Privacy Policy

Official Golfing is a golf club management platform serving golf clubs, their administrators, and their members. The Service is currently operated by Joe Ash and Gareth Tyler trading as Official Golfing.

Contact: support@officialgolfing.com

Our role under data protection law depends on the context:

If you are unsure which applies, please contact us or your golf club.

• Directly from you, when you create an account, complete your profile or contact us
• From your golf club, where they upload or maintain your member record
• From Golfing Unions and the WHS Platform, in respect of your handicap and CDH record
• Automatically, through your use of the app and website

Official Golfing is in advanced stages of becoming a licensed Independent Software Vendor (ISV) with Golfing Unions for World Handicap System (WHS) access. Wales Golf is our first approved Union, with others to follow.

To operate the WHS and maintain your official handicap, certain personal data must be shared between your club, Official Golfing and the relevant Golfing Union. This typically includes your name, date of birth, gender, email address, CDH number, home club, handicap and score history.

Your Golfing Union is a separate Controller of this data once it sits on the WHS Platform. Each Union publishes its own WHS Privacy Notice and we encourage you to read the one that applies to you.

We share personal data only where necessary and only with parties who are bound by appropriate confidentiality and data protection obligations. Categories include:

• Your golf club and its authorised administrators
• Golfing Unions, for WHS purposes
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers
• Payment providers, currently SumUp and/or Stripe, and any other payment provider we engage from time to time
• Email, SMS and push notification providers
• Analytics and crash reporting providers
• Customer support tooling
• Professional advisers (legal, accounting, insurance) where required
• Law enforcement or regulators, where we are legally required to disclose

A current list of our sub-processors is available on request by emailing support@officialgolfing.com.

Your personal data is primarily stored and processed in the United Kingdom and/or the European Economic Area. Where a provider processes data outside the UK or EEA, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy.

• Active account data: for the duration of your membership and account
• Handicap and competition records: as required by Golfing Unions and your club
• Financial and transactional records: typically 6 years for tax and accounting
• Support correspondence: typically 2 years
• Marketing data: until you withdraw consent or object

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access a copy of your personal data
• Have inaccurate data corrected
• Have your data erased (in certain circumstances)
• Restrict or object to processing
• Receive your data in a portable format
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on it
• Not be subject to solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects

To exercise any right, email support@officialgolfing.com. We will respond within one month.

If we act as a Processor for your club, we may need to forward your request to your club as Controller.

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including encryption in transit, access controls, secure password hashing, logging, regular backups and vendor security review.

No system is 100% secure. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for using a strong, unique password.

The Service is intended for golfers aged 16 and over. Where a member is under 16, the club's administrators are responsible for managing their record and obtaining the appropriate parental consent. We do not knowingly collect data directly from children under 16 without that consent.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for essential operation, security, performance and (with your consent) analytics. You can manage your preferences via our cookie banner or your browser settings. Our full Cookie Policy is available on our website.

We will only send you marketing emails or push notifications about Official Golfing where you have opted in (or where the soft opt-in under PECR applies). You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any marketing email, by adjusting your notification preferences in the app, or by emailing support@officialgolfing.com.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on our website and in the app, and update the "Effective from" date on the cover. For material changes we will notify you by email or in-app message.

Email: support@officialgolfing.com

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113
• Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF