FAQ

Questions from chairs, members and the club's lawyer.

For clubs and tournament chairs

How long does setup take?: An afternoon for a first tournament, under an hour after that. Create the club, set credit value, takeout and house rules, link Golf Genius, import the field, generate pools from a template, send invites.
Do we need Golf Genius?: No, but it's the easiest path: results pull straight from your event. Without it, upload a CSV leaderboard or enter the finishing order by hand. All three go through the same review-and-confirm step before anything settles.
Who can touch settlement?: Only Org Admins — typically the chair and the head pro. Table staff can post credits and issue tickets and cannot confirm results, settle or void after close. Permissions are enforced in the database, not just the interface.
What if Golf Genius changes a score after we've settled?: You get an alert that the result changed. Nothing re-settles on its own. If you decide the correction stands, submit a new result version: the engine reverses the prior payouts and re-posts, members see both in their ledger, and everyone is re-notified.
Can two staff accidentally issue the same ticket?: No. Issuance runs in one database transaction with a lock on the member's wallet; the second attempt sees the request is already issued.
Can we run pools on both daily rounds and the overall?: Yes, with separate handles. Daily pools settle each round; overall pools settle on the final cumulative standings. Teams or individuals, by flight if you like.
What about ties, scratches, or nobody picking the winner?: Dead heats split the tied positions' shares equally among the tied entrants. A scratched entrant's tickets are refunded in full before settlement. If no ticket backed a paying entrant, the pool refunds in full by default, or carries over to a pool you name.
Where does the takeout go?: To your club's takeout account on the ledger, reported at close. Use it for the purse, a charity, the caddie fund — it's yours. ParMutuel never takes a share.
Do we need a printer at the table?: No. Every ticket is on the member's phone with a QR code and in their email. Clubs that want paper can print the settlement report; thermal-printer support is on the roadmap.

For members

Do I need to download an app?: No. Tap the link in your invite text, sign in with a one-time code, and you're in. If you'd like, add it to your home screen — it works offline for your tickets.
How do I get credits?: Pay at the betting table — cash, Venmo, member account, whatever your club accepts — and staff post credits to your wallet. Some clubs let you bet first and pay at the table with a short code; your ticket issues the moment staff collect.
Can I bet on my own team?: Usually yes; your club decides. Across-the-board on your own team is a popular first ticket.
What do Win, Place and Show mean?: Win pays if your pick finishes first. Place pays if it finishes first or second. Show pays for first, second or third. Each is its own pool with its own odds.
Why did the odds change after I bought my ticket?: Because pari-mutuel odds are set by everyone's bets, not fixed at purchase. Your payout is based on the final pool when it closes — just like the track. The board shows live estimates while the pool is open.
How do I get paid?: Your club pays you at the cash-out desk, the same way you bought in. Your phone shows your balance and tickets won. ParMutuel never holds your money.
Can I cancel a ticket?: You can cancel a pending request before staff issue it. An issued ticket can only be voided by a club admin, with a reason, and only before the pool closes except in special cases.
How do I stop the texts?: Reply STOP at any time. You'll still get ticket confirmations by email because those are part of the record of your wager. Reply START to resume.

Legality, money and privacy

Is this legal?: ParMutuel is software. Whether a particular game is lawful depends on where your club is and how it runs the game — many states have social-gambling or private-club exemptions, and some don't. The platform is designed so that no money moves through it and our fee is unrelated to wagering, which keeps ParMutuel out of the betting itself. Your club is responsible for the legality of its games under local law, and we recommend a conversation with club counsel before your first tournament. This is not legal advice.
Does ParMutuel ever hold or move money?: Never. Credits are issued by club staff when a member pays at the table and redeemed by club staff at cash-out. We process no payments and hold no funds.
Does ParMutuel take a percentage of pools?: No. Our fee is a flat software subscription per tournament or per season. Takeout is a club setting and belongs to the club.
Is there an age requirement?: Members attest they are 18 or older at signup, or 21 where the club requires it. Clubs can require admin approval for every new member.
What do you do about problem gambling?: Clubs set per-ticket, per-member and exposure limits. Any member can ask the committee for a self-exclusion flag, which blocks wagering and reminder texts for them. If gambling is a problem for you or someone you know, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER.
Who can see my tickets and balance?: You, and the staff of your club who are running the tournament. Members never see each other's tickets. Clubs are isolated from one another at the database level.
How long do you keep data?: Ledger and audit records are retained seven years by default (your club can change this). Raw notification payloads are kept 90 days. Members can export or request deletion of their data at any time.
Is my data sold or used for advertising?: No. We don't sell member data and we don't run ads.

Golf Genius

What do you read from Golf Genius?: Events, rosters, rounds, the scoring tournaments on each round, tournament results with ties and team composition, and tee sheets for first tee times. We never write scores.
How do we connect?: Your Org Admin enters your Golf Genius API key — obtained from Golf Genius support — in club settings. It's stored encrypted and tested on save. If your tier includes webhooks, results arrive faster; if not, we poll.
What if a name doesn't match?: The results screen shows unmatched rows and suggests a match by name. You confirm or map it. Unmatched rows block confirmation, so nothing settles on a guess.
Does this replace Golf Genius leaderboards?: No. Golf Genius remains the system of record for scoring, and every pool links to its live leaderboard. ParMutuel adds the wagering layer.

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