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Pick A Pro Tournament Format

A Pick-A-Pro event is a popular format often used around major golf tournaments, where each member is paired with a professional golfer and their combined results determine the final standings. This article walks through the recommended setup method using two separate rounds — one for members and one for professionals — combined through a linked multi-round tournament to produce accurate overall results.

There are several ways to set up a Pick-A-Pro event and many possible variations, including single-day and multi-day formats. In this article, we will walk through a clean one-day setup. If your event spans multiple days, the same structure applies — simply add an additional Members Only and Pros Only round for each additional day and include them in the linked multi-round tournament.

Create the Event and Add Rounds

To begin, follow these directions:

  1. From the Customer Center, click Create an Event/League/Trip.
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  2. Complete the details and click "Get Started."

  3. Navigate to Calendar > Add Rounds.

  4. Add two rounds on the same date.

  5. Click "Save" after adding the Rounds.

  6. Rename the rounds as follows:

    1. Round 1: Members Only

    2. Round 2: Pros Only

The Members Only round is used for the members playing at your facility. The Pros Only round is used for the professional golfers selected by the members and provides a place to enter their scores and connect them to the overall results.

Alternative Approach:
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If you would like to simplify the setup further, you can add all members and professionals to the same round. With this approach, a linked multi-round tournament is not required, and only a single-round tournament is needed. Unless the event is multi-day, you can create a multi-round tournament without needing a single-round tournament.

Add Members and Professionals to the Roster

Next, add all participants to the event roster. To add members and professionals, follow these directions:

  1. Add members to the roster using any of the following methods:

    1. Event Registration (Premium Customers Only)

    2. Golf Hub Registration

    3. Importing from the Master Roster

    4. Adding manually

  2. Add professionals to the roster manually or via spreadsheet upload.

Notes:

  • When using Event Registration, consider adding a Custom Field question asking members which professional they are selecting as their teammate.

  • When adding professionals, leave the Handicap Index field blank.

  • If setting up for a major tournament with a large professional field, a spreadsheet upload is the faster option.

Create a Team List and Teams

After all participants have been added, create a Team List to connect each member with their selected professional. To create a Team List, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to Golfers > Event Divisions / Flights / Teams > All Golfers > Manage Team Lists.

  2. Enter a name for the Team List (e.g., Pick A Pro Teams).

  3. Set the Team Size to 2.

  4. Select Create Teams Manually.

  5. Click Save.

  6. Create a team for each member by pairing them with the professional they selected (as shown below).

When adding a professional who appears on more than one team, use the Golfers Already on Teams tab to select that professional for each additional team.

Notes:

  • Each member should only appear on one team.

  • A professional may appear on more than one team if multiple members selected the same professional. This is expected.

  • The member should be listed first on the team, followed by the professional.

  • Take care when creating teams — the team list is what connects each member's score to the correct professional score in the final results.

Before continuing, confirm the following:

  • Each team includes one member and one professional.

  • Each member appears on only one team.

  • The correct professional is paired with the correct member.

Create Divisions and Add Players

Next, create two divisions to separate members and professionals. To create the divisions, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to Golfers > Event Divisions / Flights / Teams.

  2. Click Add New Divisions and create the following two divisions:

    1. Members Only

    2. Professional Only

  3. Add all members to the Members Only division.

  4. Add all professionals to the Professional Only division (as shown below).

Note: Create these divisions manually so only the correct players are added to each division. A team list does not need to be created in either division.

Set the Playing Division and Create Pairings

Each round must be assigned the correct playing division before pairings are created.

Members Only Round

To set up the Members Only round, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to Rounds tab and select the Members Only round.

  2. Click Choose Playing Divisions and select division Members Only.

  3. Create pairings for the member round to reflect how members will play at your facility.

Pros Only Round

To set up the Pros Only round, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to the Rounds tab and select the Pros Only round.

  2. Click Choose Playing Divisions and select Professional Only.

  3. Create pairings for the professional round, ensuring that every professional added to a team is included (as shown below).

Notes:

  • Professional pairings do not need to match the actual tournament pairings. The purpose of this round is simply to provide a place to enter each professional's score.

  • The course and tee assigned to the professionals do not need to match where they are actually playing. Use any course and tee that allows the round to be scored correctly.

Create the Round Tournaments

Each round needs a tournament that will later be linked to produce the overall Pick-A-Pro results.

Members Only Tournament

To create the Members Only tournament, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to the Members Only round > Rounds > Tournaments > Add New Tournament.

  2. Configure the tournament using the following settings:

    1. Name: Members Only

    2. Divisions: All Golfers

    3. Teams or Groups: Select the Pick-A-Pro team list (e.g., Pick A Pro Teams)

    4. Select the option: The tee sheet may or may not be physically organized by team, but the results should be scored by team.

    5. Team Scores Include: All Team Scores

    6. Format: Stroke

    7. Competition: Team (all) v. Field

    8. Balls: Best Ball on each hole

    9. Holes: 18 Holes

    10. Handicap: Net or Gross, depending on the format for the members

  3. Click Save (as shown below).

Notes:

  • Team (all) v. Field is an important setting because the overall results depend on scoring the member and the professional as a team.

  • If flights are being used, select Team (all) v. Flight instead of Team (all) v. Field.

Pros Only Tournament

To create the Pros Only tournament, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to the Pros Only round > Rounds > Tournaments > Add New Tournament.

  2. Configure the tournament using the following settings:

    1. Name: Pros Only

    2. Divisions: All Golfers

    3. Teams or Groups: Select the same Pick-A-Pro team list used in the Members Only round.

    4. Select the option: The tee sheet may or may not be physically organized by team, but the results should be scored by team.

    5. Team Scores Include: All Team Scores

    6. Format: Stroke

    7. Competition: Team (all) v. Field

    8. Balls: Best Ball on each hole

    9. Holes: 18 Holes

    10. Handicap: Gross

  3. Click Save (as shown below).

Notes:

  • The Pros Only tournament must be set to Gross since professionals do not have handicaps.

  • Both round tournaments must use the same Pick-A-Pro team list so member and professional scores connect correctly in the final results.

  • If flights are being used, select Team (all) v. Flight instead of Team (all) v. Field.

Create the Linked Multi-Round Tournament

After the round tournaments have been created, create a Linked Multi-Round Tournament to combine the member and professional scores into the overall Pick-A-Pro results. To create the linked tournament, follow these directions:

  1. Navigate to Event > Multi-Round Tournaments.

  2. Click Add Linked Tournament.

  3. Name the tournament Overall Results.

  4. Select the following round tournaments to link:

    1. Members Only (Members Only round)

    2. Pros Only (Pros Only round)

  5. Click Save (as shown below).

Enter Scores

Members Only Round

Enter scores for the Members Only round hole-by-hole, either manually or through Live Scoring if that is part of your event setup. After scores are entered, review the Members Only tournament leaderboard to confirm the results look correct.

Pros Only Round

Enter each professional's hole-by-hole score once they are available from the professional tournament. After scores are entered, review the Pros Only tournament leaderboard to confirm the results look correct (as shown below).

Displaying Results on the Portal (Optional)

To display the overall Pick-A-Pro results on the event portal, add a Customized Tournament Results page and select only the Overall Results tournament. This keeps the portal clean and ensures players see only the final combined leaderboard. For details on setting up portal pages, Click Here.

Related Articles
Score/Result Entry Methods for Bracket and Match Play Tournament Formats
Team Bracket Tournament Setup Options
Popular Tournament Formats
Match Play (Tournament Format)
Creating Multi-Round Tournaments
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