Frequently Asked Questions

Sign up in the app or on the web at caddie.fun:

1. Tap "Sign Up" and enter your email address
2. Create a password and add your name
3. Set your handicap (optional but recommended)
4. Add a profile photo or use the golf avatar system

On iPhone and supported browsers you can also sign in with Face ID or a passkey for faster, passwordless login on return visits.

Yes. caddie.fun is free to use with no credit card required and no subscription - scoring, groups, seasons, AI coaching, and 20+ game formats are included. Stakes during early access use cfUSD play money with no cash value (not a casino or sportsbook). Included features cover:

• Unlimited round tracking and live scoring
• All supported game formats (skins, Nassau, match play, and more)
• Groups, crews, seasons, tournaments, and trips
• Course discovery, GPS rangefinder, practice, and Golf Passport
• Spectator watch links and AI coaching

Stakes during early access use cfUSD play money with no cash value. Optional peer-to-peer Venmo settlements happen off-platform. All features above are included at no extra cost.

Two paths, depending on whether you're logging a round you've already played or tracking one live:

Use Quick Score for casual rounds. Use Full Round for live scoring with friends, stakes, or competitions.

Yes. You can log a full solo round without creating an account:

1. Tap "Log a Round" from the home screen or any feature page
2. Pick the course and enter your score
3. Finish the round - we store it for 30 days
4. Leave your email to receive a one-time claim link. Open it on any device to attach the round, XP, and achievements to your account

For live scoring with friends, stakes, or competitions, create a Full Round instead.

Friend, group, and global activity feeds now sort strictly by time, newest first, across rounds, moments, achievements, and settlements.

• The home Clubhouse preview dedupes duplicate rows from the same round or moment
• Loading more on the activity page uses cursor pagination, so page two does not repeat page one
• Group Pulse and competition feeds follow the same chronological rules

These are pre-round reads from the intelligence layer on your home screen, round lobby, and AI Caddie:

• Fair Expectation: a realistic score range for today's course before you tee off
• Blow-Up Radar: your three highest-risk holes at this course and their typical stroke cost
• Caddie IQ: a 0-100 read on how well we know your game - honest on early rounds, sharper as you log more

After the round, Scorecard Debrief breaks down what went well and your biggest leak versus what we expected.

Our handicap system follows USGA guidelines:

• Enter your current handicap index when you sign up
• Update it regularly as you play more rounds
• We calculate your course handicap based on course rating and slope
• Net scores are automatically calculated for fair competition
• Handicaps are used in tournaments and friendly matches

Don't have a handicap? No problem! You can still track rounds and compete in gross score events.

caddie.fun treats your golf group as the primary unit, not individual players:

• Groups: Create spaces for your regular foursome, work league, or club
• Seasons: Run multi-week competitions with automatic standings
• Live Spectating: Watch friends play in real-time with toast notifications for birdies and eagles
• Activity Feed: See rounds, achievements, and highlights with comment threads on posts
• Markets: Friend-only prediction layer with pari-mutuel pots, handicap-aware slates, and OVER/UNDER lines on your buddies' rounds. No house, no vig.
• Share Card: When a round ends, share a results card to social media with your score summary
• Rivalries: Track head-to-head records with specific players

Markets is a friend-only prediction layer on every round, tournament, season, and trip. It is not a sportsbook - there's no house, no vig, and no algorithm.

• The Slate: Each round opens with a slate locked at first tee. Each leg is a yes/no question on one hole for one player, calibrated to that player's handicap (birdie or better for low handicaps, par or better for mid, bogey or better for high).
• OVER/UNDER: Every round also opens with one OVER/UNDER line per participant - course par plus their handicap, rounded to the nearest half-stroke so it never pushes.
• Pari-mutuel pot: Everyone's stake goes into one pot. People who called it correctly split that pot. Streak bonuses (3 in a row = 25 XP, 5 = 75, 10 = 250, 20 = 1,000) layer on top.
• XP, not real money: The currency is XP. Markets is the social calibration layer - hit-rate streaks, tier badges, and bragging rights. Money games run separately via round stakes.

