Question 1

What is STIMP?

Accepted Answer

STIMP is a golf network for anyone who loves the game. It brings together three things that have never existed in one place: a course and club intelligence database, a personal tool for tracking and rating the courses you've played, and a community for connecting with other golfers — whether you want to find a reciprocal round at a private club, see where your friends played last weekend, or just keep a running list of every course you've ever walked.

Question 2

Who is STIMP for?

Accepted Answer

Everyone who plays golf. The guy who plays his local muni every Saturday and wants to keep track of his favorite tracks. The golfer who's curious about private club membership and wants to understand what's out there. The multi-club member looking to connect with other members and organize reciprocal rounds. If you play golf and want a better way to track it, research it, or share it with people who love it too — STIMP is for you.

Question 3

What does the name "STIMP" mean?

Accepted Answer

The stimpmeter is the instrument used to measure green speed — a small tool that only golfers know by name. We liked the idea of building something in that spirit: a platform that gives golfers real, precise information and puts it to practical use. Plus, it's a great name.

Question 4

How is STIMP different from other golf apps?

Accepted Answer

Most golf apps do one thing: GPS, scoring, or tee time booking. STIMP is built around the broader experience of being a golfer — discovering new courses, keeping a record of where you've played, seeing what your friends think of a course before you go, and connecting with other golfers in a meaningful way. We also cover ground that no other platform touches: private club intelligence. If you've ever wanted to know what a club actually costs to join, or how its course stacks up against others you've played, that information lives here — contributed and verified by members who have firsthand experience.

Question 5

What are the main features of STIMP?

Accepted Answer

STIMP is built around three core areas:

The Index is the course and club intelligence database. Verified ratings, slope, yardages, and — for private clubs — member-contributed fee data. It's the reference resource golfers have always needed and never had.

The Scorecard is your personal golf record. Rank the courses you've played against each other, tag them with notes like "fast greens" or "walkable," and follow a feed of where your connections have been playing. Your golf history, ranked and organized the way you see it.

The Clubhouse is the community layer. Connect with other golfers, find reciprocal round opportunities, build relationships through the game, and interact with people who share the same love of golf you do.

Question 6

Do I need to use all three features?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. Use The Index to research courses and clubs. Use The Scorecard just to keep track of where you've played. Join The Clubhouse if the community aspect appeals to you. They're designed to complement each other, but each one works on its own. Most people find that the more of the platform they explore, the more useful each part becomes.

Question 7

Is STIMP available on mobile?

Accepted Answer

STIMP works on any device through your web browser today. A native iOS app is on the way and will be available in the App Store when it's ready. We'll let members know as soon as it launches.

Question 8

What is The Index?

Accepted Answer

The Index is STIMP's course and club database. It covers verified course ratings, slope by tee, par, and yardages for courses across the country. For private clubs, it also includes member-contributed fee data — initiation costs, annual dues, and other figures that clubs don't typically publish anywhere. It's the resource you wish existed the last time you were trying to figure out what a membership actually costs, or whether a course is worth the trip.

Question 9

Who can access The Index?

Accepted Answer

Course data — ratings, slope, yardages, and par — is available to all users for free. Private club fee data is unlocked through a simple contribution mechanic: submit your own home club's fee information and you'll get access to the full database. It's a fair exchange — share what you know, access what others have shared. If you're not a private club member, all the course data is still fully available to you.

Question 10

How is the private club fee data sourced?

Accepted Answer

It's contributed by members who have firsthand knowledge — people who actually pay those fees. That's what makes it reliable: it comes from inside the clubs, not from guesswork or outdated public records. Members submit their home club's current figures to unlock access to what others have contributed.

Question 11

How many clubs and courses are in the database?

Accepted Answer

We currently have 15k+ clubs and 40k+ courses in the database, covering verified ratings, slope, and multiple tee configurations. If something looks off or your course isn't listed, you can flag it or submit it directly from the platform.

Question 12

What is The Scorecard?

Accepted Answer

The Scorecard is your personal log and ranking of every course you've played. Add courses, rank them against each other, tag them with descriptors like "fast greens," "walkable," or "scenic," and build up a record of your golf history over time. It's part diary, part personal rankings list, part social feed — yours to build however you want, whether you've played 10 courses or 500.

