What are some of your hassles as a manager of a golf group (Please name hassles you face by commenting on this post. We may be able to add features to lesson those as well.)?

• manually inputting and maintaining member information
• collecting dues from members
• communicating with the group
• lack of an easy way for members to access needed documents
• being the conduit for member-to-member contact

Golf Group Manager gives you the online tools to…

• Host a member area with password protected login (each member has unique password). This means your golf group can carry on its business securely and privately behind a login screen.
• Create a membership database with information (addresses, phone numbers, etc.) added by members and/or administrators. This means less work for the administrator(s) as the membership can do much of the data entry for their contact information and update it.



• Communicate via email – or messaging within the online group area. This means the administrator has a central console from which to contact members either by email or messaging and members can do the same.
• Collect membership dues. This means administrator’s time collecting fees is minimized and streamlined.
• Store documents which members can access (registration forms, newsletters, special event fliers, etc.). This means you can store and make documents available to your members online in a secure way.
• Create a member forum where members can carry on online conversations. This means you have a safe and secure forum that cannot be found by anyone except your members who log in to gain access.
• Allow membership to find substitutes or playing partners. This means that the burden of substitutions can be shifted to players as well as giving players the means to find contact information and communicating with other group members to create foursomes for a golf outing.
• Export information to various file types. This means that your information can be exported for creating a report or for importing into other programs such as GolfSoftware.com’s League Manager, Tournament Manager and Handicap Systems.

Golf Group Manager…bringing you all these tools and benefits to make running and managing your golf group easier…at a price any group can afford!

Golf Group Manager is coming soon…

• boost traffic – giving golfers the opportunity to post golf scores draws traffic to strategic areas of your club house
• simple – touch screen (or standard) makes posting golf scores a breeze
• convenience – multiple score posting locations provide convenience and eliminate waiting
• free up staff – players posting scores lifts the burden off club house staff
• easy access – players can view scoring history and course handicaps
• printing – players can print handicap cards

Easy Entry integrates with our Handicap System Web Edition to track and calculate USGA, RCGA or custom handicaps. Players can post scores with any Internet access.

Did you know that there are two numbers that are often called by the name “handicap”? One is portable, meaning you could go to any course and the number would remain the same. The second is not portable and it is dependent on the course and set of tees that you play. The first number is what the USGA calls an Index (in Canada it is your “Factor”). Our calculator spits out your Index for 18 holes based on your most recent scores on courses of 3,000 yards or longer. Once you calculate your Index, you can then calculate the second number which is called a Course Handicap.

You might vaguely know that your handicap is some sort of averaging of your scores. That is partially correct. If you’re curious about what exactly goes into figuring your Index and Course Handicap, see our plain English explanation. You will learn the secrets and remove the mystery of golf handicapping.

In its announcement Golf Canada says…

“The Royal Canadian Golf Association (operating as Golf Canada) has announced a notable change to the Canadian methodology for calculating a golf handicap as it relates to Equitable Stroke Control (ESC).

The RCGA Handicap & Course Rating Committee recently approved a change to the long-standing Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) method, bringing the Canadian methodology into equivalency with current ESC calculations employed by the United States Golf Association (USGA).”

The change will take effect on March 1, 2012.

The table below shows how the new Equitable Stroke control is different from the old.

   Did you know that the USGA website offers quizzes on the Rules of Golf?  The quizzes are available to take online or can be printed for later use.  You can choose your desired level of difficulty (Basic, Advanced or Random-mixed) as well as the length of your quiz.
   While you wait in line, you could take the shortest quiz of 10 questions.  If you have more time, 18 or 25 question quizzes are available.  It’s a great way to stay current with the rules. See how quickly you can complete a quiz… Try to stump your golfing friends!
   Not only does the online answer key tell which questions you answered correctly, it also provides a link to the rule in question, for each question.  It’s a great way to familarize yourself (or a newer golfer) with the rules of the game.  When it’s time to get those clubs back out, you’ll be ready for any situation on the course!

1. Android
2. League Manager, Tournament Manager and/or Handicap System installed on your computer at home/office with the computer running (i.e., not off)
3. Remote access software installed on computer and app installed on Android.

That’s all you need and you’ve now got your golf software for Android ready to go!

What remote access software is available? You can search Google with words such as “remote computer access Android” or something similar. You can also look at the article, “10 Best Android Remote Desktop Apps” to see what’s available. We can’t recommend any of these products, so you’ll have to choose what best suits your needs.

Obviously on a smaller screen of a mobile device such as an Android, the experience is a little different than the full screen of a laptop or desktop…or even an iPad. But many people access their files and programs residing on their computer(s) from their Android. If people can work on documents and spreadsheets via their Android, you certainly can do the same with golf software!

We have no relationship with mobile hardware companies, mobile services companies or remote access software and app companies, so we cannot recommend or advocate for a certain device, app or software…other than our own golf software, of course. ;o)

It’s a fascinating look into golf of yesteryear to read about these cottonseed hull greens. From 1921 through 1933, the United States Golf Association published The Bulletin. As part of the USGA’s Green Section (known nowadays as USGA Green Section Record), The Bulletin published a tremendous amount of research and cultural management information. A couple excerpts may be of interest:

“Prior to constructing the cottonseed-hull greens, we were using the sand greens, and owing to the high winds which sometimes prevail in this section of the state, we suffered continual difficulty in keeping the sand on the greens, the high winds sweeping it off. But we have no fault whatever to find with the cottonseed-hull greens in any respect.”