Open Markets from the home screen or the round lobby. Slates auto-void and refund if fewer than 3 entries are placed before lock.

The AI Caddie is now a write-capable assistant. It reads context (round, course, your history, group rivalries) and can take action on your behalf with your confirmation.

Things the Caddie can do:

• Create a round (any of 22 formats, with entry fee + invites)
• Plan a trip - schedule rounds, assign teams, set pairings, invite members
• Create a group and generate invite links
• Propose, accept, decline, and settle presses during live play
• Record scores for you and your group
• Save a round's setup as a reusable template
• Recall and write group memory (rivalries, preferences, drama)

Every write action is permission-gated. The Caddie can't modify a round you're not part of or a group you don't admin. The model proposes; you confirm.

When you tap "Plan an Event" from your group, you choose between three first-class event types:

• Buddy Trip: Multi-day getaway with travel and lodging. Built-in expense splits, rotating foursomes so everyone plays with everyone, and a 3-act trip recap with superlatives. Templates: Day, Weekend, Long Weekend, 4-Day, Ryder Cup, Custom.
• Tournament: A scheduled event - usually one day or a weekend. Brackets, leaderboards, tiebreakers, and entry fees. Templates: Stroke, Match Play, Ryder Cup, Custom.
• Season / League: Multi-week or multi-month competition with standings, playoffs, and best-of scoring. Templates: Weekly League, Match Play Championship, Custom.

All three run on the same chassis underneath, but each one tunes the UI for what that event actually needs. You can also ask the AI Caddie to plan any of them and it'll draft the setup for you.

The Golf Passport tracks every course you play across all 50 US states. As you play rounds, your passport fills in automatically.

• Friends tab: Compare passports with any friend. See courses in common, courses only they played, and courses only you played. Watch courses from their passport with one tap.
• Bucket List: Courses your friends play that you have not tried, split by Near You and Worth the Trip.
• Watch a Course: Tap Watch on any course. When a friend posts a beacon there, you get a push notification.
• Earn milestone badges at 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 states
• Add verified stamps as permanent proof of your rounds
• Share your passport card with friends

Find your passport under your profile or at /passport.

The Discover page shows compatible playing partners based on three preferences:

• Handicap range: Players at a similar skill level
• Pace: Fast, average, or relaxed
• Vibe: Competitive, social, or quiet

Set your own preferences in Settings under Golf Preferences. Each player gets a compatibility score. Tap "Request to Play," add an optional message, and if they accept you can start a round together. You will also see suggested partners when creating a new round.

Course Activity Alerts notify you when friends are looking for players at courses you care about:

1. Tap Watch on any course - from the course detail page, your passport, a friend comparison, or the Bucket List
2. When a friend posts a beacon at that course, you get a push notification right away
3. Tap the notification to see who is looking and join the group

You can unwatch a course at any time by tapping the Watch button again. Manage all your watched courses from the Course Alerts page.

Personalize your avatar in several ways:

• Profile Photo: Upload your own photo (takes priority)
• Golf Elements: Choose from 8 golf-themed emojis
• Color Palettes: Select from 5 golf-themed color schemes
• Custom Labels: Add your own personal label

Go to Profile - Settings - Avatar Customization to personalize your avatar!

A Ryder Cup is the two-team structure of a competition - it is no longer a separate “Team Battle” product. You create one by picking the Ryder Cup template inside your group's tournament or trip wizard:

• Tournament or trip: Ryder Cup works as the structure of either - pick the kind that fits, then the Ryder Cup template
• Captain Draft: Two captains pick teams from the group roster
• Multi-Round Schedule: Foursomes, four-ball, and singles across up to 6 rounds
• Team Chat: Private channels for strategy and trash talk
• Points System: 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a halve
• Templates: Classic Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and custom formats

Head to Compete and create a tournament or trip in your group to get started.

The GPS Rangefinder is built into the live scoring view:

• Real-time distance to pin, front/center/back of green
• Hazard distances: water, bunkers, OB, waste areas
• Shot measurement: tap start and end to measure distance hit
• Satellite map view with green, hazard, and fairway overlays
• No separate app needed - works inside the scorecard

Completely free with no subscription. Learn more on the Rangefinder feature page.

