Play my rating or move up?

[optidiscic]

Playing INT or ADV will not make you better. Field work, putting practice and focus will make you better. Play wherever you're comfortable playing. If you move up and feel like you're donating every time, drop back down. If somebody accuses you of sandbagging, smile at them as you walk away with your stack of plastic.

best evil villain bagger quote ever opcorn:

 

[jcf5083]

People are allowed to play their ratings. If they want to play up to challenge themselves they are able


I am sick and tired of people thinking other players need to change divisions when the ratings system doesn't require it yet. If everyone just stuck to the ratings system there would never be a problem in the first place.



And to the person saying that no one gains anything by playing Rec. more than a few times. Some people are just Rec. Level players skillwise for most of their Disc Golf career. It doesnt make them love Disc Golf any less than those of us who compete in Advanced. Let them enjoy themselves too.

all this +1

 

[ArcheType]

People are allowed to play their ratings. If they want to play up to challenge themselves they are able


I am sick and tired of people thinking other players need to change divisions when the ratings system doesn't require it yet. If everyone just stuck to the ratings system there would never be a problem in the first place.
.

This. You have a rating, therefore, you aren't bagging (unless you purposely throw tournaments to drop it), so you can continue to do so if you please. If you want more of a challenge, and usually tougher and bigger field, move up. I will say that you'll probably learn more by moving up, since you'll meet and play with better players, but that isn't to say you CAN'T learn in rec. OP, all in all, it only matters how you feel. If you're happy with your current situation, stay there, if not, move up.

 

[thrembo]

I would say mabye finish this season as rec. and move up next year. Or move up now. Sounds like you are ready to move up. If you continue to win and dominate you will be branded a sandbagger! Not that it matters.

 

[rusch_bag]

Playing a tournament is about finding out where you are it is NOT where you get better. Playing with better people during leagues and casually will make you better. In tournies it is about winning, if you are rated 875 you are a MA3 player, it is not your fault that others are too proud to play their rating. If you play to the best of your ability every round and have a PDGA membership it is impossible to Sand Bag. The whole "Rec is for first timers" idea is not the PDGA official position, MA3 is for sub 900 players is the official stance.

Well said. I agree.

Also, Frank posted a very good post over at talkdiscgolf.com

I've seen a lot of people playing up in PDGA's lately and always wonder what those people are thinking. I hear the same things quite a bit which all can be summed up as "you don't get better without playing people better than you". You actually get better by practicing a lot and learning your form inside and out. If you play up a division at a PDGA you will probably get to play one round with some guys better than you before slowly filtering to the bottom card and playing with guys your own skill level. If you play up a division a few times and play well and cash or whatever your standard of playing well is I got some news for you: you aren't playing up, you're just playing in the correct division finally.

Playing up in PDGA's is just not that beneficial. You can't take the time to chat up the better players for throwing tips (because they will ignore you) and unless you focus more on their game than yours you won't really learn anything by watching. A PDGA is not the time to try and get better anyway. You are there to test your skills against competitors of a similar skill level. Why are you playing up and trying to work on your game at a tournament you paid money to compete in? If you want to get some throwing tips from a pro go up to them between or after the rounds and say something like "hey can we play a round together some time? I'm looking to get better but am stuck on [insert your problem here] and was hoping you could give me some tips". That is how you get better. You play a practice round or hit the field with a pro and they give you tips you can work on while they watch. You will not improve any significant amount by competing against them.

But maybe you are playing up for a different reason. Maybe you are one of those people who plays to the level of your competition so whenever you are playing people (you consider) worse than you, you don't play as well. The solution to that is not to play up against what you consider better competition, the solution is to strengthen yourself mentally so you do not inadvertently play down to the level of people playing worse than you. I can't really give you specifics on how to do that since it is different for every person. Maybe listening to music is your thing or maybe you just need to learn how to focus internally more. You will have to experiment and see. The point is that you should not allow how others are playing on your card to affect your play.

