The handicap secretary's inbox
Under the handicap system your club follows, members can put in general play rounds as well as competition scores. In principle they register before teeing off and submit afterwards. In practice a good number register, play, go home and forget. Some submit the next day. Some never do.
Your handicap secretary, usually a volunteer, gets a list from the national platform or the club software and works through it, emailing members one by one, often the same members every month. Some reply. Some are cross at being chased. Some say they did submit, and it turns out they submitted against the wrong course or tee.
Meanwhile other members ask why their handicap index has not moved after rounds they believe they recorded.
Why rounds go missing
The problem is timing. The moment a member finishes their round is the only moment the score is fresh and the card is in their pocket. Any reminder that arrives days later competes with everything else in their inbox.
The information to prompt them exists. The tee sheet knows who booked a slot and when. The registration is on the handicap platform. But the two are rarely joined up, so no one knows, on the day, which of today's players registered a round and have not sent the score.
There is also confusion over which course, tees and ratings to choose, especially on a club with several tee colours or a winter course layout. Members who find the submission fiddly give up halfway.
The cost of chasing scores by hand
| What happens | Who feels it |
|---|---|
| Monthly lists worked through by email | The handicap secretary, every month |
| The same members chased repeatedly | Relations between committee and members |
| Scores submitted to the wrong tees | Corrections and queries later |
| Rounds registered but never finished | Records the club is asked to explain |
| Members unsure why their index changed | Questions at the pro shop and the office |
How your club deals with rounds that are not submitted is a matter for your handicap committee and the rules you follow. We give no view on that. We reduce the admin that goes with it.
How we prompt members at the right time
- We read the day's tee bookings from your tee sheet system and, where the platform allows, the list of registered general play rounds.
- A few hours after a member's booked start time, if a registered round has no submitted score, the member gets a short text or email with a link to submit, which already shows the course and the tees your club normally uses that day.
- If the winter layout or temporary tees are in play, the reminder names them, taken from the course status the greens staff set.
- A second, polite reminder goes the next day if the score is still outstanding. After that, the round goes on the handicap secretary's list rather than getting more automated messages.
- The handicap secretary sees one list of outstanding rounds with the member, date and reminders sent, and can mark each as resolved with a note.
- Members can turn the reminders off, and the club decides the wording and timing.
If your members submit through the national app, the link simply opens it. We do not replace it or submit scores on anyone's behalf.
The month after
Most members who forget get a prompt the same afternoon, while their card is still in the car, and submit it then. The handicap secretary opens a short list at the end of the month instead of a long one, and the emails they do send are to people who genuinely need a word.
- Prompts sent on the day of the round
- Correct tees suggested when layouts change
- A short, tidy list for the handicap secretary
- No more working through spreadsheets by hand
Does this sound like your club?
- Your handicap secretary spends evenings chasing unsubmitted rounds.
- The same members are chased month after month.
- Scores are submitted to the wrong tees or course.
- Members ask the office why their index has not changed.
- Nobody knows on the day which rounds are still open.