!!! The most discouraging thing is that I feel like I was a just as good or better player than all of my division competition. Everyone has probably delt with the same thing though. Hopefully!??!?

 

[craftsman]

I love tourney's, but holy crap do I play bad in them so far. I've played two tier C pdga tourney's and in both, I played the worst disc golf of my life. I felt like a just learned how to play. I sure hope things get better. Gotta stay positive!!! The most discouraging thing is that I feel like I was a just as good or better player than all of my division competition. Everyone has probably delt with the same thing though. Hopefully!??!?

Absolutly. I finally broke the seal in my last two events. I had been shooting +20/round in tourneys, even at courses I play every week and average around five over. It was really embarassing
What helped me was to play up. I had always thought I'd wait til I won to move up but in the lower levels I would get frustrated if a player with a lower skill set took a hole or I couldn't shake the thoughts of how a rule was broken/misinterpreted.

 

[billnchristy]

I used to think this too, but I've been improving this year all on my own. When it boils down to it on the course, you are all you've really got anyway. Off topic, but thought needed to be said.

Also Bill, how far away are your tournaments from Nashville Tn, and when can I come play in one?

Looks like 266mi and we actually have a 1 day, 2 course C-tier this weekend. 93 spots filled, 47 open.

http://www.gwinnettcountyopen.com/

My buddy Gerrit is the TD but I am TDing the other park.

 

[thrembo]

I have never cashed in any tournament I've played in. I'm sure winning is fun, but the point should be it's fun just to hang out with like minded people and enjoy their company. A bad day at disc golf is still better than a good day at work! Have fun at a tourny and don't make your sole purpose be about winning!

 

[slowRoll]

Looks like 266mi and we actually have a 1 day, 2 course C-tier this weekend. 93 spots filled, 47 open.

http://www.gwinnettcountyopen.com/

My buddy Gerrit is the TD but I am TDing the other park.

Thank you Bill, we're in FL this weekend for a wedding, but I'll try to attend one of yours soon now that I know where you are.