A blind is used when a score is needed for an absent player of uneven teams, for example, in a common tournament format of best 1 or 2 balls in foursome vs. the field. If some "foursomes" only have three players, they are clearly at a disadvantage. "Blinds" or "ghosts" are often employed to remove this disadvantage. A blind is a real golfer playing in a different foursome who will be "added" to one or more groups that do not have four players. For scoring purposes, blinds are treated as if they are a player of the foursome where they are a blind. The blinds score will automatically be copied in, so no extra work is required once a blind has been set.
In this article, we will talk about adding individual blinds to pairings, where the pairings will be organized by foursome for scoring purposes.
Blind Draw Teams:
If you'd like to learn more about creating blind draw teams, Click Here instead.
Blind When Parings Are Not Organized by Team:
If your pairings are not organized by team, and instead, you are using a Team List, your blind player will need to be added to the team. For more details on using teams, Click Here.
Blinds in a League:
For league play, see Managing Subs.
Adding Blind in Pairings:
To fill a pairing group with a blind:
Go to Rounds > Edit Existing Pairings.
Click "Add Blinds."
Select the blind score to be used in the dropdown menu.
Select the empty slot where the blind score should be used.
Save the pairings
In the sequence below, Chuck Nubolt's score will be used as the blind for pairing group #4.
Options for Point/Purse Payout to Player Acting as Blind:
One question often arises: should a player acting as a blind earn purse or points if the group where he is a blind wins? Let's say Paul is in foursome 4 and is also a blind in foursome 5. Should Paul get paid twice if foursome 4 takes first place and foursome 5 takes second place? Normally the answer is yes, but we leave that up to you. In the League/Event Profile - Tournament and Scoring, you can specify whether players acting as blinds can share in the winnings if the group wins.
To update the point/purse payout to a player acting as a blind, follow these directions:
Go to Event/League > Event/League Profile > Tournaments & Scoring.
In the "Purse & Points" section, check/uncheck the box to "Do you want a player acting as a Blind to share in purse and points just like any actual player in the group?" depending on your needs (as shown below).
Click "Save".
When enabling this option, the player acting as the blind would essentially be "double dipping." For instance, in a Four-Ball competition, If Steve is partnered with Jeff, he will receive points for this performance on that team. If another team is missing a player, and Steve is selected as the blind for that missing player, he will also receive points for his performance with that team.
Options for Displaying Player Acting as Blind on Leaderboard:
A second question often arises: should the player acting as the blind show on the leaderboard? Let's take that same scenario where Paul is in foursome 4 and is also a blind in foursome 5. If foursome 4 takes first place, should Paul know he was the blind for foursome 5? If not, you can set the leaderboard not to display the player's name acting as the blind.
If you wish to adjust how the blind shows on the leaderboard, follow these directions:
Go to Event/League > Event/League Profile > Tournaments & Scoring.
In the "Display Options" section, check/uncheck the box to "Do not show blinds on the leaderboard," depending on your needs (as shown below).
Click "Save."
After the leaderboard updates, the blind will be adjusted on the leaderboard.