Reprinted with permission of Golf Business and the National Golf Course Owners Association. Copyright 2001. This article first appeared in the April 2001 issue of Golf Business.

Handy Scores

Your Saturday morning scramble may never be the same.

With handegolf from Mother Hen Software, golfers can view a real-time leaderboard, whether playing in competitive tours, club championships or low-key rounds with friends. This interactive golf-scoring system makes real-time scoring available and affordable for golfers in any event.

"Golf is a unique sport in that players and spectators are typically unaware of the standings during the round," says Mike Maizland, co-founder of Mother Hen Software. "this lessens the drama and excitement surrounding a competitive event. Not only does handegolf enable up-to-the-minute standings for the field, it also automates the traditionally labor-intensive task of scoring."

Here's how it works: During the round, each group of golfers carries a hand-held unit. Players enter their scores, and the unit transmits the data to a Web site for viewing. Users can track their own scores, as well as the scores of their competitors, in real-time. According to Maizland, this automation—along with the numerous individual and team game formats supported by handegolf —enables tournament organizers to offer such amenities as event pairings, handicaps, scoring, ranking and statistics.

For more information, visit www.motherhensw.com.