Customer News / Helpful Hints
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company news, product enhancements and the latest product version numbers. The Helpful Hints section includes some reminders and tips about using our products and applying them to your requirements.
Good News - there are no changes to the USGA Handicap System for 2010. On-Screen Keyboard for GHM Player Scores Entry Feature In case you missed it on our home page, we've added an exciting new usability feature to the Player Scores Entry feature of the Golf Handicaps Manager (GHM) Program - an On-Screen Keyboard that allows all interaction with the feature to be performed directly on the screen. See the product's website page for details. What About Windows 7? The good news is that all our products can be used without change on Windows 7. The other news, which is not so good, is that getting to Windows 7 can be a difficult process. If you presently have Windows Vista the upgrade to Windows 7 is simple - all your programs, files and settings are restored automatically during installation. However, if you upgrade from Windows XP your programs are not restored - you have to reinstall them from the original CDs (if you can find them and the related product keys) or from the Internet if that's where you got them. Microsoft does provide a free Windows Easy Transfer program to restore your files and settings (not your programs), but it requires that you have an external hard drive; otherwise you have to copy the files you wish to keep to a USB Flash Drive, CDs or DVDs, then restore them from that device and recreate your settings after installation of Windows 7.
using Windows XP. From just the standpoint of our software there's no need to go the Windows 7. It's up to you to decide if Windows 7 provides advantages for your other computer uses. Either way, you are "good to go" with our software.
We've added a new product to our Special Events programs. The Circlestone Swing Team supports an exciting wagering event on a Swing Team basis with hole-by-hole wagers that include both team better- ball scores and player hole scores. See the product's website page for details. To do so, click on Products from the left side menu on this page, then Special Events from the next page, and then Circlestone Swing Team on the following page. The price of the program is $200.
Version W4.0 provides a Race Odds display directly on the Wager Entry Screen versus the separate display screen used in previous versions. You can see the Odds change as you enter wagers and view the Odds for any Race via a single mouse click. Version W4.0 also includes an optional Rosters feature with which you can prepare lists of event participants by Race with their associated Post Position numbers and print Roster Reports that can be used as the basis for a "Races Program" to assist participants in planning their wagers. When the Rosters feature is used the Event Results reports include the Roster Names in addition to the Race and Post Position numbers.
$100 Upgrade Charge for customers with Versions earlier than Version W3.6.
Previous versions of our Pari-Mutuel Manager program supported printing of wager tickets during wager entry on some Star and Epson receipt printers via a Serial Port (COM Port). Many current computers do not have a COM Port and provide printer connections only via a USB Port. The current Version W4.0 of the program provides support for using any receipt printer that can be configured in the commonly available Star or ESC/POS Emulation Modes, regardless of port type. "Online" wager ticket printing can now be done on a wide variety of receipt printers from multiple manufacturers.
All of our Windows-based products support the use of a Touch Screen display. These displays provide the most convenient user interface for the Player Scores Entry feature of the GHM handicap program. Bag Tag Labels The 8MM Data Tape Labels (2.875" W x .375" H) used the GTM program for Bag Tag Labels are not a commonly available label form in office products stores. The Internet is your best source for these labels. A search for "Data Tape Labels" will yield several companies that sell the labels. One such company's website is at www.InkjetCartridge.com. The Item Number is MLL-3150R. Packaging is 100 sheets with 56 labels per sheet. The cost is approximately $21 plus shipping. (We do not supply the labels because it is more economical for you to obtain them directly from a label company.)
We're very pleased that the native-Windows version of GTM has been very well received by our customers. GTM combines the Pairings and Scoring capabilities of our DOS-based GTP/GTS programs into a single program. All of the features that made GTP/GTS industry leaders remain but the ease, flexibility and speed with which you can accomplish your tournament tasks are greatly enhanced in the Windows environment. See the Tournament Management page for a detailed description and illustrations. There is a $300 Upgrade Charge for current GTP/GTS customers. The price for new customers is $500. (Note: We will continue to provide support for the GTP/GTS programs but we encourage users of those programs to upgrade to the new and better Windows-based GTM Program.) Calling Arkansas and Rhode Island These are now the only two states without a SportsWare customer. We are offering a 20% discount on the first software order from each of these states. Current Product Versions The following are the current version numbers for our products. "W" indicates native-Windows applications. Others are DOS applications that run under Windows. You may order new programs and program upgrades via Phone, Fax or Email.
Golf Tournament Management Program (GTM) W3.4 9-Hole Match-Around W2.6 Pari-Mutuel Manager W4.0 Callaway Scorekeeper W2.3 Nassau Round Robin W1.7 Circlestone Swing Team W1.0 Helpful Hints
An important user action that is sometimes forgotten is the initialization of your handicap database at the start of a new season. This action gives you the opportunity to reset a number of items for each player: Number of Rounds, Base for Most Improved Golfer, Lowest Round, Dues Paid and Ringer Scores. Don't forget to do Period Initialization at the start of your new season. The feature is accessed via selection from the System Functions Menu. GHM History Database This database contains records for all scores posted by all players. Its primary use is as the base for the Course Analysis feature, a feature that provides meaningful information only if scores are entered on a hole-by-hole basis. Therefore, if your scores are not being entered hole by hole we recommend that you not maintain a History Database. If you do, make sure that you reset it at regular intervals. Some of our customers turn on the History Database periodically when they wish to analyze the Handicap Hole Ratings of their course and require that scores be entered hole by hole for a limited period of time. GTM - Reusable Tournament Slots Up to ten tournaments can be maintained concurrently via the ten "slots" on the Tournament Selection Screen. Each of these slots can be reused for a new tournament. Simply enter a new Tournament Name and proceed to provide information for the new event. Your Player List, new Scoring, etc. will replace the old information automatically, but your Tournament Information will be preserved. Therefore, you don't have to re-specify your Course Definition unless it has changed. However, you should check your Scoring Categories to ensure that they are what you want for the new tournament.
GTM provides two ways to create a Player List -- automatically via the Pairings Menu, and on a user- supplied basis via the Preparation Menu. The first method is required if you are doing automated pairings or flights to form player groups. However, if your player groups are preset in terms of who is playing with whom, you may find it easier to prepare your Player List via the fill-in-the-blanks screens provided by the Player List Create option on the Preparation Menu. Don't Lose Your GTM Automated Pairings The sequence for doing automated GTM pairings is to select players from your Master List, optionally add outside players to the generated Tournament Players List, and then choose the automated Groupings and/or Flights options. However, be aware that each time you return to Player Selection or to the Tournament Players List, any previous Groupings/Flights are lost -- the program assumes that you are starting over with a revised set of players. Therefore, if you return to Player Selection or the Tournament Players List, be sure to redo your Groupings/Flights.
Once you've formed a Player List via either of the methods described above, you may be faced with the frequent situation of last-minute changes. If these changes are relatively minor and you don't wish to disturb the basic pairings of your entire player field, use the Player List Update selection from the Preparation Menu to make player substitutions, additions and deletions on a group-by-group basis. If the changes are such that you wish to regroup the entire player field, return to the Pairings Menu to modify your Player Selections or Tournament Players List; then redo the automated Groupings/Flights (which will take only a few moments). |