True or False: Newbies/barneys should not write reviews

[prerube]

Everyone has to start somewhere, but you should not write "best course in the state" or "best course I have ever played" when you have played 6 courses.

and you should not attempt to review a top 5 course until you have atleast 15 reviews under your belt and are ready for the lashing you will recieve. I have over 50 reviews and I would hesitate to review flip or idle.

 

[bazillion]

I think if you can figure out that a reviewer is a newbie by the way the review is written or what is said, then you can take said review with a grain of salt.

That's what the whole TR system's supposed to help with anyway - if you think a review sucks, then don't pay attention to it. On the other hand, if you have something to say about a course, you should be able to say it no matter how long you've been playing or how good (or bad) your game is.

 

[therealbigtrav]

When reading a review, I always look at the number of reviews that that person has written adn take that into account. As well as their disc score they give. We all have to start someplace and I am sure my first reviews were pretty bad as well. Perhaps you should have to read a informative piecce of info that is mandatory reading before writting your first review.

I agree with everything you said in this post. All of my reviews are terrible, because I started to review before I fully understood the full purpose and importance of the reviews. If I am interested in a course, I can typically get a good idea of what to expect based on who reviews and what the give the course for a rating. That being said, I haven't bothered to update my reviews until I travel to Michigan to play Flip and Ludington. I've played a lot of courses, but mainly in state. I need to get to better courses to gain a better point of reference for my reviews.

 

[craftsman]

WTF is a Barney???
Hold on, let me put on my slacks, to go to the ice box to get a can of soda and have supper

 

[NDABRUSH]

I've read plenty of reviews with bad information from fledgling disc golfers. For example, I've read bad reviews about 350 foot holes, that happened to have water covering the first two hundred feet, just because of the water. I've read complaints about having to walk uphill or holes that were just too long :wahhhh.

In my opinion, it's pretty simple. If you aren't that good of a player, if you find a course too difficult, if you don't like having to throw a long tunnel shot, get better. When you get better, you'll find you have more options on the course, which makes some holes seem more valid and others seem less valid. A hole is not bad just because you are unable to execute the shot. A hole is bad when you don't a genuine shot to execute. Think long and hard before you give a bad review. Is the course bad or is your game bad? A lot of people seem to confuse the two.

Would you want to read a review of a car from a guy who has no knowledge of engines? I wouldn't. I want to hear from people who understand, fully, the subject at hand.

A pretty good example of this is a review from a day or 2 ago. It was for Gateway Park West in Texas. It is a Heavily wooded course. It had received votes of 3, 3.5 and 4. I think this was its first 1 disc rating.

 

[NDABRUSH]

A pretty good example of this is a review from a day or 2 ago. It was for Gateway Park West in Texas. It is a Heavily wooded course. It had received votes of 3, 3.5 and 4. I think this was its first 1 disc rating.

And pizza god gave it 4.5 and he has played over 150 courses for what that's worth.

 

[BrotherDave]

Everyone has to start somewhere, but you should not write "best course in the state" or "best course I have ever played" when you have played 6 courses.

What if the 6 courses you've played are in the top 10?

 

[REDARMY]

What if you were a newbie, just like the person who wrote the review? Then it might be really helpful, and give you a review of the course that will match your own perspective. Yeah, those reviews aren't the ones I read for information about the course, but the beauty of this site is that you can get all kinds of different perspectives on a course and put them together to figure out if it's somewhere you want to play.

Bullseye.

everyone starts somewhere/sometime, and they can consequently use the edit button later.

 

[hognosesucker]

In my opinion, a noob's opinion is just as valid as someone who is more experienced. DGers come in all makes and models and I think the course rating will eventually average out. That being said, the responsible noob who reviews courses will go back to their review and adjust accordingly as they become more experienced, but that is asking a lot from your casual DGCR noob.

 

[hognosesucker]

this being said, I think good championship caliber courses often get the shaft from noob reviewers, especially when said courses are over 7000', or require shots that aren't in their arsenal yet.

 

[prerube]

What if the 6 courses you've played are in the top 10?

