League Management 201: How Best to Run a Golf League

GolfSoftware.com University is here!

When it comes to running a golf league, with 20 years of experience under our belt, we’ve learned what works, what doesn’t and have identified the challenges most often faced during a season. Leveraging this experience we’ve developed our flagship course for GolfSoftware.com University…

League Management 201: How Best to Run a League

Agenda:

Determining League Type
Games Recommended for Each League Type
Handling Seasonal Challenges

Format: Online Webinar

Duration: 1 Hour

Synopsis: The course will start by introducing you to the League Quadrant, a tool you can use to identify your league type (eg Hi-Diversity/Hi-Competition). Next you’ll see the games we recommend for each type of league and we’ll conclude with recommendations on how best to handle seasonal challenges that ALL leagues face (eg decrease/increase teams, incomplete rounds, golfer absences, rainouts). And as time allows we’ll conduct a Q&A session at the end of the course.

So…

If you’re a league manager who’s struggling to find the best format for your league, who’s struggling for the best way to handle common seasonal challenges or who’d just plain benefit from some fresh ideas, this course is for you!

Act now to take advantage of our $29.95 introductory offer which represents a 25% savings off the regular price of $39.95! Don’t delay as class sizes are limited to 20 attendees per date given. Click this link to register now…

Look forward to seeing you in class!

Randy Schultz
GolfSoftware.com

It’s not about software, it’s about service! ©

Golf Best Ball Formats to Try

Ready for a different type of tournament game? Best Ball games are fun and work well for groups with a variety of skill levels. The team score for each hole is the lowest score of a member of the team on that hole. Usually, the team with the lowest total net score is the winner. Best ball can be played using gross or net (applying the player’s handicap strokes) scores. Tournament Manager has a variety of Best Ball reports available:

123 Net Best Ball Waltz – The score is based on 1 net best ball on hole 1, 2 net best balls on hole 2, 3 best balls on hole 3, 1 net best ball on hole 4, etc…

Colored Net Ball – The score is based on colored ball and 1 net best ball of other three players. Each player alternates playing the colored ball on each hole. Player 1 plays colored ball first, player 2 plays colored ball on next hole, etc…

Low Net Ball High Net Ball – The score is based on low net ball and high net ball on each hole.

Net Best Ball Mix – The score is based on 1 net best ball from holes 1 to 9, 2 net best ball for holes 10 to 17, and 3 best net balls for hole 18.

Pros Ball and Amateurs Gross Best Ball – The team score is based on the pro’s score (player 1 on the team) and the 1 gross best ball of the 3 amateurs.

In The Square Tournament – The team’s score is based on player in the squares’ ball and 1 net best ball of other three players. Player 1 is in the square for first 2 holes, player 2 for next 2 hole, player 3 for next 2 holes, etc. For holes 9 and 18 no player is in the square and a simple 2 net best ball is done.

Golf scramble tournament – did you know all these variations?

Here’s how to visualize a golf scramble tournament. Imagine a sped up version of a Charlie Chaplin movie where a group of golfers all tee off, chase their respective balls down and then gather in one location for their respective second shot. They all take their second shot and again trot off after their own ball only to again gather together in one spot for their third shot. The group continues this behavior until one of them finishes the hole.

In a scramble format golf tournament, the competition is usually between groups of two-, three- or foursomes. In each case all tee off. The team then selects the best drive and each team member hits their second shot from the location of what they determine is their most advantageous drive location. They go through the same process for their third shot. Which of their second shots gives them the best chance for a good third shot? Each hits from there. This process continues until one of the team members holes out.

There are many variations to golf scrambles. In some formats a team handicap is used. The handicap could be a percentage of the member handicaps averaged. Another wrinkle is to divide all players into flights determined by handicaps and make sure each foursome has a member from each of the four flights. You could further have different flights tee off from different tees. Making sure that four drives from each of the foursome members gets used is another way to add interest. Another permutation is that the player whose shot is chosen sits out the next shoe while all other team members hit from the location. See the various types of golf scrambles tournament formats.

