2007 Mayhem Open - B Tier Event

[damonshort]

However, I agree with Damon and others that you will generally get a little ratings bump if you play on the adv/pro day rather than the rec/int day although I don't think the bump is usually very significant. I think its usually 5 to 10 points or about one stroke per round.

Yeah, but Streamwood IOS last yr was a lot more than that with nearly identical conditions; David pointed out there was about a 50-pt difference in Saukville, so it must have been *really* windy on Sunday.... 

I essentially 'shot my rating' on Sat and my rating is terrible; but I know I played as well as I did last month in Oswego, which was unofficial but came out to be about 60 pts better!?

Statistics, damn lies, etc..... I know the only answer is just suck it up and play on the Adv day(s), but it's still annoying. I've kvetched before that this points out a hole in the ratings system, but I don't have any solution. My point in responding to Jon, though, is that it appears to be more than an insignificant anomaly of a stroke or so.

[Jon: sure hope you're feeling better by now!]

[Bruce Brakel]

I was not directing my comment at anyone.  I was just pointing out a factor that makes for that split-day ratings effect.  I think of it as the Terry Calhoun factor.  Terry is a 970 rated player from short tees on his home courses.  Otherwise he is a pretty steady 920ish kind of player. 

I think you find more of those players in the lower pools.  So that is part of the lower pool effect.

The other part of the lower pool effect is that the lower pool has more rapidly improving players in it shooting well above their rating and the upper pool has more players who are improving slowly and only shooting a little above their rating.  Those rapidly improving players depress ratings for everyone.

If a TD wanted to smooth out this effect, instead of dividing the days ProAdv / IntRec, he could divide the days ProInt / AdvRec. 

I think the effect is a good thing and does not need to smoothed out.  If an Intermediate plays a lot of split-days on the lower day only, when he finally gets bumped up to Advanced he'll be ready, because he'll be a better player than his rating indicates.  And if codgers like Damon and I would rather have better personal ratings because it lifts our self-esteem, we can play on the upper day and get the better rating. 

[DougEDawg]

I look forward to the day when I'm accused of bagging in the advanced division.