Scheduling Overview
Understand how your day-of-event schedule, start format, Group Pairings, Start List, and tournament-day preparation tools work together.
Event Caddy Scheduling helps you organize both the day-of-event agenda and when and where golfers start. These are related parts of tournament preparation, but they use different settings and tools.
Use your Event Schedule for activities such as check-in, breakfast, tee-off, lunch, contests, and awards. Use Schedule Format and Group Pairings to organize golfers into their actual starting assignments.
Important: Adding a Tee-Off item to your Event Schedule does not set your golfers' start time or assign them to holes. Golfer starting assignments are controlled separately through Schedule Start Time, Schedule Format, and Group Pairings.
How Scheduling Works
Event Caddy Scheduling has two main parts:
| Concept | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Event Schedule | The day-of-event agenda shown to participants, including activity times, titles, locations, and notes. |
| Golfer start planning | How registered golfers are arranged into starting assignments using Schedule Format and Group Pairings. |
A typical golfer scheduling workflow is:
- Confirm your tournament's scheduling settings under My Event > Event Setup & Settings > Event Settings.
- Choose whether the tournament uses Shotgun or Timed Starts.
- Arrange registered golfers under Player Management > Group Pairings.
- Review the automatically generated Start List.
- Prepare any Bag Drop Report or Cart Signage needed for tournament day.
- If you are using Live Scoring, make sure players are assigned in Group Pairings so their Live Scoring information can be generated and distributed.
Understanding the Different Times and Schedules
Several Event Caddy settings refer to a time or schedule, but they serve different purposes.
| Setting or feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Event Time | The general arrival or check-in time for the tournament. This appears as the Event Start Time in Tournament Info on the Tournament Website. |
| Schedule Start Time | The golf starting time. For a Shotgun, this is when all groups start. For Timed Starts, this is the first group's start time. |
| Event Schedule | A manually created agenda of tournament-day activities. Each item can have its own time, title, location, and notes. |
| Schedule Format | Controls how golfer starting assignments are structured in Group Pairings. |
Event Schedule items are independent from Event Time and Schedule Start Time. For example, entering a Tee-Off Schedule item at 8:00 AM does not change the Schedule Start Time to 8:00 AM.
Event Schedule
The Event Schedule helps players, volunteers, and other participants understand what is happening throughout tournament day.
Organizers can add activities such as:
- registration or check-in;
- breakfast;
- tee-off;
- lunch;
- contests;
- auctions;
- awards; or
- other tournament activities.
Schedule items are manually arranged by the organizer. Event Caddy does not automatically reorder the Schedule based on each item's time.
The Event Schedule can be displayed to players on the Tournament Website. Organizers can also access and edit the Event Schedule through Event Caddy Mobile. Website visibility is controlled under Event Website > Website Editor.
For detailed instructions, see Creating and Managing Your Day-of-Event Schedule.
Choosing a Schedule Format
Before organizing golfers in Group Pairings, confirm the tournament's start configuration under My Event > Event Setup & Settings > Event Settings.
The two Schedule Formats are:
| Schedule Format | How golfers start |
|---|---|
| Shotgun | Groups start at the same time from assigned starting holes across the course. |
| Timed Starts | Groups start sequentially from the first start time using one shared interval. |
For Timed Starts, organizers select an interval from 1 to 20 minutes. Event Caddy applies that interval across the available starting slots rather than allowing individual start times to be changed separately.
Settings That Determine Group Pairings Capacity
Several Event Settings determine how many golfers can be accommodated in Group Pairings.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Course Holes | The number of configured course holes. Standard choices are 9, 18, 27, or 36. |
| Groups/Hole | The number of group positions available per configured hole. |
| Golfers Per Group | The maximum number of golfers allowed in each starting assignment. |
| Schedule Start Time | The Shotgun start time or first Timed Start. |
| Schedule Format | Whether starting assignments use Shotgun or Timed Starts. |
For Timed Starts, Course Holes × Groups/Hole determines how many sequential starting slots are available.
Max Players is separate from Group Pairings capacity. Max Players controls when Event Caddy stops accepting additional player registrations. It does not determine how many golfers can fit into Group Pairings. Make sure both your registration capacity and your pairing settings are appropriate for your tournament.
It is best to confirm these settings before organizing your Group Pairings. If you change them afterward, Event Caddy will preserve and recalculate existing assignments where possible, but you should review the Group Pairings afterward to make sure the resulting assignments still work for your tournament.
