I decided to play advanced am after my 30 year hiatus from competitive play and by and large find that I am playing with disc golfers of about equal skill level.Problem is,there are all much younger than I am.All of the players in my region that are of my vintage(grandmaster) play pro.As long as I don't take any cash in a PDGA event can I play pro and keep my am status?

Yes. You can accept merch in place of cash if you win anything in a pro division. Unless you plan to play Am Worlds or Am Nats, there's no reason to stay an Am. You can accept cash and still play in Am divisions when that's all that's available as long as your rating is under 970.

Let me amend that last sentence, to "You can accept cash and still play in Am divisions as long as your rating is under 970, even if there are Pro divisions available."

I decided to play advanced am after my 30 year hiatus from competitive play and by and large find that I am playing with disc golfers of about equal skill level.Problem is,there are all much younger than I am.All of the players in my region that are of my vintage(grandmaster) play pro.As long as I don't take any cash in a PDGA event can I play pro and keep my am status?

Yeah Dr. Ray - I become GM-eligible in 2011 and that's what I plan to do. I played open back in the 80's but after 15+ years away from competitive play (or play at all) my game wasn't ready to play Pro Masters, but I'd like to play some events where my old friends play Pro. In the odd event that I cash, the merch option sounds good to me.

Let me amend that last sentence, to "You can accept cash and still play in Am divisions as long as your rating is under 970, even if there are Pro divisions available."

I thought if you accept cash, reagardless of your rating, you are required to play Open at A Tiers and above. Is that correct or does the rating play a role there too?

It's as stated in Exczar's amended statement.

Of course if you accept cash it will cost you $25/year.

Only starting the following year.

What happens if a player accepts cash for a PRO win, then re-news as an AM? Who polices the re-newals to make sure the dead-beats pay their additional $25?

Only starting the following year.
And the year after that, and the year after that...

What happens if a player accepts cash for a PRO win, then re-news as an AM? Who polices the re-newals to make sure the dead-beats pay their additional $25?
The PDGA office pulls up the previous year stats to see if a player cashed before accepting the Am renewal. I think they have a watch list that flags everyone who cashed so it's easy to spot and may even be automated by now.

I thought if you accept cash, reagardless of your rating, you are required to play Open at A Tiers and above. Is that correct or does the rating play a role there too?


Close but not quite. From the Competition Manual:

2.4. Pros Playing Am
A. Pros rated less than 970 may now compete in Amateur divisions offered at PDGA A, B and C Tier events, for which they qualify based on player rating, age, and gender.

OK so here's another scenario which I'm interested in.

A player plays pro and accepts cash. The player then takes advantage of the amnesty offered a couple of years ago to move back to am. Can this player play in the Worlds as an am?

Yes. A player who has accepted cash can always petition the Tour Director to revert to am status. If that is granted, the player may also enter Am Majors. Typically, the "pro" has to have a rating below 970 and only won a small amount of money to get approved for reclassification as an Am.