Around the Green

Upgraded Tournament Software Coming in 2017

The Texas Golf Association is excited to announce a partnership with Golf Genius, the USGA and the SRGA Community to enhance the Member Club experience with cutting-edge tournament management software technology.

Since 2009, industry leader Golf Genius Software (GGS) has developed modern, cloud-based software technology that improves the operational efficiency of managing tournament rounds, member events, outings and leagues that utilize the GHIN service. The TGA has been a strong advocate for this partnership and will serve as one of the USGA’s Pilot Associations in further testing and developing training for clubs over the next several months.

The TGA will offer two levels of USGA-branded, cloud-based services. In terms of functionality, both versions developed by Golf Genius are upgraded equivalents of the USGA TPP product.

The USGA Tournament Management, powered by GGS version provides all the tools needed by a public golf course or private club to set up and execute member events and outings with best-in-class printed materials, including fully customizable scorecards, cart signs, bag tags, locker labels, tee sheets, alpha lists, etc. This product also delivers superb features for golf leagues, as we believe making leagues easier to manage is critical to player engagement and growing the game. The price for this version will be included in existing TGA Membership dues.

The USGA Tournament Management PREMIUM, powered by GGS version is an optional upgrade for Member Clubs. It will be supplied directly by GGS and delivers all of the benefits outlined above, plus capabilities to improve the golfer experience through live scoring, live TV leaderboards, online registration and payments and a customizable website for each event, league or outing. The premium version also includes USGA-branded apps for iPhone and Android devices. There is an additional annual subscription fee for this upgrade, which will be discounted from the cost directly from Golf Genius.

As a Pilot Association, the TGA will gain the ability to work extensively with the product at both the base and premium levels to prepare Member Clubs for transition in early 2017. We will immediately begin in-house training with the product to provide you with the best customer service possible. Over the next several months, we will develop a plan for the distribution, training and presentation of the features of the upgraded premium version.

We are excited about the opportunity to provide TGA Member Clubs with the very latest software technology. So far in 2016, GGS customers have managed more than 1 million rounds with Golf Genius, a fourfold increase over the previous year. With this growth, GGS has shown the software is highly scalable and capable of supporting tens of thousands of customers across the globe.

To reiterate, the base Golf Genius product that mirrors TPP in many tournament formats will be part of your contracted membership agreements. The premium version will come with an annual upgrade fee that is optimal for all TGA Member Clubs and can be obtained with TGA discounted pricing.

There will be more information about this partnership in the coming months, and we look forward to helping all TGA Member Clubs elevate their tournament management software experience. The TGA and USGA will continue to support the TPP program through 2017 as we transition our clubs to the new software.