Everything about Golf Sync's scoring features — from snapping a paper card to sharing the result.
Scorecards & Scoring
Snap a Paper Scorecard
Open any round and click "Open Scorecard" to reach the scorecard editor. Click the orange "Scan card" button at the top to upload a photo of the paper card. The OCR reads pars, per-tee yardages, and your strokes — usually in 5–15 seconds. Front and back of the card? Upload both together (up to 2 images) and we merge them by hole.
Try It Without an Account
Visit /try-scorecard from the landing page or your phone's browser to scan a card without signing up. The result renders the parsed scorecard right on the page — totals, per-hole breakdown, vs-par delta — with a "Create an account to save" prompt at the bottom. Use this to show friends what the scanner does before they commit.
Pick Your Row on Group Cards
If the card has multiple players' columns, the OCR returns a list of player rows after the scan. Tap the row that matches your name (or position in the column) and we'll fill in your strokes only. Single-player cards skip the picker — your strokes hydrate immediately.
Standard vs Advanced Mode
The View toggle at the top of the scorecard switches between two presets. Standard shows hole + par + score only — clean and quick, good for casual rounds. Advanced unlocks the full stat trio (GIR + Putts + Fairways), penalty-strokes per hole, score-vs-par badges (red circle for under-par, navy square for over), and OCR confidence rings on cells the scanner wasn't sure about. Mode persists across sessions.
Edit a Hole Manually
Tap any par or score cell to edit. Invalid values (e.g. "10" on a par 3) flash a red border so you know the entry is out of range. Score cells in Advanced mode are wrapped with a colored shape — red circle = birdie/eagle, navy square = bogey/double — for at-a-glance par delta.
Track GIR, Putts, Fairways, and Penalties
In Advanced mode, each hole gets a secondary row with a GIR checkbox (green-in-regulation), Putts (0–9), Fairway Hit checkbox (par 4/5 only — par 3s show "no FIR"), and Penalty Strokes (water/OB/lost ball). Totals appear in the sticky bar at the bottom: FIR shows X/Y attempted, Pen shows the running count in red when > 0.
Net Scoring (USGA Course Handicap)
Below the grid, expand "Net scoring (optional)" to enter the course rating, slope, and your handicap index. Once all three are present, your net score appears alongside gross — calculated per the USGA Course Handicap formula (index × slope ÷ 113, rounded). Tee box you played from is captured separately from yardages so the data sticks even if you switch tees later.
Quick Enter Mode
Mid-round, tap "⌘ Quick enter" near the top of the scorecard to launch a full-screen one-hole-at-a-time entry view. Score the current hole, swipe forward, repeat. Designed for thumb-only entry while walking between holes.
Live Leaderboard During the Round
Open any round and click "Live Leaderboard" to see how your group is doing. Refreshes every ~6 seconds (we pause polling when your tab is hidden so we don't drain phone battery). Your row is highlighted; ties get a T-prefix; players who haven't started show as "Not started" and dim out.
Share Your Round
From the round detail page, click "Share Scorecard" to generate a public short-link. Anyone with the link sees a read-only score reveal — course, date, gross, vs-par, front 9 / back 9 strip — without needing an account. Designed to look good in a group chat screenshot. The same link is reusable; you don't generate a new one each share.
View Your Scoring History
Click "My Scorecards" from your account menu (or directly /my-scorecards) for a chronological list of every round you've saved. Each row shows course, date, tee played, gross, and vs-par. Tap into any row to re-open the full scorecard editor — useful for adding a stat you forgot to track on the day.
Group Scoring Modes
When the booker creates a round, they pick a scoring mode: Individual (everyone tracks their own score), Scramble (one shared team score, best ball lie), Best Ball (each player's individual score; team takes the best per hole), or Alternate Shot (one shared team score, players alternate strokes). Team rounds use a single shared scorecard for the team. Per-hole stat tracking (GIR/Putts/etc) stays Individual-only — those are personal stats.