No app downloads required, real-time leaderboards, gross/net scoring, team and individual formats, side games support, flights.
Custom event registration forms, player and team signups, multiple pricing options, waitlist management, auto-confirmation emails, exportable registration data, secure Stripe integration, easy refunds and manual adjustments, no login required for players.
Supports all major formats, multi-round and multi-day support, smart pairing and grouping, intuitive setup, easy player import, custom branding, printable scorecards and cart signs, automatic winner calculation and payouts, no training necessary.
Send to all players or specific groups, customizable email templates, automated confirmations and reminders, leaderboard and result announcements, real-time delivery tracking, personalized merge fields (names, tee times, leaderboard link, etc)
Weekly and season-long league support, recurring event templates, automatic standings and points tracking, player roster management.
Annual Subscription Price
$2,700 per year
Best for courses, league managers, and tournament organizers
All Live Tourney Features Including
One of the top things our customers rave about is our support—and we take pride in that. We're fast, friendly, and actually helpful. Whether it’s a quick question or a last-minute format change, we’re right there with you. But it goes deeper than just being responsive. Most of our best features have come directly from support requests. When you ask for something, we build it.
Unlike traditional tournament software, we don’t wait for annual or even weekly releases. Live Tourney updates multiple times a day—seriously. We’re constantly shipping improvements, fixing friction points, and adding new features based on real customer feedback. Today, we’re proud to say we’ve hit feature parity with the top products on the market—but with a much cleaner, easier-to-use interface and a better price point. And we’re not stopping there. Our focus moving forward is simple: keep making Live Tourney even easier, while giving you all the advanced tools you need to run great events. Less clutter, more power, and a product that keeps evolving with you.
Live Tourney is an emerging all-in-one golf tournament management platform that promises to simplify event operations for golf course operators. Launched in 2022 by a Seattle-based golf enthusiast and software engineer, the cloud-based system is on a mission to make tournament management and live scoring “accessible, delightful, and affordable.” With over 10,000 events run and more than a million holes scored through the platform to date, Live Tourney is rapidly gaining traction as a simple and modern alternative to Golf Genius.
This overview examines Live Tourney’s features, functionality, company background, and practical applications to help golf course operators evaluate whether it suits their needs.
Live Tourney was founded by Matt Robinson in the Pacific Northwest after he identified a gap in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an avid golfer and software engineer, Robinson noticed that many courses struggled with existing tournament software that was expensive and difficult to use, leading some to resort to clunky DIY solutions like spreadsheets. Sensing an opportunity to improve the experience, he built Live Tourney initially as a side project. The platform held its first live event in June 2022 and officially launched as a Software-as-a-Service product in early 2023.
The company’s mission is rooted in accessibility and ease of use. “It shouldn’t take a genius to set up and run tournaments,” the Live Tourney team says, a playful nod to the industry’s most well-known solution, Golf Genius. In practice, this means providing a tournament management system that reduces barriers for both staff and players. Live Tourney is entirely cloud-based and works on any device with a browser, so there’s no complex installation. The focus is to streamline every aspect of event management – from creating an event and registering players to scoring and communications – all at a lower price than traditional solutions.
Live Tourney’s feature set is designed to cover the full lifecycle of a golf event, combining robust functionality with an intuitive interface. The platform emphasizes that even complex tournaments can be set up in minutes, with no training required. Below is an overview of the key features and how they work:
Organizers can create single-round or multi-round tournaments, leagues, match-play brackets, Ryder Cup formats, and more with just a few clicks. The software provides templates and settings for various event types (stroke play, match play, team scrambles, etc.), allowing clubs to configure rules, tee times, and formats without starting from scratch. Time-saving setup tools claim to reduce configuration time by as much as threefold compared to traditional software.
Live Tourney includes built-in registration portals for players to sign up for tournaments online. Golfers or teams can register through a custom link, provide their details, and pay entry fees. Organizers can also easily import player lists in bulk with a roster upload tool, eliminating manual entry.
Live Tourney offers real-time scoring. Players enter hole-by-hole scores during their rounds using smartphones, and the leaderboard updates instantly. There’s no need to download an app—everything works through a web browser. Players typically access the digital scorecard by scanning a QR code or clicking a link, and the leaderboard can be viewed from any device or displayed on TVs in the clubhouse. Results are ready the moment the final score is submitted.
