When creating new pairings for a round, there is an option to use Automatic Scheduling. When using this option, pairings will be created using a certain set of parameters selected by the manager. Additionally, if there are previous rounds, repeats can be minimized by looking at the previous rounds.
If there are flights created, you can optionally select to pair by flight. If you would like the pairings to be organized by flight, select that option. Otherwise, players from different flights will be mixed together.
When selecting Automatic Scheduling, There are three tabs that you will see (Further Schedule by, Keep Together, and Spread Apart).
The Further Schedule by tab will give you some of these options.
Randomly: This option will schedule pairings by maximum diversity. The scheduler will look back at pairings from past rounds and minimize repeats between players.
AB: Pair players by AB, ABAB, or ABABAB depending on whether you are playing twosomes, foursomes, or sixsomes respectively. For more details on pairing by AB, Click Here.
ABC: Available when creating threesomes, place an A, B, and C player in each threesome. Click Here for details on creating ABC pairings.
ABCD: Available when creating foursomes, place an A, B, C, and D player in each foursome. Click Here for details on creating ABCD pairings.
ABCDE: Available when creating fivesomes, place an A, B, C, D, and E player in each fivesome. Click Here for details on creating ABCDE pairings.
ABCDEF: Available when creating sixsomes, place an A, B, C, D, E, and F player in each sixsome. Click Here for details on creating ABCDEF pairings.
Team (pair): If teams have been created, this option will be available. Pairings will be organized so that two players from every team will be paired together. For two-person teams, it's pretty simple. The teammates will be paired in a foursome with two players from another team. This option is also frequently used for Ryder Cup Events where team sizes are larger than 2. Golf Genius will make sure there are two players from each team in all the foursomes. Additionally, if using our scheduler, we will make sure each player has a new playing partner and opponent if there are multiple rounds.
Team (pairing group): If teams have been created, this option will be available. Players will be organized by teams in pairing groups. This is more frequently used when there are four-person teams. Simply put all the players together in a foursome.
Players by Handicap Index: When selecting this option, the scheduler will pair all the players by their Handicap Index order. So the players with the four lowest Handicap Indexes in the field will be paired together. Then, the players with the NEXT four lowest Handicap Indexes will be paired together, and so on.
By Team (Pair) by Handicap Index: If teams are created, this option will be available. Take the total team Handicap Index of each team and pair them in order. For instance, the two teams with the lowest combined team Handicap Index will be paired together. The next foursome will include the next two lowest combined team Handicap Indexes.
Note: It is important to bear in mind that if you select to schedule pairings by AB, ABCD, and Course Handicap, you will not get maximum diversity in your pairings. If managing a league, and your primary goal is to minimize repeats throughout the season, you will want to select Option 1 (Randomly). In this case, you will get maximum diversity. When you schedule by AB, and ABCD, the scheduler will work to minimize repeats, but there will obviously be restrictions and you will not get maximum diversity. For instance, if you schedule pairings by ABCD the entire season (and Handicap Indexes stay the same throughout the season), an A player will not play with another A player all season.
Keep Together and Spread Apart Rules:
The keep together and spread apart rules are also available when using automatic scheduling and pairings size is set to two-, three-, or foursome. While keeping in mind the parameters you set in the Further Schedule by Tab, you can make sure Player A is paired with Player B or Player A is NOT paired with Player B (as shown below).
More Scheduling Options:
After selecting the Automatic Scheduling parameters and clicking "Next", you will be directed to the summary screen for the pairings. You can select "More scheduling options" (as shown below).
The options include:
Pairing Order: When choosing a pairing order you can:
Schedule player tee times over all rounds to maximize fairness with respect to early and late starts: When using this option, the scheduler looks back at previous round pairings in the event/league (if any), and players will be treated equally with respect to early, middle and late tee times. By doing this, players will sometimes get early times and sometimes get late times.
Order pairings by division and flight with smaller groups first: Pairings will be organized by divisions and flights. Players in different divisions/flights will never be paired together. Furthermore, if there are smaller pairing groups in the pairings, place them first on the tee sheet. For instance, place the twosome ahead of the threesomes.
Order pairings by division and flight with smaller groups last: Pairings will be organized by divisions and flights. Players in different divisions/flights will never be paired together. Furthermore, if there are smaller pairing groups in the pairings, place them last on the tee sheet. For instance, place the twosome behind the threesomes.
If the field cannot be split evenly in threesomes, the remainders should be grouped in: When creating pairings using threesomes, sometimes the pairings do not produce all threesomes. In this case, you can select the "odd groups" to be foursomes or twosomes.
Use pairings from prior rounds to create the best pairings for this round: When selected, repeats will be minimized as much as possible. More diversity will be created in the pairings and players will not always be playing the same players. This is typically used for league-play.