On a typical 18-hole tournament round, 1 PDGA rating point is worth about 0.12 strokes. In other words a stroke is worth 8.65 points. If you're trying to increase your rating by 10 points this season, you're looking for a little more than a stroke a round.
How did I measure it?
Everything here comes from round ratings PDGA published. Within one round on one layout every round rating sits on a straight line against the score, so one more stroke costs the same number of points at the top of the field as at the bottom. The slope of that line is points per stroke for that round.
I measured that slope on 1,801 tournament rounds using every DGPT and Major event from 2024 to October 2026 in MPO and FPO, every US A-tier event in 2026, and 150 random US B-tier and 150 random C-tier events from 2026. The median round is 8.65 points per stroke, and the middle 80% run from 6.44 to 11.53.
Does it change with the course?
The harder a course plays, the fewer points each stroke is worth. I grouped the rounds by what a 1000-rated round shoots on that layout.
| What a 1000-rated round shoots | Points per stroke | Strokes between a 900 and a 950 |
|---|---|---|
| Under 52 | 10.9 | 4.59 |
| 52 to 55.9 | 9.23 | 5.42 |
| 56 to 59.9 | 8.26 | 6.05 |
| 60 to 63.9 | 7.42 | 6.74 |
| 64 or more | 6.39 | 7.83 |
Pro tour rounds (DGPT and Majors) have a median of 7.16 points per stroke. Local 2026 events come in at 9.34. Tour courses play longer so each stroke is worth fewer points.
A 900 and a 950 player are about 5.78 strokes apart on a typical course. On an easy short course it's about 4.59, and on a long, hard one it's about 7.83.
Run It Disc Golf predicts your score for a specific course and layout from your PDGA tournament history, and Course Insights shows every hole's odds at your rating. A rating saved in your profile works if you don't have a PDGA number, and the app is free: download it here.