In the scramble format, you need only put one score on the card for the team. With some variations it may be useful to have golf tournament software.

How did handicapping get started? – Betcha don’t know…

You guessed it! In the early days of golf, betting was a big part of the game. Clubs kept books of bets and odds on their players. There were lots of different types of bets, too. Strokes could be given every third hole, every other hole or every hole. The term ‘handicap’ came from horse racing. A jockey’s odds for a race were distributed in a cap. (hand-in-cap)

In the late 1800s and early 1900s golf tournaments became very popular. Many English clubs started using the term ‘handicap’ and held Handicap Contests/Tournaments which included odds. However, different clubs had different methods for giving odds/handicaps. As you can imagine, this led to many lively discussions. Soon, a proposal was made for a central authority to set and enforce uniform standards for handicaps. In Ireland in 1897, the first formula was devised to allow golfers to take their handicaps to other courses.

Today, Golfsoftware.com’s Handicap System software takes the work out of handicapping. You can choose USGA, RCGA, or even design your own custom handicap. For league play, League Manager will calculate weekly handicaps with the click of your mouse.

Golf skins game…make it easy to determine golf skins winner(s)

Many of us are familiar with the made-for-TV “The Skins Game” that has had a run on NBC and ABC since the mid-1980’s. In that event four tour professionals play for a designated amount of money on each hole. If no single player has the low score on a hole, the money carries over to the next hole and so on until a player has a lower score than any other player.

At the amateur level skins – slang for a dollar – is played in two-, three-, or foursomes as well as in golf league or tournament events as an optional competition in which larger groups of golfers compete. In a league or a tournament, players will often put a skin – a dollar – into a pot for entry into the group golf skins game. Whereas the professionals play a gross score skins game, at the amateur level the skins game can be gross or net or both. In the case where both gross and skins competitions are going on, players usually can opt into either one, both or none. With a group skins game, to win the skin a player must be every other player on a hole, not just those in his foursome. The the end of the round, the pot is divided by all who won a skin.

If your league or tournament is playing a golf skins game, it’s helpful to have golf skins software. Both our golf league software and golf tournament software provide reports for gross and net golf skins games. View a sample of Tournament Manager’s skins report and the report from League Manager.

Golf Stableford scoring system…what’s a fabulous Stableford round?

We all naturally think of a low score in golf as being good and a high score not so good. If I tell you that a professional golfer shot a round in the 50’s, you know that is very rare and a fantastic score. Few have done it. But what about in the golf Stableford scoring system? What’s a good round? Fantastic round?

The USGA covers Stableford competitions in the Rules of Golf – Rule 32: Bogey, Par and Stableford Competitions. In a Stableford scoring system, you award points in relationship to “fixed score” on a hole. The “fixed score” is usually par or net par. Points are awarded in golf Stableford scoring system as follows:

More than one over fixed score or no score returned – 0
One over fixed score – 1
Fixed score – 2
One under fixed score – 3
Two under fixed score – 4
Three under fixed score – 5
Four under fixed score – 6

Given this scoring system, and assuming the “fixed score” is par, then a par round would be 18 holes multiplied by 2 points, or 36. Now if you shot a birdie on 16 holes and par on 2 holes, you would – in addition to being Superman/Wonder Woman – receive 16 holes multiplied by 3 points and 2 holes multiplied by 2 points, or 52. A 52 in Stableford would be beyond a fabulous round. It would be an exceedingly rare score, the equivalent of 16 under par in normal stroke play (or a round of 56, assuming a par 72).

