📈 FAQ: Round Ratings

Using scores from millions of rounds played with the app, UDisc’s data science team built a regression algorithm that determines the distribution of scores that any player in the world would likely record on any hole in the world.

Next, a random sample of players is generated. This sample is weighted by play count: a player who has recorded 40 rounds in the last year is more likely to be in the sample than a player who has recorded only one round in the last year.

For the layout you play, the projected scoring distributions of the random sample of players on all the holes in the layout are combined to create a single scoring distribution on the full layout.

Your round rating is determined by how your round score compares to this scoring distribution – the more impressive your round compared to that of the random player sample, the higher your rating.

In order for a round to receive a rating, it needs to adhere to these criteria:

If all of that criteria was met and you still did not receive a rating, there could be a problem with your network connection. Try to retrieve your rating again once you have better signal.

UDisc round ratings work on a general scale of 1-300+. This provides milestones for players at every level of their disc golf journey.

Player ratings are an aggregate calculations which are based on your round ratings from scorecards in UDisc. You can learn more about player ratings via this dedicated article.

Our goal was to build a round ratings system that would be more easily accessible to all disc golfers, not just those who are active on the tournament scene. We opted to not use the PDGA’s notable “1000-rated” scale, or to map a translation to it, not only to avoid confusion – the systems are vastly different, so it is not fair to compare the two – but also to provide newer players easily understandable benchmarks for progress.

It’s actually an intended outcome of one of the qualities UDisc’s ratings system optimized for: that a 10 (or 20, or 30) point ratings gain should represent a similar amount of improvement, no matter where it lies on the overall scale.
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To get at this concept, we aimed to equalize the variance in round ratings for players whose average round ratings lie at various positions on the overall scale. This means, for example, that a newer player whose typical scoring spread at Maple Hill’s Red layout is +21±6 and a more advanced player whose typical scoring spread is -6±3 would both see a round ratings spread of around 40 points (the newer player would be centered at 95, while the advanced player would be centered at 222).
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We think this system provides the best of both worlds: New players will still gain confidence in their play and see quick ratings gains, while high-level disc golfers will be rewarded in a way that ratings systems that award a fixed amount of points per stroke cannot offer.

Yes! You and your doubles partner’s round rating will be the same as an individual player’s rating who shot the same score on that layout.

Par, or your score in relation to it, is not considered in your round rating calculation.

Weather conditions are not considered in the round rating calculation because weather, especially wind, can be extremely localized – the conditions on the course at the time of your round may not be the same as those at the nearest observation site. This was one of the tradeoffs required in order to make round ratings available anytime and not just during tournaments, so it’s worth keeping in mind as you hit the course during less-than-ideal conditions.

Like with any casual round on UDisc, you can choose your own adventure and take the ratings system as loosely or seriously as you like. If you use mulligans or mark your score from the better of two practice shots, for example, that’s cool – just be sure to consider that when you’re looking at your ratings.
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If you compare two round ratings, you’re getting a comparison of player A’s performance given their playing and scoring practices to player B’s performance given their playing and scoring practices.

Competitive and casual rounds are not currently treated differently. “Verified” ratings based on controlled event environments, like leagues and tournaments, may come in a future update. If a league or event is played on a Classic Layout, it will not receive a round rating.

When your Pro membership expires, you will no longer be able to see your round ratings. However, we’ll hold on to them for you, so when you’re ready to come back, they’ll be restored to your device. You’ll also get ratings for any rounds you scored while your membership was not active.

Only rounds scored on Smart Layouts with a difficulty classification will receive a round rating.If you’ve recently converted to Smart Layouts, you should see a difficulty classification as soon as enough rounds have been played on the layout to generate the data required for our model. (In most cases this should be between 10 and 20 rounds played by unique players, but sometimes it will take longer). You can learn more about converting your Classic Layouts to Smart Layouts here.

If you entered a score incorrectly, or made a mistake, simply edit your scorecard from the 3 line menu in the upper right. After you tap Done updating, your rating will be adjusted.

When playing a Smart Layout, you can adjust the tee or target position on your scorecard by tapping on the orange target icon in the upper right.