PDGA Player & Course Rating System

Your PDGA Player Rating is a number that shows how close your average round scores are compared to the course rating, called the Scratch Scoring Averages (SSA), of the courses you’ve played in competition. Players who average the SSA on courses played will have a rating of 1000 and are considered “scratch players”. A player who averages scores lower than SSAs on course they’ve played will have a rating over 1000. 

Players who enter a PDGA sanctioned event will automatically get their results entered into the ratings system. However, only ratings of current PDGA members will be published. Your first rating can be calculated after just one valid round of tournament play. It will be posted on your player profile along with your tournament results the next time the ratings are updated. You can search for players by name or PDGA number.

Dealing with "sandbagging" – players entering a division below their skill level – used to be a challenge. Since 2002, PDGA Player Ratings have been used to group amateur players in competition divisions to prevent players from entering divisions below their rating. Please see the list of divisions and associated restrictions on player rating for details.

For more detailed information about how ratings are calculated, see the PDGA Ratings System Guide. If you have additional questions regarding ratings, please visit the Ratings FAQ for more information.