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What is
Links Pro 1.0?
Simply put, the Links Pro
application is an online golf
scorecard, handicap, and statistics
tracking system. After you complete
your round of golf, be sure
to bring your scorecard home
with you. Log into your
societyofgolf.com account, select
your course and the date, then
enter your score (and other
stats if you choose) for each
hole. Links Pro saves
your round so you can track
your handicap and progress during
the golf season and throughout
your golf career.
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What
is "Equitable Stroke Control"?
Equitable Stroke Control (ESC)
is the downward adjustment of
the individual hole scores for
handicap purposes in order to
make handicaps more representative
of a player's potential scoring
ability. ESC sets a maximum
number that the player can post
on any hole depending on the
player's Handicap.
When entering your round
information, simply enter the
exact score you made
on each hole. Links Pro will
automatically
adjust your hole scores to calculate
your round differential.
The Links Pro system uses the
following table to determine
how to downward adjust each
hole (if necessary):
Course
Handicap |
Maximum
Number on any hole |
9
or less |
double
bogie |
10
through 19 |
7 |
20
through 29 |
8 |
30
through 39 |
9 |
40
or more |
10 |
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How
is my handicap calculated?
The Links Pro round tracker
system makes it easy to track
handicap. Links
Pro allows members the
ability to enter in their hole
scores, drive yardages, fairways
in regulation and more using
a simple "digital scorecard"
interface. After entering their
round information, Links Pro
automatically generates a variety
of statistics, including Members'
handicaps.
In order to
calculate a Member's Handicap,
the 10 best differentials from
their last 20 rounds are used.
Technically, Members must have
completed 20 rounds to have
an accurate Handicap.
However, for those with less
than 20 rounds, a handicap is
generated after entering 5 locked
rounds.
A. Entering
Scores: When entering
a new round into Links Pro,
simply enter the exact
score you made on each hole.
Links Pro will automatically
adjust your hole scores to calculate
your round differential.
B. Differentials:
After each round has been
entered, submitted and then
locked, a differential is calculated.
Differentials are based on a
number of factors, including:
-
The color
of tees you played from
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The Slope
Rating for the course
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The Course
Rating
-
Your adjusted
gross score (more on this
later)
The formula
for calculating a differential
is not too complicated.
Let's have a look at an example
round and how it's differential
is calculated...
Imagine Susan
shot an adjusted score of 90
from the red tees at Hecla Island
Golf Course. The formula
for calculating her round's
differential would look like
this:
Adjusted
Gross Score |
90 |
Course
Rating (red tees) |
-
70.7 (from the
Hecla scorecard) |
Difference |
19.3 |
Handicap
Differential |
113
x 19.3
= 18.5 |
|
118
(Slope Rating from
the scorecard) |
Here is
an explanation of each factor
listed in the above calculation...
Adjusted
Gross Score: The Links Pro
system will automatically downward
adjust your scores for each
hole behind the scenes.
This is called Equitable Stroke
Control (ESC). ESC provides
for a handicap that is more
representative of a player's
potential.
Course
Handicap |
Maximum
Number on any hole |
9
or less |
double
bogie |
10
through 19 |
7 |
20
through 29 |
8 |
30
through 39 |
9 |
40
or more |
10 |
For example...
If Susan's handicap was 12,
and she scored an 7 on a par
4, the Links Pro system would
automatically downward adjust
her score to a 6 when calculating
her differential for the round.
Course Rating:
The course rating is found on
the course's actual paper scorecard.
113:
The number 113 is a constant
and never changes. We multiply
this constant (113) with
the difference of the Adjusted
Gross Score for the round
and the Course Rating.
Slope Rating:
The slope rating is found on
the course's actual paper scorecard.
The resulting
differential is then used to
calculate your Handicap.
Finally...
Your Handicap Calculation:
The following table outlines
the number of differentials
used to calculate your handicap.
If you have only entered and
locked 5 rounds, your lowest
1 differential is used to calculate
your handicap. After 20 rounds
(or more) have been entered,
the average of your 10 best
differentials of the last 20
rounds played are used. The
following table applies...
Number
of
Acceptable Scores |
Differentials
to be Used |
| 5
or 6 |
Lowest
1 |
| 7
or 8 |
Lowest
2 |
| 9
or 10 |
Lowest
3 |
| 11
or 12 |
Lowest
4 |
| 13
or 14 |
Lowest
5 |
| 15
or 16 |
Lowest
6 |
| 17 |
Lowest
7 |
| 18 |
Lowest
8 |
| 19 |
Lowest
9 |
20+ |
Lowest
10 |
The number
of differentials are averaged
and then multiplied by 0.96
to obtain your handicap. For
example...
If you have
only locked 14 rounds into the
Links Pro system, your lowest
5 differentials are added together
and divided by 5. The result
is then multiplied by 0.96 to
get your handicap.
