Player Scheduling and Pairings

This guide walks you through creating player pairings and managing tee times for your golf tournament. Whether you need simple random groupings or sophisticated multi-round scheduling, this guide covers everything you need.

Before You Start

Before creating pairings, ensure you have:

1. Created your event with at least one round
2. Added players to the event roster
3. Set up the course with hole information

Quick Start: Auto-Pair Players

The fastest way to create pairings is using auto-pair:

1. Navigate to your event’s Rounds section
2. Select the round you want to schedule
3. Click Create Pairings
4. Choose Auto-Pair and select your strategy
5. Set your tee time preferences
6. Click Generate Pairings

That’s it! The system will create balanced groups and assign tee times automatically.

Understanding Pairing Strategies

The scheduling system offers seven pairing strategies to match different tournament needs.

Random Pairing

Uses the Fisher-Yates shuffle algorithm to create completely random groupings.

Best for:

• Casual outings where fairness isn’t critical
• Social events focused on meeting new people
• Quick setup without handicap data

Settings:

Strategy: Random
Players per group: 4 (default)

By Handicap

Sorts players by handicap index (lowest first) and assigns them to groups sequentially.

Best for:

• Competitive tournaments where skill matters
• Events with a single flight
• Ensuring top players are grouped together

Settings:

Strategy: By Handicap
Players per group: 4

Balanced Groups

Uses a snake draft pattern to create groups with similar combined handicaps.

How it works:

1. Players sorted by handicap
2. First pass: Groups 1, 2, 3, 4 get players 1, 2, 3, 4
3. Second pass: Groups 4, 3, 2, 1 get players 5, 6, 7, 8
4. Pattern continues, alternating direction

Best for:

• Team scrambles needing balanced competition
• Events where every group should have similar skill levels
• Handicap-based competitions

AB/ABC/ABCD Skill Brackets

Divides players into skill tiers and assigns one player from each tier to every group.

How ABCD works:

1. Players divided into 4 equal tiers by handicap
2. Each group gets one A (low handicap), one B, one C, and one D (high handicap)
3. Snake ordering within tiers for additional balance

Best for:

• Charity scrambles and corporate outings
• Events wanting competitive balance in every group
• Tournaments with players across wide handicap ranges

By Previous Results

Pairs players based on their scores from a prior round.

Ordering options:

• Leaders Last: Traditional - best scores go off last
• Leaders First: Best scores go off first (reverse traditional)
• Reverse Horseshoe: Middle performers go first, leaders and trailers go last

Best for:

• Multi-day tournaments
• Club championships
• Events wanting TV-style leader group drama

Settings:

Strategy: By Previous Results
Previous Round: [Select completed round]
Ordering: Leaders Last

Custom

Creates groups respecting only your scheduling rules (keep together/apart) without applying any sorting algorithm.

Best for:

• Tournaments with specific sponsor or VIP requirements
• Events with complex pre-arranged groupings
• Manual fine-tuning after initial pairing

Setting Tee Times

After creating pairings, assign tee times to get players on the course.

Single Tee Start (Hole 1)

The traditional format where all groups start from the first tee.

1. Click Bulk Assign Tee Times
2. Set First Tee Time (e.g., 08:00)
3. Set Interval between groups (typically 8-12 minutes)
4. Choose Tee Start Type: Single
5. Click Apply

Example:

• First tee time: 8:00 AM
• Interval: 10 minutes
• Groups start: 8:00, 8:10, 8:20, 8:30…

Two-Tee Start (Holes 1 and 10)

Split your field between two starting holes to reduce total round time.

1. Click Bulk Assign Tee Times
2. Set First Tee Time (e.g., 08:00)
3. Set Interval (e.g., 10 minutes)
4. Choose Tee Start Type: Two-Tee
5. Click Apply

How it works:

• Odd-numbered groups start from Hole 1
• Even-numbered groups start from Hole 10
• Both sets follow the same tee time schedule

Shotgun Start

All groups start simultaneously from different holes - ideal for large events.

1. Click Bulk Assign Tee Times
2. Set Shotgun Time (e.g., 12:00)
3. Choose Tee Start Type: Shotgun
4. Configure Shotgun Priority:
   • Fill from One: Assign holes 1, 2, 3, 4…
   • Balanced: Distribute evenly across all 18 holes
   • Priority Holes: Specify which holes to fill first
5. Click Apply

For more than 18 groups: Enable Allow Doubles to place two groups per hole. The second group starts after the first clears the tee.

Using Scheduling Rules

Scheduling rules let you control which players are grouped together or kept apart.

Keep Players Together

Force specific players into the same group:

1. Go to Scheduling Rules
2. Click Add Rule
3. Select Keep Together
4. Choose 2-4 players
5. Set Priority (1-10, higher = more important)
6. Save

Use cases:

• Sponsors who want to play together
• Family members at a charity event
• Friends who registered together

Keep Players Apart

Prevent specific players from being in the same group:

1. Go to Scheduling Rules
2. Click Add Rule
3. Select Keep Apart
4. Choose 2 or more players
5. Set Priority
6. Save

Use cases:

• Business competitors
• Players with known conflicts
• Separating team members for inter-team events

Rule Priority

When rules conflict, higher priority wins. If you have:

• Rule A (Priority 8): Keep Alice and Bob together
• Rule B (Priority 5): Keep Bob and Carol apart

Alice and Bob will be grouped together; Carol will be in a different group.

Making Adjustments

After generating pairings, you can fine-tune the schedule.

