Short answer. Most handicap messages mean one of four things: the number is in the wrong form, you are not the Commissioner, someone in a net game has no index, or a round could not be frozen. Find the exact message below.
Entering an index
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Enter a valid handicap index from +10 to 54 (or leave blank)." | Your Profile entry could not be read or is out of range. | Use a form like 12.4 or +2.1, or clear the field. |
| "Enter a Handicap Index such as 7.5 or +1.2." | Onboarding entry in the wrong shape. | At most two digits before the point, one after, optional +. |
| "Enter a valid Handicap Index (or leave it blank)." | Onboarding entry outside +10 to 54. | Correct the number or skip for now. |
| "Enter a valid handicap index like +2 or 12 (or clear it)." | A Commissioner's roster entry could not be read or is out of range. | Retype it, or clear to return the player to their own index. |
| "Only the commissioner can set handicaps." | You are not the host, a co-host or a co-commissioner. | Ask a Commissioner to set it. |
| "Only the commissioner can set tees." / "Invalid tee choice." | Same rule for a player's tee preference; the choice must be back or up. | Ask a Commissioner. |
GHIN card import
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "That doesn't look like your GHIN card. In the GHIN app, tap More, then My Card — then screenshot that." | The image was not the My Card screen. | Screenshot GHIN's More → My Card. |
| "The card was too blurry to read. Try a fresh screenshot without cropping." | No index or scores could be read. | Retake a full, uncropped screenshot. |
| "That's a lot of cards in a short time — try again in a bit." | More than 12 reads in an hour. | Wait, then retry. |
| "Couldn't read that screenshot (NNN). Try again in a moment." | A temporary reading problem. | Retry shortly. |
| "Please sign in to import your card." / "Please sign in to save your handicap." | Your session has ended. | Sign in again. |
| "Add the name your crew should see." | The name on the confirm sheet is blank. | Type a name, then tap "Looks right". |
| "Card import isn't set up yet — add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in the environment." | Card reading is not configured on this deployment. | Enter your index by hand and tell whoever runs your Ringer. |
Games and money
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "{names} need(s) a handicap index before this net money game can start — otherwise they'd play scratch. Add it from the roster." | A net game with a stake covers a player who has no index. | Add the index on the roster, or make the game gross. See Why a net money game won't start. |
| "Handicap allowance must be a valid percentage." | The allowance is not a number. | Enter a whole number. |
| "Handicap allowance must be between 1% and 200%." | The allowance is 0 or above 200. | Choose a value from 1 to 200. |
| "No PH" (scorecard chip) | This player has no index, so no Playing Handicap. | Add an index before the round starts. |
| "Game strokes pending" (scorecard chip) | The game that owns the stroke dots has not allocated yet. | Wait for the game feed to catch up. |
| "Handicap details are not available yet." | The handicap breakdown cannot be shown for this player yet. | Check the Handicap Analysis page once the round is live. |
Starting, correcting and closing a round
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Could not prepare the scorecard. Check the players and course, then try again." | The handicap freeze failed at Start round; the round went back to scheduled. | Check the course card and each player's tee, then start again. |
| "Could not prepare the scorecard. Please try again." | The same failure on a solo Quick Round; the round was discarded. | Create it again. |
| A message beginning "Could not prepare the scorecard for closing" | Closing a paper-scored round could not freeze handicaps first. | Check players and course, then close again. |
| "Scores are already in — this round is underway." | Back to setup needs a round with no scores. | Correct the round in place instead. |
| "This round is finalized. Reopen it before correcting a tee." | Tee corrections need an open round. | Reopen, then correct. |
| "That tee does not belong to this round's course." | The chosen tee is from another course. | Pick a tee on the round's course. |
| "Pairings changed while Ringer was recalculating handicaps. Reload and apply the tee correction again." | Groups changed at the same moment. | Reload and repeat. |
| "The scoring engine could not freeze a trustworthy official scorecard. Resolve the round scores and handicaps, then publish again." | A current player is missing from the frozen snapshot. | Make sure every player has a handicap snapshot, then publish. |
On the Handicap Analysis page
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| "No handicap resolved — no Handicap Index on file" | The player has no index. They score gross only; nothing is assumed. |
| "No tee rating — Index used directly (casual round)" | No rated tee, so the Index stands in for the Course Handicap. |
| "Frozen when the round went live." / "Live until the round starts." | Whether you are looking at the snapshot or at live numbers. |