This will be a long post. Please be patient and read to the end!
Firstly, thanks to all the ladies who went out gamely yesterday to try out the new technology.
Congratulations to Sheila Biggart and Rosemary Ogilvie who had the best scores with 36 points each.
We all learned a lot but there is a long way to go before we can say things are running smoothly. For that reason I propose to run exactly the same thing again next Wednesday 22 July - a non-counting, green tee, stableford competition, for more practice. If you want to try sooner, there is the same type of competition already set up to enter this Saturday 18th.
NOTE: Anyone who wishes a qualifying score for their handicap can get this on the 22nd by playing in the competition. Notify me IN ADVANCE by email that you wish your score to qualify and we can treat it additionally as a qualifying supplementary score.
WHAT WE LEARNED YESTERDAY
1) When you input the score at any hole, make sure you click TWICE to input and confirm it. Check at the top that the App has moved on to the next hole. Review the card say every 4 holes (buttons at the top for Front 9 and Back 9) to check for and fix any pink highlighted discrepancies.
2) Groups who played in a 2 had a much better success rate with the scoring than groups that played in 3s. Maybe something to consider when booking future tee times.
3) "Mixed" groups that had some using their phones and some using cards were a lot harder to sort out than ones that were "all phones" or "all cards". Again something to bear in mind when booking your group. You need to be clear whose card you are marking and who is marking yours, just as in the past.
4) The backup cards were generally a mess, which was ok yesterday but won't be ok going forward - please see below.
5) There are still some people who want to use the App and have capable phones that have problems Signing-in to the App, or Entering/Checking-in for a Competition, or with changing email addresses, or with their CDH numbers. If any of these, or any other problem, still applies to you -please EMAIL ME setting out all the details/symptoms of the problem. I will coordinate all the issues and these will be passed to David Stewart who will get his Scottish Golf contact to deal with them all together. We have been asked NOT to contact Scottish Golf directly individually as this is a less efficient way for them to deal with problems.
FOR THE FUTURE
The R&A have given a dispensation for the signing of Handicap Qualifying scores because of COVID 19. This dispensation allows you to sign your own card and initial/tick/etc on your card for your marker. This is the only dispensation. The new technology does not mean that scores do not have to be verified by a marker and signed.
If you and your marker finish your round and are able to agree 18 holes of scores on the App the green Finalise Now button will appear and when that is clicked there is the opportunity to sign your own card on your phone and tick/initial for your marker.
If you finish your round and are unable to sign your phone to verify both people agree the score - for example because one person doesn't use a phone, someone has a technical problem, someone has used "Score for All" or for whatever other reason you have clicked the other "Finalise in V1" button, that means YOUR SCORE HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED AND VERIFIED.
In future therefore, if you have not been able to get to the point that you sign your phone, you MUST properly fill in a card (dated, signed etc, etc just as you would have put in the box last year). The only difference is that YOU can initial/write verified etc in the markers box once you confirm the score with your marker. And then, at the moment, you need to send a picture of it to me or whoever is running that particular competition, rather than put it in a box.
This does mean that for all practical purposes, for the next trial, it would probably be worth keeping a card on the way round, after checking in on your phone when you reach the carpark. You can then either attempt to also score on the phone as you go or try to complete it on the phone for all holes when you come off the 18th hole. (You don't HAVE to do this, it has just been suggested by a few players). But, to repeat, if you want your score to count it MUST BE SIGNED either on phone or card.
I will stop now as that is probably enough to digest all at the one time!
Summary
1)Try again next Wednesday. Book tee time now and enter on the App once competition set up (after this Saturday's competition is finished)
2)Email me if you still have any technical problems
3)Make sure in future you sign for your score.
