Peaceful silence, pierced only by the soft murmuring of the wind. A gently-rippling pond, dark and inscrutable in the summer sunlight. And acre after acre of expansive grounds, exquisitely manicured and plush as velvet. When it comes to the pleasures of life, golf must rank up there with quality automobiles and morning espressos with the spouse. The sport is like an addiction – the more golf you play, the more of it you crave. As your stroke grows more accurate and your handicap improves, you may find yourself taking entire afternoons off work in favor of corralling your associates into “networking” on the golf course. It’s official: Golf has become your new obsession. But how can you ensure that you have the time and fellowship to regularly enjoy a game of guilt-free golf? Easy – do as countless people have done before you and explore the option of creating a golf league. At its core, a golf league is a group of golfers who get together on a regular basis to play against each other. With a golf league, you can create amateur or professional golf tournaments, or simply keep a running tally of everyone’s handicaps for some informal rivalry.
Golf leagues often play on the same schedule every week, although individual games can be arranged to fit around different people’s commitments. Leagues consist of an unlimited number of golfers, from 2 or 3 to over 100. Golfers can range from high school students to established professional golfers. They may choose to play as one large group or in smaller, more intimate circles, depending on who wants to connect with whom. Various golf courses have different time slots available at different price points. It is the job of the golf league manager to coordinate games and tournaments according to the needs and preferences of league members. Some golf courses offer special deals on greens fees or food and drink to golf leagues as part of their efforts to court repeat business. You’ll need to check your area for golf leagues that are located near you. The goal of a golf league is to rank its members according to handicap in a friendly competition, and sometimes within the context of tournament play. One of the golf league manager’s most important jobs is to ensure that everybody gets a chance to play, and that people get an opportunity to play with all of the others in the league. The manager sets the framework for the season’s games, including: Scoring rules Roster of players League format Membership dues collection Set length (in weeks) Golf leagues offer the chance to improve your game and the perfect opportunity to network with colleagues, chat up your bosses, or spend time with friends and acquaintances. By making time for regular games, you can advance your career and cultivate your physical and mental health as well. There’s no doubt about it: Creating a golf league is a smart move for anyone who’s interested in getting the most out of their love of golf. Wondering how to get started with a golf league? Managing a golf league can be an exhaustive undertaking, and many golfers don’t have the time to attempt it on top of all of their personal and professional responsibilities. For people who have regular golfing partners and a love of the sport, but lack the time and energy to organize a league by hand, the option of saving time by using software to manage golf league exists. Golf league management software consists of a SaaS (software as a service) application that allows for the efficient handling of golf league logistics such as scheduling, location, player roster and league format. Using just a few quick clicks, you can organize multi-game tournaments or register new league members with zero hassle. With the right software, managing a golf league can be fast, easy and cost-effective. While there are several golf league management apps on the market right now, you might want to give EZ Golf League a try. For ease of use and affordability, EZ Golf League offers tremendous value to golfers who are interested in creating a golf league. With simple golf software setup instructions and a user-friendly interface, this app is a low-cost, low-stress way to learn how to get started with a golf league. Why go with golf league management software? Frankly, using such software can make the difference between being able to participate in a golf league and having to disband it. Before golf league management apps, golf league organizers had to wrestle with endless phone calls, personal checks, and sheaves of spreadsheets and registration forms. Being a golf league administrator was a part-time job in and of itself, one that many white-collar professionals couldn’t make time for. With EZ Golf League, the job of organizing complicated games and tournaments is done by software, allowing golf league managers to focus on other areas of their lives and leave the grunt work of golf league management to an algorithm. EZ Golf League manages nearly every aspect of golf league play, including: Choosing the right golf course Signing league members up for games or tournaments Collecting league and tournament dues Setting a date for games Notifying league members of game dates Setting details of game type, tee times and flight details Selecting holes for play Creating payouts Using EZ Golf League is straightforward and easy. The clear, no-frills interface offers clean functionality and efficient online tools for managing your league. The sign-up process for creating your league is quick and simple, and the app offers the option of adjusting your home course or league membership roster with no trouble. What are EZ Golf League’s main functions? For one thing, the app allows you to develop a membership roster efficiently and easily. Normally, it can be a challenge to get the word out about the formation of your new league. With EZ Golf League, a couple of options exist to promote your league, both of which can be automated through EZ Golf League. These include posting league openings under each golf course account and inviting colleagues, friends and clients to join your league by sending automated e-mails. Another key function of EZ Golf League is its ability to efficiently and quickly customize all aspects of your golf league. These features