PlayThru is a free golf scoring and live leaderboard system. Organizers create an event in three steps, share one link or QR code with their golfers, and golfers score directly from any mobile browser — no app to download, no account to create. The leaderboard updates in real time on every device and can be displayed on a TV in the clubhouse.
Yes. The free tier includes unlimited events, unlimited golfers, all standard scoring formats (stroke play, stableford, match play, two- and four-person best ball), event registration, handicaps, flights, and email support.
We are advertiser supported, so free events will see a small ad at the bottom of the scorecard and leaderboard screens, but we tried to keep the ads as small and out of the way as possible. You do have the option to remove ads for $2.99.
In addition, we offer optional paid features for events — for example, $10 to unlock skins and hole competitions, $35 to fully replace PlayThru branding with your own. Any of these paid upgrades also remove the ads.
PlayThru is built for charity outings, corporate events, golf courses, school golf programs, memorial tournaments, and any organizer running a one-off or recurring tournament where the focus is the event experience rather than ongoing handicap tracking.
PlayThru was founded in 2015 by Keith Moehring after basic mathematics failed him and cost him his family golf championship, and after he experienced the same end-of-round chaos at a memorial outing for his uncle. PlayThru, LLC is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Read the full story.
No. Getting a group of 100+ golfers to download a new app for 5 hours isn't realistic. With PlayThru, golfers open the event link in any mobile web browser — Safari, Chrome, anything modern — and start scoring. There is nothing to install, no account to create, and no password to remember. This is the single feature organizers tell us they love most.
PlayThru requires an internet connection to enter scores and update the leaderboard. For most courses this is not an issue — modern cell coverage is good enough on the overwhelming majority of golf courses — but if your course has known dead zones, ask groups to enter their scores once they reach a hole with signal. Scores can be entered or corrected at any point during the round.
No. PlayThru has no hard cap on golfers per event. The free tier supports unlimited golfers, and we've run events from 4-person family tournaments to 160-plus-golfer charity outings on the same platform.
PlayThru supports stroke play (gross and net), stableford with custom point values, match play, two-person best ball, four-person best ball, scramble, skins (gross and net), and hole competitions. Events can also include flights, shotgun starts, and multi-round tournaments of up to six rounds.
You can also run events with multiple formats, for example a 2-person best ball event with an individual leaderboard as well. PlayThru also supports Ryder Cup format match play with teams.
Yes. PlayThru supports player handicaps with automatic tee adjustments based on the slope and course rating of the tees each golfer is playing. You can import handicaps via CSV alongside golfer names, or enter them manually in the organizer dashboard.
Most first-time organizers have an event configured in 5 to 10 minutes. The three steps are: (1) configure your event format, course, and tees, (2) import your golfer list from a CSV, and (3) share the event link or QR code with your golfers. Returning organizers usually clone a prior event and finish setup in five minutes.
Yes. The live leaderboard is a web page that displays cleanly on any TV with a browser — a smart TV, a laptop hooked up to an HDMI input, or a Chromecast / Apple TV mirroring a tablet. Many organizers run two displays: one in the clubhouse for spectators and family, and one near the registration table for incoming golfers to check in and find their tee time.
PlayThru's event registration page is currently designed to capture signups, not process payments. We recommend including a Venmo link, PayPal link, or organization donation page on the registration form so golfers can pay through the channel that works best for your event. This keeps fees in your existing financial systems and avoids adding another payment processor to your stack.
Yes. After the event, organizers can export a CSV with every golfer's hole-by-hole scores, round totals, and handicaps. This is useful for record-keeping, for posting results to your organization's website, or for importing into a separate tournament management system.
This will be an issue depending on the group. You may also need to fix a scorecard error. For this reason, we built in a Master Scorecard feature. It lets you as the outing organizer access and edit any golfer's scorecard from one screen. You can learn more about this feature here.
The clearest difference is that PlayThru requires no app download for golfers — they score directly in their mobile browser. PlayThru is also genuinely free at its core tier, with paid add-ons that organizers buy per event rather than as recurring subscriptions. PlayThru is purpose-built for one-off events (charity outings, corporate tournaments, memorial events, school competitions) rather than for ongoing league management or USGA handicap submission. For a side-by-side comparison of eight scoring platforms, see our comparison post.