News & Updates

Feature May 28, 2026

A better scoring experience on the course

We made a batch of improvements to the on-course views — the scorer view your flight scorer uses, the player view each golfer gets from their text link or QR scan, and the live leaderboard you share. A new light/dark toggle (the small sun/moon button in the header) flips to a high-contrast white background for easier reading in bright sunlight, and your choice is remembered on your phone across all three views. The flight scorer now enters scores the way you actually play: pick a hole, tap each player's score, and it moves to the next player automatically — when the whole group is done, it rolls to the next hole. The GPS rangefinder now shows in the scorer view too, text is larger for glancing at arm's length, and recurring leagues display today's date instead of the date the league was first set up. None of this changes how you score — it just makes it faster and easier to read outside.

News May 27, 2026

Introducing the GetFairways blog

We've launched a new blog at /blog with longer-form posts on running tournaments and leagues. First up: an honest comparison of Golf Genius vs GetFairways from the founder, with real prices, where each one wins, and a quick decision tree. Existing guides on club championships and league formats now live at the new home too.

Feature May 23, 2026

Match Play (League) — head-to-head matchups with season standings

Recurring match-play leagues now have a dedicated workflow. On the Admin tab, set Format to Match Play and turn on Recurring league, and a new Match Play (League) panel appears. Pick your scoring method (hole-by-hole closeouts like "3&2", or total strokes) and your unit (singles or teams). Then either tap two players to pair them manually, or click "Pair players within flights" to auto-create matches from your existing flight assignments — saves a lot of tapping when flights already represent the matchups. The Board tab shows live match status as scores come in (e.g. "Pete 2 UP thru 7"); when a match is mathematically decided, an Awaiting Confirm badge appears and the admin confirms with one tap. Confirmed results roll up into a season W-L-T-Points standings page (3 win / 1 tie / 0 loss) on the Results view. The existing single-elimination Match Play Bracket for one-off tournaments is unchanged.

Feature May 22, 2026

Official USGA World Handicap System

GetFairways now computes handicap indexes per the official USGA 2024 rules. When a scorecard is validated for an 18-hole round, the system stores a score differential ((113 / slope) × (adjusted gross − course rating)) with the Net Double Bogey cap applied per hole. The player's index is then recomputed from their most recent 20 differentials using the official 5.2a selection table (best 1 of 3, 1 of 5, 8 of 20, etc.) and written back to their record. Course Handicap and Playing Handicap allowances now match each tournament format — 95% for stroke play, 85% for best ball, 100% for match play. The format-aware leaderboard from earlier this week uses the new playing handicaps automatically.

Feature May 20, 2026

QR code check-in and RSVP reset

Every tournament and league now gets a unique QR code on the Admin tab. Print it and post it at the clubhouse — players scan to register and check in. The QR code links to the event's registration page and includes the tournament name, date, and course. A new Reset RSVPs button lets league organizers clear all RSVP statuses back to pending at the start of each week before sending the next round of texts.

Feature May 19, 2026

RSVP tracking and smart flight balancing

Two new features for league organizers. RSVP tracking lets you mark players as Confirmed, Declined, or Pending on the Register tab — perfect for tracking text replies when you send the weekly RSVP message. The player summary now shows RSVP counts. Smart flight balancing detects when flights come out uneven (e.g. 16 teams in flights of 3) and presents options: distribute extras across existing flights, rebalance into smaller even flights, or keep as-is. No more solo flights.

Feature May 13, 2026

Offline scoring for rural courses

GetFairways now works without cell service. When a scorer enters scores without connectivity, the scores save locally to the device and automatically sync when the connection returns. An amber banner shows when you are offline with a count of pending scores, and a green banner appears when you come back online with a "Sync now" button. This is critical for rural courses that may have poor cell coverage — no more lost scores.

Feature May 13, 2026

Fundraising and charity tournament tools

A new Fundraising and Charity section on the Admin tab lets organizers enable mulligan packages, raffle ticket sales, and donation collection for charity outings. Each option has a toggle switch with configurable pricing — set the price per mulligan, max per player, and price per raffle ticket. Players see these add-ons during registration. This helps organizers raise more money for their cause while keeping everything in one platform.

Feature May 12, 2026

Match Play brackets with visual bracket display

GetFairways now supports Match Play format with a full single-elimination bracket system. Select Match Play as your format, then generate a bracket on the Admin tab. Players are randomly seeded with BYEs for odd numbers. Tap "Win" to advance players through rounds labeled as Quarters, Semis, and Final. Enter match results like "2&1" or "1 UP." When the final match is decided, a champion banner displays with a trophy. The bracket auto-saves and persists across sessions.

Feature May 12, 2026

Season standings and historical results

The new Results tab shows cumulative season standings for recurring leagues. After each round, click "Finalize round" to save results to the season standings. The standings table shows each player's total to-par (or Stableford points), average gross score, best round, number of rounds played, and win count. Tournament History lists all your past events with a quick-switch to view any tournament's results. Works for both one-off tournaments and recurring leagues.

