Players compete week by week. Each week runs Monday through Sunday. Your score for the week is determined by the Weekly Rule set when the match was created — either your First Round or your Best Round of that week. The player with the better Score Differential™ wins the week and earns a point. Weeks with no score posted are a loss for that week.
Players compete round for round in the order they are played — your 1st round vs your rival's 1st round, your 2nd vs their 2nd, and so on. The player with the better Score Differential™ in each pairing wins that round.
Three or more players compete in a shared leaderboard. Points are awarded each week or round based on finish position — 1st place earns the most, last place earns 1. Tied players split the combined points for their positions. The player with the most cumulative points at the end of the season wins the league.
The first round synced from your posted scores in a given week counts for that week. Additional rounds posted in the same week are ignored for match purposes.
Your best (lowest) Score Differential™ posted during the week counts. Results are finalized at the end of Sunday each week.
The winner is determined by Score Differential™, the World Handicap System™ (WHS) measure of how a round compares to the course difficulty:
Score Differential™ values are sourced directly from your handicap authority (via a USGA-Approved Scoring App, or Golf Canada via Golfnet) — RIVL does not compute them.
The winner is determined by net score — your gross score adjusted for your Course Handicap™. Lower net score wins. Best suited for casual play where players want a straightforward stroke-based comparison.
RIVL does not post rounds to your handicap record. All scoring is based on rounds you post through your official handicap provider's app:
Rounds appear in RIVL within approximately 60 minutes of being posted to your handicap provider. You can tap Refresh Scores in the My Scores view to trigger an immediate sync.
RIVL reads your handicap and scoring data directly from an authorized source — it never computes, estimates, or modifies official handicap values:
Both providers compute handicaps under the World Handicap System™ (WHS). Score Differential™ values from either source are directly comparable for gross scoring formats.
RIVL supports both USGA (US) and Golf Canada members competing in the same matches and leagues. Both systems operate under the World Handicap System™, but there are a small number of technical differences you should be aware of — particularly if you are competing in Recreational (net handicap) mode across the two systems.
| Difference | USGA | Golf Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Score Differential™ source | Supplied directly by USGA authority. No RIVL computation. | Supplied directly by Golf Canada authority. No RIVL computation. Both are WHS-compliant and directly comparable. |
| Net Score Differential (Recreational mode) | Supplied directly by USGA authority — computed with full hole-by-hole precision including PCC. | Approximate RIVL computes using the public WHS formula: Handicap Index × Slope ÷ 113, rounded. PCC is not applied on top. Variance from the USGA-equivalent is typically ±0–1.0 strokes. Cross-border net comparisons are approximate. |
| Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC) | Included in authority-supplied differentials. | Applied by Golf Canada before returning differentials to RIVL. RIVL's computed net differential does not apply an additional PCC layer. |
| Gross score availability | Adjusted gross score supplied by USGA authority for all rounds. | Gross score is available for recent rounds only. Rounds beyond the most recent display set may show without a gross score. |
| Score history depth | 20 most recent rounds displayed in RIVL. | 20 most recent rounds displayed in RIVL. Full history available in the Golf Canada Score app. |
| Sync frequency | Synced hourly. New scores typically appear within 60 minutes of posting. | Synced hourly. New scores typically appear within 60 minutes of posting. |
If a season ends with both players tied on points, the match result is recorded as a tie. No tiebreaker round is played.
Tied players share the combined points for their positions, consistent with PGA Tour tiebreaker logic. For example, if two players tie for 2nd, each receives the average of the 2nd- and 3rd-place point values. Final standings reflect shared positions — both players are shown at the tied rank.
RIVL is built on verified, authority-supplied scoring data. To keep competition fair:
RIVL contains no in-round competition, live scoring, or hole-by-hole tracking features. All competition is post-round — results are calculated after you have completed your round and posted it to your official handicap provider. RIVL's use of handicap data does not trigger Rules of Golf compliance obligations related to electronic devices during play.
If you have questions about how scoring works or want to report an issue, reach out: