
   
                       WELCOME TO GOLFCALC FOR WINDOWS  
                    THE GOLF HANDICAP CALCULATION SYSTEM   

                                Version 2.0
                  Copyright (c) 1996 - All rights reserved

                                     by   
                           Tamalpais Technologies   
                                 Todd Schopp   
                                P.O. Box 125   
                             Larkspur, CA  94977   
                               (415) 927-0333   
                          ------------------------   
   

                                  Contents
                                  --------
                   1. Introduction   
                   2. New In This Version
                   3. Installation
                   4. How to Use GolfCalc for Windows
                   5. Index, Course Rating and Slope Rating
                   6. How An Index Is Computed
                   7. Course Handicap
                   8. Adjusted Gross Score 
                   9. Shareware
                  10. Ordering
                  11. Satisfaction Guarantee
                  12. Disclaimer


1. Introduction   
---------------   
GolfCalc provides you with a quick and easy way to keep track of the 
improvements you make in your golf game.  It can be used by golfers of all  
levels, the avid and the occasional.  It allows you to store all your scores 
from all courses.  These scores are then used to calculate your index and  
your course handicaps.  In comparison to the old-fashioned handicapping
method of just averaging your 10 best scores, indexing is a more accurate
evaluation of your playing level since it takes into account the difficulty
of the courses you play.  By using indexes and course handicaps, you can
compete equally with golfers of any skill levels at any course.  GolfCalc
uses U.S.G.A. standards for all calculations.  

HOW IT ALL STARTED
There are a few guys that I play golf with regularly.  Of course, all 
golfers play at different levels and the same holds true for our group.  
This presented a problem to us whenever we tried to compete against each 
other to see who could score the best.  The same people would win each 
time.  This was especially a problem for me, because I would never win.  
Therefore, we decided to find out how to calculate what our handicaps were 
so we could compete more evenly.  I took it upon myself to do the research 
and discovered the indexing system that the U.S.G.A. now uses to handicap 
golfers.  With a little more research, I found all the formulas involved 
in the indexing system.  The work involved in tracking everyones scores 
and indexes seemed a little overwhelming for me to do without the 
assistance of my trusty computer.  So, I started out to "quickly" write 
a little program to track our indexes for us.  Six months later, the DOS 
version of GolfCalc was a full-fledged Index Calculation System and I got 
such a great response from everyone who used it that I decided to release 
it to the rest of the world.

Now, four years after the first release of GolfCalc for DOS, I have 
completed the Windows version.  A lot of requests were coming in for a 
Windows release, so I figured the time had come to get to work on it.  I 
think it turned out pretty good.  Hopefully, I'll get a lot of feedback 
from you the users on how to make it better.  Give me a call or send an 
email if you have any comments or questions.


2. New In This Version
----------------------
The primary goal for the first release of GolfCalc for Windows was to 
incorporate all of the features of the DOS version into the Windows 
environment.  Along the way, a few new ideas were implemented.  These 
include:

1) Long golfer names.  Golfer names can now be up to 40 characters long.  
   You can setup the long names in the "Edit Golfers" section.

2) Hole-by-hole score tracking.  You can enter the scores you make for each 
   hole on the course, including the number of putts.  The "Edit Courses" 
   section also allows you to enter the pars for each hole on a course.  A 
   future release will contain reports that will take advantage of the 
   hole-by-hole scoring.  For example, "Greens in Regulation" and "Average 
   Number of Putts".

3) Deleting Golfers.  Yes, the long awaited ability to easily delete golfers
   is available in the "Edit Golfers" section.

and more ...


3. Installation
---------------
GolfCalc for Windows is very easy to install and use.  The system 
requirements are an IBM PC or compatible running Windows 3.x or Windows 95.  
To install GolfCalc for Windows, just run the installation program by 
following the directions below.  

FOR GOLFCALC FOR DOS USERS (Ver 1.6 and earlier): 
It is recommended that you backup your existing GolfCalc files before 
installing the Windows version.  You can never be too safe in these 
situations.  You can install GolfCalc for Windows directly into your 
existing GolfCalc directory and your golfer and course files will be 
converted automatically to the new format.  Follow one of the install 
procedures below.


