DGCR v UDisc Rating

[DavidSauls]

Alas, I've usually played multiple times, before i write a review.

I'm not traveling or course-bagging, but if I'm looking at a course to visit on a day-trip around the state, or to play a tournament, the navigation may or may not matter. I don't use UDisc, but I could be playing with someone who's been there before -- either a fellow traveler, or a local. If a tournament, I'm almost certainly to be with someone who knows their way around, and after my first round I'm a bit experienced for the rest of the tournament, too. I still don't know my way around Flyboy, after 3 trips, because it's always a guided tour.

(Stoney Hill, for a long time, either required a guide, or in a pinch we'd meet a visitor and give them a map and some instructions. Now, it's mostly a map or Udisc, and an explanation, but we've also improved the navigation).

 

[bigreddog]

According to DGCR, Remember a "5" is the ultimate...nothing could be done to improve the course...it's perfect in every way. If you follow those instructions, there are no "5"s . Unattainable. Udisc gives the rating options, without the ridiculously subjective baggage, which is why Udisc is considered inflated.

Isn't a "5" titled "Best of the Best" not "Perfect"? I don't see how "Best of the Best" is unattainable.

 

[R-Ogre]

Maybe I'm totally off base but it seems like after you bag a dozen courses or so it becomes pretty instinctive to translate udisc ratings to dgcr ratings and vice versa and get at least a general idea of how much you'll like a course. Like yes I know a udisc 4 is probably like a dgcr 3 but for me it's probably a totally serviceable way to burn an hour or so. 2 or less on udisc is probably a skip unless I'm across the street and already carrying a frisbee.

 

[DavidSauls]

Maybe I'm totally off base but it seems like after you bag a dozen courses or so it becomes pretty instinctive to translate udisc ratings to dgcr ratings and vice versa and get at least a general idea of how much you'll like a course. Like yes I know a udisc 4 is probably like a dgcr 3 but for me it's probably a totally serviceable way to burn an hour or so. 2 or less on udisc is probably a skip unless I'm across the street and already carrying a frisbee.

Udisc inflation may be local or regional. Around here, nothing's below a 3 -- not even a grade school course of 60' holes. Skip anything below 4.2.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Navigation is HUGE to me.

I tend to play by myself and I tend to squeeze my disc golf in between other time sensitive things. And there is absolutely nothing more frustrating to me than not being about to find the next tee or having misleading tee signs on blind shots. And wasting time figuring those things out.

I don't ding a course based off any single factor, but if I can't decide between a 2 and a 2.5, bad navigation pushes it to a 2.

 

[34blast]

DG reviews are dying

The biggest problem with the DG reviews are if you don't write a complete book with details on each hole you get down voted. Stuff like that takes too much time. Younger folks just use UDisc and give a rating. UDisc reviews have taken over.

 

[ru4por]

The biggest problem with the DG reviews are if you don't write a complete book with details on each hole you get down voted. Stuff like that takes too much time. Younger folks just use UDisc and give a rating. UDisc reviews have taken over.

Setting aside your sweeping generalizations, ageism and definitive proclamations, I think you are essentially saying that we all use different tools for different purposes.

For example. I am taking a two week trip down to Charlotte NC this summer. I will play disc golf most days. I would not find a UDisc rating, given with little to no thought many times, very helpful in determining where I might want to play. If I want to use a scoring app or look for on course directions, UDisc is a very good tool.

For me, it boils down to a UDisc number, with little to no context vs. a written review of a course. A review presenting many elements of play, design, difficulty, topography.... with helpful tips on dangers and features, along with amenities. Traveling with my wife and dog, these feature are very important. So, I stand by reviews > rating. This is even true for me here within DGCR.

Unfortunately, there is little foundation for the rating given in UDisc. It could be a fun factor, it could be a difficulty rating, it could be a weather report, it could be whether the user ran out of beer......just no basis for interpretation. The reviews in DGCR generally provide that basis. Hopefully, they can solve some of that moving forward, but for now it is just a random number.

 

[Cgkdisc]

UDisc ratings essentially start from, "It gets a 5 if nothing's wrong". DGCR reviews start from, "It gets a 5 if everything's right."

 

[Countchunkula]

The biggest problem with the DG reviews are if you don't write a complete book with details on each hole you get down voted. Stuff like that takes too much time. Younger folks just use UDisc and give a rating. UDisc reviews have taken over.

There's some truth to this, but I think you're exaggerating a bit. There's a pretty large sweet spot between the few sentence, bare bones reviews and the novels. I find a review that tells me what I need to know in a reasonable amount of words more useful than a novel. I'm also conflicted on whether the hole by hole breakdowns are all that helpful.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

Setting aside your sweeping generalizations, ageism and definitive proclamations, I think you are essentially saying that we all use different tools for different purposes.

For example. I am taking a two week trip down to Charlotte NC this summer. I will play disc golf most days. I would not find a UDisc rating, given with little to no thought many times, very helpful in determining where I might want to play. If I want to use a scoring app or look for on course directions, UDisc is a very good tool.

For me, it boils down to a UDisc number, with little to no context vs. a written review of a course. A review presenting many elements of play, design, difficulty, topography.... with helpful tips on dangers and features, along with amenities. Traveling with my wife and dog, these feature are very important. So, I stand by reviews > rating. This is even true for me here within DGCR.

Unfortunately, there is little foundation for the rating given in UDisc. It could be a fun factor, it could be a difficulty rating, it could be a weather report, it could be whether the user ran out of beer......just no basis for interpretation. The reviews in DGCR generally provide that basis. Hopefully, they can solve some of that moving forward, but for now it is just a random number.