Question 13

How does the course ranking system work?

Accepted Answer

Rather than assigning a simple star rating, you rank courses relative to each other — comparing them against other courses you've personally played. The more courses you add, the more refined your personal rankings become. You can also tag each course with descriptors that capture what made it memorable: the quality of the greens, how walkable the layout is, the conditioning, the scenery, and more.

Your personal rankings generate your own STIMP Rating for each course. Those individual ratings roll up into a composite STIMP Rating for the course, which reflects the aggregate view of everyone in the community who has played it. The more members rate a course, the more meaningful that composite score becomes.

Question 14

What is my STIMP Score?

Accepted Answer

Your STIMP Score is your personal profile rating on the platform — a number that reflects your activity and engagement across STIMP. It grows as you log more courses, make more connections, record more rounds, and refer new members to the community. Think of it as a measure of how embedded you are in the golf world, not just how well you play it.

Question 15

Can I see where my friends have played?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Scorecard includes an Activity tab showing where your connections have recently played, how they ranked courses, and any tags or notes they've chosen to share. It's the golf version of what people have always done naturally — "I just played that course, here's what I thought" — surfaced in one place without turning into a social media feed you have to manage.

Question 16

What is The Clubhouse?

Accepted Answer

The Clubhouse is the community layer of STIMP — a place to connect with other golfers, organize rounds, and build relationships through the game. It's where you find a playing partner at a course you've been wanting to try, set up a reciprocal round through a connection's club, or just interact with people who love golf as much as you do. Think of it as the 19th hole, extended well beyond the boundaries of any one club.

Question 17

Who can join The Clubhouse?

Accepted Answer

The Clubhouse is open to all golfers. Private club members who verify their membership unlock the full feature set, including club-specific networking and reciprocal round tools. Golfers without a private club affiliation are welcome too — access is based on fit and a real connection to the game, not which club you belong to.

Question 18

What can I do in The Clubhouse?

Accepted Answer

Connect with golfers across clubs and regions. Discover networking connections for sponsorship at clubs you are interested in joining. Find and organize reciprocal rounds at courses you want to play. Build real relationships through a shared passion for the game. Meet playing partners for trips, local rounds, or just to swap recommendations. The Clubhouse is for anyone who has realized that some of their best golf experiences happened because of who they knew, and wants more of that.

Question 19

How much does The Clubhouse cost?

Accepted Answer

Limited access to The Clubhouse is free; the full feature set is available for an annual membership fee. Founding members — the first cohort admitted to the platform — lock in preferential pricing for the lifetime of their membership. Pricing details are shared directly during the application process.

Question 20

How do I join STIMP?

Accepted Answer

Once referred, you'll receive an invitation to create an account.

If you haven't been referred yet but are interested, request an invitation on our homepage and we'll review your application separately. In the meantime, course data on The Index and editorials on The Ledger are available to explore without an account.

Question 21

Is there a free version?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Course data through The Index and personal round tracking through The Scorecard are free. The Clubhouse network and the private club fee database require a membership. The free tier is genuinely useful — the membership unlocks the layer where verified data and a vetted community come together.

Question 22

Do I need a GHIN handicap to sign up?

Accepted Answer

No — a GHIN handicap is not required to join STIMP. You can sign up, explore the platform, and use The Scorecard without one. A GHIN is only needed if you want to verify a private club membership, which unlocks the club-specific features within The Clubhouse. If you have a GHIN, connecting it is quick and opens up the full experience for private club members.

Question 23

How does the referral system work?

Accepted Answer

When you join STIMP, you're given the ability to refer other golfers to the platform. Referrals matter — they're part of how your STIMP Score grows, and they're how the community expands in a way that maintains its quality. Every person you refer who gets approved becomes a connection in your network, and the platform gets a little more useful for everyone as it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

About STIMP

The Platform

The Index — Course & Club Intelligence

The Scorecard — Your Personal Golf Record

The Clubhouse — The Golf Community

Getting Started