Then you still don't have enough information to say best in the state, or best in the nation, but it will make the next 3 star course feel like a 1.5 and you will never be happy with a smaller course again

 

[prerube]

I just played a course this weekend where with just a few small changes it would be rated a 4, where the person I was playing with said it would be a 2 in his mind. So an odd rating can't 100% be blamed on the new person, but the new reviewers do have to ensure they are writing the review for the course and not for the expereince they had. Different people look for different things, but the important thing for new reviewers is to justify your review with as many facts as you can. If you just write what the other reviewers wrote then it is not helpful, but if you document what you see and explain why the course deserved a 4 or a 2 then you should be able to review with out worries.

 

[solomon.trenton]

i wrote my best review (28 votes) 6 months after I started playing and it was my 10th review. defiantly not my best by a longshot. But I am going back this summer to play again and update my review so that it matches my others and will be equally as well written. So i dont think a newbie shouldnt write reviews but be as objective as possible even if you shoot like 50 over par (I did)

 

[mashnut]

I just played a course this weekend where with just a few small changes it would be rated a 4, where the person I was playing with said it would be a 2 in his mind. So an odd rating can't 100% be blamed on the new person, but the new reviewers do have to ensure they are writing the review for the course and not for the expereince they had. Different people look for different things, but the important thing for new reviewers is to justify your review with as many facts as you can. If you just write what the other reviewers wrote then it is not helpful, but if you document what you see and explain why the course deserved a 4 or a 2 then you should be able to review with out worries.

Great points, different people look for totally different things in courses, and it doesn't necessarily have to do with experience. My gf has played quite a few courses (171) and she has a totally different set of things that she looks for at new courses, and we'll often disagree on the rating we would give the course.

 

[DavidSauls]

Perhaps reviews and ratings are two different things.

If an inexperienced player, in his (or her) review, reveals that he is inexperienced---or a weak arm or whatever---you can read the review in that light and it can still be helpful. The problem is when the review says the course is very long (but the reviewer neglects to mention he only drives 200 feet).

For a player with little experience or few courses played, the rating of the course is of little value. But little harm, either, except for those obsessed by the rating of their home course. Once a course has 10 or so reviews, the odd rating by the inexperienced player won't make a huge difference in the average. Plus, if a course's rating reflect an average from a broad spectrum of players, including beginners, that may be a good thing.

 

[prerube]

Plus, if a course's rating reflect an average from a broad spectrum of players, including beginners, that may be a good thing.

a 5 should be so hard to get, because not many courses can be perfect for beginners, top tier pros, ect.

a true 5 disc course would have to be challenging, yet still beginner friendly. It would have to be beloved by all, but not crowded. Have elevation changes, but still be easily climbed without tiring out the out of shape crowd. It would need good parking, tee pads, tee signs, and amenities without charging. People expect so much that a true perfect course would be filled with contridictions.

When I go to Flip City I will expect them to offer unicorn rides to the next tee while banana boat models offer to caddy.

 

[Apothecary]

my top-rated courses are all well-maintained monsters. beginner-friendly shouldnt be a req for a 5, imo. this post is well-hyphenated.

 

[prerube]

If you take someone to the course and it turns them off to the sport, then maybe the course isn't a 5.

I've said it before that for me navigation, and flow are huge (Tee signs and signs pointing to the next tee = +1). Safety issues can really hurt a rating. Then variety covers most of the remaining points. Amenaties can only help a course because they are just bonus points.

 

[Apothecary]

if i take people to go play wrightwood, a beast of a course, i tell them to be prepared for serious hiking and MANY tricky shots. its not a beginner course. if my beginner friends want to go, they know what the score is and that bitching will not be tolerated.

as far as safety issues are concerned, im only gonna ding for tee pad conditions and other glaring problems like rusty nails/syringes strewn about the course. im of the mindset that you can get killed walking your doggy and wrightwood (my only 5) is on a ski resort...lots of radical elevation change and places to roll ankles, fall off cliffs, etc. if youre not careful.

good course design and amenities trump beginner-friendliness.

 

[craftsman]

True. Beginners can't understand where the intended landing zones are that create the holes challenge. Also many will not have an array of shots so holes that require a putter drive or a hflip will seem impossable.

Okay, I have changed my mind- only newbs should write the reviews because top players will just ask other top players in person or look for tourney hosting courses for thier travels.