I think every course in Charlotte is rated between 4.3-4.6 on UDisc. Good luck separating the wheat from the chaff.

 

[elmexdela]

serious question

how do you search/find the udisc top rated courses for each state

or do you just have to wait for their stupid written article to come out once a year

 

[lee76007]

I've only seen an occasional review on UDisc that has substance, what I do see are comments based on a good feel moment after completing a round with very little thought prior to posting. When bagging a new course, I do use those comments for a temperature check on the course, just for the mood from comment to comment. Only once have I been strongly persuaded to check out a course by UDisc comments with several reviews mixed in and that was Cannon Ridge in Fredericksburg, Virginia and wasn't disappointed. UDisc does excel in course conditions which can be frequent, course navigation and information when needed, and I use the driving directions.

The majority of DGCR reviews offer quality by members with their own unique perspective on a course and pondering before posting. Unfortunately, DGCR has "creeping UDiscism" when a few members are posting what resembles comments found on UDisc, and that seems to be growing.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

serious question

how do you search/find the udisc top rated courses for each state

or do you just have to wait for their stupid written article to come out once a year

I'd like to know this myself.

opcorn:

 

[wolfhaley]

I'd like to know this myself.

opcorn:

Same here. Would want filters too. Won't be in Europe anytime soon.

 

[blake833]

The biggest problem with the DG reviews are if you don't write a complete book with details on each hole you get down voted. Stuff like that takes too much time. Younger folks just use UDisc and give a rating. UDisc reviews have taken over.

I think a good review can provide some details and justification in just a few sentences. I don't need to know what every hole is like (and honestly don't want to know, sorry for those of you who review every hole)(but i'll still give you a helpful vote). It's the reviews which are 5 star ratings, with the only justification being "wow i loved it and i live close to it! no complaints!" that get downvoted.

What I like about this site, is whether you rate a course high, low, or in the middle, you're compelled to give a few reasons why.

 

[mcrow]

I guess I don't pay attention to the rating as much as what people say in the reviews. People on DGCR tend to provide more detail. One example is we have courses that are rated 2 or something but the knocks are it's a short course with not a lot of trees or hazards. Well, for an experienced player that might be a 2 but it would be a 4 for a beginner because it's challenging enough for them.

 

[wolfhaley]

I think a good review can provide some details and justification in just a few sentences. I don't need to know what every hole is like (and honestly don't want to know, sorry for those of you who review every hole)(but i'll still give you a helpful vote). It's the reviews which are 5 star ratings, with the only justification being "wow i loved it and i live close to it! no complaints!" that get downvoted.

What I like about this site, is whether you rate a course high, low, or in the middle, you're compelled to give a few reasons why.

I agree with all of this. I honestly think shorter reviews can be helpful, especially on lets say, some random middle school course. I'm not a big fan of hole by hole breakdowns either. I won't knock someone if they do that, but personally I skip that whole section. I'll see for myself when I play it. Tell me where hole 1's tee is and a few sentences and it's better than 95% of Udisc's yelp ratings.

 

[DFrah]

I also pay attention to review text more than ratings. If the course is not in my local area I am probably looking for some detailed information about it, so that I can decide whether or not to play it when I visit (or just reading the reviews for the fun of it).

I don't disagree that writing and reading an average DGCR review isn't for everyone. This topic has been covered quite a bit just in the 2ish years that I have been using this site a lot. The truth is that both DGCR and UDisc are valuable resources for disc golfers, but just how valuable each one is depends on your personal preferences. DGCR is always going to be more attractive to people who prefer to take some time and collect information, planning things out in advance prior to visiting a course. UDisc is always going to be better for people who just want a quick reassurance that yep, there is a course here and some locals like it, before making a quick decision to go out and play. There's nothing wrong with either approach IMO.

Honestly I can only remember reading a handful of hole-by-hole breakdowns here (and a good portion of that handful were my own early reviews - guilty! I agree that is a little much and don't see myself doing that going forward). That said, I like it when reviewers discuss a few holes on the course that were particularly memorable in either a good or bad way. It helps paint a better picture of the course in my mind.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Not that this is necessarily the thread, but I guess it goes to how DGCR's review culture functions.

I think that uDisc ratings are not a review of the course in any comparative sense. They mostly are a function of whether the person enjoyed playing at the course. The top rating doesn't even mean that it's the most enjoyable course you've ever played, just that you didn't really find anything that severely affected your enjoyment.

There is also no real possibility of creating a culture around reviews on uDisc. The absence of active forums that have well known personalities that care about how reviews are conducted means that no one is going to apply any real pressure on reviews to conform to some standard.

The conversation in this thread won't ever happen on uDisc.

I've never used DG Scene, but I imagine that there is much the same issue there.

I can't disagree with this. But this makes U-Disc much less useful in planning roadtrips where time is limited and you're specifically looking for the best courses.

If you're bagging everything in an area, or hitting courses in your area, either site's ratings are basically meaningless, because you're not using them as a consideration in course selection. You're not really selecting one in lieu of some other course. You've already decided you hit that course simply because it's there. At that point, ratings aren't much more than #'s in an online c*ck measuring contest for fanboi bragging rights.

But I think ratings are helpful in creating a short list of courses to cherry pick in a given area or along a route to some destination. That's where DGCR shines compared to U-Disc.

Both sites can help you find courses.
But DGCR is much better at helping you select courses.

 

[Mando]

But this makes U-Disc much less useful in planning roadtrips

I would have to disagree. Sorting thru the layout options, gives Udisc a huge advantage for roadtrips, regardless of how it stacks up review-wise.