Swap Two Players

Exchange two players between their groups:

1. Click Swap Players
2. Select the first player
3. Select the second player
4. Confirm the swap

Both players move to each other’s original group and position.

Move a Player

Move a single player to a different group:

1. Click Move Player
2. Select the player to move
3. Select the target group
4. Confirm the move

The player is added to the new group. Their old slot becomes empty.

Swap Entire Groups

Exchange all players between two groups (keeping tee times fixed):

1. Click Swap Groups
2. Select the first group
3. Select the second group
4. Choose whether to swap tee times only or players only
5. Confirm

Multi-Round Scheduling

For events with multiple rounds, create consistent pairings across all rounds.

Consistent Pairings

Keep the same groups for every round:

1. Go to Event > Multi-Round Pairings
2. Select all rounds to schedule
3. Choose your Pairing Strategy
4. Enable Consistent Pairings
5. Generate

Players stay with the same group throughout the event.

Rotating Pairings

Ensure players meet different opponents each round:

1. Go to Event > Multi-Round Pairings
2. Select all rounds
3. Enable Rotate Pairings
4. Generate

The system maximizes player diversity across rounds.

Copy Pairings Between Rounds

Copy an existing round’s pairings to another round:

1. Go to the target round
2. Click Copy Pairings
3. Select the source round
4. Configure options:
   • Copy tee times (yes/no)
   • Copy starting holes (yes/no)
   • Offset tee times (e.g., +60 minutes for afternoon round)
   • Swap starting holes (flip 1 and 10 for fairness)
5. Apply

Fairness Optimization

For multi-round events, track and balance:

1. Go to Event > Fairness Metrics
2. View per-player statistics:
   • Early vs. late tee times
   • Front nine vs. back nine starts
   • Fairness score (0-100)

Enable Optimize Fairness when creating multi-round pairings to automatically balance tee times.

Wave Scheduling

For large events using multiple courses, waves, or AM/PM sessions.

Setting Up Waves

1. Go to Event > Multi-Round Pairings
2. Enable Wave Configuration
3. Add courses and their available starting holes
4. Define tee time windows (e.g., “AM”, “PM”)
5. Set player assignment method:
   • By division
   • By flight
   • By handicap
   • Random
6. Generate

Second Round Swaps

For two-round events, automatically swap assignments:

1. Configure Second Round Swaps:
   • Swap courses (players play different course)
   • Swap starting tees (Hole 1 becomes Hole 10)
   • Swap AM/PM (morning becomes afternoon)
   • Reverse group order (last goes first)
2. Apply

This ensures fairness when courses or times offer advantages.

Round Robin Scheduling

Create a schedule where every team or player faces every other.

Setting Up Round Robin

1. Go to Event > Round Robin Schedule
2. Select participating rounds
3. Choose participant type:
   • Teams: Teams compete against each other
   • Individuals: Players compete head-to-head
4. Configure seeding:
   • Team order
   • Alphabetical
   • By handicap
   • Custom (manual seed numbers)
5. Set tee sheet format (foursomes, twosomes, or sixsomes)
6. Generate

Understanding the Schedule

The system uses the circle method algorithm to generate balanced matchups:

• Every participant faces every other participant exactly once
• Matchups are distributed evenly across rounds
• No participant plays twice in the same round

Viewing the Matrix

After generation, view the schedule matrix showing:

• Who plays whom in each round
• Tee times for each matchup
• Complete schedule at a glance

Open Tee Times (Self-Booking)

Let players select their own tee times.

Enabling Open Tee Times

1. Go to the round’s settings
2. Click Configure Open Tee Times
3. Set First Tee Time (e.g., 08:00)
4. Set Last Tee Time (e.g., 14:00)
5. Set Interval (e.g., 10 minutes)
6. Set Max Per Slot (typically 4)
7. Optionally block specific times
8. Enable Allow Self-Booking
9. Save

Player Experience

Players visiting the registration page will:

1. See available time slots
2. Select their preferred time
3. Optionally invite other players to their group
4. Confirm their booking

Managing Bookings

As administrator, you can:

• View booked and available times
• Override player selections
• Block additional times as needed
• Cancel bookings if necessary

Tips and Best Practices

Group Size Recommendations

Tee Time Intervals

Handling Odd Numbers

When player count doesn’t divide evenly:

• 32 players in foursomes: Perfect, 8 groups
• 30 players in foursomes: 6 groups of 4, 2 groups of 3
• 31 players in foursomes: 7 groups of 4, 1 group of 3

The system handles this automatically, placing smaller groups at the end of the tee sheet.

Common Workflows

Corporate Outing (60 players, shotgun)

1. Auto-pair with ABCD strategy (balanced skill)
2. Apply any VIP “keep together” rules
3. Set shotgun start time
4. Use Balanced hole assignment
5. Generate and review
6. Make manual swaps if needed

Club Championship (40 players, multi-day)

1. Day 1: Auto-pair with By Handicap
2. Day 2: Use By Previous Results with Leaders Last
3. Enable Fairness Optimization for tee times
4. Review fairness metrics after generation

Buddy Trip (16 players, 4 rounds)

1. Create multi-round pairings
2. Enable Rotate Pairings so everyone plays together
3. Use Two-Tee starts to finish faster
4. Enable Second Round Swaps to vary the experience

Next Steps

• Competition Formats - Set up scoring for your pairings
• Live Scoring - Enable mobile score entry
• Leaderboards - Configure live standings