There is also what’s called the Modified Stableford scoring system. “Stableford” is more for “normal” golfers. Modified Stableford is for pros. In Modified Stableford penalties are high for shooting a bad hole and the rewards are greater for a excellent (Eagle, Double Eagle) score on a hole. Here are the point distributions for Modified Stableford:

Double bogey or worse: -3 points
Bogey: -1 point
Par: 0 points
Birdie: +2 points
Eagle: +5 points
Double eagle: +8 points

Wow! If you shoot a par round under Modified Stableford, you receive 0 – that’s ZERO – points. Compare that to 36 points in Stableford! In the same scenario as above, if some alien golfer shot 16 birdies and 2 pars, it (s/he?) would receive 32 points (compared to 52). As you can see, the modified system is for pros!

With our League Manager and Tournament Manager, you can set them up for Stableford or Modified Stableford points.

Calculating An Initial Handicap for a Golf Tournament

How can you do it? Let me count the ways….

There are at least 5 ways to determine an initial handicap for a golfer that doesn’t have a Handicap Index. Here’s a thumb-nail sketch of each:

If the player has played golf before, try the ‘Second Best Scoring System’ that has been developed by the USGA. With this method, the player turns in their 3 best scores within the last year from a course with a 68+ par. (These scores would be combined with any scores from previous tournaments in the last 2 years.) Subtract 70 for men or 73 for women from the second best score to determine the Second Best Handicap.

To calculate a handicap without previous scores, one possibility is the ‘Modified Peoria System’. After the player had completed a round of golf, the handicap is calculated by the tournament committee. They select one par-3, one par-5 and four par-4 holes. Then the player’s strokes over par for these holes are totaled and multiplied by 2.8. This number is then substracted from the player’s gross score to determine their net score.

Another possibility is the ‘Official Callaway System’ which also determines a player’s net score after they have played a round of golf. It uses a chart to determine how many of a the player’s worst hole scores (after playing 16 holes) are subtracted from the 18 hole gross score.

Similar to the Callaway System, the ‘Scheid System’ was developed by the USGA. It uses a different chart.

Lastly, ‘System 36′ allows you to calculate handicaps based on the number of points a golfer has won after playing a round of golf. The standard formula is Handicap = 36 – points won. The default value 36 can be set to any value.

Golfsoftware.com’s Tournament Manager software can automatically calculate initial handicaps using the Modified Peoria, Scheid or System 36 formats. Click on ‘Tools’, select ‘Automatically handicap players’ and select which system you’d like to use. It’s that easy. Happy Golfing!

Handicap System Lite – Beta Release 4

Handicap System Lite Beta Release 4 Out soon! Expected release date will be June 18th.

What’s new in Handicap System Lite…

All problems reported by testers have been fixed, including the date problem the program was having. Now no matter what time zone you are in, score dates will post correctly, including our customers in New Zealand.
You can now have multiple rosters. Especially important for large organizations that need to break their membership into different segments. Includes different landing web pages for each roster.
A new group item was added. A player can be in any number of groups. You can also filter your views so you see only golfers in a particular group. Groups can be named anything you wish.
Now up to 10 miscellaneous text fields to track anything you wish. Was 5.
Numerous interface improvments were added. We have worked hard on making the interface “standard” across all forms.
New sample email templates, so you can quickly email your members login information.

Next we start on Handicap System Lite Beta 5.

What will be new in Beta 5?

Add capability for your members to enter their scores over the web “by hole” rather that just by “total score”.
Integration with optional Website Builder and Signup Solutions.
Reports, reports, reports. Reporting features will be added.
50 golfer cap will be removed. System will be able to track any number of golfers.
Data import module…so you can import players and courses from other software, including current customers that may wish to migrate from the “desktop” Handicap System version to this “web” Handicap System version.
Plus any other suggestions that beta testers provide.

