How to select a division to enter?

[solomon.trenton]

first tourney is a learning experience so play rec and enjoy yourself.

 

[RussMB]

I may have missed the answer to this. If I sign up as a rec, can I bump it up to INT when I feel I'm ready to take that step. I know I'd have to do the rec before INT. If I breach a protocol or break a rule, I'd rather be in a group that that is expected! I've played one Tourney (Actually it was a local event) and I pulled a couple of Deet dadee's while I was there. LOL

 

[billnchristy]

You also need to look at your local scene....oh and be freaking realistic.

REC here has people who have been playing well over a year and might have played a dozen tournaments. CraigD just moved up to INT but (Correct me if I am wrong Craig) never won a rec tourney. I have placed no better than 6th.

I technically hold a rating that would let me play Novice but it is generally not offered here and I am not going to "play down".

Just play and have fun...if you smoke the field move up, if you smoke that field move up again...easy.

Look at tournaments from your local course in the past. Around here you are looking at shooting under par pretty consistently if you want to win INT.

 

[billnchristy]

Russ you can start wherever you want, you dont have to start REC. Yes you can move up or down from tourney to tourney...just be prepared for the wah!

 

[SomeChump]

According to PDGA:

Recreational: available to amatuer players of all ages with ratings under 900, played 1-2 years and are gaining consistency and experience. Throw 200-300 ft make 4-6/10 putts from 20 feet, learning different shots, score range 63+

Intermediate: ratings under 935, developing players who have played 2-3 years with improved consistency and accuracy. throw 250-350 feet, make 5-7 putts from 20 feet. score range under 63

Advanced: required am division if rated over 935, tournament experienced players who have played DG for several years and developed consistency. throw 300-450 fett, make 5-7/10 from 25-30 fett, ave different shots in their arsenal, score range under 58.

That's interesting. Never seen that before. Not sure what to make about the score range thing....on what course? I typically shoot in the high 40s on my home course. I throw forehands, backhands, and tomahawks. I can get the occasional throw out to 350. I make probably 7-8/10 from 25, maybe 4-5 out of 10 from 30. According to this I ought to go pro. Yet I've only been playing a couple years, I've never played in a real tourney, and I rarely win the advanced division at the weeklies I've been too. What gives? Must be a harder course than the ones around here they're talking about.

 

[Kwick]

The course score also made no sense to me, and they didn't seem to explain it in more detail.

I would expect them to to a +/- over SSA(?) or whatever rating is used to determine the fair score of a course.

 

[wolito]

I have been playing for three years and entered my first tourny last weekend. I spooke at length with the TD before the event and he placed me in Intermediate. I think that that was a good placement for me. I finished 9th out of 20 and felt that my skill was on par with everyone else in that group. Still laid back enough to where there wasn't too much pressure and had a good time by the end of the play. For me this was a good placement, but like someone else said, it also has to do with the local environment and what one intermedate level is at one place, could be a lot different someplace else. One more thing, if you did do intermediate one time, you probably should stick with that, however if you sign up rec, you can always move up the next time.

 

[Jimb]

I haven't played in a tournament yet. I may play in one this year, so this is an interesting thread for me. Here's what I was thinking.

I will probably play one of the tournaments at Paw Paw, WV. Since I've played the courses several times I have a history of my scores. And I'll probably play them a couple times this Spring, too, to see where I stand now.

Then I'll compare my scores to the tournament scores posted on the PDGA for previous years. Of course, my 1st Tourny score could vary greatly from my own history, but it would at least be a starting point for me to determine a possible division to play in.

Here's a link to the PDGA Tour Event Schedule page. Then if you search the previous years you may be able to find the different division scores for the tournament your're looking to play in. I hope that this helps.

http://www.pdga.com/tour-schedule

 

[sidewinder22]

Not sure which tourney you are looking at, but most have intermediate as the lowest division around the mid-atlantic. I've noticed that in PA most players play way above their rating, ie 850 rated players in intermediate, most anyone rated 900 or high is playing advanced. I would say play intermediate.