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My course
list doesn't have any courses
in it. How do I enter
my new round?
When you first become a
Member, your course list will
initially be empty. To quickly
add courses to your list, you
can perform a search for any
courses you wish to add. Your
search will include courses
that have been entered by other
Members. If you can't find the
course you are looking for,
you can create a course of your
own and add it to your course
list.
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How many
courses can I have in my course
list?
As many as you like.
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How do
I enter my scores from my scorecard?
After playing a round of
golf, bring your scorecard home
with you and log into Links
Pro....
- Select "Courses -->
My Courses" from the left
menu
- Select the "Enter Round"
icon for the course you wish
to enter scores for
- Enter the date you played
your round
- Check off any other statistics
you wish to track
- Enter your scores (and stats)
for each hole
You are not required to enter
in your drive yardage, number
of putts, FIR or GIR information,
but you might want to give it
a try at some point.
When entering your round information,
simply enter the exact
score you made on each hole.
Links Pro will automatically
adjust your hole scores to calculate
your round differential (See
Equitable
Stroke Control).
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How many
rounds of golf can I enter
into Links Pro?
As many rounds as you like!
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Can I enter
a round with no scores or stats?
No problem.
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Can I enter
9 hole rounds?
Yes. Every 9 hole course
is actually an 18 hole course
in Links Pro. Just play
the course twice to finish your
round. Use your first
9 hole as the front nine and
your last nine holes as your
back nine.
For example... you can play
your front 9 holes at Harbour
View one day and enter your
score into Links Pro.
A week later, you can play your
back 9 holes at the same course
and enter you final 9 into Links
Pro. Now your round is complete!
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Can I edit
a round after I have submitted
it?
Yes... as long as the round
is not locked (see below).
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What is
a completed round?
To be considered to be a
"completed" round,
the following rules must be
met:
- Each hole must have a score
entered
- The score for the round must
be a realistic score (obviously
a round score of 18 is not realistic)
After you have entered your
scores for a round, they are
saved into Links Pro.
However, just because your round
is saved doesn't mean it is
a completed round. For
example... You might have only
played and entered 9 holes,
but you plan on playing 9 more
next week. Or maybe you
forgot to enter the 14th hole
score.
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What are
"Locked" rounds?
In order for any of your
scores to be posted on any statistical
pages or statistics lists, you
must first lock the round.
Locked rounds cannot be edited
or removed from Links Pro, so
make sure your scores are correct
before locking your rounds!
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Why do I
have to lock my round?
Locking your round is like...
well... getting your scorecard
signed or "attested"
by the course. A locked
round is a certified round.
Once your round is locked, it
can't be changed or even deleted.
This keeps Members committed
to accurate score submissions
and ultimately keeps any unrealistic
statistics or handicaps at bay
(at least as much as possible).
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What are
Groups?
Groups allow you to keep
track of your playing partners,
friends and other Links Pro
Members without having to find
them amongst the entire Membership.
Groups can be either Public
or Private. You can create
your own Group or join an existing
Group. All Members who belong
to your Group will be listed
on your "My Group"
page.
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What is
the role of the Group President?
The Links Pro Member who
created the Group is initially
assigned as the Group President.
The President has a number of
responsibilities such as establishing
the Group name, deciding whether
or not the Group should be Public
or Private, choosing
the password if the Group is
private and managing the Group
Membership.
The Group President can also
assign another Group Member
as President. Once the new assignment
is complete, all Presidential
duties will shift to the newly
elected President. The old President
will no longer have access to
Presidential functions.
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How do I
create a Public or Private Group?
To create a Group, simply select
"Create Group" from
the left menu. You will be asked
to enter a Group name. You can
also specify your "President's
Message" to the Group.
To create a Public Group,
leave the password box empty.
Any Links Pro Member can join
any Public Group.
To create a Private Group,
enter a password. Note that
the password you create will
be case sensitive. Only those
Links Pro Members that know
your Group password will be
able to join your Private
Group.
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Why do I
get an error when trying to
join a Group?
When trying to join a Group,
I get the message:
"You cannot create a
new Group or join an existing
Group because you already belong
to the Group listed below. Remove
yourself from your current group
before creating or joining a
new Group."
Each Links Pro Member can
only belong to one Group at
a time. If you already belong
to one Group and wish to join
another, you will have to first
remove yourself from your current
Group.
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I
am Group President. How do I
remove myself from my Group?
If you are the only Member
in your Group (you are obviously
the President since there isn't
anyone else in your Group),
removing yourself is straight
forward. Simply select the trash
icon. Note that the Group you
created will no longer be available
for other Members to join.
However, if you are the Group
President and there is at least
one other Member in your Group,
you must first assign another
Group Member as Group President.
After doing so, you are free
to remove yourself from the
Group by selecting the trashcan
icon.
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