I have been thinking about this for a while. When is a good time to move up? I have been playing for a little over a year. I have only played two tournaments - both as "intermediate". My best finish is 7th place (out of about 35) although I could have placed much better wihtout one bad round. I'm not sure how accurate the player ratings are but my current rating is 884.

Should I keep playing as an intermediate until I get my rating up? Or would I see more improvement if I moved up to advanced?

Move up when you cant stand other people telling you to move up any more.

moving up all depends on the skill level of players in your division in your area. if you can consistantly cash in intermediate, it would be a good idea to move up to advanced after you win an intermediate. i will tell you that being in the lead after your first round and trying to keep the lead is a very good experiance and is something that any tournament player needs to do. in order to do that you do have to stay in a divison long enough to be able to be in the top 4.

Hmmmmmm..........really depends on the individual.

Can't really force anyone , even though I have tried.

Once the player or players are ready , they will ask.

I have encouraged more than a few dozen players.

Advancement comes from within !!!!!

I like playing with players who are better. You can learn alot.

Motivation and Inspired Energy is Exciting !!!!!!!

For some , it's a comfort zone that's exceptable.
Some feel they would be punished for playing in a upper division. Others , it's a personal reason.

For me , I'd like to get back in shape to be competitive in the Open Division. Those guys strive on doing their best.

I'm barely able , barely able , to compete in the Masters divison. The current Masters division is the same Open players I have played with , we are just older. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

If you have a Putter and can make Birdies , A couple of good drivers , you can throw semi - accurately , don't let me see you playing a novice division. It's not fair to the newbee's !!!!!
They won't want to leave the novice division and so forth !!!!!!

To some, this may seem facetious to some but it is an honest question.

I have recently, the past few weeks, been in a competitive slump. It started to go downhill after a weekend where I placed 3rd out of 7 in an unsanctioned tournament in open.

Since then I have gone down hill in a hurry. My putts are not falling, midrange drives are going haywire. (My long distance drives 400ft+ are still accurate, smooth, and nice), But everything else is shaky.

I have started to become self concious with my grip as some people have pointed out that it is what is giving me putting problems. For instance back in the spring I was hitting about 75% between 25-35ft, now I am about 40% in that distance.

I have cashed in a majority of Advanced tournaments I have played in, out of the 10 events I have played, 6 to be exact, and three of the 4 which I did not cash I was only a couple strokes away from cashing.

My rating is 913, or something close to that, but below 915.

On the national circuit, which I like to travel a lot, I do not think that anyone would have a problem with me moving back down to Intermediate, a division which I have not played in since May of 2004. But locally, in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Lousiana, there would be an uproar.

For now I am confused about what to do. Thankfully I have a basket on order so I can practice putting on days I cannot make it to the course.

Before this last month I was considering moving up to compete in Open starting in 2006, since when I compete against Open players I usually play better. Now I am contiplating moving back down to MA2.

Does anyone have any good reasons why I should not move down to MA2?

Dude !!!!!!! Once a Pro , always a Pro !!!!!!

Don't move down , unless you are injured , in a severe car accident, loss of limb or complete life style change !!!!!!!

Don't do it..................work on your game that suckks.
Continue to improve on the parts that work.

Don't stress on the non-important stuff. Relax and have fun playing again.
Once you stop having fun , Dude , it's like a Job !!!!!!!!!
/msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

well, at 913 you're prolly barely cashing in most advanced fields, and would be top tier in any am field. BUT... what was happening before the slump? were ya getting better and watching your rating go up? or were you stagnate or trending down? if you were headed down anyway, then think aobut moving down. but if you were making upward progress, then suck it up and play through it! if a particular shot isnt working that used to, the bottom line most for sure way to fix it to get out into the field and throw it about 500 times. putts or upshots, doesnt matter. theres not many problems that 500 or 1000 throws wont fix.

look at it as a challenge, just like a string of 3 orf 4 crappy holes in the middle of a competitive round. dont panic, just play through it. and dont take too many risky shots in the meantime... play it close to the vest. you'll be fine.

Does anyone have any good reasons why I should not move down to MA2?



I do.


Four strokes better then the PDGA says I am

Dude !!!!!!! Once a Pro , always a Pro !!!!!!

Don't move down , unless you are injured , in a severe car accident, loss of limb or complete life style change !!!!!!!

Don't do it..................work on your game that suckks.
Continue to improve on the parts that work.

Don't stress on the non-important stuff. Relax and have fun playing again.
Once you stop having fun , Dude , it's like a Job !!!!!!!!!
/msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif


Good advice Don :cool:. Like he said, dont stress on the non-importnat stuff, for example Disc Golf /msgboard/images/graemlins/ooo.gif. Thats right, this game is not really that important is it, really is it ? You need to ahve fun at this game, thats what it's all about. It's okay to be competitive, but dont dwell over it or lose sleep. Once we are all able to make a comfortable living playing this game (and who knows when or if ever that will be), then we can take it to the next level and make it a must and make the most important thing. You need to relax, dont worry about your game to much, concentrate on the fun things and be happy to just be on the course. You know you have it in you to shoot better, just let yourself relax and it will come to you. You will probrably be doing yourself a favor if you dont move down. Playing with better players will only make you better in the long run. People that stay in one division for to long and keep winning dont know what to do when they move up and dont win, it's like a shock, they get mad, impatient, and start to dwell on it. Keep a good attitude, a confident mind set, and have FUN. Hope this made sence. Good luck and throw them hard and fast.

Does anyone have any good reasons why I should not move down to MA2?


You started the 'season' there; finish there. :cool:

You can't use age as an excuse for deteriating skills [like some of us][whomever]. :o

That new basket/routine just might be the ticket. :p :)

Your game could possibly 'slip' further, not having better examples-of-play almost every round.

....and in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Lousiana, there could be an uproar...ready for that?!? :o:eek: :D

What about skipping a division when moving up? (slightly off topic)

I've just finished out the 2 points series I started in MA-3, and am ready to move up. My problem/concern is, my scores in the last 3 tourneys not only dominated MA-3, but they would have put me at the top of MA-2. At the state series I just finished (won MA-3 in Michigan), my scores were 2 strokes better than MA-2 for the same courses, from the same tees, in the same order. Is moving up to MA-1 a smarter move where I can play against people better than me, or is the attitude in MA-2 that much different than MA-3 that I should make a stop there on my way up?

Usually winning scores in Intermediate are 920-940 rated so you might as well play advanced. If that does not work for you, you can play intermediate until your rating pushes you out.