Golf club operations glossary
Definitions for the terminology used across golf club management, in our platform, and in conversations with vendors and consultants.
Tee sheet & operations
Tee sheet
The schedule of tee times for a course, organised by date and time. The operational heart of any golf course, used by staff to manage bookings, walk-ups, and tournaments.
Shotgun start
A tournament format where all groups start simultaneously from different holes. Common for member-guest events and corporate outings. Allows the entire field to finish around the same time.
Crossover
A tee sheet format with two starts, typically from the 1st and 10th holes alternately. Doubles the start rate and lets the course host two flights in parallel.
Frost delay
A delayed start to play caused by frost on the greens. Walking on frozen turf damages it. Frost delays push the entire tee sheet forward by a chosen interval. In Links Meridian this is a single-click workflow.
Lottery draw
A system for allocating peak tee times among members who have entered a request window. Members enter, the platform runs an automated draw, winners are notified. Used to make Saturday morning slots fair.
Waitlist with auto-fill
A queue of members hoping for a tee time when one opens. When a cancellation occurs, the platform offers the slot to the next eligible member automatically and notifies them by email or SMS.
Starter sheet
The printed or digital version of the tee sheet used by the course starter. Lists groups, times, and players in order so the starter can manage the first tee.
Rain check
A credit issued when a round is interrupted or cancelled due to weather. Redeemable against a future booking. Links Meridian issues and tracks rain checks automatically.
Looking for Game
A member-facing matchmaking workflow that lets golfers post they are looking for playing partners and get matched with others looking for a fourth.
Handicap & scoring
WHS (World Handicap System)
The unified global handicap system, in effect since 2020. Replaced the regional systems (USGA, EGA, CONGU). Links Meridian computes a WHS handicap index from posted scores and syncs two-way with the national handicap bodies so qualifying scores post through to the official record.
Handicap index
A WHS-calculated number representing a golfer's potential ability, based on their best recent rounds. Used to calculate a course handicap and net score.
Try the free Course Handicap calculator →Course rating
The expected score for a scratch golfer on a given course from a given set of tees. Used in handicap calculations.
Try the free Course Handicap calculator →Slope rating
A measure of a course's difficulty for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch golfer. Higher slope means the course is harder for higher-handicap players. Used in handicap calculations.
Try the free Course Handicap calculator →Stableford
A scoring format that awards points for performance relative to a fixed score per hole (often par). Higher score wins. Forgiving for casual play and common in member competitions.
Try the free Stableford points calculator →Honours Board
A historical record of past captains, presidents, championship winners, and other club distinctions. Often displayed in the clubhouse. Links Meridian's Digital Clubhouse includes a digital Honours Board.
Course Records
The lowest scores ever recorded on a course, plus other notable feats: aces, eagles, albatrosses, lowest age-shot, and so on. Links Meridian tracks these automatically and displays them on member profiles.
Membership & billing
Charge to account
A POS payment method where the charge posts to a member's house account instead of being settled by card or cash. Common at private clubs for F&B and pro shop purchases.
Family account
A household membership where multiple individuals (spouses, children) share a single billing relationship while keeping individual booking records. Common at private clubs and country clubs.
Reciprocal play
An arrangement between clubs where members of one club can play at another with reduced or no green fees. Common between sister clubs and within national associations.
Initiation fee
A one-time fee paid to join a private club, separate from monthly or annual dues. Often a significant amount and frequently amortised across the first years of membership.
POS & F&B
Kitchen Display System (KDS)
A digital screen in the kitchen that shows incoming F&B orders in real time. Replaces paper tickets. Routes orders to the right station and tracks completion.
Tab management
The workflow of opening, adding to, and closing a member or guest's running bill at the bar or restaurant. Includes split tenders, partial payments, and member lookup.
Floor plan editor
A visual tool for laying out tables in a dining room. Servers see real-time table status (available, occupied, reserved, dirty), assign orders, and track service.
Pricing & marketing
Dynamic pricing
Pricing that adjusts automatically based on real-time conditions: time of day, day of week, weather, occupancy, member tier. Used to optimise revenue without manual intervention.
Twilight rate
A discounted green fee for late-afternoon or early-evening play. Encourages off-peak utilisation and exposes the course to a different segment of golfers.
Tee-time trade
A pricing model where a course exchanges tee-time inventory for software access (notably GolfNow's barter model). Typically far more expensive than transparent subscription pricing once the math is run.
Tournament
Pairings
The grouping and tee-time assignment of players in a tournament. Can be auto-generated by handicap, by member request, by team, or built manually.
Skins
A tournament format where each hole has a value and the lowest score on that hole wins it. Ties carry the value forward to the next hole. Common in informal events.
Best ball
A tournament format where each player plays their own ball and the team uses the best score on each hole. Different from a scramble. Often called four-ball when played in pairs.
Scramble
A team format where each player tees off, the team picks the best shot, all players hit from there, and the process repeats. Forgiving and popular in fundraisers and corporate outings.
Compliance
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation. The EU and UK data protection law that governs how clubs collect, store, and use member data. Includes rights to access, deletion, and portability.
PCI compliance
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Required for any business processing card payments. Links Meridian uses Stripe (PCI Level 1 certified), so no card data is stored on the platform itself.