PDGA Ratings System Guide

The PDGA calculates round ratings for all sanctioned singles events and league rounds when the Tournament Director has submitted the official scores and course layouts. Ratings are not calculated for doubles or team events, or for formats that differ significantly from standard singles play, such as some X-Tiers.

Tournament Directors typically use live online scoring, which allows players to view unofficial round ratings. Official ratings updates are published on the second Tuesday of each month. Depending on when an event occurs relative to that schedule, and how quickly the Tournament Director submits the official report, it may take more than one update for an event’s official ratings to be processed and posted. View the monthly ratings update schedule. (Note: League rounds are not officially rated until the entire league has been completed and the official event report has been submitted.)

Final year-end ratings for the previous season are generally included in the February ratings update.

How Is a Player’s PDGA Rating Calculated?

12-Month Window: A player’s rating is based on rounds played within the 12 months prior to the date of their most recently rated round. Ratings only update when new rated rounds are added to a player’s profile and will be reflected in the next scheduled ratings update, which occurs on the second Tuesday of each month.

Fewer Than 8 Rounds: If a player has fewer than 8 rounds in the past 12 months, the system will look back up to 24 months to find at least 8 total rounds. If fewer than 8 rounds exist within 24 months, all available rounds in that period will be used.

Recent Rounds Count More: Once a player has at least 9 rated rounds, the most recent 25% (one-quarter) of their rounds are double weighted. This gives more importance to recent performance.

Low Outlier Rounds Excluded: If a player has at least 7 rounds included in their rating, any round that is more than 2.5 standard deviations below their average or more than 100 rating points below their average will be excluded. (Note: a player’s average rating may be different than their official rating due to weighted averages.)

Hole Count Weighting: Rounds are weighted based on the number of holes played. For example, a standard 18-hole layout carries a weight of 1x, while a 27-hole layout carries a weight of 1.5x.

Unfinished Rounds: Rounds that are not completed and are marked as "Did Not Finish" (DNF) are not included in a player’s ratings calculation.

Round Ratings

How Are Round Ratings Calculated?

• Your round rating reflects how you scored relative to a hypothetical scratch player rated 1000.
• Ratings are calculated using the scores and ratings of propagators who played the same layout during the same round.
• Propagators are players rated 700 or higher, based on at least 8 rated rounds, and a rating effective date within one year of the tournament start date.
• Propagators are identified on tournament results pages with their rating shown in bold typeface.

Unofficial vs. Official Round Ratings

• Unofficial ratings are automatically calculated when at least 2 propagators play a specific layout.
• The PDGA Ratings Team:
  • Manually calculates official ratings when there are fewer than 2 propagators.
  • Reviews unofficial ratings when there are fewer than 5 propagators.
  • Reviews unofficial ratings when they deviate significantly from the average propagator ratings, as this indicates a potential error.
• Official ratings are posted on the second Tuesday of each month. View the monthly ratings update schedule.

What Is Scratch Scoring Average (SSA)?

• The first step in ratings calculation is determining the Scratch Scoring Average (SSA).
• SSA represents the score a 1000-rated player would be expected to shoot on that layout under those conditions.
• Example:
  • If SSA = 50 on an 18-hole course:
    • A score of 50 = 1000-rated round
    • A score of 60 = 900-rated round (10 throws worse × ~10 points per throw)
    • A score of 48 = 1020-rated round (2 throws better × ~10 points per throw)
• SSA is not fixed for a course layout.
  • It can vary based on weather, season, and tournament conditions.
  • Scores from the same layout across multiple rounds may be combined unless conditions (such as wind) differ significantly.

How Many Rating Points Is Each Throw Worth?

• On typical 18-hole courses with SSA between 48–53, each throw is worth about 10 rating points.
• On easier courses (SSA around 44), each throw is worth about 13 rating points.
• On more difficult or longer courses, or on courses with more than 18 holes (SSA around 68), each throw is worth about 6 rating points.

Why Do Rating Points Per Throw Change?

This effect is called compression.

• On easier courses:
  • Players of different skill levels tend to score closer together.
  • Top players are limited by how low scores can go.
  • Lower-rated players can also score well.
  • This narrows the scoring spread, increasing rating points per throw.
• On more difficult courses, on longer courses, or on courses with more than 18 holes:
  • Scores spread farther apart across skill levels.
  • This wider spread reduces rating points per throw.

In short, ratings adjust to reflect how scores distribute on that layout under those specific conditions.

Should you have any questions regarding the player and course rating system, or your own player rating, please first check the Ratings FAQs before contacting the PDGA Ratings team.