Terms of Service

1. About The Birdie Club

The Birdie Club ("we", "us", "our") is a web-based platform that helps golf societies manage events, bookings, competitions, scoring, and finances. The platform is operated as a marketplace connecting golf society organisers with their members.

2. Accounts

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You agree to provide accurate information when registering and to keep your profile up to date.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or are used fraudulently.

3. Golf Societies

Society organisers are responsible for the management of their society, including event details, pricing, and member communications. The Birdie Club provides the tools but does not verify the accuracy of event listings, pricing, or course information.

Society organisers are responsible for ensuring that event pricing is accurate and that any goods or services described (green fees, food, competition entry) are delivered as stated.

4. Payments and Fees

The Birdie Club facilitates card payments using Stripe Connect. There are two types of payment on the platform:

Society event payments

When a member pays for an event booking by card:

• Stripe processing fees apply to every card transaction. These are currently 1.4% + 20p for UK cards and 2.9% + 20p for non-UK cards, charged by Stripe. These fees are deducted from the payment before it reaches the society.
• Platform fee: The Birdie Club charges a 2% platform fee on each card transaction. This fee is deducted from the payment amount and retained by The Birdie Club.
• Society receives: The remaining amount after Stripe fees and the platform fee is transferred to the society's connected Stripe account and paid out to their bank account on Stripe's standard payout schedule.

For example, on a £40 booking: Stripe takes approximately £0.76, The Birdie Club takes £0.80 (2%), and the society receives approximately £38.44.

Game payments (Find a Game)

When a player pays to join a game posted by a host:

• Game fee: The price set by the host for the spot. This is transferred to the host's connected Stripe account.
• Booking protection fee: A fee of £2.50 is added on top of the game price. This fee is retained by The Birdie Club and covers cancellation and no-show protection for the player.
• Stripe processing fees apply as above and are deducted from the total charge.
• Payout hold: The host's share is held in their Stripe account until 48 hours after the game is marked as completed. This protects players in case of disputes. After 48 hours with no disputes, the funds are automatically released to the host's bank account.

Manual bookings (where the member pays the organiser directly by bank transfer or cash) do not incur any fees from The Birdie Club or Stripe.

We reserve the right to change fees with 30 days' notice to all registered users.

5. Refunds

Society event refunds: When a booking paid by card is cancelled (either by the member or removed by the organiser), a full refund is automatically processed via Stripe. The Stripe processing fees and The Birdie Club platform fee are also refunded.

Game refunds: If a game host cancels a game, all players who have paid are automatically refunded in full, including the booking protection fee. The transfer to the host's Stripe account is reversed.

Refunds typically appear in the player's bank account within 5-10 business days, depending on their bank.

For manual payments (bank transfer or cash), refund arrangements are between the parties involved. The Birdie Club is not involved in manual payment disputes.

6. Disputes

When a game host marks a game as completed, players have a 48-hour window to raise a dispute if something was not right (for example, the game did not take place or was significantly different from what was advertised).

If a dispute is raised, the host's payout is paused and The Birdie Club will review the dispute. We may, at our discretion, issue a full or partial refund to the player and/or release the funds to the host.

Players who abuse the dispute process (for example, raising disputes for games that took place as described) may have their accounts suspended.

7. Stripe Connect

Society organisers and game hosts who enable card payments create a Stripe Express connected account. By doing so, they agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement. The Birdie Club is not responsible for Stripe's services, fees, or policies.

Users are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Stripe during onboarding, including bank account details. A single Stripe account may be used for both game hosting and society event payments.

8. Find a Game

The Find a Game feature allows users to post open games with spare spots and to browse and request to join games posted by others. Society organisers may also open existing events to the public.

Hosts are responsible for the accuracy of game listings, including course, date, and pricing details. Hosts who charge for games must connect a Stripe account and set a price per spot. The Birdie Club does not verify game listings and accepts no liability for games that are misrepresented or cancelled.

Players who request to join a game should understand that acceptance is at the host's sole discretion. The Birdie Club does not guarantee that requests will be accepted. When paying to join a game, a booking protection fee is added to the game price. This covers automatic refunds if the game is cancelled by the host.

Player Availability: When you post your availability, your display name, handicap index, home club, preferred date, and location area are visible to all authenticated users. You can remove your availability postings at any time.

Interactions between hosts and players (including meeting logistics and on-course conduct) are between those individuals. The Birdie Club is not a party to any arrangement made through Find a Game beyond the payment and dispute processes described in sections 4, 5, and 6 above.

9. Course Data

Course information (par, slope rating, yardage, hole data) is provided by third-party sources and may not always be accurate or up to date. The Birdie Club does not guarantee the accuracy of course data and accepts no liability for errors in course information.

Course mapping data (tee positions, green locations, pin positions) may be contributed by users through the GPS tracking feature. This crowdsourced data is provided on a best-effort basis and may not be fully accurate. The Birdie Club does not guarantee the accuracy of GPS-derived distances or positions.

10. GPS Tracking

The Birdie Club offers optional GPS shot tracking that uses your device's location services. By enabling GPS tracking, you consent to the collection of your real-time GPS position during a round. This data is used to record shot positions, calculate distances, track your walking route, and generate round statistics.

GPS accuracy depends on your device, environmental conditions, and satellite availability. The Birdie Club does not guarantee the accuracy of GPS-derived distances and accepts no liability for decisions made based on distance readings.

When prompted, you may voluntarily contribute course mapping data (tee positions, green centres, pin locations, tee box colours). By contributing this data, you grant The Birdie Club a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use, display, and share this data with other users of the platform. Contributed data may be reviewed and modified by course managers or platform administrators.

11. Scoring and Competitions

The Birdie Club provides tools for Stableford scoring and leaderboards. Scores are entered by individual members and are not independently verified by the platform. The platform calculates Stableford points automatically based on the strokes and handicap entered, but the accuracy of scores is the responsibility of the players.

Prize allocation and payouts are managed by the society organiser. The Birdie Club facilitates the recording of prizes but does not guarantee their distribution.

12. Social Features and Gamification

The Birdie Club includes social features such as player profiles, activity feeds, following other players, in-app messaging, and course reviews. By using these features, you agree to use them responsibly and not post abusive, offensive, or misleading content.

The gamification system (XP, levels, achievements, challenges, bingo cards, streaks) is provided for entertainment and engagement. XP, levels, and challenge progress have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged, transferred, or redeemed.

We reserve the right to reset, modify, or remove gamification data at any time, including adjusting XP values, challenge requirements, or achievement criteria.

13. Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from your profile page. Account deletion is permanent and removes all your personal data, scorecards, achievements, and activity. You must complete or cancel any active games and resolve pending payouts before deletion.

Some data may be retained in anonymised form for society records (e.g., competition results) as described in our Privacy Policy.

14. Push Notifications

By enabling push notifications, you agree to receive alerts about game requests, messages, event updates, achievements, and other platform activity. You can manage your notification preferences in your profile settings and revoke permission at any time through your device settings.

15. Limitation of Liability

The Birdie Club is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any losses arising from the use of the platform, including but not limited to: inaccurate course data, scoring errors, payment disputes between members and organisers, or event cancellations.

Our total liability to you for any claim arising from the use of the platform is limited to the amount of platform fees you have paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

16. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify registered users of material changes via email or through the platform. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

17. Contact

If you have questions about these terms, contact us at hello@birdie.club.