Commissioner Guides

How to Run a Winter Golf Simulator League

2 min read · by theStick

When the course closes for the winter, a simulator league keeps the group together and the swings in shape. A weekly sim night is easier to organize than a round outdoors: no tee times, no weather and a fixed two-hour slot. Here is how to set one up so it feels like a real league.

Pick the Format

Most sim leagues play one of two ways:

Individual, net: everyone plays their own round and the best net score wins the week. Simple, and anyone can miss a week.

Two-person teams: best ball or a scramble. Faster, and good for a group with mixed experience on a simulator.

Nine holes a night fits most bays and schedules. Eighteen works for a smaller group with a longer booking.

Rotate the Courses

Half the fun of a simulator is playing courses you'll never see in person. Set a rotation for the season, for example one famous course a month, and post it in advance so everyone knows what is coming.

In theStick, a Simulator group is one recurring group with its own weekly game, season standings and a preset course rotation. Players mark whether they're in each week, so you know who is coming before you book the bay.

Agree the Simulator Settings

Every simulator has settings that change scores more than anything else. Decide these once, for the whole season:

Putting: putt everything, auto-putt, or a gimme distance.

Mulligans: usually none.

Green speed, wind and pin positions: pick a setting and keep it.

Tees: the same tee box for everyone, or by handicap.

Handicaps on a Simulator

Scores on a simulator don't play like scores on a course. Many sim leagues still use each player's Handicap Index at a percentage, others play gross. Pick one rule before the first week and keep it all season.

theStick marks a simulator round as a simulator round, so a winter of sim golf stays separate from your rounds on a real course.

Side Games

The side games from the course work just as well in a bay:

Skins for the week, with carryovers.

Closest to the pin on the par 3s. The simulator measures it for you.

A season pot for the most weekly wins.

Keep Season Standings

A league needs a table. Award points each week, for example by finishing position, and keep a running total across the season. A short playoff in the last week gives the season an ending.

theStick keeps the weekly results and the season standings in one place, and players settle any money directly with each other.

Game rules mentioned in this guide

Low Net Stableford Skins Nassau

More guides

Leagues, Tournaments, Simple Events and Groups: Which One Do You Need?The Organizer Playbook: Running Your League or Tournament in theStick Tournament Formats: Stroke Play, Bracket, Ryder Cup and Round Robin How to Run a Golf League: The Complete Commissioner's Guide

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