FOR WINDOWS 3.x USERS:
From the Program Manager "File" menu, choose "Run".  Then, in the Command
Line box, enter either 1) the drive letter of your floppy drive (if you are
installing from a floppy) or 2) the hard drive letter and name of the 
directory you are installing from (if you are installing from your hard 
drive).  Follow that with the name of the installation program, 
"install.exe".  For example,

	a:install.exe
or
	c:\download\install.exe

FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS:
Open either My Computer or Windows Explorer, go to your floppy drive or 
the directory on your hard drive where the installation program resides and
double click on the "install.exe"

The installation program will guide you from there.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS:
The GolfCalc for Windows installation program will NOT create a shortcut
for GolfCalc on your Start menu or on your desktop.  You will need to
do this on your own.  Consult your Windows 95 manual for instructions or 
run GolfCalc for Windows from My Computer or Windows Explorer by double 
clicking on the "gcwin.exe" file.


Here is an explanation of the files included in the GolfCalc for Windows 
software package:

     gcwin.exe    - This is the executable part of GolfCalc, it is
                    definitely required and can reside in any directory.

     <golfer>.tgp - These are the GolfCalc golfer files.  There will 
                    be one golfer file for each golfer you enter in 
                    the system.  Golfer files are automatically created 
                    whenever a new golfer is added to your GolfCalc system.  
                    All golfer files must reside in the same directory as
                    'gcwin.exe'.  No golfer files are required on initial
                    start up, although some sample golfers have been 
                    provided with your initial package.

     golfers.tgc  - This is the golfer long-name file.  This is where the 
                    data for the long golfer names is stored.

     sample.tgc   - This is a sample courses file that is only used of
                    no other courses file is found.

     courses.tgc  - This is the GolfCalc courses file.  This is where
                    the information on the golf courses is stored.  There
                    should be only one courses file and it should also 
                    reside in the same directory as 'gcwin.exe'.  No 
                    courses file is required on initial start up, although 
                    some sample courses have been provided with your 
                    initial package.  (This file will not exist in the 
                    release package, it will be created automatically from 
                    the sample courses file when the program is first run 
                    unless another courses file already exist.)

     order.bat    - This is a program that will print an order form for 
                    you to use when ordering a registered copy of GolfCalc.
                    An order form can also be filled out and printed from
                    within the GolfCalc program.

     order.txt    - The order form that is printed by "order.bat".

     fileid.diz   - This is a description file used by shareware distributors.

     install.exe  - GolfCalc for Windows installation program.

     install.ini  - Configuration file for "install.exe".

     readme.txt   - That's this file.


4. How to Use GolfCalc
----------------------
In the GolfCalc folder, double click on the GolfCalc for Windows icon. From 
there you can Edit Golfers, Edit Courses or Enter Scores.  

Edit Golfer
This section allows you to add, modify and delete golfers.  It is in this 
section that you set up the long names for golfers.

Edit Courses
This section allows you to add, modify and delete courses.  It is in this 
section that you set up the hole-by-hole par data for the courses as well 
as the course rating and slope.

Enter Scores
This section provides a scrolling pick-list of all existing golfers and 
a selection of function buttons that do the following:


    Add a Score     - Allows you to add a new score for the current golfer.

    Add Group of Scores - Allows you to easily add scores for a group of 
                      golfers who play at the same course on the same day.

    Edit/View Scores - This selection will display a screen with a list of 
                      all the scores for the currently selected golfer.  
                      You can Add, Modify and Delete scores from this screen.
 
    Calculate Index - Pops open a window that displays the index data for 
                      the current golfer.

    Course Handicap - Brings up a screen where you select which course you
                      wish to see the course handicap for, then it displays 
                      the course handicap for the current golfer.  You can
                      switch courses to quickly see different course 
                      handicaps.

    Print Scores    - Allows you to either print or send to a file the list 
                      of scores for the current golfer.

