Download the complete and most recent June 2000 ratings
for all eligible PDGA players (Adobe Acrobat .PDF format, 400Kb).
Handicaps have arrived to the PDGA! 2000 marked the first year this system will be utilized, and we're confident that, once you understand the changes, you'll be just as pumped as we are over the potential future of this system.
The PDGA rating system -- the brainchild of Roger Smith and Chuck Kennedy -- calculates each player's skill level and also the difficulty rating of each course played in PDGA events. Your Player Rating (PR) is a number that shows how close your average round scores compare to the World Class Par (WCP) of the courses you've played in competition. Players who average WCP on courses played will have a rating of 1000. If they average even lower scores, their rating is over 1000.
Most competition players average scores that are higher than WCP, so their ratings range somewhere between 700-999. Every ten points equals one throw on an 18 hole course. If you average five throws over WCP, your rating will be 950.
Everyone has bad rounds. The system only uses up to 75% of a player's best rounds relative to the course WCPs from PDGA events that have been entered into the system. Ratings will be updated four times per year by the middle of January, May, July and September. All rounds entered into the system during the 12 months prior to each update will be evaluated to calculate your current rating.
Why is the PDGA creating this rating system? Dealing with 'sandbagging' - playing in a division lower than your skill level - has been one of the more difficult challenges. Player Ratings can be used to group players in competition brackets that are more fair and provide a basis for a much more accurate ranking of the worlds's top players on the PDGA Tour compared to the existing points system. Course ratings pave the way for difficulty comparisons of courses around the world with the potential to improve their designs and levels of challenge. Course WCP ratings provide a benchmark for local players to gauge their skill improvements. Ratings will allow players to handicap their play against others.
| Recommended Ratings Brackets |
| Amateur Players |
|
Professional Players |
| Bracket |
A, B, C tier |
|
Bracket |
A tier |
B tier |
C tier |
| Blue |
Open to Ams of any rating* |
|
Gold |
Open to Pros of any rating |
| White |
less than 900 |
|
Silver |
less than 970 |
less than 960 |
less than 950 |
| Red |
less than 850 |
|
Bronze |
less than 935 |
less than 920 |
less than 900 |
| Green |
less than 800 |
|
Ferrite |
less than 900 |
less than 880 |
less than 850 |
| *Note: it is recommended that Ams with ratings above 950 play in a Pro bracket in B and C tier events and decline cash prizes to retain Am status. |
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