Golf League Availability Email Templates

The hardest part of running a weekly golf group isn't handicaps or tee times. It's getting sixteen adults to answer one question: are you in on Saturday? Below are the three emails that do it, ready to copy, plus the cadence that makes them work. This is also the part of the job software automates best.

The cadence that gets replies

For a Saturday round:

• Monday — the availability ask, deadline Thursday noon.
• Wednesday/Thursday — one reminder, sent only to people who haven't replied.
• Friday — the details email: tee times, groupings, game, stakes.

Why these days: the ask lands while people can still see their week. The deadline leaves you a full day to build balanced foursomes and confirm numbers with the pro shop. Most want final counts 24–48 hours out. The Friday email means nobody texts you at 6:40am Saturday asking for their tee time.

Template 1 — The availability ask (Monday)

Gents,

This Saturday, July 25 at Oak Hills. We're holding 8:12, 8:20, and 8:28.

Reply to this email with one word — IN, OUT, or MAYBE — by Thursday noon.

Game is low net, $10 in. Details and groupings come Friday.

— Sue

The rules that make it work: one question, one deadline, one-word reply. The date in the subject line means it never gets confused with last week's thread. Don't add other topics. Every extra paragraph costs you replies.

Template 2 — The reminder (Wednesday, non-responders only)

Quick nudge — haven't heard from you for Saturday.

9 in so far, so we're at two groups and change. IN, OUT, or MAYBE by
tomorrow noon and you're in the draw; after that it's standby.

— Sue

Two things matter here. Send it only to people who haven't answered. A reminder to everyone teaches your reliable repliers to ignore you. Include the running tally: "9 in so far" is social proof that the round is happening and their answer decides the fourth spot.

Template 3 — The details email (Friday)

Saturday, July 25 — Oak Hills, white tees. Low net, $10, pay on the tee.

8:12 — Rick (6), Dave (13), Gary (20), Marty (22)
8:20 — Bob (9), John (11), Tom (16), Lenny (18)
8:28 — Walt (8), Phil (10), Chuck (12), Stan (15)

Numbers in parens are course handicaps for the white tees.
Arrive 20 minutes early. Weather looks clear.

Scratch after 6pm tonight? Text me, don't email.

— Sue

Everything a player needs, nothing they don't: times, groups, strokes, game, stakes, arrival buffer, and a clear late-scratch channel so Saturday-morning chaos goes to your phone, not an unread inbox.

Why email beats the group text

Keep the group text. It's where the trash talk lives. But run availability by email. In a text thread the question is buried three memes deep within an hour, replies are untrackable, and there's no record to check against the roster. One email thread per playing day gives you a reply trail and your members a single place to look up Saturday's plan.

What the automated version looks like

These three templates are exactly the loop GolfCommish automates. The availability request goes out on your schedule with In / Out / Maybe buttons. Members tap one, no login needed, and the tally updates itself. The reminder goes only to non-responders automatically. The details email builds itself from your groupings, and the pro shop gets its own tee sheet. See the real emails, including the snapshot and results messages, on our sample emails page.

New to the commissioner job? The full playbook is in how to organize a weekly golf group, and the free spreadsheet template includes an availability grid for tracking the replies these emails generate.

Frequently asked questions