    Print Handicaps - Brings up a screen where you select which course you
                      wish to print the course handicaps for.  You can then 
                      select one, some or all of the existing golfers from 
                      the pick-list.  A course handicap list will be printed 
                      with one line for each selected golfer.  You can also 
                      print handicap card-style listings of handicaps.


5. Index, Course Rating and Slope Rating
----------------------------------------
What do all of these terms mean?  An index is a number that is calculated 
based on your scores and the ratings of the courses that you play at.  Every 
course that you play should have two rating numbers that were given to it by 
experts who rate all the courses based on how difficult they are to play.  
These numbers are called the Course rating and the Slope rating.  The Course 
rating is the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for expert 
golfers and takes into account yardages and obstacles and how they affect 
scoring ability.  The Slope rating reflects the relative playing difficulty 
of a course for golfers with handicaps above scratch.  The ratings should be 
posted in the club house at each course, or you may have to ask a course 
employee to find out what they are.  Sometimes they are printed on the score 
cards.  When you enter a new score into GolfCalc for Windows, you will also 
enter the Course and Slope ratings along with the name of the course that 
you played.   


6. How An Index Is Computed
---------------------------
The index calculation begins by first calculating differentials for each
score.  A differential is the difference between the adjusted gross score 
and the Course rating, multiplying the difference by 113, dividing the 
resulting figure by the Slope rating and rounding off to the nearest tenth.  
See the section below for more on the adjusted gross score.

The next step in calculating an index is to find the lowest 10 differentials
of the golfer's last 20 rounds.  Then take the average of these 10
differentials, multiply by 96% and round to the nearest tenth.  The 
resulting figure is the golfer's index.  If fewer than 20 differentials 
are available, then the number used in the calculation is adjusted as 
follows:

       Available       Used                Available       Used
        1-4            No index issued     13 or 14        Lowest 5
        5 or 6         Lowest 1            15 or 16        Lowest 6
        7 or 8         Lowest 2            17              Lowest 7
        9 or 10        Lowest 3            18              Lowest 8
       11 or 12        Lowest 4            19              Lowest 9

If all of these calculations seem confusing, DON'T WORRY!  Just enter your
scores into GolfCalc for Windows and it will do all the calculations for you!


7. Course Handicap
------------------
A course handicap is the number of handicap strokes a golfer receives at the
course being played.  The score that a golfer "should" hit at a particular
course is the golfer's course handicap + par-for-the-course.  A golfer's
course handicap will be different at each course.  A course handicap is
determined by one of two methods: either by selecting the "Course Handicap" 
option on the GolfCalc "Enter Scores" screen and choosing the course you 
wish to see the handicap for, or by applying the golfer's index to a course
handicap conversion chart located in the clubhouse of the course to be
played.  Either method uses the following formula:

  Course Handicap = Index * Slope Rating / 113  (rounded to nearest integer)

The value 113 in the above formula is the national standard for Slope ratings
and is used to weight differentials.

When competing against another golfer, you can use your course handicaps to
make the competition more equal.  The golfer who scores the most strokes
under or the least strokes over their course handicap + par-for-the-course is
the winner.  Here's an example: Joe, who has a course handicap of 15, is
playing Frank, who has a course handicap of 24, on a course that has a par
of 72.  Using GolfCalc, they determined their course handicaps to be 87 for 
Joe and 96 for Frank.  Joe ended up with a score of 89 and Frank a 95.  Since 
Joe was 2 OVER his handicap and Frank was 1 UNDER his, Frank is the winner.

 
8. Adjusted Gross Score 
----------------------- 
The score that you enter when adding a new score into the GolfCalc system 
should be your Adjusted Gross Score.  Your Adjusted Gross Score is your 
actual score adjusted downward for Equitable Stroke Control as follows: 
 
  If your Course Handicap is ... 
 
     9 or less  - Maximum score of 6 on any one hole. 
     10 to 19   - Maximum of 7 on any one hole.
     20 to 29   - Maximum of 8 on any one hole.
     30 to 39   - Maximum of 9 on any one hole.
     40 to 49   - Maximum of 10 on any one hole.
     50+        - Maximum of 11 on any one hole.

