Golf handicap software
Golf handicap software for clubs, straight from the USGA
Bubs is an official USGA partner. Every Handicap Index®, Course Rating™ and Slope Rating® in your tee sheet, tournaments and Saturday games comes from the USGA — nobody at the club types one in — and players post their scores to the USGA from your club's app.
Official USGA partner
Why should handicaps come from the USGA?
Because a handicap typed into a club system is wrong the day the USGA revises it. When the numbers come from the source, the member-guest, the club championship and the Wednesday league all play off the same figures the players see from the USGA.
Official USGA partner
Handicap Index®, Course Rating™ and Slope Rating® come straight from the USGA — nobody types them in. Bubs keeps the card; the player posts the score to the USGA.
Handicap Index®
Looked up from each player's USGA record, never typed in. When the USGA revises an index, Bubs reads the new one.
Course Rating™ and Slope Rating®
Every tee on the course, with men's and women's ratings, front- and back-nine ratings and yardages — exactly as the USGA publishes them.
Pars and stroke index
Par and stroke allocation for every hole, including the holes where they differ between the men's and women's card on the same tee.
The right card for each player
Players see the tees that are rated for them. Nine-hole and combination tees come through as real tees, not approximations.
The posting season
Season dates come from the USGA, so a round played out of season is still scored but never posted by mistake.
Kept current
When the course is re-rated, the club's card updates from the USGA. Staff never edit ratings by hand, so the scorecard can't drift from the official one.
Course and playing handicaps
The right strokes for every player, tee and format
Each player picks their tees and gets the USGA's own course handicap for that tee, that nine and that day. Men's and women's ratings are separate, so a mixed group on different tees is handled correctly without anyone reaching for a conversion chart.
The committee sets the handicap allowance for the format — 85% for four-ball stroke play, 95% for individual stroke play, or whatever the event calls for — and playing handicaps come out on the USGA's scale. For team formats such as foursomes and scrambles, and for players on tees with different pars, Bubs applies the Rules of Handicapping as a labelled committee procedure on the USGA's numbers.
The figure is fixed onto the scorecard when the round or competition is set up, so a mid-round revision doesn't move anyone's strokes.
- Course handicap per player, per tee, per nine and per day, from the USGA
- Playing handicap at the allowance for the format, on the USGA's scale
- Team formats and mixed tees handled as labelled committee procedures
- Strokes placed by the stroke index on each player's card
Posting
Players post their scores to the USGA
The card is kept as the group plays. When the round is over, the player taps Post and Bubs sends the score to the USGA for them. Nothing is posted until the player asks: finishing or attesting a round never posts it on its own.
A round played outside the posting season is still scored for the event, and simply isn't sent. A member without a Handicap Index® plays gross in club events and can't post, and the club's golf association issues USGA handicaps as it does today. For how clubs run posting well, read USGA handicap posting at private clubs.
- Post hole by hole, and the USGA applies the adjustments
- Or post a total as an adjusted gross score
- Every posting shows as posted, failed with a retry, or recorded
- A member can void their own posting while the USGA allows it
Played versus posted
See which rounds were played and never posted
Staff can compare the rounds played on the tee sheet and at club events with the postings recorded in Bubs.
The report shows the gap and nothing more. It doesn't change scores, send reminders or decide that a member did anything wrong — partial postings are labelled, and what happens next stays with the handicap committee.
If the USGA can't be reached on the morning of an event, Bubs uses the most recent figures it read and labels them, so the shotgun still goes off on time. Staff can enter a figure only when nothing has been read, and it is marked as entered by the club.
One system
Handicaps wherever the club keeps score
The same USGA figures drive the tee sheet, the member app scorecard, every tournament and league, and the side games settled on the 18th green. Learn more about the terms in our glossary: Handicap Index®, course handicap, Course Rating™ and Slope Rating®.
FAQ
Handicap questions
Is Bubs an official USGA partner?
Yes. Bubs is an official USGA partner. Handicap Index®, Course Rating™, Slope Rating®, tees, pars and stroke allocation all come from the USGA, and players post their scores to the USGA from the club's app.
Does Bubs calculate Handicap Index®?
No. The USGA calculates every Handicap Index®. Bubs reads it from the player's USGA record and uses the USGA's own course handicap for the tee the player chose, so the number in a club event always matches the number the player sees from the USGA.
How are playing handicaps worked out for different formats?
Individual playing handicaps come from the USGA at the allowance the committee sets, on the USGA's scale. For team formats such as foursomes and scrambles, and for players on different tees, Bubs applies the Rules of Handicapping as a labelled committee procedure on the USGA's numbers.
Who posts the score?
The player. When a round is finished the player taps Post, and Bubs sends the score to the USGA for them — hole by hole or as an adjusted gross total. Finishing or attesting a round never posts it automatically.
What happens if the USGA can't be reached?
Bubs uses the most recent figure it read and labels it, so the event still runs. Only if nothing has been read can staff enter a figure, and it is marked as entered by the club.
Can the committee see who hasn't posted?
Staff can compare rounds played on the tee sheet and at events with postings recorded in Bubs. The report shows the gaps; it doesn't accuse anyone, change scores or send reminders — that stays with the committee.
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