Ask Chuck Kennedy

[Patrick P]

Originally Posted by cgkdisc

The SSAs are actually calculated separately by round on each layout. If the SSA difference is big enough on the same layout, the numbers will be kept separate. If not, they are combined.

So basically all three rounds below will be combined for one SSA. If everything that is used to calculate SSA remains constant then would a 51 for the 3 rounds below be rated 1,005? (1011+1003+1002 / 3)

Round 1 a 51 is a 1,011 rated round
Round 2 a 51 is a 1,003 rated round
Round 3 a 51 is a 1,002 rated round

[Patrick P]

I've read somewhere but for the life of me I can't find. I think it was said that a rated player whose round rating is 60 points below their current rating are not used as a propagator in calculating SSA?

[cgkdisc]

Yes for both posts.

[JenniferB]

I know you aren't allowed to throw from OB, but I thought that meant that all support points must be IB at time of disc release. But my cardmates today insisted that I can't start my runup from OB, even though all support points would be IB at time of release. Is that correct?

[Patrick P]

Originally Posted by JenniferB

I know you aren't allowed to throw from OB, but I thought that meant that all support points must be IB at time of disc release. But my cardmates today insisted that I can't start my runup from OB, even though all support points would be IB at time of release. Is that correct?

803.04 Stance, Subsequent to Teeing Off:
A. When the disc is released, a player must:
(1) Have at least one supporting point that is
in contact with the playing surface on the line of play and within 30 centimeters directly behind the marker disc (except as specified in 803.04 E); and,
(2) have no supporting point contact with the marker disc or any object closer to the hole than the rear edge of the marker disc; and,
(3) have all of his or her supporting points in-bounds.

Supporting Point: Any part of a player’s body that is in contact with the playing surface or some other object capable of providing support, at the time of release.

If your doing a runup you got to make sure your supporting point(s) are IB at time of release.

Say if a player is at a standstill and their back foot is in OB, I think "normally" it would still be touching the ground at time of release even though they lift their leg up (unless they pull a one legged crane move just before they release their shot and the leg in the air then would not be a supporting point).

[cgkdisc]

JenniferB - But my cardmates today insisted that I can't start my runup from OB, even though all support points would be IB at time of release. Is that correct?

You can run up thru OB as long as your supporting points are IB at the time of release.

[Smitty2004]

What is going on with scores today? I see results going unofficial, then when you click on them all players are at even.


Must be some kind of "glitch" in the system today.

[cgkdisc]

Which event?

[Smitty2004]

Dynamic Discs Lewisville
Chuck Freedlun Memorial
SD State Championships

All three of these have the Trophy Icon, and no results.

[cgkdisc]

Trophy icon doesn't necessarily mean there are results. I believe once today's date is the same as the event start date and the TD uploads the final list of players from the morning check-in, you'll see the trophy icon even if there are no scores uploaded yet. If the open book icon is there, it just means there are pre-registered players but the TD hasn't uploaded any players who registed "day of" or scores yet.

[JenniferB]

Do final 9s get round ratings? I was told a round has to be at least 13 holes to get ratings.

[sammyshaheen]

What would happen if a basket was destroyed or
damaged during a round? For example a tree limb falls
on a basket and destroys it after half the field has played the hole.

What is the call here Chuck?

[cgkdisc]

Final 9s don't get official ratings but sometimes get unofficial ratings.

If I were the TD and a basket got destroyed part way thru the round, I would probably just eliminate all scores on that hole.

[gotcha]

Back in '93 or '94, we were playing a PDGA event on an 18-hole course and one of the holes utilized a portable Mach II or III (I believe the permanent basket had been damaged or stolen prior to the event). Well, we were just about to tee off on that particular hole when a pick-up truck came screaming onto the course and skidded to a stop on the green of the hole we were about to play. The driver of the truck jumped out of the vehicle, picked up the portable basket, raised it above his head.....and then SLAMMED it into the back of his truck. He then sped off the course and out of the park at a high rate of speed.

We just looked at each other and someone in the group said "I guess we're not playing this hole." The TD ended up calculating scores for that round by eliminating that one hole.

[pterodactyl]

Which disc golf complex do you prefer and why? I'm talking about either Crown Point or Highbridge.

I was surprised not to see you at this year's worlds. KL

[JenniferB]

Are we experiencing ratings inflation? I've just noticed that ratings seem to be going up. Also, the ratings for division qualifications went up not long ago. Was that to adjust for ratings inflation?

It seems like ratings inflation is inevitable so long as low rounds are dropped and the points per stroke for high SSA courses are set as low as they are. With tournaments overfilling we get more temp holes added and the SSAs go up just because of the greater number of holes. That seems to inflate the ratings of players of lower skill, leading to new propagators with 800ish ratings who then inflate the ratings of the scratch golfers in follow on tournaments, and so on. It seems like the ratings inflation will accelerate if something isn't done. Is it a problem, or can we just keep adjusting the boundaries for divisions and not worry about it?

