I was playing in my 2nd PDGA event (C-tier, Pohick Bay Fling-A-Thing), and near the end of my first round, one of the players in my group had an exceptionally bad hole. He had been doing alright the rest of the round, but had 3 consecutive OB shots, and would have finished with a 9 on the hole, but instead, opted to exit the competition. He took a DNF for the hole and the round.

The only thing that made sense to me is that he was trying to protect his ratings, and didn't want the bad round to bring his ratings down.

From the PDGA Rulebook:
--------------------------
803.13

A. (3) Intentionally failing to hole out
(emergency, injury, plane flight, etc.)
constitutes withdrawal from competition.
The player shall be withdrawn from
competition and offi cially listed as �Did
Not Finish� on the scorecard and in the
event results.
-----------------------
The rule appears to be intended for use of people who are unable (either due to injury, or external committment) to finish. However, it doesn't specifically exclude the use of simply quitting.

Is this a common phenomenon? Is the only reason to do this to protect one's ratings?

ppl do it all the time.

the main reasons I've seen it done..

- protect rating (poor play)
- not having fun (usually as a result of poor play)
- bad weather
- hangover
- injury

I personally feel there is a need to show the difference between someone just quitting and someone getting hurt and withdrawing.

Right now, both show up as 999 which could be any of the above reasons. If I get hurt, I want the record to show I withdrew rather than quit.

Is the only reason to do this to protect one's ratings?



No, some quit because they see they won't "cash" (or "merch"), and see no reason to play if they can't win anything. Some lose their temper with themselves and quit. Some decide they're not having fun and would rather be home. I'm not pretending to understand why they think this way, but I've seen a bit of all of it. I doubt many people just quit to save their ratings, though, since rounds that deviate far enough from a player's average don't count, anyway.

It does happen. While it appears they are protecting their rating, it's really their self image that's fragile and is tied up in their rating. So, I'm thinking we feel sorry for them more than worrying about the fact that round won't be in their rating. Out of respect for other players in their group, they will hopefully stay with them for the remainder of the round either playing or spotting, especially if the group would drop to a twosome without them. Maybe staying with the group if you DNF not due to injury or emergency is wording that should be added to the rule next time at the risk of maybe a 3-month suspension if you don't?

From a competitive standpoint, it helps other players if a player has an inflated rating above their "true" skill level. If they are a propagator, they will slightly boost the SSA in each round and could slightly boost other players' ratings. The only place where retaining a high rating due to DNFs might be of benefit is for sponsored players where the manufacturer doesn't take into account the number of times a player has DNF'd to retain a high rating. However, this has been pointed out to them and I believe they are now looking at DNF info also.

it would be nice if it would show why a person DNF:

999- no reason given, TD didn't include reason
777-injury
666-religious reasons
888-tizzle was on the card/nearby card.

: ) :

[quote888-tizzle was on the card/nearby card.

: ) :

[/QUOTE]

I knew I forgot something on my list! :D

Thanks for the feedback. About what i expected. I wasn't particularly concerned about it (it didn't impact my enjoyment of the event), but wanted to know if it was a rarity or something that some people do (which, it apparently is).

To me, it makes more sense to use that kind of experience to learn to play when things aren't going as planned. Bad holes are going to happen (depending on who you are, a "bad hole" could be missing an easy bird, or getting a triple bogey) - you need to be able to play through that adversity.

"You don't judge a player's talent when he play's good, you judge it when he's playing bad"

- Ken Climo

it would be nice if it would show why a person DNF:

999- no reason given, TD didn't include reason
777-injury
666-religious reasons
888-tizzle was on the card/nearby card.



I don't see any reason for more info than "DNF".

Plus it's an unworkable solution. I can't imagine that anyone who would DNF to preserve their rating would have any problem just grabbing their leg and crying out "My hamstring!" and getting the 777 injury-DNF when they aren't injured.

it would be nice if it would show why a person DNF:

999- no reason given, TD didn't include reason
777-injury
666-religious reasons
888-tizzle was on the card/nearby card.



I don't see any reason for more info than "DNF".

Plus it's an unworkable solution. I can't imagine that anyone who would DNF to preserve their rating would have any problem just grabbing their leg and crying out "My hamstring!" and getting the 777 injury-DNF when they aren't injured.



777 would be I quit to play Craps...

The code for injury would be 911. And if the TD did not have enough information the code would be 411.

The code for injury would be 911. And if the TD did not have enough information the code would be 411.



ba doom boom chic

if it was a secret, the code would be 007. victims of witchcraft could use 555. quitting to smoke would be ... naw, too obvious.

The code for injury would be 911. And if the TD did not have enough information the code would be 411.



And if the TD got the munchies, he could go to 7-11!

The code for injury would be 911. And if the TD did not have enough information the code would be 411.



And if the TD got the munchies, he could go to 7-11!



Or 420.

it would be nice if it would show why a person DNF:

666-religious reasons
: ) :



Exactly! What if it's time for my daily prayer to Mecca?? I'm not risking losing my 72 virgins to win plastic!

At least for Ams, a TD could opt to hold giving out the player's pack until they finish, but that causes way too many other issues.

I don't think we have the option to deny someone their player pack for not finishing.

. Out of respect for other players in their group, they will hopefully stay with them for the remainder of the round either playing or spotting, especially if the group would drop to a twosome without them. Maybe staying with the group if you DNF not due to injury or emergency is wording that should be added to the rule next time at the risk of maybe a 3-month suspension if you don't?



In many of the cases I've seen, I'd prefer the player NOT stay with my group. Who needs an entourage with a bad attitude and immunity from courtesy violations? (Discounting the times when it would leave a twosome, of course).

Interesting thought. What if two players on a card decided to DNF leaving only two players on the card? Cant have just two on the card. And to make it more interesting, all the cards around them are 5's. So they cant join them.


Ready go. :D

Most likely it's last card, let them be. TD has multiple options otherwise: slide one off a fivesome, walk with the group, ...

Interesting thought. What if two players on a card decided to DNF leaving only two players on the card? Cant have just two on the card. And to make it more interesting, all the cards around them are 5's. So they cant join them.


Ready go. :D



Actually, TDs are not supposed to PLACE two players on the card. Since they placed four on the card to begin with, but two either didn't show or quit early, then you have a different problem.

If you can split them apart easily enough, go ahead. The problem you state above where they are surrounded by 5-somes is easily fixed by moving one person from a 5-some onto the 2-some to make three. Or, if it's the last card in a division, or someone the TD trusts and won't cause problems, you might just let them play it out in a 2-some...or send a marker out there to keep score and/or play along to keep the pace.

Chap

The code for injury would be 911. And if the TD did not have enough information the code would be 411.



In British events, the code for an injury would be 999. Oh wait a minute, it already is 999. :cool: