This feature is available for the following products:
In this article, we will discuss how to utilize the Advanced Balls option while setting up a tournament within a round.
(Note: If you are playing an Advanced Ball Tournament over multiple rounds, set each tournament up individually in each round, then link the tournaments by going to League/Event > Multi-Round Tournaments > Link Tournaments.)
We created this option so you can get very specific and creative with your tournaments. No other tournament software exists that can handle these kinds of specifications. When using this feature, you can select between thousands of different options when scoring your tournament (as shown below).
In this article, we will discuss, enabling and setting up the advanced ball options when creating tournaments. Additionally, we will provide some example advanced ball setup options to get you started.
Enabling Advanced Ball Options:
In order to use the Advanced Balls option, the "Competition" needs to be foursome v. field, foursome v. flight, team v field, or team v flight competition. Then, under the "Balls" option, select "Advanced" (as shown below).
Note: You can also use advanced balls for fivesomes and sixsomes. If that is the case, still select foursome v field.
Advanced Ball Setup:
While using this option, you will select who's ball to count, and whether it's gross or net. Want to play Low Gross + Low Net? How about the Low Gross of the A and B players and Low Net of the C and D players? These are basic, but popular choices in the advanced ball category.
After selecting the Advanced Balls option, the next step is to Add a Rule. If the rules stay the same for all the holes, then only one rule needs to be created for all holes. However, there may be cases where multiple rules need to be created for the advanced ball tournament. In the screenshot below, two rules are created because the rules are not the same for every hole.
After clicking on "Add a Rule", many options are presented to you. To create your advanced ball rules, follow these directions:
Name the Rule.
Select the Holes to be used. For instance, if this rule only includes the odd holes, then select only the odd holes (as shown below).
Can the same ball count twice? Say for instance, you are playing the best gross ball + the best net ball in the foursome. If Steve's score for a hole is the lowest net and the lowest gross score, can you count his ball twice?
Identify Balls By. Define how you will identify the balls to be selected:
Handicap Index: We will look at the Handicap Indexes of each player in the foursome and identify them as an A, B, C, and D player.
Use the dropdown to select how many balls will be used and if it should be the best or worst ball of the selected players. Check the players that will be used for the rule. You will also have to select whether these balls will be Gross Or Net. If you'd like to add another rule, click on the "plus" button. If you look at the screenshot above, the best gross of players A or B, and worst net of players C or D will be used.Player Position on Scorecard: (This option is only shown when using Foursome v. field/flight) When selecting this option, we will look at the position each player is on the scorecard/tee sheet (as shown below).
Above are the pairings for a round. Jamie and Jim are in position 1 in their pairing groups. Rebecca and Kate are in position 2, and so on.
In the screenshot above, we are counting the best 2 gross balls of players 2,3, and 4 in the foursome.By Position on Team: (This option is only shown if you have selected to used teams and you are playing team (foursome) v. field/flight). The position on the team is where each player is positioned on the team, within the team list in Divisions/Flights/Teams. Go to Manage Team List, and edit membership for each team (if necessary). The Players order can be changed if needed.
In the screenshot above, we are counting the worst gross balls of players 1 and 2 in the foursome.
Score: This option allows you to select which balls will count by score.
In the example above, the first row is used to select the gross balls to be counted. The second row is used to select the net balls to be counted. In the screenshot above, the following balls will be counted: Best 2 Gross + Worst Net.
Bonus Balls: In addition to the balls that are already to be counted, if there are any remaining birdies or eagles in the foursome, you can count those as well. This is also known as "overkill".
In the screenshot above, you will see that we are taking the gross score of the A Player and B Player for every hole. However, if the C or D player happens to make a gross birdie or better, that birdie will count. So, if A&B finished the 5th hole at a combined 7 over par, and the C Player made a birdie on the 5th, then their team score moves back to 6 over par.
Example Advanced Ball Rules:
Perhaps the Advanced Ball option can be best explained by some examples. The following are examples that may help you better understand Advanced Balls...
Example #1 - A+B Gross and C+D Net
Let's start with something simple. This tournament will count for all holes. We will take Player A and Player B's combined gross score for each hole. On top of that, we will take Player C and Player D's combined net for each hole.
Example #2 - Best Gross of A&B + Best Net of C&D (Front 9 Holes Only)
You take the best gross score between the A Player and the B Player, and add it to the best net score of the C Player and D Player. As you can see in the screenshot above, we will use this format only on the front 9 holes.
Example #3 - Best 2 of 4 Gross on Odd Holes and Best 2 of 4 Net on Even Holes + Bonus Birdie Balls
This example requires that you create two rules (Two screenshots above).
The first screenshot shows the format for all the odd holes. Take the Best and 2nd Best gross score for those holes. On top of that, if the 3rd or 4th best gross score is a birdie or better, count that as well.
The second screenshot shows the format for the even holes. Take the Best and 2nd Best net score for those holes. On top of that, if the 3rd or 4th best net score is a birdie or better, count that as well.
Once you create these two rules, you should see something similar to the above screenshot in your tournament setup.
Let's look at an example. Look at Holes 1 and 2 of a foursome .
In the first hole, we will be counting the best two gross balls (5 + 5 = 10).
Now let's move to the second hole. In even holes, we are counting the two best net balls (4 + 4 = 8).
After the first two holes, this foursome is even par.