Golf Bag Help

Introduction
Getting Started
Opening a File
Creating a New File
Export CSV
Adding a New Score
Editing a Score
Deleting a Score
Sorting Data
Editing Courses
Index/Handicap Tab
USGA Index and Handicap Formulas
Credits and Support

Introduction

With Golf Bag, you can keep a record of your golf scores and calculate your USGA Index and Course Handicaps.

Features include:
For each record, you may enter the date, course, and your score. For each course, you may enter its name, slope and USGA rating.

Getting Started

The first step to using the program is to either create a new file or load a file that has been created previously. A sample file (golfbag_sample.sdf) is supplied with the program and I would load this first and play around with it to learn how the program works.

On the screen you will see a series of tabs at the bottom of the screen. They read Scores, Courses and Index/Handicap. To move from one to another simply tap on the tab. This will activate the corresponding menu item.

The next step is to add a course or two so tap on the Courses tab. Then select Courses/Add from the menu. Enter the course name, slope and rating. This information can be found on most golf scorecards.

The next step will be to add scores. So tap on the Scores tab and select Scores/Add from the main menu. Enter the date, your score and select a course from the dropdown list. Then tap on OK to enter the score.

After you return to the main screen you will see in the grid your score, date, course and differential. Differentials are used in calculating your index.

Once you have entered some scores, you may tap on the Index tab. This page will show you your USGA Index. If you have added more than one course, you may select it from the dropdown list and your handicap for that course will be displayed. Please note you must have at least five scores to have an official USGA Index. Also displayed will be your average score. Since for USGA handicapping, the maximum number of scores used is 20, your average will reflect your most current 20 scores (or less if you do not have 20 scores).

After getting the hang of things, close the file and create one of your own.

Opening a File

To open a file that you have already created select File/Open. Then tap on the file you would like to load. All files have a sdf extension. A sample file (golfbag_sample.sdf) is included with the program. The name of the opened file is listed in the status bar near the bottom of the screen.

Creating a New File

To create a new file select New from the File Menu. You will then be asked to enter the name of your new file. Tap OK and you will be ready to input data.

Exporting a File as CSV

You may export you data to a CSV file for importing into a spreadsheet program on your desktop. This option will export your entire scores database.

The resulting file will have a header row and then one line for each item. For example:

Date, Course, Score, Differential
07/01/2003,CourseName,100, 17.3
07/07/2003,CourseName,95, 12.3

The file name will be databasename.csv.

Adding a Score

To add a new score, first select the Score tab and then select Add from the Score Menu.

To add a score, first select the month, day and year from the dropdown lists. The default will be today's date. Then select the course from its dropdown list and then enter your score. Then tap on Add. Continue in this fashion until all records are entered. Tap on Cancel to return to the main screen.

Editing a Score

To edit a particular score, first select the Score tab, highlight the entry in the grid and select Edit from the Score Menu. Make your changes and tap OK. To exit without making a change, tap on Cancel.

Deleting a Score

To delete a particular Score, first select the Score tab, highlight the entry in the grid and select Delete from the Data Menu. Tap YES to delete the record, NO to exit without deleting the record.

Sorting Data

The scores are automatically sorted for you by date but if your wish you may sort by score or course by tapping on the column headers.

Editing Courses

First, select the Courses tab from the main screen.

To add a course, tap on Course/Add, type in the name, slope and rating and tap on OK. To cancel this action, tap on Cancel.

To delete a course, highlight it in the grid and then tap on Delete. You will be given a chance to confirm. Please note that deleting a course deletes ALL of your scores that might be associated with the course.

To edit a course, highlight it in the grid and then tap on Course/Edit. Change the name, slope and/or rating and then tap on OK. All corresponding records in the database will also be changed so that you will not lose any data. If your database is large, this process might be a bit slow.

Index/Handicap Tab

Selecting the Index/Handicap Tab will calculate certain values for you and display the results.

The first is your USGA Index. This is used to calculate your handicap on any course that you may play.

To see your handicap for one of the courses you have added, select it from the dropdown list.

The third piece of data is your average score for the latest 20 rounds (or less if you have not played 20 yet).

Information of the official calculation of USGA indexes and handicaps can be found here.

USGA Index and Handicap Formulas

The fist step in calculating an USGA index is to calculate the differential. This is done by using the following formula.

Handicap Differential = (Adjusted Gross Score - USGA Course Rating) x 113 / USGA Slope Rating

This value in then rounded to the nearest tenth.

Then to calculate the USGA Index:

The number of handicap differentials used is as follows:


Finally, to calculate your handicap for a particular course the formula is

Handicap = USGA Index * USGA Slope/113

This value is then rounded to the nearest whole number.

Credits and Support

©Copyright 2003 by Tracker Software.

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