Our customers always come first.......with this in mind, we have compiled a list of the most common questions we are asked regarding the Handicap and Tournament Management Systems and our Web Services.

In addition, we have provided a link to the Handicap Department on the USGA's web site. The Handicap System Manual is a useful resource for all of your handicapping questions.

Handicap System



1. I undeleted a golfer in the Handicap System, but when I go into score posting and enter his number it still says "Invalid Golfer Number". Now when I go back into Golfer File Maintenance, he does not show up and all golfers after his name are missing also.



2. What is our erase code for score posting?



3. I have a golfer whose handicap is going down, even though he is posting higher scores than the old ones dropping out of his last 20 scores.



4. Please explain the handicap adjustments in events where people are competing from different sets of tees.

Tournament Management System



1. When manually entering hole assignments for shotgun events in the Tournament Management System, do I need to enter a time?



2. When setting up a 9-hole "matcharound" event, how do I change the current round number?
 
   
3. When printing scorecards for a 9-hole event, using both the Front and Back Nines, I am getting information printed out for different sets of tees(i.e. Blue and White) on the different nines.



4. I have men and ladies playing in an event from different sets of tees. In Tournament Definition, do I need to check the box for "Will golfers of the same gender be playing on more than one set of tees per course?"



5. I set up a Match Play event, but when I go to assign starting times, the #1 seed is not playing the #32 seed. and most of the matches are not correct.
 


6. When I print scorecards, the golfer with the lowest handicap in each group is not getting strokes, and everyone else on the scorecard is getting a reduced amount of strokes.

Web Services



1. How often is the golfer handicap and score verification information updated on the web?



2. When I try to log in, I enter my golfer number and club password and then click on submit, but nothing happens or I get an error message.

First Tee Management System



1. There are several electronic tee sheets available on the market today. What is so different about the First Tee Management System?



2. How does the GFTMS simplify the management of the daily tee sheet?



3. How can GFTMS assist our handicap committee?



4. We also use GolfNet’s Tournament Management System. Once I set a tournament field up, I’d like to be able to transfer all the names to the tee sheet. Is there a way to do this?

General



1. What kind of computers do we need to run GolfNet's software?

1. I undeleted a golfer in the Handicap System, but when I go into score posting and enter his number it still says "Invalid Golfer Number". Now when I go back into Golfer File Maintenance, he does not show up and all golfers after his name are missing also.

Run the REBUILD program by double-clicking on its icon in your desktop folder that contains the GolfNet shortcuts. This will re-set your golfer file and retrieve all missing golfers.

2. What is our erase code for score posting?

This is something that you can define. Go into the Handicap System and click on Handicap Group Maintenance. The erase code will be at the bottom right. If you are changing it, make sure you go into each different handicap group. You can set up a different code for each group or make them all the same.

3. I have a golfer whose handicap is going down, even though he is posting higher scores than the old ones dropping out of his last 20 scores.

This golfer could be one of the fortunate few that are able to rise to the occasion and play far better in tournaments than their regular rounds would suggest. His handicap is probably being adjusted for Exceptional Tournament Performance (ETP) as detailed in in section 10-3 of the USGA Handicapping System Manual. In a nutshell, the handicap produced by the golfer's last 20 scores is compared to his lowest 2 tournament scores for the past year. If the average of these 2 scores is significantly lower than the handicap, a downward adjustment is made to the handicap. The bigger the difference, the bigger the adjustment. So the higher the scores he now posts, the lower his handicap will become as the adjustment increases.

This can work the other way also. Say you have a golfer who is already being adjusted. As the golfer posts better scores, closing the gap between his last 20 and 2 lowest tournaments, the adjustment decreases or even goes away, making the golfer's handicap go up! To find out if your golfer is in fact being adjusted for ETP, go into the Reports section in the Handicap System and print out the ETP report. This will show you the relevant tournament scores and detail the calculations for the adjustment.

4. Please explain the handicap adjustments in events where people are competing from different sets of tees.

Hoo boy, this is a tough one to explain, especially to the golfers who are losing strokes! Section 3-5 of the USGA Handicap System Manual states that when golfers are competing from different sets of tees, the golfers playing the tee with the higher USGA Course Rating should receive additional handicap strokes equal to the difference between the course ratings of the two tees, with .5 or greater rounded upward. Alternatively, Decision 3-5/1 allows you to subtract the difference in course ratings from the players on the lower rated tees.

Why is this? The USGA has a very detailed explanation on their website at www.usga.org/handicap/faq/7.html, but for our purposes, we'll try to give a concept that is somewhat easier to explain. A common misconception amongst golfers is that their handicap reflects how many shots over Par they play. Actually, Par has nothing to do with the handicap calculation! If we ignore slope for the moment, since the first step in the handicap calculation is to subtract the course rating from the score, you could say that a golfer's handicap more closely correlates to how many shots over the course rating he shoots. Thus, if a golfer "plays to his handicap"(again ignoring slope), his net score after subtracting his handicap will equal the course rating of the tees he is playing. So, if one golfer is playing a set of tees with a 71.0 course rating against another golfer playing a set of tees with a 67.0 course rating, he is at a 4 shot disadvantage when using net scores!

