since i posed this question under the raising non-member fees thread, which has since disapppeared; shall posit it here, instead:

why is there a gradation in membership fees ranging from the least expensive: juniors, to the most expensive: professionals?

are there differences in the perks received by these different sects of players, or is it merely an arbitrary attempt to gleam more $ from the smallest group of PDGA golfers out there?

Should the different divisions have to pay different amounts to join this organization when there are no differences in what they get out of it?

sincerely,

Luke Reiser
pdga: 21014

Most of the difficult questions (a few are actually good ones - like yours) on the DISCussion Board that consume the most time by the PDGA staff come from Pro's. Very few come from Rec & Int. Membership dues must be based on that. :o:D

Also the biggest tools who cause the strongest reactions here are classified as Pro's (think Nick, Underpar, LaGrasse). There are a couple of Ams, and very few Int & Rec players that cause a hubbub, although there is the anonymous non-member troll that comes along. Do we see a pattern here?? :eek:

Not sure about the conspiracy aspects of it, but I agree that it is strange to have more than one kind of basic membership.

I'd prefer to see a base membership with a greater variety of contributing add ons. Kind of like how we all wished our state and federal taxes were.

If you want to support a "Non-Basic" program, such as the "Affiliate Club", "EDGE", "University Outreach" or even "Additional Funding for Promotion", there should be set levels of additional support right on the renewal form so that folks can contribute to what they want, if they want to.

Not everyone would contribute, but I bet there would be a considerable increase.

We did a similar thing in the MADC last year to help raise funds for the Pro Worlds and quite a few folks voluntarily added and extra $5, $35 and even $65 to their basic membership fee. In general folks, particularly folks committed enough to join an organization, want to help as they are able.

I don't see why the base should be different between Cash and Prize players; if we ever have an amateur class, then perhaps some difference would be appropriate.

WHERE is the info about those 'temp' or 'partial' [3 months?] memberships ?
I think I could interest a few on this angle. ;)

Need a place to post? Check dub dub dub dot united$disc$golf dot com. (no dollar signs of course)

Need a place to post? Check dub dub dub dot united$disc$golf dot com. (no dollar signs of course)



Quote:

Quote:
Quidam wrote; Oh yes, you can misunderstand me, and you can go for long walks with me, and you can shoot silver bullets at my dunce cap, but you won't change the way I search the Web for memos.



once a tard..... always a tard...



he forgets people remember what a tard he was in earlier posts

I bought this account off of ebay. You sir will always be a tard for the fact that you are still not aware that quidam was used for random post generation which you are judging a program for posting. Too funny. As Mencia would say dee dee dee. :p :D :D

I bought this account off of ebay. You sir will always be a tard for the fact that you are still not aware that quidam was used for random post generation which you are judging a program for posting. Too funny. As Mencia would say dee dee dee. :p :D :D



no i was responding to you

And I to you. :p

so...

if one has prviously joined the pdga as a pro (paying the higher dues) and they are now rated lower than the (arbitrary) 955 cutoff, must they renew as a pro and pay the higher fee or since they are allowed to play Advanced, can they now renew as an amateur?

Players can always request the PDGA to change their class from Pro back to Am but I believe that's the only way to get the amatuer dues level if the conversion is approved.

Players can always request the PDGA to change their class from Pro back to Am but I believe that's the only way to get the amatuer dues level if the conversion is approved.



so is this basically an admission that advanced is just a lesser professional division? if one has registered as a pro before, they must stay a pro, BUT they are allowed to compete in the advanced/jv/pro2 division... ?

it seems to me that if ratings determine which division you may play in, they should also determine which division you may join/rejoin the pdga.

While the PDGA does actually spend more of its budget per player on Pros than Ams, don't overlook the simple benefit of telling others you're a Pro rather than Am, just like players like to have a higher rating than their buddies. It's worth a little more. Just petition the PDGA to revert to Am status if the $15 is that important.

i was going to say this in my last post, but i figured i'd wait til someone assumed this is all about 15 dollars:

I'm not quibbling over 15 dollars.

i couldn't care less about telling someone i'm a pro. frankly in circles outside of disc golf, it just makes you sound like a dork. I also couldn't care less about my rating.

i just find it inconsistent that a "pro" is allowed to compete against "amateurs," but they are still considered a pro... there's something not quite right there.

...the PDGA does actually spend more of its budget per player on Pros than Ams...



this is a good reason for the difference in dues.

(i know this has gotten others banned from posting, but since this is now a members only board, you know who i am) is there a way to see a breakdown of how the PDGA spends its budget (not dollar ammounts necessarily, but percentages)? This could allow people to understand where their dues go and why there are differences in the levels of membership.

I don't disagree. It's not good marketing to say we have pros competing with ams. However, as we know, our top ams are not really ams and most of our pros below the top are not really pros. Perhaps there will be a Merch or Prize class in the future with the dues set at $47.50.

is there a way to see a breakdown of how the PDGA spends its budget (not dollar ammounts necessarily, but percentages)?



Usually the Spring DGWN has the budget breakdowns. Some of the programs like the NT and marketing expenses for Sports Loop have been more benefit for the pros. I think someone upthread posted some of the items that were more pro slanted. Just the support for Pro Worlds (loss) and Am Worlds (breakeven or profit) provides more resources for pros.

I don't disagree. It's not good marketing to say we have pros competing with ams. However, as we know, our top ams are not really ams and most of our pros below the top are not really pros. Perhaps there will be a Merch or Prize class in the future with the dues set at $47.50.



or possibly just merging the merch/prize class with the professional division - both are competing for profit's sake.

thus, only one prize division - one can choose to take home cash or plastic.

its kinda like commerce - stores take cash or plastic(credit card) and both are equally valid, in their opinion.