Only a commish or admin can turn on League Index, from League Settings → League Index. Once it's on, the platform computes each member's handicap from rounds they've actually posted in your league, instead of relying on a number they typed into their profile.
What is League Index?
League Index is a per-league, opt-in alternative to player-entered handicaps. Instead of trusting members to keep their profile number honest and current, the platform calculates it directly from the scores posted in your league. It uses the same math the World Handicap System uses (best rounds averaged, with caps against sandbagging), so it behaves the way golfers already expect a handicap to behave — it just isn't an official USGA Handicap Index®, since it only draws on your league's own rounds.
Turning it on doesn't affect any other league your members belong to, and it never overwrites anyone's profile-level player index — the two numbers live side by side.
How do I turn it on?
Go to League Settings → League Index and switch the mode from Player-entered to Computed. A set of additional options appears once you do:
- Rounds before it takes over — how many of a member's rounds in your league must count before the platform starts using the computed number for them. Until then, they play off their player index (or the default below). 3 is the minimum and a reasonable starting point; you can raise it if you want a longer track record before trusting the computed number.
- Maximum index — a ceiling on the computed value, up to the World Handicap System's maximum of 54.
- Default for new members — an optional number used only for a member who has no player index on file and hasn't yet posted enough rounds to have a computed value. Leave it blank if you'd rather those members just play off whatever they've entered on their profile.
- Only count attested rounds — when on, a round only counts toward a member's index once every player in it has confirmed their card (attested). Off by default — completion alone is enough. Turn this on for a league that treats fairness strictly, since it stops an un-verified card from moving anyone's number.
Save, and any of your league's already-completed rounds are picked up immediately — members don't need to play new rounds before their League Index reflects their history.
Which rounds count toward a member's League Index?
A round counts if all of the following are true:
- It's a completed 18-hole round, and the player wasn't disqualified or withdrawn from it.
- The player has a score recorded on every hole.
- The tee they played has rating and slope on file (a tee missing either is skipped for that round, not treated as scratch).
- If you've turned on "Only count attested rounds," the scorecard has been fully attested.
- The round was posted in this league — a member's rounds in a different league never contribute to this league's League Index.
A round that doesn't qualify is excluded, not scored as zero — members can see exactly why on their own League Index page.
How is the number actually computed?
In plain English: the platform looks at a member's most recent rounds (up to the last 20) and averages the best 8 of them, adjusted slightly for the strength of the tees played. With fewer than 20 rounds on record, it uses a smaller sample — for example, with exactly 3 counted rounds, it's just the single best one, adjusted down by 2 strokes.
Two safeguards keep the number honest:
- Caps. Once a member has a full 20-round record, their number can't climb more than 5 strokes above the best value they've had in the last year — and any climb beyond 3 strokes above that best value is cut in half. There's no cap on a member's number dropping.
- Exceptional score reduction. If a member shoots a round dramatically better than their current number (about a full stroke category better or more), a portion of that improvement is credited against their other recent rounds too — the same anti-sandbagging mechanism a paper handicap committee would apply by hand.
Every member can see their own full record — which rounds counted, which didn't and why, and which ones are driving their current number — on their League Index page, linked from their entry on the league's member page.
Can I override a member's number?
Yes. From a member's page, a commish or admin can set a manual override on their League Index, with a required note explaining why. While the override is set, it's the number used everywhere that member's handicap matters (RSVP, scoring, games) — the computed value keeps updating underneath so you can see it and clear the override once you're satisfied. This is separate from, and works alongside, the existing per-event handicap adjustment available on the event roster and the tee-day group console, which always wins for that one event regardless of league mode.
Is this an official USGA handicap?
No. League Index is computed using World Handicap System–style math over your league's own scores, but it is not an official USGA Handicap Index® — it has no connection to GHIN and doesn't draw on any national database. Every place it's shown carries that disclaimer.