From Player Registration to Group Pairings
Player Registration creates and maintains the player records that eventually feed Group Pairings.
Golfers who register together generally arrive in Group Pairings together. Event Caddy automatically splits a registered group when necessary to satisfy the tournament's Golfers Per Group setting.
For example, if four golfers register together but Golfers Per Group is set to 2, Event Caddy will bring them into Group Pairings as two groups of two.
From Group Pairings, organizers can then arrange golfers into the starting assignments that make sense for tournament day.
Player Registration owns the player record itself. Use Player Registration tools to correct player names, email addresses, phone numbers, Guest Players, or registration information. Use Group Pairings to organize those players for tournament play.
For player-management instructions, see Player Registration Overview.
Group Pairings
Group Pairings is where you organize registered golfers into their tournament starting assignments.
Depending on your Schedule Format, those assignments represent:
- starting holes for a Shotgun; or
- sequential start times for Timed Starts.
Group Pairings also feeds the tournament-day tools that depend on finalized player organization, including the Start List, Bag Drop Report, Cart Signage, and Live Scoring.
For detailed setup instructions, see Setting up your Group Pairings.
After Your Group Pairings Are Ready
Once golfers are assigned, Event Caddy can use those assignments in several ways.
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Start List | Automatically shows the current starting assignments from Group Pairings. For Shotgun tournaments it identifies starting holes; for Timed Starts it identifies start times. |
| Bag Drop Report | Provides a printable player-by-player list for course staff, bag drop, or check-in. |
| Cart Signage | Generates printable cart signs from Group Pairings and player order. |
| Live Scoring | Uses the starting assignments established through Group Pairings to generate Live Scoring Access Codes when Live Scoring is enabled. |
The Start List is generated automatically from Group Pairings. You do not create a separate Start List manually.
Group Pairings and Live Scoring
Live Scoring is a separate Tournament Day feature, but it uses the starting assignments established through Group Pairings.
When Live Scoring is enabled:
- Live Scoring Access Codes are generated for the starting assignments in Group Pairings.
- Eligible paired players can receive automated Live Scoring access information 3 days before the tournament.
- Organizers can manually send, resend, or regenerate Access Codes from the Start List when needed.
A Live Scoring Access Code belongs to the starting assignment, not permanently to the players occupying it. If Group Pairings change after access information has already been distributed, review the affected Access Code and regenerate or resend it when necessary.
The organizer-facing Group Name used in Group Pairings is not the Live Scoring Team Name.
For complete scoring setup, see Setting Up and Managing Live Scoring.
Live Scoring is separate from the standard Scheduling tools and requires a plan that includes Live Scoring.
What Players Can See
The Event Schedule and golfer starting assignments are displayed differently.
The Event Schedule can be shown to players on the Tournament Website. Organizers can also access and edit it through Event Caddy Mobile.
Group Pairings themselves are not published as a public pairing list on the Tournament Website. For Shotgun tournaments, players can confirm their starting hole after accessing Live Scoring. For Timed Starts, Live Scoring begins on Hole 1 and does not currently display the assigned start time. Organizers can separately distribute the Start List or communicate starting information to players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Event Schedule the same thing as my tee-time or Shotgun schedule?
No. The Event Schedule is the day-of-event agenda.
Your golfers' actual starting assignments are controlled by Schedule Start Time, Schedule Format, and Group Pairings.
Does Max Players determine how many golfers I can place in Group Pairings?
No. Max Players controls registration capacity and prevents additional registrations once the configured maximum is reached.
Group Pairings capacity is determined separately by Course Holes, Groups/Hole, and Golfers Per Group.
Should I configure my scheduling settings before creating Group Pairings?
Yes. Confirm Course Holes, Groups/Hole, Golfers Per Group, Schedule Start Time, and Schedule Format before organizing golfers whenever possible.
If these settings are changed later, Event Caddy will retain and recalculate existing assignments where possible, but you should carefully review your Group Pairings afterward.
Can players see my Group Pairings on the Tournament Website?
No. Group Pairings are an organizer-facing scheduling tool and are not automatically published as a public pairing list.
Players using Live Scoring can see their assigned starting information after logging in. Organizers can also distribute the Start List separately.
Do I need a paid Event Caddy plan to use Scheduling?
The standard Scheduling tools, including Group Pairings, Start List, Bag Drop Report, and Cart Signage, are available with Event Caddy FREE.
Live Scoring is a separate feature and requires a plan that includes Live Scoring.