Golf Pool Instructions
Thank you for choosing PremierSportsPools.com to host your Golf Pool. If at any time you need further assistance, we can be reached by email: info@premiersportspools.com and by phone or text: (513) 835-3337.
General Information about Premier Sports Pools:
We are a software service not a gambling site. In no way do we handle payment for entry fees. If you choose to collect entry fees for your pool you must find a method to do this outside of our software. Make sure you follow the laws within your jurisdiction if handling entry fees. If you are using the software as a fundraiser it is recommended that you have a fundraising license or appropriate non-profit designation; consult your necessary counsel.
Forward on golf pools:
Premier Sports Pools offers fully customizable golf pool software. Our main focus is on Tier Pools, where golfers are grouped into tiers, and then users are tasked with selecting the best performing team from those tiers. Golfers can be grouped into 1-6 tiers, meaning you do not have to use tiers at all or you could incorporate up to 6 tiers (groups). The grouping of golfers is entirely up to the pool creator. We do not currently offer Salary Cap style golf pools. Read below for scoring types.
If you have an offline pool and would like us to enter your lineups to use our software for standings and live scoring please contact us for a custom rate.
A VIEW-ONLY LINK is also available to distribute for those who enter lineups for others. For instance if you still get people to enter picks on a “pool sheet,” you can enter these picks into the site for them. The link can be sent out for these players to view standings and pool data but not to make picks.
Directions for starting and managing a golf pool:
On the CREATE POOL interface you will select the event for your pool. You will also enter a pool password to prevent the general public from getting to your pool, allowing only desired invitees. Once your pool is created you can follow the steps below to customize the pool to your desired settings. Once you have created a pool follow the steps below.
Choose the Scoring Format: We currently offer 3 general scoring methods as well as a Handicapped Pool format.
Total Team Score: The sum of the scores of each roster is tabulated for a Team Score. Lowest total wins.
Total Prize Money Won: Players receive prize money from the PGA tour based on their finishing position in each event. This prize money is tallied for each player on the roster and results in the Total Team Prize Money Won. Highest total wins.
Trackmeet: The finishing position of each player on the roster is added together to create a team total. Lowest total wins
Handicap Pools: This is a pool type that still uses Total Team Score. However any player handicaps applied to the golfers are tabulated per round. The total player handicap will be divided by 4 and applied to every round. Ex: A player with a -8 handicap will receive a -2 handicap in each round. Handicap pools are typically created with the assumption that most of the golfers will be assigned a handicap to even the field. Groupings become less important.
2. Choose Your Pool Settings: Take advantage of the help text accompanying each selection to learn more about what each selection means. Be sure to type further details about your individual pool into the space provided to inform your players where to send entry fees, if applicable, or any other necessary instructions not covered in the settings.
3. Set Up Your Golfer Groupings: We have expedited this process by allowing users to enter a number of golfers to include in your groups. The system will auto-populate this number of golfers into groups, distributed in a manner that will give the commissioner a good starting point. Commissioners can then fine tune the groups as they desire. The auto-populate software will select the top rated golfers in the event based on your choice of World Golf Ranking or FedEx Cup Standings.
4. Assign Player Handicaps: If you would like to “even the field” a bit more than the groups already do, feel free to add handicaps to the players. Go to the EDIT PLAYER HANDICAPS page from the COMMISSIONER MENU and enter the handicap to each golfer you’d like to advantage or disadvantage. -1 will help a golfer's score, +1 will hurt a golfer’s score. Handicaps for Total Team Score pools are only added to the golfer’s Total Score and not attributed to individual round scores. Handicaps in a Handicap Pool are attributed as ¼ of the total handicap in each round. This would come into play if prizes are awarded for individual round leaders in your pool.
5. Open Your Pool For Picking: Our software employs an editing mode for commissioners. You need to OPEN your pool to unlock the ability for users to make picks. This allows the commissioner to put out their pool early, and invite members to join, but gives you longer time to edit the player groups. Maybe you’d like to start your pool early for the US Open but see how the golfers are faring up to the previous week before defining groups. When you are happy with your groups and want to allow users to create rosters click the OPEN POOL FOR PICKING button on the Settings page.
6. Invite Players To Join Your Pool: The buttons on this page provide links and credentials to join your pool. The easiest way to send an invite to a large group is to click the SEND LINK button. This will send a pre-populated email to your account on file; from there you can forward this email to anyone you think may want to play. The COPY button will place the pool credentials and basic instructions onto the clipboard of your device; you can then paste the message into the body of a text to send to potential pool participants. You can invite players before Opening the pool for picking, as described above.
Players must first create an account and log into the site. THEN they will log into the pool using the pool password. We only require a verified email address, but you may want to request they add more information (Name, phone) for contacting them.
*See POOL PDF below as another method to advertise and invite players to your pool.
7. Pool Roster: Commissioners can monitor who has joined the pool and how many and which entries they have submitted on the POOL ROSTER. By clicking the blue number under the Entries column you can view the names of their entries. The Pool Roster also allows you to color code, add notes to, and remove players. An additional column is titled CONFIRMED, a checkbox that you can employ as needed. You can also add additional Pool commissioners on this page, this gives them full access to the Commissioner Menu and all the pool features. The original pool creator cannot be removed as a commissioner
8. Pay Hosting Fee: Pool payment is not required until the Roster Lock. This defaults to the first tee-time of the event but you can make it earlier if you wish. Feel free to explore the site and make sure it fits your needs before submitting your Pool Hosting Fee. If the Pool Hosting Fee is not paid by Roster Lock all of the pool features will be disabled. You will not be able to view any standings, picks or pool data. The Pool Payment will go in as a pre-authorization at the start of the event, the final charge will take place overnight prior to the 2nd round. Use the time after the completion of round 1 to remove any incomplete or unused entries. This can be done in MANAGE USER PICKS. Pools are charged per entry as defined by the table below:
Entries Rate
1-40 $10 Flat Rate
41-200 25¢/Entry
201-500 20¢/Entry
501-1000 15¢/Entry
1001+ 10¢/Entry
Tips for Fundraisers:
If doing a fundraiser, especially for teams, you may find yourself in a situation where you are adding entries for other people. Users can submit entries using multiple different names under their account. They will be consolidated in the pool roster, making it easier to manage.
An example would be each team member’s parent entering rosters that they sell to other pool players. This parent can simply enter their various names for each roster. The commissioner will see the count per user, and all the entry names in the POOL ROSTER. Employ the VIEW ONLY LINK for these pool members who did not create an account.
View Only Link:
Use the VIEW ONLY LINK within the COMMISSIONER MENU to share the pool with people who did not enter picks on their own PSP.com account. Standings and other pool features will be visible to them but they will not be able to make any selections or changes of any type. Note: The copy and text feature for the View Only Link will not currently send to Android phones. Use email instead for Android users.
Other Tips:
*Notate amounts when marking users paid. Example: A user enters 2 rosters and pays for 2 rosters, and you simply mark them “paid”. Then they enter 2 more rosters, these last 2 entries could get lost. Use “Paid $XX”
Pool PDF/Pool Printout
After golfer groups have been set by the commissioner a “Pool PDF” can be printed from the Commissioner Menu. The printout will list your pool rules, written commissioner comments, and the golfers within their groups. The printout will also have a QR code where users can scan on their phone to join the pool directly, allowing them to make their picks online. Take advantage of this feature and leave some sheets at your favorite businesses to grow your pool.