include: Number of league members League format (singles, doubles, teams, tournament) Scoring format Rules and regulations Scheduling Game types (team play best ball, team stroke play, individual stroke play, scramble) Membership dues collection With EZ Golf League, it’s no longer necessary to import your scorecards into your league rankings manually after every game. Instead, you can enter your scores into the mobile app in real-time during your event. Customized digital scorecards are available on EZ Golf League for hundreds of golf courses nationwide. The app sends live mobile alerts letting golfers keep track of their competition in real-time. With automated scorecards, league members can access tournament and league standings instantly. This feature can be useful to golfers during games as they assess their rankings and make split-second decisions about strategy. League rankings and tournament results, including member handicaps, are automatically calculated and made available through the app at the close of every game day. In addition, EZ Golf League tallies up league payouts and awards prizes to winners within seconds. With the help of EZ Golf League, saving time by using software to manage golf league is an airtight strategy for managing a golf league. Ready to get started with EZ Golf League? Follow these simple EZ Golf League golf software setup instructions for an easy approach to setting up your new golf league. The following guide is a step-by-step reference tool for creating every aspect of your new league. Use it and The first step in using EZ Golf League is downloading the app on your computer or mobile device. To access EZ Golf League on your laptop or desktop: 1. Visit the EZ Golf League website at https://ezgolfleague.com. 2. Click the “PLANS” tab at the top center of the page. 3. On the next screen, choose the type of league arrangement that best fits your needs. You can select from four options: –>A free trial membership, with a cost of $0 per league member. This option offers you the chance to create up to two tournaments involving up to 50 players. –>An option to pay for a single tournament, at a cost of $1 per player for up to 50 golfers. –>A standard membership, at a monthly cost of $10 per golfer. This membership allows you to manage an unlimited number of tournaments or games with an unlimited number of golfers. It also affords you dedicated support from a help desk team. –>A Managed Leagues membership, costing $20 per golfer per month. For this price, you get all of the features included in the other memberships, plus a virtual league administrator who is personally dedicated to managing your league. This membership is for golf leagues who don’t want to deal with the minor administrative tasks associated with managing EZ Golf League. 4. Click the blue “SIGN UP” button underneath your selected membership option. A screen will come up entitled “Your Basic Details.” On this screen, you will input information relevant to your status as league administrator, including your e-mail address, first and last name, phone number, and time zone. You will also choose a password and agree to the terms and conditions of service. 5. When you have finished with this screen, click the white “Create User” button at the bottom of the screen. Your account will automatically be set up. 6. On the next screen, you will have the option to create a new league or join an existing one. –>To join an existing league, select from the list of golf courses underneath the “Join an Existing League” subheading. Leagues are listed by name and location. If you want to learn more about a league, click the yellow “Learn More” button at the right of the screen. –>To create a new league, click the white “Create a New League” button under “Create A New Golf League.” 7. After clicking the “Create a New League” button, the “Basic Details” screen will come up. On this screen, you will input basic information about your league, such as the league name, a description of your league, your location, contact info for the league, the start of your season, league type, the number of league members, and any further comments you might want to note. Click the white “Create League” button at the bottom of the screen when you’re done. 8. On the “Invite Golfers” screen, you can invite people to join your league by sending them automated e-mail invitations. To send an invitation, type the person’s e-mail address into the “Golfers to invite” box, one per line. Each person will receive an e-mail invite to create an account with EZ Golf League and join your league. You can also choose to click the white “Skip Golfer Invite” button on the right of the screen if you don’t want to invite any people to your league at the moment. 9. A screen will come up that reads “Setup is Complete.” On this screen, there are two instructional videos available for viewing: one for golf league managers, and one for league members. Feel free to watch one or both. When done, click the white “Manage My League” button on the right of the screen. 10. This will take you to the user Dashboard. On this dashboard, you can manage your Tournaments, Reports, Leagues, Notifications, Payments, or User Accounts, or create a new tournament. To see existing tournaments that your league has scheduled, click “Tournaments.” 11. To see reports on your league’s standings, rankings, or any other statistics, click “Report.” 