The only reason a person should play up is if they feel it is time to move up or want to test the waters of the division higher than them. You will not get better by getting your ass kicked by pros and you won't learn how to be mentally unaffected by bad play by playing up. All you will do is donate to someone who is playing in the correct division.

Now go practice some putting so you finally move up because of your rating.

p.s. a little aside but many people complain that pros will not take the time to play a casual round with am players. This is untrue in my area. If you are nice (and maybe offer to buy them a beer), a pro will take play a round with you and take the time to offer some tips. If a pro doesn't want to help less experienced players well screw that guy. He's a selfish jerk-ass who doesn't want to help grow the sport.

 

[Darth Anovin]

Really, I learn from playing MY game, not by watching others. So that wouldn't be a good reason for me to move up. For those that would call me a bagger with my 852 rating, I got a stack of plastic for ya. Wanna buy something?!?!

 

[Garrett76zt]

Playing a tournament is about finding out where you are it is NOT where you get better. Playing with better people during leagues and casually will make you better. In tournies it is about winning, if you are rated 875 you are a MA3 player, it is not your fault that others are too proud to play their rating. If you play to the best of your ability every round and have a PDGA membership it is impossible to Sand Bag. The whole "Rec is for first timers" idea is not the PDGA official position, MA3 is for sub 900 players is the official stance.

Whats up Joey? What this guy said is right on the money. If you wanna get better by playing with better competition then I'll give you my phone number, haha. Tourneys are contests, the point is to win, play in the division that legally gives you the best chance to win. There are so many reasons not to move up too soon. It costs less, you win more stuff and in our region there is often alot fewer competitors each division you move up, which means less points. Also i think its very important to learn how to win, to know what it feels like. Last year I started playing Intermediate and won 2 of the 5 tourneys I played in before I was forced to move up due to my rating. Then when I jumped up to my first Advanced Tourney I felt prepared and won the first ADV tournament I played in. The rating system is in place for a reason. Enjoy the wins, nice shooting man!

 

[Darth Anovin]

Thanks Garrett. Sound advice. Like I said earlier and like others have said, I'm not at a PDGA event to "learn from others." I'm there to win. I'm not gonna pay $25 to watch how other people play. I'll just play my rating until it tells me to move up. The PDGA has a system and I'm a firm believer in it. If after these 2 wins I'm rated over 900, then I'll move up.

 

[Jax11]

Thanks Garrett. Sound advice. Like I said earlier and like others have said, I'm not at a PDGA event to "learn from others." I'm there to win. I'm not gonna pay $25 to watch how other people play. I'll just play my rating until it tells me to move up. The PDGA has a system and I'm a firm believer in it. If after these 2 wins I'm rated over 900, then I'll move up.

I feel you have come to a conclusion, but I will add my two cents anyway.

I agree with your decision. For all reasons already covered. I myself am a high rated Rec player at 895 and will continue to play rec until my rating pushes me up, don't be afraid to test the waters in intermediate though. Due to convenience in traveling to and from college I played in a couple intermediate tournaments so I could play on Saturday instead of Sunday and conveniently travel back down to college on Sunday without the hassle of rushing home from a tourney. Those provided me with solid experience and a benchmark to show me where I need to be to compete in intermediate. More or less gave me a target goal to elevate my game to. Seeing the level of competition pushed me to work on my game outside of tourneys to try and bring my game to that level.

So, didn't add much that hasn't been said besides firsthand experience, but I hope it reinforces your decision. Good luck!

 

[Darth Anovin]

I feel you have come to a conclusion, but I will add my two cents anyway.

I agree with your decision. For all reasons already covered. I myself am a high rated Rec player at 895 and will continue to play rec until my rating pushes me up, don't be afraid to test the waters in intermediate though. Due to convenience in traveling to and from college I played in a couple intermediate tournaments so I could play on Saturday instead of Sunday and conveniently travel back down to college on Sunday without the hassle of rushing home from a tourney. Those provided me with solid experience and a benchmark to show me where I need to be to compete in intermediate. More or less gave me a target goal to elevate my game to. Seeing the level of competition pushed me to work on my game outside of tourneys to try and bring my game to that level.

