Guides

Golf tournament pairing sheet

A golf tournament pairing sheet is the single document your field looks for first: who am I with, which cart, which hole. Get it right and 72 people find their starting holes without you; get it wrong and the shotgun start is fifteen minutes of carts circling the parking lot. Here is the layout, an example, and how to build fair groups.

What a pairing sheet shows

• Group number — the row people find their name in.
• Player names, all of them, alphabetized within the group or listed A-player first.
• Cart number(s) — most groups take two carts; list both.
• Starting hole for a shotgun start, including A/B designations when two groups share a hole (10A tees off first, 10B follows).
• Optional but appreciated: flight, tee assignment, and each player's handicap if it is a net event.

Example: 36-player shotgun (9 groups)

A 36-player field in foursomes fills 9 starting holes. Spread groups so no two adjacent starting holes are stacked with slow groups, and put your fastest groups on the holes just after the turn (10, 11) so the course clears from the middle out.

Building fair pairings

For a scramble, the standard is an A/B/C/D draft: rank the field into four ability buckets by handicap, then deal one player from each bucket into every team. It is the fastest route to teams that all believe they can win — which is what keeps a scramble fun.

A few working rules that save you grief:

• Honor pairing requests where you can, but split any foursome that is obviously stacked — the rest of the field notices.
• Mix abilities within groups even in individual formats; a group of four 25-handicaps is the slowest group on the course.
• Seat the sponsors and VIPs mid-course (holes 5 through 8 of the rotation) so they finish near the middle of the pack and are back for the reception on time.
• Freeze the sheet the night before, then keep a printed "changes" column at registration for the inevitable morning no-shows — hand-write substitutions rather than reprinting at 6:45 a.m.

Full guide: Golf tournament registration checklist

Posting it

Print at least three copies of the full sheet: one taped at registration, one at the bag drop or first tee area, one for the starter. Then go one better and put a cart sign on every cart — a half-page card with just that group's names, cart number, and starting hole. Players glance at the big board once, but the cart sign is what gets them to hole 14B without a marshal escort.

Or print it from ScrambleBoard

ScrambleBoard derives cart numbers and shotgun starting holes straight from your roster order, so the pairing sheet builds itself as you enter teams. The Report Center prints the pairing sheet, individual cart signs, rosters, and results — each with your custom title, sponsor line, and footer — plus QR join posters for scoring.

Rosters import from CSV or a GHIN club export. On event day, players scan the QR to join (no app, no accounts) and scores show live on phones and the clubhouse TV, with gross/net, flights, skins, closest-to-the-pin, and long drive built in.

Frequently asked questions

What should a golf tournament pairing sheet include?

Group number, all player names, cart numbers, and — for a shotgun start — the starting hole including A/B designations for doubled holes. Add flight, tees, and handicaps for net events. One row per group, sorted by starting hole.

How do you pair players for a golf scramble?

Use an A/B/C/D draft: sort the field into four ability buckets by handicap and put one player from each bucket on every team. Honor friend requests where possible, but split stacked foursomes so every team believes it has a chance.

How do A and B groups work in a shotgun start?

When the field is bigger than 18 groups (or you want the field compressed), two groups share a starting hole: 10A tees off first and 10B tees off immediately after. Par 5s and easy par 4s handle doubling best; avoid doubling par 3s.

When should pairings be posted before a tournament?

Freeze and post them the evening before — email or text the sheet if you have contacts, and have printed copies at registration. Handle morning no-shows with hand-written changes on the posted sheet rather than reprinting.