Golf trips include built-in expense management:

• Expense Splitting: Add shared costs by category (greens fees, lodging, food, transport, entertainment)
• Net Balances: See who owes whom and settle up between friends.
• Companions (non-golfers): Add a spouse or friend who is coming along. They share lodging and expense splits but are not scored on the leaderboard.
• Rotating Foursomes: Automatic pairings so everyone plays with different partners across rounds
• Trip Recaps: Winner podium, superlative awards, trip stats, and AI-generated narrative

The Hall of Fame tracks group records automatically:

• Lowest gross and net round
• Most birdies in a single round
• Most rounds played
• Eagle club membership
• Most skins and most money won
• Longest winning streaks

Records update after every round. The Hall of Fame unlocks after your group plays 5 rounds together.

Yes. Your Golf Passport now has a public profile page:

• Shareable link you can send to anyone
• Shows courses played across states with state stamps
• Milestone badges for states and courses visited
• Course log with last played date, best score, and round count
• Auto-generated OG image for rich previews on social media and messaging apps

Setting up stakes takes seconds:

1. Tap a quick-select button (2/5/10 cfUSD) or enter a custom amount
2. Choose a settlement rail: cfUSD play money (default) or optional Venmo between friends off-platform
3. Review the Payout Preview card to see exactly how the pot distributes for your format

Default stakes use cfUSD - play money with no cash value. Optional Venmo settlement moves real money directly between players in Venmo; caddie.fun never holds or transfers those funds. Stakes are private agreements among friends, not bets against the app or a bookmaker.

Yes. Caps are enforced on all stakes:

• 10 cfUSD maximum entry fee per round
• 5 cfUSD maximum per individual side stake
• 5 cfUSD maximum total side-stake exposure per round

cfUSD is test-only play money with no cash value; the caps keep games friendly and fun.

caddie.fun works on:

• iPhone: iPhone 8 and newer, iOS 16+
• iPad
• Apple Watch: Live distances and score sync
• Web: Modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)

You can use caddie.fun on whichever you prefer - your account and data sync across all of them.

The iPhone and iPad apps support limited offline use:

• Track rounds without internet connection
• View previously downloaded course information
• Access your profile and statistics
• Data syncs when you reconnect

The web app requires an internet connection. Some features like live leaderboards and social features also require internet on mobile.

We take privacy and security seriously:

• Data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• We do not sell your Personal Information or share it with data brokers
• Limited service providers (auth, AI, analytics, maps, ad conversion measurement for our campaigns) process data only to run the Service
• You control what information is visible to other users
• You can export or delete your account and data at any time

Read our full Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy for complete details.

If the app crashes, try these steps:

1. Close the app completely and restart it
2. Check for app updates in the App Store
3. Restart your device
4. Delete and reinstall the app

If issues continue, contact support with details about your device and the problem.

Good pace of play is essential for everyone's enjoyment:

• Keep up with the group ahead of you
• Limit practice swings to 1-2 per shot
• Plan your shot while others are hitting
• Park carts and bags away from greens
• Mark your ball on the green
• Be ready to hit when it's your turn

A typical 18-hole round should take 4-4.5 hours.

Follow these etiquette guidelines:

• Respect: Stay quiet during others' shots
• Care: Repair ball marks and divots
• Safety: Yell "Fore!" if your ball might hit someone
• Dress: Follow the course's dress code
• Equipment: Turn off phone ringers
• Course: Follow cart path rules and course policies

caddie.fun uses the index you provide to make every round fair:

• You enter your handicap index (range: 54 down to plus figures)
• We convert it to a course handicap for the tees you play, using that course's rating and slope
• Strokes are allocated hole by hole (by stroke index) to calculate net scores for fair competition
• Used across stakes, side games, and group competitions

caddie.fun does not issue an official WHS handicap index. Bring your index from your home club or governing body and update it there; we handle the course-handicap math for each round.