Short answer. A player with no Handicap Index (or no rated tee) has no handicap in Ringer, not a handicap of zero. Net games treat that ball as absent, and a net game with money on it will not start until every player it covers has an index.
How it works
Ringer's rule is "never invent data". If a player's index is missing, nothing is assumed, and the Handicap Analysis page says so: "No handicap resolved — no Handicap Index on file" or "— no rated tee for this round. This player scores gross only; nothing is assumed."
What each game does with an unhandicapped player in a Net mode:
| Game | What happens |
|---|---|
| Pot (Stroke) | The player is ranked after every player who has a handicap. |
| Stableford | The player earns no points. |
| Match Play, Nassau | The match is blocked. No result, no money. |
| Skins (net) | The player is left out of the field for that skins game and listed as unhandicapped. |
| 9-Point, Sixes | Any hole that player is on stays pending. |
| Team Best-Ball | The player's ball never counts for the team. |
In a Gross game none of this applies. Everyone gets zero strokes, so a missing index does not matter.
The money gate
When a game is Net and has a stake, Ringer checks the players before it will save the game, and again every time the settings change. If anyone marked in still lacks an index you will see:
"[names] need(s) a handicap index before this net money game can start — otherwise they'd play scratch. Add it from the roster."
The check covers the whole field for pot games (Pot (Stroke), Stableford, Skins, Team Best-Ball) and only the chosen players for Match Play, Nassau, 9-Point and Sixes. Manage flags the game with "⚠ Add a handicap index first" until it is fixed.
Steps
- Open the player in the roster and enter their Handicap Index. See Enter your handicap index.
- During Create you can type a missing index inline instead ("Enter an index from +10 to 54."). That figure is frozen for this round only.
- Save the game again. The gate re-runs and the warning clears.
If the player genuinely has no index, switch the game to Gross, or remove the stake so it is played for pride.
Good to know
- The round's readiness list shows a "Handicaps" item ("everyone has an index" or "missing: A, B…"). A missing index does not stop the round from starting, only a funded net game.
- Publishing final results has its own check: "N players have no handicap index — a net game can't settle without it."
- In a net game with no money on it, the live board may still list an unhandicapped player and show their gross as their net. Treat that as a display only; the player is not playing scratch.
- The max-score cap, if the round uses one, caps an unhandicapped player at gross double bogey.