Is it ethical for pros to play in their local tournaments?

[gerth_vader]

its unethical for them not to show up and grow the sport from the ground up. pay to play with the best, thats golf. disc golf should be no different

[brutalbrutus]

I think the original point about the MA40 comment, is that those guys aren't playing MP40?

I've seen this in my area quite a bit. Someone hanging out it INT/MA40 because they want to be the best player without question, win by 10 shots and soak up that AM merch instead of playing MP40 where most of the time they are playing well enough to cash if not win. Are they allowed to do it? Sure but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to find it strange.

Personally, trying to sell off the merch I've won is one of the more loathsome things about being stuck at a Rec level rating. I moved up to INT just so I wouldn't win so much of the crap. I was planning to move straight to MP40 when I was old enough before I blew out my shoulder.

[ballgolfconvert]

Originally Posted by Putt for D'oh

Funny no matter how many threads you are told that it’s possible to be older, and good, and want to play with others the same age your still don’t believe it and think it’s about the merch.

To each his own but your assumptions about other people’s motivations are wrong.

Personally, I hate the over valued merchandise knocking down payouts. Going to get my 3rd backpack of the year this weekend. I just can't control the excitement.

[Cgkdisc]

It's not as much an ethics question but more of a "fair play" issue. Under current rules, the Open division in sanctioned C-tiers is available to any PDGA member in good standing and Non-members. So, it's fair but maybe a bit less than great sportsmanship. There are already small barriers in the system that reduce the chances very high rated players will enter C-tiers. First, they may not get bonuses for placing in C-tiers. Second, Player/Rookie of the Year Points are not awarded for C-tier finishes. Third, many top level pros are concerned their rating will take a hit even if they win.

If you're a league or event TD and still see a problem locally, there are a few things to consider. First, only run single round C-tiers like DD flex events or leagues which only have one round per week. Much easier for lower rated pros to compete against higher level pros in a single round versus 2 or 3 rounds where the average skill difference is more likely to show up. Second, just run Am only events or leagues.

Third, run ratings based leagues with cash payouts in the higher or all divisions. This is allowed even in PDGA leagues without ams losing their am status since payouts are not reported. This way, at least the 970 and higher rated players will be playing in the gold division and the "pros" including master and older in the 935 to 969 blue division still get to play for cash and are protected from those 970+ pros. Likewise, the players below 935 can play against players in their skill range in white or lower ratings divisions. The lower divisions could have merch payouts if you wish. TDs could require players without ratings to enter at least blue or even gold to reduce bagging potential. The cool thing with ratings leagues is the local highly rated ams above 969 have to play with the gold pros and can even win cash without affecting their am status for regular PDGA events.

[Dcinmd]

Originally Posted by ballgolfconvert

Personally, I hate the over valued merchandise knocking down payouts. Going to get my 3rd backpack of the year this weekend. I just can't control the excitement.

Move up to pro then.

Then you don't have to complaining about the prizes.

[Lazerface]

In the OPs defense he did say "the question came to mind" so let's not ascribe too much to it.

Who am I kidding? This AM Pro had a real Pro show up and wallop him. HAHAHA

[joshmo65]

All right. I'm going to go against the general populous and say that it is demoralizing when touring pros show up and take local player's money which causes the local players to lose interest as they continue to pump money into tournaments with only the benefit of a couple of rated rounds in the end losing hundreds of dollars and only getting a chance at playing with a top guy for one round.

In the Pittsburgh area, there aren't any great players. There is one player rated over 975. What happens then is that the average rating for each division is significantly lower than the suggested rating as the highest rated amateurs are only 940-950. They end up winning the Advanced division and get the constant catcalls of "bagger" and "move up" so they decide to try out Open again the other local 950-970 rated open players and actually have a chance at cashing. But now, when great players come into town and easily take the top 1-3 spots, these 950-970 players don't have a chance at making any money. They lose more and more money over time, lose the drive to play any more with no chance at winning and quit.

Just for fun, I took a look at the PFD's events over the year to see how many local players cashed:
Shamrock Showdown (B-tier): 14 Open (17 local), 7 cashed (4 local [3, 5, 6, 6])
Ironwood Open (B-tier): 33 Open (7 local), 15 cashed (2 local [3, 14])
The Hunt (C-tier): 15 Open (9 local), 6 cashed (2 local [1, 6])
Knobulus Maximus (C-tier): 12 Open (8 local), 5 cashed (1 local [4])

Basically all of the local pros are hemorrhaging money at the local tournaments. Make an MPO2 division for local pros to actually be able to compete so that we don't get our asses handed to us every weekend or so that we don't get called bagger when we play in the correct division.

Also, can we get better players?

[DavidSauls]

Create a new division for you because you won't play in the division that was created for you?

[bwgort]

Bring back Pro 2! /s

[joshmo65]

Originally Posted by DavidSauls

Create a new division for you because you won't play in the division that was created for you?

Well, technically I can't play MA1, but when the choice is to either get heckled relentlessly for beating all of the other "advanced" players by 10 strokes or losing all of your money to great players coming in from out of town, many players decide to just stop playing.