So, didn't add much that hasn't been said besides firsthand experience, but I hope it reinforces your decision. Good luck!

I still appreciate your input though. Thanks. I'd like to add, though, that I am testing the intermediate waters in local club tourneys that are only costing me $12 to enter. Best I've done is 7th. But if I'm paying $25 or more, I'd like to know that I can compete and win. One day when I'm rated 1040 and I'm sponsored by Innova winning A tier and NT events, I'm gonna look back at this and laugh!!! HAHAHAHA!!!:hfive:

 

[mendofrolfer]

Move up.

 

[mendofrolfer]

I don't care about all the excuses and how u want to win. If your crushing the field and have won rec multiple times it's time to move up. You'll still get your precious plastic in int.

 

[notBOB]

do you want to progress at disc or peddle around in rec until a BS number tells you otherwise? move up yo, you obviously dont belong there.

 

[adh56]

I moved up to INT earlier this year after winning REC in back to back weekends, by 7 and 9 strokes. My rating at the time was 875. I only had one person in each tourny really challenging me skillwise. My round ratings were in the 930-955 range. The next rating update bumped me up to 887. The most recent on to 894. I've now played 5 tournies in INT and my scores would have won REC in 4 of them. Sure I would have won a few trophies and a bunch of plastic but it would have felt empty. I feel I did the right thing.

On the other hand I'm not moving to advanced till my rating calls for it.

 

[Brall]

play your rating

or

move up if you feel you want to stay on everyones good side.

 

[Brall]

Right now, I'm rated 852. I'm playing rec and my rating is from a tournament last November that I finished 17th in and a tournament in March that I finished 10th in. Those were my first two PDGA events. The past two weeks, though, I've played in two PDGA events and won them both. Last Saturday, there was 36 people playing rec and I won by 6 shots! Yesterday, There were only 10 playing rec, but I won by 2 shots. I'm looking for some honest opinions here. Do you think it's time for me to move up or should I continue to play my rating? Even after these two wins, I'm anticipating that my rating will be around 875-885 after the next update. What do you guys think?

i play rec and have an 848 rating

i might be in your situation soon as i have been doing much better lately

for now, i play my rating

 

[GLong]

move up, bagger

just messin. but really, you should move up. I had to make the same decision myself. I just joined the PDGA last fall so my rating is a fairly accurate reflection of where I am, ability-wise. I wanted to win one in INT before I moved up (I started with a rating of 928). I've taken 2nd three times and 3rd once out of four sanctioned tourneys, plus second in two unsanctioned tourneys. My rating is now 934, but I'm going to move up because I know I am playing better than that. Playing INT is only going to give me more plastic and a false sense of accomplishment. The only reason I didn't win one was because I made a few dumb mistakes.

I realized that in some of the last few tourneys I've ended up playing down to the competition, unintentionally. Moving up to ADV means I won't do that.

 

[Eky8]

I think it depends a lot on how comfortable you are on the course you are playing. If it's your home course and you are comfortable playing that course move up. If you are traveling to a new course or playing a course you aren't as comfortable on, play your rating.

As a side note if your score is consistently top 5 in the division above you, you should probably move up. Assuming you are playing the exact same layout.

 

[optidiscic]

I think it depends a lot on how comfortable you are on the course you are playing. If it's your home course and you are comfortable playing that course move up. If you are traveling to a new course or playing a course you aren't as comfortable on, play your rating.

As a side note if your score is consistently top 5 in the division above you, you should probably move up. Assuming you are playing the exact same layout.

interesting point

my first tourney was on my home course and I threw a 930+ and it was one of my worst rounds

since then its been all downhill due to being exposed on courses I am not familiar with and that I'm not comfortable on

 

[Brall]

here is some other discussion on this subject you may find interesting