1. When manually entering hole assignments for shotgun events in the Tournament Management System, do I need to enter a time?

Yes, but you don't actually enter the shotgun starting time, rather you should use the Time field for their starting position on the hole (i.e. A, B, or C), so that combined with the starting hole you produce 1A, 1B, 2A, etc. If you are running both morning and afternoon shotguns on the same day, you should also put AM- and PM- in front of the hole position in the time field (AM-A, AM-B, PM-A) to differentiate between the two shotguns.

2. When setting up a 9-hole "matcharound" event, how do I change the current round number?

Once inside the tournament, click on the Define button on the tool bar toward the top of the screen to bring up the Tournament Definition window. Make sure the box for "Match play or Multiday event" is checked. You will see the field for current round immediately below this and can use the up and down arrows to the right to adjust the round number. Click on Save when you are finished. For any round after the first, you should see the Round # displayed on the tool bar between the Start and Printing buttons.

3. When printing scorecards for a 9-hole event, using both the Front and Back Nines, I am getting information printed out for different sets of tees(i.e. Blue and White) on the different nines.

At some point during setup, you had to go through the Stroke Calculator to define the tees played, % of handicap, and max strokes. Since this is a 9 Hole event you need to specify this information for both the front and back nines. Go back into the Stroke Calculator by clicking on the Strokes button on the tool bar at the top of the screen. When you get to the page that displays tees played, you'll notice tabs for both the front and back nine at the top. Make sure you go into both and set them to the same set of tees.

4. I have men and ladies playing in an event from different sets of tees. In Tournament Definition, do I need to check the box for "Will golfers of the same gender be playing on more than one set of tees per course?"

You do not have to check this box as long as you have men playing from only one set of Mens tees and ladies playing from only one set of Ladies tees. It is used when you have two groups of Men (or two groups of ladies) playing different tees. When you go into the Stroke Calculator for a regular Mixed event and reach the Stroke Allocation screen, you will be able to define two sets of tees, one for men and one for ladies. You'll also notice when setting up Scorecards, that you will be able to enter two sets of tees for printing, one at the top and one at the bottom.

5. I set up a Match Play event, but when I go to assign starting times, the #1 seed is not playing the #32 seed, and most of the matches are not correct.

You probably did not set your flight options correctly. Go back into Flights and click on Options. Make sure you are using the option for Number of Teams per Flight and the flight size is set for 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128. On the next page, specify how you want to rank the players (typically by Handicap Index or qualifying score). On the following page, select how to order your flights (typically Low to High) and make sure the Match Play option is checked. Click on Finished and when asked if you want to keep existing flights, click on No. You can then use the Auto, Review, or Manual features as normal to finish setting up flights.

6. When I print scorecards, the golfer with the lowest handicap in each group is not getting strokes, and everyone else on the scorecard is getting a reduced amount of strokes.

Sounds like you used the Stroke Off the Low Ball option, which is handy for a Match Play event, but not so good in a 1 Best Ball of 4. To correct this, go back into the Stroke Calculator by clicking on the Strokes button on the toolbar toward the top of the screen and uncheck the box for Stroke Off the Low Ball. Click on Next thru the remaining pages (you might double check that you have your percent of handicap to be used set correctly) and then Finished. Everyone should now have the proper strokes on the scorecards.

1. How often is the golfer handicap and score verification information updated on the web?

Most clubs send their golfer data to GolfNet over the Internet or via a modem transmission initiated by them, which they must do at least once a week, although they can transfer more frequently if they wish. Once received at GolfNet, they will be available for viewing on the web the next day. It is important to note that current scores will be reflected, but the handicaps may not have changed, as handicaps are only to be revised according to a schedule defined by your regional Golf Association. You can ask the person in charge of handicaps at your club about your state's particular revision schedule and how often they transmit to GolfNet. There are also some clubs that still mail either a diskette or paper sheets to GolfNet once a month. These also are reflected on the web a day after receipt.

General

1. What kind of computers do we need to run GolfNet's software?

All you need is a Pentium or Celeron class computer running Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system. Our software runs fine on 350Mhz processors with 64Mb of RAM, but the faster the processor and the more RAM you have, the happier you will be with the performance of the system. The computer also needs a CD-ROM Drive, sound card and speakers, SVGA video card and color monitor, 250Mb free disk storage space (additional space will be needed on GFTMS systems), a floppy disk drive, and 56kbs modem or broadband Internet connection. If the computers are to be networked, network interface cards will also be needed. First Tee Management systems also need a high capacity drive-mappable backup device like a ZIP, Jaz, DAT, Optical device, or separate server drive access and data backup procedure.