Golf flight – golf flighting and tournament flighting made easy

A golf flight or tournament flight refers to a group or grouping for golf events. It’s up to the tournament directors or golf event administrators to form the groups in whatever way they deem appropriate. Golf flights or groupings could be by USGA Index, course handicap (for course being played), age, previous round gross score, previous round net score, school grade, city of residence, etc. Most often a golf flight or tournament flight consists of players with similar handicaps. Tournament flighting, depending on the handicap range of the participants, might be along these lines:

A: 0 to 5
B: 6 to 15
C: 16 to 25
D: 26 & up

The handicap ranges for the various flights are up to the tournament or golf event directors. Naturally, if a tournament is basing flights on a USGA Index or course handicap, each player must have some sort of legitimately derived Index or handicap. Why would you want to flight a tournament using handicaps? If the competition is gross strokes – the actual strokes it takes a player to hole out – you would want players of comparable playing ability competing against each other. After all, it would not be a fair competition if a 20 handicapper was competing against a 5 handicapper. You could have a winner in each flight who had the lowest gross score. A tournament could also have an overall net score winner ignoring the flights since a net score evens the “playing field” using player handicaps.

Flight designations can vary. Some might use alphabet letters as above. Golf flight designations could be numbers, colors, names, etc. You’ve probably heard of “Championship Flight” and other tournament flight designations.

Golf tournament flighting can be a pain in the neck; especially when you are doing it under the gun (people watching over your shoulders). If you’ve got a computer program that flights quickly, accurately and easily, that’s the way to go. Our League Manager can automatically flight players by handicap, average gross or average net score. Our Tournament Manager is able to flight players by Index, handicap, age, previous round gross score and previous round net score. In addition, Tournament Manager can flight teams by total handicap, previous round gross or previous round net score.

Use golf league handicap software to make your golf handicap league fairer

In an ideal world you could find golfers of your skill level to make your league play competitive and interesting. The real world, though, is that players in a golf league most of the time have different abilities. Using handicapping makes up for the fact that we don’t play in situations where all or most golfers are of equal skill.

Unless you live in a state that is part of the United States southern border where golf is player all year, golf leagues generally last a few months. There might be 15 to 25 weekly league events depending on your location. It is this fact – that there aren’t enough play dates, and therefore scores – that tends to move golf leagues away from using the USGA method of handicapping. In the USGA method, you must have a minimum of five scores before your handicap can be calculated and your ten best scores (more accurately your handicap differentials) out of your most recent 20 scores are eventually used for calculating your handicap. Well, if your league only has 15 events, your into your sixth event when you have a calculated handicap available and you never get to where you have 20 scores from which the 10 best are used to calculate your golf league handicap. So most leagues choose their own custom method of calculating a handicap, which usually means they use less scores. Leagues often look at the most recent 3 to 10 scores, throwing out some of the highest, to formulate their golf league handicaps.

We have heard of various methods that people use to calculate golf league handicaps:

paper and pencil (imagine the tedium!)
spreadsheet (easier, but still complicated)
software (easiest)

Our golf league handicap software calculates handicaps in virtually any way you want and also keeps event as well as season-to-date results and standings. It makes life for the league secretary, or whoever is doing the work of the league secretary, so much easier! We also offer Handicap System if all you want is golf league handicapping.

Using golf league handicap software makes competition fairer and more exciting for your players and the job of league secretary much more easy, efficient and less labor intensive. What more could you want?

Short Game

Bits and Pieces from the GolfSoftware.com team

League Management 201: How Best to Run a Golf League

Golf Best Ball Formats to Try

Golf scramble tournament – did you know all these variations?

How did handicapping get started? – Betcha don’t know…

Golf skins game…make it easy to determine golf skins winner(s)

Golf Stableford scoring system…what’s a fabulous Stableford round?

Calculating An Initial Handicap for a Golf Tournament

Handicap System Lite – Beta Release 4

Handicap System Lite Beta Release 4 Out soon! Expected release date will be June 18th.

Next we start on Handicap System Lite Beta 5.

Golf flight – golf flighting and tournament flighting made easy

Use golf league handicap software to make your golf handicap league fairer

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