What Is a PDGA Rating and How Is It Calculated?

A PDGA rating is a number that describes a player’s average skill level by comparing their tournament scores to the difficulty of the course. The higher the number, the better the player. Ratings are calculated from tournament rounds, not practice rounds. A player with exactly a 1000 rating is called a “scratch player”, meaning they play roughly at the expected scratch score for the course. A rating gives you a concrete way to track your development and choose the right tournament divisions.

What is a PDGA rating made of?

A PDGA rating consists of two parts: round ratings and player rating. A round rating describes the performance of a single round, while a player rating is an average of the player’s rated rounds. In practice, every tournament round receives its own number, and these numbers form the player’s overall rating.

This distinction matters because one bad or excellent round does not move the overall rating too much. The player rating smooths out variation and gives a better picture of the player’s real level, including weaker rounds.

How is a PDGA rating calculated?

A round rating is calculated by comparing the player’s score to the course’s scratch scoring average, or SSA. SSA is the score that a 1000-rated player would be expected to average on that course. The more a player scores under the SSA, the higher the round rating.

The rating-point value of one throw is not fixed, however. It depends on the difficulty of the course. This is called compression:

• On easier courses with a low SSA, one throw is worth around 13 rating points.
• On harder courses with a high SSA, one throw may be worth only around 6 rating points.

The reason is simple: on easier courses, players’ scores are closer together, so even a small scoring difference creates a larger rating difference. SSA is not fixed either — it changes with playing conditions. A windy day makes the course play harder, raises the SSA and therefore protects players’ ratings from weaker raw scores.

What does the rating number say about a player’s level?

The rating number shows how close a player’s average scores are to the expected scratch level of the course. A player rated exactly 1000 averages around SSA, while a player rated above 1000 regularly beats SSA. The number works as a comparison tool worldwide, so two players can be compared even if they have never played the same course.

In practice, rating also helps players choose the right tournament division. Amateur divisions have rating limits that help players find competition at their own level. If you are interested in competing, it is worth reviewing the basic rules before your first event.

How do I get a PDGA rating and how often is it updated?

You only get a rating after playing a PDGA-sanctioned event where rating calculation is used. Membership alone does not create a rating — the number comes from tournament results. Even the first valid rated round receives a round rating.

A player rating is based on rounds collected over roughly the previous 12 months. If there are not enough rounds, the calculation may use a two-year period. The PDGA updates player ratings about once a month, so your rating does not change in real time but updates in batches.

How is a Metrix rating different from a PDGA rating?

Metrix rating and PDGA rating use the same scale, but the calculation method is different. PDGA rating is based on comparison against other players in the same event, while Metrix rating is based on a pre-set course rating and the score played on that course. In Finland, many players follow their Metrix rating closely because domestic events often run through the Disc Golf Metrix system.

The differences show up in practice in two ways:

• Calculation window: Metrix uses the last 16 competitions, while PDGA uses roughly one year.
• Update frequency: Metrix calculates ratings every night, while PDGA updates about once a month.

That is why Metrix rating reacts to changes in form much faster. If your game is improving quickly, the Metrix number usually shows it first. Still, the numbers should generally stay fairly close to each other, because they measure the same thing in different ways.

Following your rating is one of the clearest ways to see your development in black and white, and the right equipment helps speed up that progress. Explore the disc golf disc selection at DiscKing.eu and find discs that suit your level.