Rounds splitting into two 9's

Fix Turn Time to Prevent Round Splitting

Rounds splitting Between Front and Back 9: Understanding and Resolving Round Splitting Issues

This is for if you are having the issue where rounds are splitting at the 9th green and the 10th tee box, resulting in 2 rounds being tracked one on the front 9 and one on the back 9 instead of one whole 18 hole round, causing inaccurate pace-of-play data. This disruption not only affects real-time tracking but also leads to fragmented round records, making it difficult to analyze performance and course flow. The root cause of this behavior lies not in a hardware malfunction or network failure, but in a misconfigured system setting that governs how rounds are interpreted across the front and back nine.

Why Rounds Are Splitting Between the 9th and 10th Holes

The core issue stems from a system parameter known as Turn Time, which determines how long a player can pause between the end of the front nine and the start of the back nine before the system treats the activity as a new round. By default, this value is set to 30 minutes —a standard threshold designed to accommodate typical player breaks, such as hydration stops, cart changes, or short rest periods.

However, in the case of the where that Turn Time is set too low, for example 5 minutes. As a result, any delay—even a brief one—between completing the 9th hole and starting the 10th is interpreted by the system as a break exceeding the allowed window. The system then takes the front 9 as a completed round and initiates a new one, which would a new round on the back 9. 

This misconfiguration leads to two major consequences:

  • The system records two separate rounds instead of one continuous 18-hole round.
  • Pace-of-play metrics become inaccurate, as the system fails to recognize the player’s progression from the front nine to the back nine.

How to Fix the Turn Time Configuration

The solution is straightforward and requires updating the Turn Time setting in the course’s system configuration. The current value should be 30 minutes which aligns with industry standards and ensures that natural breaks during a round are not mistaken for round discontinuities.

What If Players Take Longer Than 30 Minutes?

A common concern is whether a 30-minute turn time is sufficient for all players. While 30 minutes is a standard default, it can be adjusted based on course-specific needs. For example, courses with longer natural breaks or those hosting tournaments with extended player pauses may benefit from a higher threshold—such as 45 or 60 minutes.

However, increasing the Turn Time too much can introduce other risks, such as delaying the system’s ability to detect and flag slow play or creating confusion in data reporting. Therefore, it’s recommended to keep the Turn Time within a reasonable range—ideally between 15 and 45 minutes—and align it with the course’s typical player behavior.

If your course consistently sees players taking longer than 30 minutes between the 9th and 10th holes, consider reviewing your course layout, player flow, and break policies. You may also want to communicate with players about expected turnaround times to help maintain consistent data collection.

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