Coach Guide

Setting Up Your Team

When you first log in as a head coach, your team is already created. To get players into the system:

1. Go to Settings (tap your avatar in the top corner of any page).
2. Under Team, find your Player Code — a short alphanumeric code like 7CHT88.
3. Tap Copy invite link to copy a direct sign-up link that auto-fills the join code for your players.
4. Send that link via text or email. When a player opens it and signs up, the code is pre-filled — they just enter their name, email, and password.

You can also share just the code itself — players can enter it manually on the registration page at app.birdielab.net/register.

Your Player Code is also surfaced on the Team tab when no players have joined yet — tap Copy to copy it directly from there.

Players appear in your Team Leaderboard once they have joined and logged at least one round. After registering on the web, players should download the BirdieLab Coach app from the App Store or Google Play to use the full native experience.

During sign-up, passwords require a minimum of 8 characters, at least one uppercase letter, and at least one number.

Inviting an Assistant Coach

BirdieLab supports assistant coaches who share full coaching access to your team. Your team has a separate Staff Code — distinct from the Player Code — that grants assistant coach access.

1. Go to Settings → Team and find your Staff Code.
2. Tap Copy invite link to copy a direct sign-up link pre-filled with the Staff Code.
3. Send the link to your assistant coach. They open it in a browser, sign up, and are automatically added as an assistant coach on your team.

You can also share just the Staff Code — your assistant coach signs up at app.birdielab.net/register and enters it manually when prompted.

Assistant coaches have the same view of player data, alerts, and coaching tools as the head coach. The Player Code and Staff Code are different — make sure you share the right one.

To remove an assistant coach, go to Settings → Coaching Staff, tap the remove icon next to their name, and confirm.

iPhone / iPad

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Search for BirdieLab Coach and tap Get.
3. Once installed, open the app and sign in with your coach credentials.

Android

1. Open the Google Play Store on your Android device.
2. Search for BirdieLab Coach and tap Install.
3. Once installed, open the app and sign in with your coach credentials.

Web access

You can also use BirdieLab in any browser at app.birdielab.net. The native apps are recommended for day-to-day use, but the web version is fully functional on desktop for tasks like reviewing analytics, managing your recruiting pipeline, or building practice plans.

Weekly Coach Digest

Below the tile grid, a Weekly Coach Digest card appears every Monday morning. It is generated by AI and summarises the previous week's rounds across your entire roster — who played well, who is trending in the wrong direction, and what to focus on at your next practice.

The digest is org-wide and shows the week it covers. It refreshes automatically each Monday; previous digests are replaced.

Leaderboard

• Players are sorted by scoring average (lowest / best first).
• Use the filter pills at the top to narrow to All, Practice, Qualifier, or Tournament rounds only.
• Each row shows a player's rank, name, handicap index (if set), rounds logged, average score to par, best round, and last-5 average.
• Tap any player row to open their full Player Profile.

From the Team header you can also reach: Alerts, Strokes Gained, Recruiting, Qualifiers, and Lineups. An export button lets you export roster data or standings.

Team Feed

Below the leaderboard, a Team Feed section shows recent updates posted to the team. New (unread) updates are marked with a colored dot. Tap Post to compose a new announcement. Tap View all to open the full feed history.

Players see the same feed on their Team tab and receive a push notification when a new post is published (if notifications are enabled). The 3 most recent posts also appear on the player's Performance Board.

AI Observations

Below the rule-based alerts, a separate AI Observations section shows one AI-generated observation per player. Each observation is a single tightly-worded sentence identifying the most actionable pattern in that player's recent data — scoring trends, practice cadence, putting changes, GIR movement.

Observations are refreshed daily and shown for players with at least 5 rounds in the last 90 days. Cards older than 2 weeks are hidden automatically. Tap any card to go to that player's profile.

Setting Targets

Scroll to the Targets section and tap Add Target. Choose a metric and enter a goal value. The player will see their progress on their own Performance Board.

Available metrics: Scoring Average, Last-5 Average, Putts per Round, GIR %, Fairways %.

Adding Player Notes

Scroll to Player Notes and tap Add Note. Notes are coach-only to write; players can read them on their Performance Board under "Coach Notes."

Viewing Player Scorecards

Scroll to the Rounds section to see the player's last 20 rounds. Tap any round to open the full scorecard. When viewing as a coach, the edit and delete controls are hidden — you are in read-only mode. Only the player who logged the round can modify it.

Per-hole stat chips appear below each hole row when the player logged per-hole data: FW✓ / FW✗ (fairway), GIR✓ / GIR✗ (green in regulation), and putt count.

Recommended Focus

The Recommended Focus card appears on every player profile with at least 3 qualifying rounds in the last 90 days. It analyses Strokes Gained, scoring trends, recent practice history, and at-risk targets to surface 2–3 prioritised practice areas.

Push as Practice Plan: Tap the green button at the bottom of the card to instantly create a pre-filled Practice Plan from the recommendation.

Parent Access

The Parent button in the player profile header generates a private, shareable link for a parent or guardian. The link opens a read-only performance summary — no login required.

