PDGA Ratings Update: How Did the Aces Fare?
One of the great benefits you receive when you join the PDGA is the calculation of a player rating. What is a player rating, you might ask? A player rating for disc golfers is comparable to a handicap for ball golfers, in that it is a system used to rate how proficient a player is, relative to the conditions in which he or she played. Each PDGA tournament-sanctioned round that disc golfer plays is used to calculate their rating, with rounds up to a year old counting in the equation. A rating of 1,000 is considered to be “scratch,” or the equivalent of a ball golfer with a zero handicap. 1,000-rated players are usually the top touring pros in disc golf. On average, each ten rating points are considered to reflect a one stroke difference in score, so a 1,000-rated player can (on average) expect to shoot 2 strokes better per round than a 980-rated player.
Updated PDGA ratings were released Tuesday, June 22nd and local disc golfers flocked to PDGA.com to see how their recent play affected their ratings. There were changes sprinkled throughout the ranks of San Diego Aces members, with a few significant changes near the top of the ratings. Carlo Pelg (1,013) and Chris Vilmorin (1,001) held down the top two Aces spots and were the only club members rated over 1,000. New to the top ten and in fourth spot was Alex Nichols, whose 981 rating reflected a 66-point increase over his previous rating (it should be noted that Alex’s last rating was in 2005 – he’s grown a bit since then). Also new to the top ten was Miguel “Miker” Ramos with a 972 rating – an increase of 7 points that knocked Kevin Gomez from the top ten. Hanging on to the tenth spot was Donny Olow (970), but Donny hasn’t played a rated round since 2007… Here’s a look at the entire top ten, with their ratings, change since the May update and the number of rounds used to calculate the ratings:
Name PDGA# Rating Up/Down Rounds Carlo Pelg 16824 1013 ‐2 24 Chris Vilmorin 17519 1001 ‐11 25 John Heaton 4409 985 ‐3 23 Alex Nichols 21869 981 +66 4 Snapper Pierson 691 979 ‐2 30 Michael Lust 27228 977 +3 26 Jeff Nichols 5530 975 +8 24 Luke Christensen 34505 973 ‐4 24 Miguel Ramos 9208 972 +7 12 Donny Olow 2656 970 ‐ 19
Emily Hardy (918) slipped 5 points since the last rating update, but she still remains the lone female Aces member rated over 900. Allison Wylot (857), Kim Cottrell (820) and Michelle Chambless (813) were the other top-rated women players.
Other players with big increases in their rating included Chris McCoy (+58 to 934), Josh Damron (+21 to 943), Boyd Turner (+12 to 871) (Angel Garcia (+11 to 952) and Aaron Seeley (+11 to 881).
San Diego Aces Disc Golf Club 