12. To see information on the leagues that you currently belong to, click “Leagues.” A screen will come up with a list of your leagues, along with the number of general members and active members, along with the date the league was added to your database and an “Actions” drop-down box. By clicking on the “Details” button underneath the drop-down box, you can: Manage Golfers Manage Seasons Update Handicaps from GHIN Re-Calculate League Standings 13. To create a notification for your league members, click “Notifications.” On the screen that comes up, click “Create Notification.” The resulting “Notification Details” page will allow you to create a custom notification to send to selected league members or tournament players. On this page, you can: Format the basic details of the notification, including the title, body text, and date and delivery date. Specify whether you want the notification to go to all league members or specific tournament members. When finished, click the white “Save Notification” button on the bottom of the page. 15. Under the “User Accounts” tab, you can access all user accounts or invite a new golfer to join your league. By clicking “All User Accounts,” you can access a list of all users registered under your league/s by name, join date, and GHIN-updated status. You can also create new users by clicking the yellow “Create User” button on the right side of the page. By clicking “Invite Golfer,” you can access a screen where you can input basic details about the member, including e-mail address, first and last names, and leagues you’d like the person to join. Optional fields include street address, phone number, and GHIN System Number. When done, click the white “Send Invite” button at the bottom of the page. 16. If you want to start a new tournament, click the yellow “Create Tournament” button in the middle left of the Dashboard screen. A new tournament Dashboard screen will come up, with a series of “Manage Your Tournament” tabs along the top. 17. Under the “Basic Details” tab, you can input the basic details about your tournament under the “Basic Details” subheading, which include the league playing, the name of the tournament, and a box to check which will allow golfers to pay with a credit card. You can also set the opening and closing dates for registration, and the maximum amount of registrations possible, as well as whether or not players can see tee times when they register. If you’re using EZ Golf League to collect membership dues by linking Stripe to your bank account, you can add a dollar amount for tournament dues under “Dues Amount.” You can also leave this field blank. Tournament players can pay at the point of registration or later on through Google or Apple Pay on the mobile app, or debit or credit card on both the mobile and web apps. When done, click the white “Save and Continue” button at the bottom of the screen. 18. Under the “Sign Up” tab, you can set the signup opening and closing dates and the maximum number of players. You can also choose to have players see tee times by checking a box, and then have them choose from an early header, mid header or late header. Click the “Save and Continue” button when you are done. 19. Under the “Days” tab, you can select the golf course for the tournament, as well as the date and time. You can create more than one day of play. Click the “Save and Continue” button when you are done. 20. Under the “Holes” tab, you can custom-select which holes you want to be included in the tournament by checking or unchecking the box listed next to each numbered hole. Click “Save and Continue” when you are done. 21. Under the “Game Type” tab, you can select the game type for your tournament (Individual Stroke Play, Two-Man Shamble, etc.) EZ Golf League supports multiple game types and is constantly updating their selection. You can also check a box to break ties (chip-off, card-off, etc.). Click “Save and Continue” when you are done. 22. Under the “Tee Times” tab, you can set the date and time of the first tee time, the designated number of minutes between tee times, the max players for each tee time, and the number of tee times for your tournament. You can specify terms for one tee time or for a batch of times. Upon logging into your tournament, players can select which tee time they would like to register for. Click “Save and Continue” when finished. 23. Under the “Flight Details” tab, you can specify handicap ranges when creating flights. This allows players to be placed based on their current course handicap. The program will also place players who fall outside of the last flight. After each click of the blue “Create Flight” button, a “Basic Details” screen will come up. This is the place to specify details of each flight, including the handicap lower and upper bounds and the tee box that will be played during the tournament. Each flight will be numbered using a Flight Number that will be assigned automatically and can be changed. When finished creating a flight, you can click the “Save & Create Another Flight” button or click “Save & Continue.” 24. Under the “Payouts” tab, you can select the payouts that will be awarded to players based on points won. Click the blue “Create Payouts” button to create a payout. You can specify each payout based on flight, amount ($) and points, and can create multiple payouts per flight. EZ Golf League will automatically correlate each $ amount and the number of points. When done with a payout, click “Save & Create Another Payout” or “Save & Continue.” 25. Under the “Contests” tab, you can create different contests within your tournament, including Net Skins, Gross Skins, Gross Low, and others. You can also name each contest and choose whether or not it should be opt-in. You can also select the specific course holes that you want included in each contest. When finished creating a contest, you can select the “Save & Create Another Contest” button or the “Save & Continue” button. 26. Your tournament is now uploaded and ready for play. You will see a screen listing both upcoming and past tournaments. name, league, course, date, signup deadline, number of players registered, and playable status (whether a given tournament has enough information formatted to be managed by the app). There is also a drop-down “Manage” menu that allows you to manage your tournament details by several categories, including signups, scorecards, handicap recalculation and all of the tabs described above. You can also finalize your tournament through this menu once your tournament is through. If you need to access the mobile app: 1. Go to the Play Store on your Android phone or iOS app store on your iPhone. Search for “EZ Golf League”. 2. Follow the prompts to download EZ Golf League. 3. Create a new profile using the prompts provided. 4. Follow the prompts described in the laptop/desktop instructions above to set up your league and create new tournaments. With EZ Golf League, it’s easy and fun to create and manage your own golf league. Why wait? Join today and see what EZ Golf League can do for you!