[cgkdisc]

Which disc golf complex do you prefer and why? I'm talking about either Crown Point or Highbridge.

I was surprised not to see you at this year's worlds. KL

I think I prefer Crown Point for functional reasons in terms of its location, facilities, club scene, maintenance and decent variety. Highbridge is my favorite for course design and variety. The IDGC is close behind with the best facilities but suffers from similarity of wooded terrain.

I was surprised too regarding Worlds but they wanted to train in the new PDGA staffers this year.

[cgkdisc]

Are we experiencing ratings inflation? I've just noticed that ratings seem to be going up. Also, the ratings for division qualifications went up not long ago. Was that to adjust for ratings inflation?

No ratings inflation. Divison qualification changes had to do with evaluating the numbers of players in those brackets to somewhat level out divisions sizes plus getting the Advanced division ratings range to not be as large before the jump into pro at 970.

[pterodactyl]

Never underestimate the power of the club scene, eh Chuck?

[JenniferB]

Will you please clarify whether I, having never cashed in open, can play in both of these tournaments? Different weekends. Same course. Same name except for the designation at the end that one is am and the other pro.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/75048

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/62852

[krupicka]

We run one day tournaments with divisions split between Saturday and Sunday here all of the time. There are a lot of people that play one division on Saturday and a different division on Sunday. As long as you otherwise qualify, you can play both.

[jconnell]

Originally Posted by JenniferB

Will you please clarify whether I, having never cashed in open, can play in both of these tournaments? Different weekends. Same course. Same name except for the designation at the end that one is am and the other pro.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/75048

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/62852

From the Competition Manual:

2.1 General

C. Players are allowed to compete in only one division per event unless the event has divisions competing on a different day or weekend and is listed as two distinct entries in the PDGA calendar.

[thediscinmusician]

I had a tournament this last Saturday at a local course. I've played their multiple times and at best shot -3. I'm a 900+ rated Int. player and it was windy so it effected most everyones scores. I shot +2 first round +3 second round and tied for second in Int. I wasn't happy with my scores but didn't figure the unofficial ratings for both rounds would be THAT bad. One was a 837 the other a 846. Those seem awfully low for a windier than normal day? Now then we also only had 25 people for the ctier and the guy who won advanced shot -12 first round? I mean those who won rec and other divisions their 2 rounds were rated lower than their rating. It just doesn't seem likely you win a tournament and both your rounds are rated lower than your own rating? Is it possible this is a mistake and can the wind be taken into effect?

[cgkdisc]

The wind is always taken into effect. The player's scores are used to determine the ratings each round. If they shoot higher scores due to wind then the course rating will increase automatically. Since you are looking at unofficial scores, I would wait until the scores are processed officially for ratings since it's possible those unofficial online numbers may not be correct.

[jimimc]

I want to start off saying I love the ratings and I'm convinced they're pretty accurate. I'm also not a math whiz and I don't even play one on TV, but wouldn't the rating system be even more accurate if you took out the top and bottom 10% of scores based on ratings. If 3 players in a field of say 30 just shoot lights out, say 40+ points above their rating, doesn't that have a huge effect on the rest of the field compared to those same 3 players having a really off day and shooting 40+ points below their rating.

[Chicinutah]

My current rating is from 4 years ago, I just renewed my membership and plan on playing a tournament at the end of the month. Does that mean that my new rating will only include the rounds from the tournament I am playing in?

[cgkdisc]

Originally Posted by Chicinutah

My current rating is from 4 years ago, I just renewed my membership and plan on playing a tournament at the end of the month. Does that mean that my new rating will only include the rounds from the tournament I am playing in?

Yes.

[cgkdisc]

Originally Posted by jimimc

I want to start off saying I love the ratings and I'm convinced they're pretty accurate. I'm also not a math whiz and I don't even play one on TV, but wouldn't the rating system be even more accurate if you took out the top and bottom 10% of scores based on ratings. If 3 players in a field of say 30 just shoot lights out, say 40+ points above their rating, doesn't that have a huge effect on the rest of the field compared to those same 3 players having a really off day and shooting 40+ points below their rating.

Actually, we would prefer to not drop any rounds. However, the problem is that players can control whether they shoot a really poor round but not whether they shoot a really good round. So we have to drop some low rated rounds to account for players giving up or forcibly tanking a round. Only 1 in 50 rounds gets dropped which amounts to about one round every 3 years for the average PDGA member.

[jimimc]

I don't mean drop them all together, I think you should get credit for all your rounds. I just mean don't use them for the SSA calculation, and add them back in after the SSA has been calculated. I've seen courses were the SSA has changed as much as 1.5 strokes between tournaments due to how a few people played, when 80% of the scores remained the same.

[JenniferB]

I was wondering who gets the national title in women's masters divisions when you have U.S. Masters Championships and also U.S. Womens. For example, Ms. L won women's advanced masters at the U.S Masters Championship, and a couple of months later, Ms. S won advanced masters at US womens. Do they both get to claim the title?