“We are very much pleased with our greens, and if you require any additional information will be glad to furnish it.”

It is thought that there may be many clubs in the drier parts of the country where it is difficult and expensive to maintain grass greens, which will be interested in what Mr. Hobbs has to say relative to cottonseed-hull greens. The Green Section has had no experience with cottonseed-hull greens, hut offers the information contained in this article for what it may be worth to those who are seeking a substitute for grass turf.

The Bulletin, USGA, January 24, 1924

“…The hulls should be laid on the ground by hand, to a depth of 4 inches, as nearly even as possible, at which stage they are very fluffy, light, and loose. A common roller is then used, and a heavy board 12 to 15 inches broad and 3 feet long used for tamping. Gradually the mat of the hulls is pounded and worked into a single blanket…”

“…Cottonseed hull has a marked tendency to pack on the surface, thereby making the putting extremely unstable. This we have overcome by the use of a wooden roller here illustrated. The face of this roller is covered with dowel-nails set at 1-inch intervals. The roller weights from 150 to 175 pounds. After the mat has become fairly firm the use of this roller will roughen up the surface, making small indentations somewhat like the top of a pepper-box. Without this roller I do not think the cottonseed hulls would be a success…”

The Bulletin, USGA, March 24, 1924 (includes photos)

Want to create a cottonseed hull putting green in your backyard?! You’ve got most of the information you need in the above two issues of The Bulletin.

“The purpose of the USGA Handicap System is to make the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis. The System provides a fair Course Handicap for each player, regardless of ability…”

So a golf handicap is about fairness…about “leveling the playing field” so a really good player and a pretty bad player can have a fairly equal chance of winning. Think about some other sports. In a one-on-one game between an NBA player and, say, Curly from the Three Stooges, how would you level the playing field? Would you tie the NBA player’s dominant hand behind his back? Would you put the NBA player’s legs in a potato sack that he has to hold up? Maybe he has to shoot from outside a certain distance from the basket? There are any number of ways that you could attempt to even the game. The golf handicap, though, is much more precise and based on a ton of statistics.

There are basically two types of scoring in golf: match play and medal – or stroke – play. What is a golf handicap in relation to these two types of competition?

In match play golf you are essentially determining a winner and loser on each hole played and you count up who won the most holes when finished. You may have seen this type of play in the Ryder Cup competition between U.S. golfers and European golfers although no handicaps are used in this international tournament. In match play, the player with the higher handicap receives the difference between the two players’ handicaps in strokes. For example, if we have a match between a player with a course handicap of 3 and a player with a course handicap of 12, the player with a 12 handicap receives 9 strokes during the course of the match. Those 9 strokes are distributed to the player on the first 9 handicap stroke holes. How does this affect the winner of particular holes? Let’s say one of these 9 strokes is received by the 12 handicap player on the third hole and he shoots a 5 on the hole and the 3 handicap player also shoots a 5. Who wins the hole? The 12 handicapper has a stroke coming to him so that turns his 5 into a 4 compared to the 5 of his opponent. The 12 handicapper wins the hole.

In stroke play the handicap comes into play for a handicapped event after all hole strokes are totaled and the competition is typically against all other golfers in the field. If a player shoots a 92 and he’s a 15 handicap player, his net score total would be 92 minus 15, or 77.  Another player with a handicap of 5 might shoot an 83 for a net score total of 78. The 15 handicapper, in this case, finishes ahead of the 5 handicapper in the competition. It is theoretically possible for the “worst” golfer – the one with the highest handicap – to finish at the top in a handicapped event, whereas in a non-handicapped event that would be virtually impossible.

At this point you might be interested in exploring how the handicap is calculated. In this case, you will want to to learn or review what a USGA Index is and what a Course Handicap is, and how each is calculated. Our Handicap System (Web and Desktop Editions) calculates these two numbers and League Manager and Tournament Manager are equipped to use handicaps for competitions.

• the correct pairing on each card
• two or four players per card
• team numbers
• handicap strokes awarded for individual or team match play (see samples below)
• yardages for multiple tees
• hole pars
• order of handicap holes
• player handicaps
• course name
• tee time
• tee
• start hole(s)
• three lines of extra miscellaneous information

The image below shows you two cards. The one on the top half is for 9 holes. The bottom one is for 18 holes. Two score cards make one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper for use with virtually any printer. The score cards are made of card stock.

Printable golf score cards for 9 (top) and 18-hole (bottom) courses

Golfers can post scores, view handicaps, and print their own handicap card at the clubhouse. After your golfers finish a round, they can walk up to the computer, type in their score, and review previous scores, too.

Administrators will appreciate its ease-of-use, improved announcement capabilites, and kiosk design. It’s compatible with a touch-screen or mouse & keyboard.

We’re in the beta version and are looking for some groups to help us fine tune the final product. Interested? Click here for sign up info.

Hole by hole score entry screen