POINTS?

[jenb]

So I combed the PDGA rules and FAQ etc. for an explanation of the points system, and found nothing.

I asked at DGCR about the points system, but apparently it was too hard for them.

Can anyone here explain the points system to me? Does anyone understand it?

[Chuck Kennedy]

The Points factors are in this table:
http://www.pdga.com/documents/divisions ... ts-factors
You earn the number of points shown for every person you beat or tie in an event based on the tier and division entered. You earn Am points in Am divisions and Pro points in Pro divisions. All points you earn in Am or Pro are totaled separately each year to determine whether you earn an invite to Am or Pro World respectively based on how your point total ranks compared to others in your age range and gender in your state.

[Dag]

...compared to others in your age range and gender in your state.

Are points earned in both age protected and non-age protected divisions applied to the same total? I'm more than old enough to play Masters but normally do not. Were I active enough (and a whole hella lot better player), could I earn points towards Masters play at Worlds with non-age protected play generating the requisite points?

(^prolly coulda been phrased better but I'm just into my coffee^)

[biscgolf]

...compared to others in your age range and gender in your state.

Are points earned in both age protected and non-age protected divisions applied to the same total? I'm more than old enough to play Masters but normally do not. Were I active enough (and a whole hella lot better player), could I earn points towards Masters play at Worlds with non-age protected play generating the requisite points?

(^prolly coulda been phrased better but I'm just into my coffee^)

yes... one points total per person...

[Chuck Kennedy]

Technically, you could have two point totals, an Am total for all your Am events and a Pro total for all your Pro division events if you happen to enter events in Am and Pro during the year. Your potential invite to Am or Pro Worlds would depend on your member class as Am or Pro at the end of the year.

[jenb]

If you get an invite, will it be specific to a particular division?

For example, are you not allowed to play up?

And if the invitationis to play advanced masters, does that mean you can't play advanced instead, or vice versa?

Do all majors require invitations to register? What about NT? I think I saw that people with invitations are allowed to register first, and then people without invitations can register when the priority period is expired. Is that right? When does the registration open to all? Can people without invitations submit early and get on a waitlist to be added as soon as the prioirty peiod is expired?

And what does it mean to compare points based on your state? Do they try and invite people from different states? How does that work?

[Chuck Kennedy]

Your invite is to Am or Pro Worlds, and you can enter any division you qualify for that year. No other invite events run by the PDGA based on points. Didn't get an invite to Worlds? Then you wait about 60 days until it opens up in late May. Your point totals are compared against others in your same age/gender division with at least top 20% getting invites.

[jenb]

Thanks, Chuck! You're awesome!

[jenb]

OK, I have another question. I've occasionally noticed some women chosing to play men's divisions, even though there are a few women registered in the women's divisions, and I wonder if it might be because they are trying to get more points.

For example, if there is a men's int division with 40 men registered, a lot of them having 850 ratings and playing up, a woman with a 900 rating could easily come in mid pack and get a lot more points than she could earn even by winning women's adavanced.

Would it actually work to her advantage to do that, or do points earned by women in men's divisions go into a separate points pool or something like that?

[Chuck Kennedy]

Amateur points are not gender specific so, yes, playing in men's divisions can work to earn more points. But I think women play in men's divisions since many times they don't have enough or any competition at their skill level in women's divisions in their area.

[rusch_bag]

I wish points did more. They seem pretty worthless to me. If you play one big event you can get enough points to get your invitation to worlds which isn't even needed to play in it anyway.

[Chuck Kennedy]

I agree. However, it's funny how even getting some points for finishing close to last seems like it's better than getting nothing at all to many players who rarely cash. Not doing points any more would seem like taking away a PDGA benefit to many people. We've got something up our sleeve that could replace points at sometime in the next few years.

[rusch_bag]

I would be all for a change. I do think it is a neat idea, it just needs some sort of re-work.

[ashley]

OK, I have another question. I've occasionally noticed some women chosing to play men's divisions, even though there are a few women registered in the women's divisions, and I wonder if it might be because they are trying to get more points.

For example, if there is a men's int division with 40 men registered, a lot of them having 850 ratings and playing up, a woman with a 900 rating could easily come in mid pack and get a lot more points than she could earn even by winning women's adavanced.

Would it actually work to her advantage to do that, or do points earned by women in men's divisions go into a separate points pool or something like that?

Just chiming in as a girl who has done this. I like to play with the Int men when there aren't a lot of girls around my skill level to play with. By doing this it forces me to play better, and I feel like each stroke counts more. I could beat a girl with a mid 700 rating fairly consistently but it's not going to help me to improve my game, and I don't want to get the girls frustrated and not want to play either.

I doubt there are many girls out there thinking about doing this to get more points.