Golf society live scoring: a free live leaderboard for your society day
One phone per group taps in the scores. Stableford points work themselves out, and the whole society follows the leaderboard live from one link in the WhatsApp group. No app, no sign-up, no fees.
What the society sees
An example society day. Every leaderboard shows nicknames and points only.
How to run live scoring for your golf society day
- Set up the golf day in Society HQ. Create the society day as usual and members say they’re in.
- Check the course card. Confirm the par and stroke index for all 18 holes (shared between societies, so it’s often there already).
- Add handicaps and groups. Each golfer’s course handicap is remembered from last time. Pick the allowance, then the groups and tee times.
- Send the scorecard links. Each group’s marker gets a scorecard link; everyone else gets the live leaderboard link in the WhatsApp group.
- Score as you go. The marker taps each golfer’s score at the end of every hole. Points, the leaderboard and the feed update themselves.
- Publish the results. When the last card’s in, the organiser publishes and the Form Guide match report writes itself.
Everything live scoring does
- Live stableford scoring for golf society days, one phone per group
- Stableford points worked out from each golfer's playing handicap and the hole's stroke index
- A live leaderboard anyone can follow from one link, with ties, holes played and movers
- Birdies, eagles and lead changes in an 'On the course' feed
- Nearest the pin and longest drive entered on the course
- Works with no signal: scores save on the phone and send when back in range
- One-tap leaderboard picture and message for the society's WhatsApp group
- A clubhouse TV view with a QR code for the 19th hole
- Handicap allowance of 85%, 90%, 95% or 100%, with plus handicaps handled
- Course cards (par and stroke index) shared between societies, typed in once
- Publishes the Form Guide match report, the Order of Merit and National Society League points
How stableford scoring works
Stableford is the format most UK golf societies play. Each golfer scores points on every hole against their own handicap, so a 28-handicapper and a 6-handicapper can win on the same day.
| SCORE ON THE HOLE (AFTER SHOTS) | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Net albatross (3 under) | 5 points |
| Net eagle (2 under) | 4 points |
| Net birdie (1 under) | 3 points |
| Net par | 2 points |
| Net bogey (1 over) | 1 point |
| Net double bogey or worse, or picked up | 0 points |
Shots come from the playing handicap and the hole’s stroke index: a playing handicap of 18 gets one shot on every hole, 24 gets two on the six hardest (stroke index 1 to 6) and one on the rest. Plus handicaps give shots back on the easiest holes. 36 points is playing to your handicap. Ties are usually settled on countback, starting with the best back nine.
Stableford points calculator
How many points for a score on one hole. Use the golfer’s playing handicap (course handicap × allowance).
Got a handicap index instead? Work out the course handicap first with the golf handicap calculator.
More for golf society organisers
Organisers ask
Is the live scoring free?
Yes. Live scoring is part of Society HQ, GolfPrice AI’s free golf society organiser. No sign-up, no app to download and no fees for the society or its golfers.
Does everyone need the app?
No app at all. One golfer in each group, the marker, opens their group’s scorecard link on their phone. Everyone else follows the leaderboard from one link in the WhatsApp group.
How are the stableford points worked out?
From each golfer’s playing handicap and the stroke index of each hole. A golfer gets one shot on every hole whose stroke index is at or below their playing handicap, two shots on those holes once it’s over 18. Then it’s 2 points for a net par, 3 for a net birdie, 1 for a net bogey and none for worse or a pick-up.
What handicap allowance should a golf society use?
England Golf and the World Handicap System recommend 95% of course handicap for individual stableford, and that’s the default. Societies can pick 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% when they set the day up.
What happens if there’s no signal on the course?
The scorecard keeps working. Every score is saved on the marker’s phone first and sent as soon as there’s signal again, so a dead spot on the 7th doesn’t lose anything.
Where does the course card come from?
The organiser checks the par and stroke index for each hole once. If another society has already typed in the same course, it’s filled in for them to check. The card is on the back of any scorecard from the club.
How do ties work on the leaderboard?
Golfers on the same points share the position, shown as “=4” for example. When the results are published, the Form Guide report settles ties on countback over the back nine.
What happens when everyone’s finished?
The organiser taps “Publish the results”. The scores lock, and the Form Guide writes the match report with the winner, the leaderboard, nearest the pin and longest drive. The day counts towards the society’s Order of Merit and, if the society has entered, the National Society League.
Who can see the scores?
Anyone the society sends the leaderboard link to. It shows nicknames and points only: no names, emails or phone numbers. The scorecard links are for each group’s marker.
Live scoring is part of Society HQ, free for every UK golf society. Nicknames and points only; no money is taken or held by GolfPrice AI. Privacy · Society HQ