Feature May 8, 2026

Sponsor logos on leaderboards, scorecards, and print outputs

Tournament organizers can now add sponsor logos directly in GetFairways. On the Admin tab, the new Sponsors section lets you upload logos, assign tiers (Gold, Silver, Bronze), and link to sponsor websites. Sponsor logos automatically appear on the live leaderboard as a branded banner, on every printed scorecard, and on the printed leaderboard. Gold sponsors display first with the largest placement. This gives organizers a way to offer tangible sponsor value — "your logo seen by every player checking scores" — and helps justify sponsorship fees for charity outings and club events.

Feature May 7, 2026

Player substitutes for league play

Recurring leagues now support player substitutes. On the Register tab, mark any player as "Out this week" — their row dims and an inline form appears to assign a substitute. Enter the sub's name and handicap, and they automatically take the absent player's team and flight spot. The leaderboard labels subs with a "(Sub)" tag. Tap "Back in" to restore the original player and remove the sub. The player count now shows roster size, active subs, and how many players are out.

Improvement May 7, 2026

League end date and player editing improvements

Recurring leagues now have an optional end date field on the Setup tab. When set, the app shows a warning when the league has ended and pauses automatic weekly reminders. We also improved the player roster on mobile — names are now fully visible with the Edit, Paid, and Out buttons on a second row below each player name.

Feature April 30, 2026

Multi-admin system, Stableford scoring, and side pots

Three major features in this release. Multi-admin: Invite co-admins by email — they create their own account and the tournament appears in their dashboard automatically. No more password sharing. Remove access anytime. Stableford scoring: Full point-based scoring format with automatic leaderboard sorting (highest points first). Eagle = 4 pts, Birdie = 3, Par = 2, Bogey = 1. Side pots: Add Closest to Pin, Longest Drive, and Skins competitions alongside your main tournament.

Improvement April 30, 2026

Trial countdown banner and promotion codes

Trial users now see a countdown showing how many days remain in their free trial. When the trial nears its end, an "Add payment method" button appears for easy conversion. We also added support for Stripe promotion codes — enter a promo code at checkout for discounts on your first year.

Feature April 26, 2026

Designated flight scorers — one person keeps score for the whole group

You can now assign a designated scorer for each flight. On the Flights tab, select any player from the dropdown to make them the official scorekeeper. Send them a scoring link via SMS or email — they open it on their phone and enter scores for all players in the flight. No login required. Scores update the live leaderboard in real time. Assignments are per-event, so you can rotate scorers each week in a recurring league.

Feature April 26, 2026

RSVP captain filtering, auto-save, and admin delegation

Three quality-of-life upgrades in this release. RSVP captain filter: When sending RSVP texts, use the new "Captains only" button to contact just one person per team instead of everyone. Auto-save: Tournament setup changes now save automatically after 2 seconds — no more lost data when switching devices. Admin delegation: Invite a co-admin by email to help manage your tournaments on the Admin tab.

Improvement April 20, 2026

Free trial now requires no credit card

Starting a free trial just got easier. Enter your email, set a password, and you're in — full access to every feature for 7 days with no credit card required. Add a payment method anytime from Settings when you're ready. Cancel with one click if it's not for you.

Security April 18, 2026

Your data is safe with GetFairways

We take the security of your tournament data seriously. GetFairways uses industry-standard encryption for all connections, your data is isolated so only you can access it, and we never store credit card information — all payments are handled securely by Stripe. We've also added additional safeguards to prevent unauthorized access and protect against abuse. For details, see our Privacy Policy.

Content April 17, 2026

New guides: Club Championship and League Formats

Two new guides to help you run better events. How to run a club championship covers format selection, handicaps, flights, and tournament-day logistics. Golf league formats explained compares Stroke Play, Scramble, Best Ball, Stableford, and Match Play with honest advice on when to use each.

Feature April 5, 2026

Single Tournament Pass — now available

Not ready for a full subscription? You can now purchase a Single Tournament Pass for $99 — one-time, no subscription required. Get full access to every GetFairways feature for a single tournament: online registration, Stripe payments, live leaderboard, smart pairings, and all print outputs. Perfect for club championships, charity events, or one-off outings. See pricing →

Launch April 1, 2026

GetFairways is live — run your entire golf tournament from your phone

After months of development, GetFairways is officially live. Built for club admins and league organizers, it handles everything from online registration and Stripe payments to live leaderboards and print-ready scorecards — all from any device, no app required.

Feature March 15, 2026

Smart flight pairings for recurring leagues

Running a weekly league? GetFairways now tracks pairing history week over week and automatically minimizes repeat pairings — so your regulars get a fresh draw every time.

Feature March 1, 2026

Print-ready outputs: scorecards, tee sheets, cart signs, and bag tags

Tournament day just got easier. GetFairways generates print-ready scorecards (2 per sheet), tee sheets, cart signs, and bag tags with one click — formatted and ready to hand out.