You can look up results on the PDGA from past events at that course and compare your score to the divisional scores to see where you would likely wind up. Also talk to the TD and let him know what you score on a certain course and he should put you in the right competitive division. Ignore par numbers, they really don't mean jack when figuring out where you should play.

 

[billnchristy]

Here is my vast experience:

East Roswell reds avg: 65.4 over 11 rounds
East Roswell reds tourney: 66 (SSA 47.59)
East Roswell blue avg: 69.67 over 4 rounds
East Roswell blue tourney: 69 (SSA 51.84)
Lenora Park avg: 63.25 over 11 rounds
Lenora Park tourney: 56 (totally in a battle with CraigD) (SSA 43.57)
Alexander park avg: 58.42 over 19 rounds
Alexander park tourney: 57 (SSA 44.73)

So not too far from my average really.

 

[Cgkdisc]

The average SSA for course layouts used in PDGA events is about 50-52 so the scores are related to 50-52 as a 1000 rated round.

 

[Cgkdisc]

I will probably play one of the tournaments at Paw Paw, WV. Since I've played the courses several times I have a history of my scores.

The courses there have SSAs around 63 for a 1000 rated round and each throw is worth between 7-8 rating points on these courses.

 

[TxDiscGolfBoy]

I just started playing tourneys this year and started in intermediate.

If you can throw on average about 250 - 350, make decent up shots, and usually 2 putt or less, I'd say go with the same.

If you go rec. and find that you're blowing away the competition, then move up.

 

[Jimb]

The courses there have SSAs around 63 for a 1000 rated round and each throw is worth between 7-8 rating points on these courses.

Can you elaborate a little on what this means? Or do I just need to go and study up on the PDGA site instead of taking the easy way out?

 

[Cgkdisc]

The SSA (Scratch Scoring Average) is the score on the course that a scratch disc golfer with a 1000 rating would be expected to shoot on average. All course layouts get an SSA generated when played in a PDGA event which then generates ratings for that round for everyone who played it. Most courses have an SSA within a few throws either side of 50. Each throw for these courses is worth about 10 ratings points. So if you shoot a 55 on a 50 SSA course it will be rated about 950. That's about what an Advanced player might be expected to score.

On Paw Paw, both courses have an SSA around 63, much tougher than most courses. As the SSA increases, the number of ratings points per throw gradually decreases, in this case to about 7. So a score of 70 would be rated about 950 on these courses right in the Advanced player range.

 

[Jimb]

The SSA (Scratch Scoring Average) is the score on the course that a scratch disc golfer with a 1000 rating would be expected to shoot on average. All course layouts get an SSA generated when played in a PDGA event which then generates ratings for that round for everyone who played it. Most courses have an SSA within a few throws either side of 50. Each throw for these courses is worth about 10 ratings points. So if you shoot a 55 on a 50 SSA course it will be rated about 950. That's about what an Advanced player might be expected to score.

On Paw Paw, both courses have an SSA around 63, much tougher than most courses. As the SSA increases, the number of ratings points per throw gradually decreases, in this case to about 7. So a score of 70 would be rated about 950 on these courses right in the Advanced player range.

Thanks. Now would you let me know if I'm getting it right?

So in your first example, shooting a 50 on the 50 SSA course would be a 1000 rated round. If you shoot 5 shots over the SSA, you subtract 10 ratings points per shot, making it a 950 round. If you were really good and shot a 45, then you'd add 10 points per shot under the SSA, making the total for the round a ridiculous 1050. Right?

On the tougher rated couses, the SSA is higher and the points subtracted for each stroke over the SSA is less than on the 50 SSA course. So in the case of Paw Paw, say that the SSA is 63 and I shoot an 80. That's 17 strokes over the SSA. 17 x 7 is 119. So my rating for the round would be 1000 minus 119, or 881. Is that right?

 

[billnchristy]

Looks pretty good to me.

 

[Kwick]

not sure of the math, but the general idea is right.

 

[Cgkdisc]

That's correct. You can look up the SSAs for courses that have been played in PDGA events for the past 8 years here: http://www.pdga.com/course-ratings-by-course

Then click on a tournament with the most recent SSA and layout (short, long, etc.) and you can see the ratings for each score. You can estimate the ratings for scores in between ones shown.