ScrambleGuides Running your event
Handicaps without GHIN: get every number in, fast
ScrambleBoard does not connect to GHIN. It does not need to. Every handicap for an event goes in on one screen, in whichever way is fastest for the field you have, and the strokes follow from there.
Open it from the control room: All tools → Handicaps, or the Handicaps row in the setup table on a net event.
Index vs playing handicap
Two numbers, and the screen shows both:
The one exception is an event with a custom allowance. There the playing handicap is yours to type, and the Playing column becomes an input.
- Handicap Index is the golfer's number. It is the same at every course and it is what you type: 12.4, 8.0, +1.2 for a plus player.
- Playing handicap is what they get today. ScrambleBoard converts the index for the tee they play, with that tee's course rating and slope, then applies the event's allowance and rounding. You never type it; change a tee or the allowance and it moves on its own.
Four ways to fill the grid
Type it. Each row has an index cell. Type the number and tab away; it saves as you go.
Paste a list. One player per line, name then index: `Pat Lee 12.4`, `Chris Park, 8.2`, `Sam Ortiz +0.4`. Names match the roster, including small differences in spacing and case. The page reports every line it could not place instead of guessing.
Fill the blanks. If some players have no number, the page offers your saved groups and your most recent finished event, each with a count of how many blanks it would fill. A number already on a player is never overwritten by a copy.
Import the club's export. The GHIN club-roster CSV a pro shop can already download imports into a saved group, index and all. Pull that group into the event, or use it as a fill-the-blanks source.
Let players enter their own
Turn on Players enter their own and the join form asks for a Handicap Index. What a golfer types shows on the grid as "player entered" until you accept it, one at a time or all at once. A golfer never overwrites a number you already set.
What the numbers do
On a net event the playing handicap sets the strokes on each hole, shown as dots on the scorecard. On a gross event handicaps still print on cards and results, but the standings do not change.
For allowances, rounding and stroke allocation, see the [handicap reference](/guides/handicaps-reference). For the whole picture, [golf tournament handicaps explained](/guides/golf-tournament-handicaps).
Run your event without paper Players scan a code, claim their name, and score on their phones. The leaderboard updates on every phone and the clubhouse TV. No app to install.
Create a free tournamentRelated guides
Golf tournament handicaps are the single biggest lever an organizer has for keeping every player in the hunt. Get them right and a 22-handicap can beat a 4-handicap on a fair fight; get them wrong and half your field checks out by the turn. This guide covers net vs gross, the three kinds of handicap in the World Handicap System, the standard percentage allowances by format, and how strokes actually land on the scorecard.
Type a Handicap Index on the roster and ScrambleBoard does the rest: course handicap for the player's tee, strokes spread across the holes, dots on every net surface. This page is the reference for the knobs.
If you run events for the same crowd - a league night, a member roster, the annual buddies trip - build the list once as a group. Every future event starts from it instead of from a blank paste box.
If your sign-ups live in a spreadsheet or a registration platform, don't retype them. On the event's roster page, open **Import a list** and the **Upload a file** tab - Excel workbooks work as-is - and the columns that matter are found automatically.