Why do 800+ rated players play Novice?

[Chucker60]

Sounds fantastic, thanks for the expert advice. With your guidance maybe one day I'll get to a 600 rating.

 

[Chucker60]

Error

 

[Dingus]

what's the motivation for an 800+ player playing Novice? Getting crushed by 25 to 30 shots per round is not my idea of fun. Seems like it would just be a totally humiliating experience for me.

What a weird way to think about it. Those 800+ rated players would still have scores up in a different division. Is it not just as humiliating to see everyone else put up better scores than you regardless of what division they did it in? I would think it is more humiliating to "win" a division because the people that played better than you registered for a higher division while you cleaned up the scraps.

 

[Chucker60]

No, not weird at all. The people that played better than me are most likely better than me - that's the difference between a seasoned 840 rated player & me, the beginner. I am the scraps as you call it. Showing up to play & compete but then seeing all your competition is much better than you and ultimately losing a 2 round event by 50 or 60 shots. That would be the ultimate humiliation. I'd feel bad for the guys in my group watching me make bogey after double bogey after bogey while they were making birdies and pars.

 

[DavidSauls]

We 840s aren't making a lot of birdies.

 

[DavidSauls]

I don't know what your rating is or would be. 780s complain about competing against 840s (that's about 6 strokes per round, or 24 for a 4-round tournament, on average. If 840s play Rec, they complain about competing against 890s. If 910s play Advanced, they complain about playing against 970s. No matter where you draw the line, the people at the bottom of the range complain about the people at the top of it.

Pushing the higher-rated MA4s up, doesn't solve anything -- just helps some people, hurts others.

 

[Chucker60]

I don't know what your rating is or would be.

Likely in the 500's, the scraps of disc golf. :thmbup:

 

[Dingus]

I am the scraps as you call it.

Then why exactly do you deserve to win anything?

 

[Hampstead]

Participation trophy?

 

[Chucker60]

Then why exactly do you deserve to win anything?

I don't, and that was never what I was arguing. It would be nice, however, to compete with others similar to myself. That's what I thought the Novice division was - actual novice players competing against one another. Feel like a fool for ever thinking that :doh:

 

[ray1970]

Likely in the 500's, the scraps of disc golf. :thmbup:

Lol. Maybe tournaments aren't your thing yet. My wife is 50+ years old, has bad knees, and started playing last summer. She is currently 664 rated. She's had a round over 700 rated.

 

[Agricolae]

Just in case any other brand-new players are reading this thread and thinking about entering a sanctioned tournament ...

One of the benefits of playing with experienced tournament competitors is that they will know more about the rules of disc golf and the technicalities and flow of tournament play. They will teach you these things as they arise and if you ask. Important stuff to know if you are going to play sanctioned tournaments.

Imagine playing a sport governed by specific rules with an isolated group of three other players who have never before had to know those rules. The rules aren't hard to learn (generally speaking) but are quite often not intuitive.

Play with experienced players, get an education. Put in the practice time, get better. You'll enjoy your tournament experiences more.

 

[DavidSauls]

I don't, and that was never what I was arguing. It would be nice, however, to compete with others similar to myself. That's what I thought the Novice division was - actual novice players competing against one another. Feel like a fool for ever thinking that :doh:

It's understandable. As we've said earlier, "Novice" is a misleading name...and it's far from the only one the PDGA uses. My division used to be called 'advanced grand masters", and I wasn't advanced, or particularly grand, or a master of anything. Just more than 50 years old.

 

[Chucker60]

I think the moderator can lock this thread up now as it has more than answered my questions. The past week I've received quite an education thanks to many posters on here and I'd like to thank each and every one of them for the help. I apologize if anyone thought I was attacking them personally as that was never my intention. Again, thanks for the education.
Lock it up mods

 

[smoothplayer]

Likely in the 500's, the scraps of disc golf. :thmbup:

There simply isn't enough players sub 700 to even hold sizeable divisions in most areas or events. That's all what it comes down to is having a field.

Like someone else said the bottom of every division has it's whippin boys. Even pro level 1000 rated players are losing by 50-60 shots sometimes in 4 round events to the winner. No need to be embarrassed about it. If you are concerned wait till you hopefully get better and more skilled then play.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

My buddy Steve Mawdsley got an invite to the world's, round about 2016 ish. Not a lot of PDGA stats and tourneys under his belt.. He was thinking about playing advanced but his friend/my friend Alex talked him into Am.. Tough competition either way, he's huge on his home course but with long distance etc and a tougher field it was the right call. Him and his Diablo's did all right and he got 1st. Am world's champ beats the heck out of middle field advanced any day. He's not the kind of Dude to play novice, afterwards he said it was a hell of a battle and a tough win. Real glad he pulled it off.

Its dinner time, I don't have time to Google his stats... I'd be curious though. Great dude.

 

[mojorooks]

I think the moderator can lock this thread up now as it has more than answered my questions. The past week I've received quite an education thanks to many posters on here and I'd like to thank each and every one of them for the help. I apologize if anyone thought I was attacking them personally as that was never my intention. Again, thanks for the education.
Lock it up mods

Most people in your position don't enter tournaments. My biggest piece of advice is to join a league. Most are structured with a handicap point system that makes you competitive. Playing with league will teach you a lot of etiquette to help prepare you for a tournament and playing with people who are better than you will help you boost your game. Not all leagues are created equal but both leagues I've played in, people have been super helpful and accommodating for newbs.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I just looked at other threads and realized how new the OP really is to the game.

I'd just focus on playing some rounds for a while. Learn to hit fairways, learn to get up and down from different distances, learn to hit short putts. It will all come together.

....but if you really want to play a tournament or a league, go for it. Last tourney I played had a person that shot a 337 rated round. They were smiling the whole time and didn't really cause massive backups. Just understand that there may not be a lot of folks at your events that are rated under 750.

 

[dmoore1998]

Thanks for the replies. I just don't get why someone with a few years experience, that has played and competed in Rec several events, and earned a rating of 810 or 825 or 840 or whatever would want to drop back to play Novice events. And it's not about me expecting to compete with them, its why would they want to compete at the lowest level? What do they expect to get out of it? Other than kicking everyone's butt.
And txmxer, No I'm not 60 but maybe one day I'll make it that far. 60 is my good luck or good karma number.

My guess is that they competed in Rec before because many tournaments don't offer a Novice division. When they find one that does, they want to play it because their rating makes them a Novice and they're tired of getting crushed by Rec Division players just because their appropriate division isn't being offered most of the time.

Why would they want to compete at the lowest level? Why do you? It's the same answer, because that's the appropriate place for their skill level.

 

[davetherocketguy]

One thing you have to contend with as a low rated player at tournaments is a sentiment from some more skilled players that you shouldn't be there.

As a TD...if I heard someone say this I would be seriously pissed off. You play in whatever effing division you qualify for. I might even be tempted to pull that individual aside and tell them to STFU or something along the lines of, "You're throwing round pieces of plastic in a park so be patient with the lower rated players and get over yourself."