DSWESTdg
Newbie
What's the difference between Grandmaster and Advanced Grandmaster when signing up for event? I'm 54 with 885 rating.
-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
Grandmaster
- Thread starter DSWESTdg
- Start date
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Typically, when you just see the word "Grandmaster" it means the pro division. They play for cash prizes. Advanced Grandmaster is the amateur division playing for merchandise prizes. In both cases, you must be turning 50 sometime in 2017 or older to enter. Pro GMs are usually higher rated/skilled players than the Advanced level but there's some overlap depending on where you live.
The only difference is one is pro and one is amateur.
I've never agreed with the convention of calling the amateur age divisions "Advanced". There is no Intermediate Masters or Recreational Grandmasters, so the Advanced designation makes no sense. They should simply call it Amateur Masters/Grandmasters/etc. It would definitely avoid confusion like the OP's.
I've never agreed with the convention of calling the amateur age divisions "Advanced". There is no Intermediate Masters or Recreational Grandmasters, so the Advanced designation makes no sense. They should simply call it Amateur Masters/Grandmasters/etc. It would definitely avoid confusion like the OP's.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
There were Intermediate Master & Grandmaster plus Intermediate Master and GM women divisions in the late 90s into the early 2000's. That's why the Advanced tag in front of the older divisions was needed for Worlds since only the top am division in an age range was hosted at Am Worlds. When the ratings system to define the MA1 thru MA4 came into use during 2003, the Intermediate older divisions were "retired" once they had the choice to play in the appropriate amateur rating range based on their rating if they didn't want to play with their higher rated age peers.
I know all that. Not sure why the existence of divisions 15+ years ago necessitates keeping the Advanced tag, though.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
I think if the Advanced division was changed to Am then the older ones would follow. Unlikely I suspect. We can't even figure out better names for Rec and Novice.
Why would the Advanced division need to change? All I'm suggesting is that the age protected divisions be liberated from the Advanced tag. There's really no reason to tie the age protected divisions to be tied to Advanced at all.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Tradition that indicates they are the highest level of amateur players in the age range.
They're the only level of amateur players in the age range.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Nomenclature just doesn't change without a compelling reason, and logic isn't sufficient. If logic were applied to divisional nomenclature there are other changes potentially more important that are also unlikely to change without more compelling reasons.