Live Tourney supports season-long leagues or multi-round competitions. Clubs can set up weekly leagues with consistent or rotating formats, track cumulative scores or points, and automate pairings. Standings are updated automatically as each round’s scores are entered.
The platform includes a customizable report builder that lets organizers generate printed materials like tee sheets, scorecards, cart signage, bag tags, and final results reports. These are automatically populated with the latest data from registration and scoring.
Live Tourney supports side games including skins, closest-to-the-pin, longest drive, and more. It can also handle more complex formats like Calcutta auctions and Parimutuel betting. A built-in payouts calculator simplifies prize distribution, even for complicated payout structures.
Integrated communication tools allow organizers to email or message players directly from within the platform. Automated messages can include details like tee times or weather updates, and can be customized for each event. Dynamic emails ensure that players receive relevant and timely information before and during the tournament.
Live Tourney integrates with the Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN), allowing courses to pull in official handicaps for players. This ensures accurate net scoring and saves time during event setup.
The platform works on all modern devices and browsers. There is no installation required, and the software is cloud-hosted. Customer support is available via email, live chat, and an in-app help center. The platform is built with security and real-time sync capabilities to support multiple staff managing events simultaneously.
Live Tourney’s features make it applicable to a wide variety of golf events:
For multi-day club championships, staff can configure the format, generate pairings, and send tee times in minutes. Live scoring and auto-generated pairings for subsequent rounds make it easy to run the event smoothly from start to finish. Final reports and winner summaries can be printed instantly.
Charity and corporate tournaments benefit from online registration, live scoring, and printable materials. Players can track scores in real time, and sponsors can be highlighted within the app interface or leaderboard displays. Built-in tools for side contests and raffles streamline event day operations.
Season-long leagues can be set up with automated weekly scheduling, standings tracking, and GHIN integration. Players or staff can enter scores weekly, and Live Tourney automatically calculates results and updates the leaderboard.
Courses running season-long ladders or bracket-style tournaments can use Live Tourney’s match play feature to track progress, set matchups, and manage brackets. Ryder Cup-style events can include team scoring and custom formats across multiple rounds.
Live Tourney offers a flat-rate subscription of $2,700 per year for unlimited use—unlike competitors that charge per event or restrict features to premium tiers. The flat fee includes all core features: registration, scoring, communications, reporting, side games, GHIN integration, and support.
Discounts are available, such as $300 off for NGCOA members.
The software is designed to be intuitive, even for those who aren’t tech-savvy. Many users report being able to run their first event within hours of signup, and the software’s interface guides users through event creation without training or onboarding sessions.
Live Tourney is web-based and does not require players to download or update an app. This removes a significant hurdle to player adoption and increases participation in live scoring, particularly in public events and charity outings.
Despite its simplicity, Live Tourney includes tools for everything from match play to Calcutta betting. This all-in-one approach means operators don’t need to use separate tools for scoring, registration, or communication—it’s all built into the platform.
Tournaments can be set up quickly, with reusable templates and automated scheduling tools for recurring events. Live Tourney users consistently report that they save hours on tournament preparation and score tracking compared to manual methods or legacy systems.
Early feedback from golf professionals and operators has been positive. Many praise the ease of setup, the quality of the leaderboard interface, and the reduction in administrative workload. Staff who previously managed tournaments manually or with spreadsheet-heavy systems report that Live Tourney significantly improves their efficiency.
The built-in reporting and printing tools are also a hit, as they remove the need for third-party design software or clunky formatting exercises before an event. Operators appreciate that the software keeps everything—from registration to final payouts—within one connected system.
For players, the lack of an app requirement and the live leaderboard create a more engaging experience. Real-time scoring enhances the social atmosphere of tournaments, and players report enjoying the added visibility into the standings during play.
While Live Tourney is widely praised, there are a few considerations operators should weigh:
Live Tourney is a strong contender in the golf technology space, offering an intuitive, comprehensive, and affordable tournament management solution. It is designed for efficiency, built for both public and private courses, and includes everything needed to run high-quality tournaments—from leagues and scrambles to match play and corporate events.
The platform’s clean interface, all-in-one feature set, and no-app-required approach position it as a modern solution that can elevate the experience for players while saving staff valuable time. For courses looking to modernize their tournament operations without the high cost or complexity of legacy software, Live Tourney is worth serious consideration.
Be the first to receive golf course technology updates on articles, podcast episodes, product reviews, buying guides, new releases, and more!