As an example, a golfer with a 23 course handicap would be allowed a maximum
score of 8 on each hole independent of what the par for each hole is.  On any 
hole where the golfer scores above 8 strokes, the score for that hole should
be counted as 8 when figuring the Adjusted Gross Score.


9. Printing
-----------
There are two printing options available from the "Enter Scores" screen.  
The first is "Print Scores".  This choice allows you to output the scores 
and index data for the current golfer to either your printer or into 
a file.  If you choose to output to a file, the filename will be the 
golfer's short name with the '.tgo' suffix (ie. 'frank.tgo').  If output is 
to a file and the file already exists, the file will be overwritten.

The second option on the Print menu is "Print Handicaps".  This feature 
allows you to print a list of handicaps for the selected golfers with the 
output being one line per golfer.  Here's how it works:  First, you will 
select which course you want the handicaps for.  Next, you can either
double-click on the desired golfer names or highlight each golfer name and 
press the right-arrow.  Either method moves the golfer names from the left 
column to the right column.  It is the golers listed in the right column 
that will have their handicaps printed.  Then, you will press either the 
"Print List" or "Print Cards" button on the bottom of the screen depending
on which type of output you desire.  The "Print List" option will ask you 
to choose the output type, either to the printer or to a file.  If you 
choose to output to a file, "hdcplist.tgo" will be created and any 
previously existing copy will be overwritten.  


10. Shareware
------------
GolfCalc for Windows is a Tamalpais Technologies shareware product.  
Shareware means that you are free to try it out and to share copies with 
your friends, but it is NOT freeware.  You are allowed a 30-day free trial.  
If you wish to use GolfCalc for Windows beyond the 30-day trial, you must 
send us the $34 (US Dollars) registration fee, plus $2 for shipping and 
handling.  By registering, you will receive:

  - the most current version of GolfCalc (customized with your name and 
    without any annoying register messages),
  - a printed manual,
  - notification of new releases,
  - unlimited free phone support.

This version of GolfCalc for Windows has in no way been crippled or had any 
functionality removed, but new features are continually being added.  All 
registered users will be informed when new versions are available.  We also 
eagerly accept all suggestions for new features and enhancements.  The 
success of the Shareware system relies on registrations.  Without the 
registrations fees, there is no inspiration for programmers to provide first 
class software products for you to try out before ever having to pay for 
them.


11. Ordering
-----------
The registration price for GolfCalc for Windows is $34 plus $2 for shipping 
and handling (US dollars).  To order a registered version of GolfCalc, you 
have several options.  You can:

    1) Print the order form by either typing 'ORDER' at the DOS prompt or
       printing the order form from with the program, then either mail it 
       to us with a check or fax it with your credit card number,

    2) Call us and order with your VISA or MasterCard number,

    3) Register through Compuserve's Shareware Registration system by
       entering GO SWREG and following the instructions.

Make sure to include your name, address, phone number and what size diskette
you would like it on.  Here's our information:

    Tamalpais Technologies      Voice: (415) 927-0333
    GolfCalc for Windows Reg.   Fax: (415) 927-4619
    P.O. Box 125                BBS: (415) 759-5529
    Larkspur, CA  94977         Webpage: http://www.well.com/user/tamtech


12. Tamalpais Technologies Complete Satisfaction Guarantee
----------------------------------------------------------
The GolfCalc for Windows Handicap Calculation System comes with a 60 day 
money back guarantee.  If you are unhappy with the product for any reason, 
Tamalpais Technologies will refund your money in full.  Simply call or 
write TamTech within 60 days of registration.


13. Disclaimer
--------------
This software has been thoroughly tested and is believed to be free of
problems, however, software is one of the most complicated kinds of products
produced by humans.  No person can be absolutely and completely certain that 
any piece of complicated software will work in any given machine and
environment.  Therefore, you, the user, are completely responsible for
determining the fitness of this program and Tamalpais Technologies and it's
staff are not liable for any damages to your computer hardware, software, or
data files.


Four out of five golfers surveyed recommend using GolfCalc to enhance your
golfing experience.
