Talk about sandbagging...

[DavidSauls]

The main gripe from the very small but vocal group of upset players was not actual "sandbagging" but probably more accurately described as "PDGA Bagging", where a person simply avoids being a PDGA member to avoid getting any kind of rating whatsoever that then allows them to enter any division they so choose.

True, but even at that it's hard to find true examples. Someone playing one event may have just guessed wrong. Someone playing multiple events, the local TDs should become familiar with and force into more appropriate divisions.

I once researched a year of events in my state, and couldn't find any non-PDGA member finishing in the Top 2 in any division more than once.

 

[garublador]

In the tournament linked above, i do understand people being upset about 4 guys who aren't pdga members dominating rec and posting 1000 rated rounds. I think this would be a perfect time to borrow one of the pdga's suggestions and give a pdga membership as prize rather than merchandise. That way the person's results and rating will be tracked in the future, precluding them from playing rec.

What gets me is that if you know you're that good, why sandbag the lowest division? Don't you get better prizes and more prestige in higher divisions? Is it possible they were just given bad advice on which division to play?

 

[Henline]

Well Einstein, look up sandbag and you'll see that what you think it means is wrong.

I don't know where you got the impression that I was crying. I simply figured it would be better suited to use a vernacular that was representative of something that does actually occur.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sandbagger
I'm perfectly aware of it's meaning having been a part in countless competitive ladders/local tournaments and such for over a decade. It's far more common in the video gaming community imo, but I don't have experience in the DG competitive scene yet so it's just my assumption.

I wasn't implying you were crying, it was more of a general statement. There are people who sandbag and we call them sandbaggers. If they aren't bagging and just had a hot round or whatnot then people using it incorrectly are just whiners making up an excuse. Why would we need a new term? Maybe I just misunderstand what you wrote or you misunderstood me. /shrug

 

[Future_Primitive]

True, but even at that it's hard to find true examples. Someone playing one event may have just guessed wrong. Someone playing multiple events, the local TDs should become familiar with and force into more appropriate divisions.

What gets me is that if you know you're that good, why sandbag the lowest division? Don't you get better prizes and more prestige in higher divisions? Is it possible they were just given bad advice on which division to play?

That appears to be the case if you take the word of somebody who was defending them in the now deleted posts on the DGS Tourney site. I don't know the players involved, the accusers (x3) or the defender (x1). Being that I was in the tourney I had set it up to be notified when posts were made and updates given, so I got to see the majority of posts in real time before they were deleted.

Apparently they are local and play in the A3 Leagues at Hudson Mills. This was their first official tournament and it was at their "home" course. One of the guys shot his best round there the day of the tourney (wish I could have) and ended up with the hot round. Apparently they have only been playing for a year or two, so they thought AM3 was a good starting point.

But the perception was... No PDGA # + Winning = Bagger.

As with most stories and internet posts/rants, I am sure the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. Oh well, it was a beautiful day for golfing and I had fun regardless, life goes on.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I have an 877 rating, and I've been banned from ma3 by 2 different TDs.

I assume the reason is that I've won 3 tournaments ... by shooting an average round rating of 902 and winning by a combined 4 strokes over the 3 tourneys.

 

[JTacoma03]

A shameless agenda plug - none of this would happen if AM3 was trophy only.

 

[Vorpaljesus]

Because nobody would have played

 

[Violets caddy]

Apparently they are local and play in the A3 Leagues at Hudson Mills.

So they played on their home course with guys they play leagues with and nobody noticed they reg'd for the wrong division?
Sounds like a disc golf conspiracy started at the highest level.

 

[DavidSauls]

I have an 877 rating, and I've been banned from ma3 by 2 different TDs.

I assume the reason is that I've won 3 tournaments ... by shooting an average round rating of 902 and winning by a combined 4 strokes over the 3 tourneys.

PDGA sanctioned events?

If so, I'd contact the PDGA. The TDs cannot do that.

 

[Dan Ensor]

I haven't been forced to play up yet, but that's kind of what I thought. I don't have any plans to play ma3 again either, so it's a moot point for me. I gained a lot of valuable experience in those tournaments, though (especially the more recent one), so it did give me significant pause. Playing in a division you believe you can win if you play well is different than playing in a division you believe it's possible to win if you shoot lights out.

 

[garublador]

A shameless agenda plug - none of this would happen if AM3 was trophy only.

It sounds like it still might have happened if they thought they were signing up for the correct division.

Though I do agree that all amateur divisions should be trophy only.

 

[Geof734]

if they play leagues out there they shouldnt of been playing rec... 16 under on those 2 courses is pretty ill.

 

[The Hammer]

Tourney play is a joke

People that suck tend to think that.

 

[AndyJB]

if they play leagues out there they shouldnt of been playing rec... 16 under on those 2 courses is pretty ill.

That's a pretty broad generalization. What if they aren't very good while they are playing leagues? And, apparently, they were fairly new to the sport.

I hate this bull**** that self-involved, ignorant players always put out. "If you do x, you should play in y" or whatever. Like your little ideas are somehow more important or better founded than the PDGA rating systems.

Who cares if some guys won Rec? It's REC! Advanced is where all the good prizes are anyway.

And a third vote for trophy-only amateur events over here, BTW.

 

[mashnut]

That appears to be the case if you take the word of somebody who was defending them in the now deleted posts on the DGS Tourney site. I don't know the players involved, the accusers (x3) or the defender (x1). Being that I was in the tourney I had set it up to be notified when posts were made and updates given, so I got to see the majority of posts in real time before they were deleted.

Apparently they are local and play in the A3 Leagues at Hudson Mills. This was their first official tournament and it was at their "home" course. One of the guys shot his best round there the day of the tourney (wish I could have) and ended up with the hot round. Apparently they have only been playing for a year or two, so they thought AM3 was a good starting point.

But the perception was... No PDGA # + Winning = Bagger.

As with most stories and internet posts/rants, I am sure the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. Oh well, it was a beautiful day for golfing and I had fun regardless, life goes on.

It always is a little sad when someone shoots the best round of their life, and instead of congratulating them we tell them they're doing something awful by playing as well as they possibly can. If there's no history of them playing multiple events without a rating and consistently shooting rounds like that, it's pretty crappy to say they were in the wrong. Give them a chance to play another tournament or two and see how things go, if it's a pattern of behavior then you have every right to go to the TD and make an issue out of it.

I have an 877 rating, and I've been banned from ma3 by 2 different TDs.

I assume the reason is that I've won 3 tournaments ... by shooting an average round rating of 902 and winning by a combined 4 strokes over the 3 tourneys.

If they were sanctioned events you have every right to play rec. Sounds like the problem is that the TD doesn't offer novice, then the novice level players whine when a rec level player wins rec. An average of 902 rounds shouldn't be good enough to win rec, that just dilutes the competition in both rec (by taking out the better rec level players) and intermediate (by moving up players who aren't competitive with the top of the intermediate field).

 

[B3NDER]

Either way :hfive: Voges

 

[pmatt1969]

I see this all the time in the local scene. Guys would rather bag than play up and win nothing. Looks bad when their scores beat the pros from the area a few times.

 

[disc qualified]

do your thing and don't get in the way of mine

 

[ejvogie]

So they played on their home course with guys they play leagues with and nobody noticed they reg'd for the wrong division?
Sounds like a disc golf conspiracy started at the highest level.

THEIR home course, but the TD lives an hour away and isn't involved in leagues. He had no way of knowing unless someone told him. Even then, he likely would have let them play Rec anyhow since it was their first tourney.

 

[Vorpaljesus]

They each shot one hot round and the other was pretty average so there's really not an issue