Run a season-long points series

Quick answer. A series adds up points across several of your events. On the Events page press Series, give it a name, and press Start series. Tick the events that count and press Save events. Send your golfers the link the page shows. Each time you finish one of those events, the table works itself out again. There is nothing to type in by hand.

Who can do this: an Admin. This was walked as an Admin. The program also lets an Organizer in. We did not walk that.

Web only. This article covers the web pages. We did not check what the phone app shows for a series, so send your golfers the link.

Before you start

You need at least one event that is a single-player stroke play or Stableford event. A series ranks players one by one. A scramble, a match play event and a Wolf event are all turned away, and the page says why.

Decide three things before you start. Do you rank on net scores (after handicaps) or gross (strokes only)? Do you give points by finish (Standard) or one point for each player you beat (Players beaten)? Does every event count, or only each player's best few? You can change all three later, and the table is worked out again at once.

The steps

1. Open Series. On the Events page, beside Create Event, press Series. The page is called Series. It says "Add up points across several of your events — a summer tour, an order of merit, a race to the club championship."
2. Start the series. Under Start a series, type a Name, such as "Heron Bend Fall Tour". Then choose:
   • Rank players on: Net — scores after handicaps, or Gross — strokes only. Stableford events always count by their points.
   • Points for each finish: Standard — 100 for 1st, 80 for 2nd, 65 for 3rd, down to 8 for 20th, then 5 for everyone who finished; or Players beaten — 1 point for every player you finish ahead of.
   • Which events count: Every event counts, or Only each player's best and a number of events.
3. Press Start series. If the name is empty the page says "Give the series a name." You land on the series page. It shows "Share this link with your players:" and a web address ending in the series name.
4. Tick the events. Under Events in this series the page says "Tick the events that count." Each event shows its date and a word: Finished, Not finished yet or Draft. You can tick an event before it has been played. An event that cannot join is greyed out, and the reason is written under it.
5. Press Save events. The button wakes up once you tick something. The page says "Events saved. The table is up to date."
6. Finish each event as you go. Points come only from events you have finished, the ones shown as Finished. Press Close Event on the event's page when the scores are final. Open the series page again and the table has moved. The note at the foot of the golfers' page says it: "Updated when an event in the series is finished."
7. Share the link. Copy the address from the series page, or press Public page. Golfers can also find it from each event's public page, where a line says "Part of the Heron Bend Fall Tour — see the standings."
8. Change your mind. Under Settings you can rename the series, which keeps the public link the same, and change any of the three choices. Press Save settings. The page says "Settings saved. The table is up to date."

What you should see

Here is a practice season at Heron Bend Golf Club, a fictional club. We made the Heron Bend Fall Tour and ticked its first event, the Founders Day Open, which was finished with twenty players. The table showed:

• Peggy Nakamura 100 points, 1st.
• Susan Tillman 80, 2nd.
• Mike Yoder 65, 3rd.
• Three golfers tied for fourth, marked T4, each with 50.

Tied golfers share the points of the places they cover. Under the table, a line gave the rules in plain words: "Standard points: 100 for 1st, 80 for 2nd, 65 for 3rd, and so on. Ranked on net scores (after handicaps). Every event counts. Tied players share the points of the places they cover."

We added a second finished event. Steve Abernathy, who had tied for 4th in the first, was alone in the second and took 1st, and his row showed 150 points over 2 events, in first place. We then chose Only each player's best with 1. His row became 100, with "2 played, 1 count", and pressing his name showed the Founders Day Open at "50 points — not counted". Changing to Gross and Players beaten gave a different table, with the rules line saying "1 point for every player you beat. Ranked on gross scores (strokes only)." We put the settings back afterwards.

Last, we pressed Close Event on an event that was still Not finished yet. Its line in the series then read Finished · 8 players, the page said "4 of 4 events finished", and the table had new points in it.

If it goes wrong

• An event is greyed out and I cannot tick it. Read the line under it. A scramble, a match play event and a Wolf event each said "Team and match play events can't join a series — it ranks players one by one." Only single-player stroke play and Stableford events can join.
• The table says "No points yet." None of the ticked events is finished. The page says "The table fills in when the first event in the series is finished." Close an event when its scores are final.
• I ticked an event and nothing happened. Press Save events. The button stays asleep until you change a tick.
• A finished event says "Finished · 0 players". Nobody has a score in it, so it adds no points. Check you ticked the right event.
• A golfer's points look too low. You may have chosen Only each player's best. Press the golfer's name. An event that did not count says "not counted" beside it.
• Tied golfers have odd numbers like 32.33. Tied golfers share the points of every place they cover, so three golfers tied for 8th split the points for 8th, 9th and 10th. It is meant.
• A golfer cannot find the series. Send the link from the series page. It looks like an address ending in the series name. A finished event's own page also links to it.
• I deleted the series by mistake. We did not walk the delete button. The page says "The events and their scores stay. Only the series table and its public page go." Make the series again and tick the events again.
• The page sent me back to Events. Only an Admin or an Organizer can open the series pages. Anyone else is turned away.

Director's tip

Tell the field at the first event how the season works in one breath: "Every event counts" or "your best three count", and "ties share the points". Then when two golfers are level in the table in October, nobody asks you why. If you drop the worst scores, change Which events count early in the season rather than late.

Related

• Set up your event
• Your event's home base
• Picking the right format for your outing
• Stroke play: gross and net
• Stableford
• How ties are broken

Still stuck?

Email support@back9ops.com and tell us the series name, the event you ticked, and what the table says.