1. Tap Parent in the player profile header.
2. Tap Generate Link.
3. Tap Copy Link and send it via text or email.

To revoke access: tap Parent → tap Revoke link. A new link can be generated at any time.

Generating a Progress Report

Tap the Report button in the player profile header.

1. Set a date range (From / To).
2. Add an optional coach note.
3. Tap Generate Report.
4. Tap Copy Link to share it.

Report links are public (no login required) and remain valid indefinitely. Share with parents, athletic directors, or college recruiters.

Creating a Qualifier

1. From the Team tab, tap Qualifiers in the header.
2. Tap New (top right).
3. Fill in the qualifier details and tap Create Qualifier.

Multiple qualifiers can overlap — each is completely independent.

Scoring Method

How Players Qualify

Players log rounds in the Rounds tab and select Qualifier as the round type. When multiple qualifiers are open, the player sees a picker and must choose which qualifier the round counts toward.

Rounds logged with During round mode push scores to the standings in real time as each hole is completed — no need to wait for the round to be saved.

Live Standings

Tap any qualifier to open the standings page. The leaderboard updates automatically as rounds are submitted and as players score live.

• A green Playing badge appears next to any player who is currently mid-round. Their running score and current hole are shown in real time.
• Completed rounds are ranked by display score (average or best-X, depending on the scoring method).
• Players who have not yet started appear in a separate section at the bottom.

Player Nudge Notifications

Enable the nudge toggle when creating a qualifier to automatically remind players who haven't logged any qualifying rounds yet.

• Set a delay in days — the system waits this many days after the qualifier opens before sending the notification.
• Each player receives the nudge at most once per qualifier. Logging a qualifying round stops further nudges.
• Nudges also appear as a Qualifier nudge alert in your Coach Alerts.

Building a Lineup from Qualifier Results

Once a qualifier is active or ended, a Build Lineup button appears at the bottom of the standings page. Tapping it creates a new lineup pre-populated in qualifier rank order.

Creating a Lineup

1. From the Team tab, tap Lineups in the header.
2. Tap New Lineup.
3. Enter the event name, date, and any notes.

Lineups are most commonly created via Build Lineup on a qualifier standings page.

Editing a Lineup

• Tap Add Player to add someone to the lineup.
• Use the ↑ / ↓ arrows to reorder.
• Tap ✕ to remove a player.
• Tap Save in the sticky bar at the bottom.

Sharing a Lineup

Once final, tap Share in the top-right corner. Players will see a card on their Performance Board showing their position number. Tap Shared again to unpublish.

Pipeline Overview

The board shows all prospects in one view with a stat bar at the top showing counts by stage. Tap a stage card to filter the list.

Pipeline stages: Watching → Contacted → Visited → Offered → Committed → Signed

Prospects marked Declined are tracked separately and excluded from the active count.

Adding a Prospect

Tap + Add (top right).

Set the Priority (High / Medium / Low) and initial Status before saving.

Prospect Detail Page

• Advance the pipeline — tap any stage in the pipeline rail to move the prospect forward; tap Declined to mark as declined, or restore from declined back to Watching.
• Change priority — tap High, Medium, or Low.
• Edit prospect info — tap the pencil icon in the header.
• Log activity — scroll to the Activity section and tap + Add Note.

Activity Log Types

Filtering and Sorting

Use the status tab strip to filter by stage, and grad year pills to filter by graduation year. Within any filter, prospects are sorted by priority (High first), then alphabetically.

Changing a Player's Status

Tap Move on an active player's card to graduate them (Alumni) or remove them (Inactive). Tap Restore on an alumni or inactive card to return them to active status.

Historical rounds and stats are always preserved regardless of roster status.

Logging a Round

Tap Log Round in the Rounds header.

Step 1 — Setup

• Saved courses — courses your team has added appear here with auto-fill of par and yardages.
• Course search — search the Golf Course API by name to find and auto-fill any course.
• Manual entry — type any course name if it isn't in the catalog or search results.
• Date — defaults to today; change it to log a past round.
• Round type — Practice, Qualifier, or Tournament.
• Holes played — 18 holes (default) or 9 holes.
• Logging mode — During round (hole by hole) or After round (all scores at once).

Step 2 — Scoring

During round: A large display shows the current hole. Use − and + to set your score. Record per-hole stats (Fairway, GIR, Putts) and tap forward/back to navigate holes. Tap Finish Round on the last hole.

After round: A scrollable scorecard shows all holes. Each row has FW✓/✗, GIR✓/✗, and a putts stepper. The Round Stats panel auto-computes totals from hole entries — no double-entry. Tap Save Round when done.

If a game plan exists for the selected course, a Plan button appears in the scorecard header.

Viewing Past Rounds

Tap any round in your history to open the full detail view: hole-by-hole scores, per-hole stat chips, score breakdown, shot stats, hole notes, and mental check-in data.

Head-to-Head Matches

Tap the Matches sub-tab to manage match-play rounds. Tap New Match to set up a match with an opponent, course, and date.

Practice Plans

Tap the Plans pill in the Practice header (or the Practice Plans tile in the Coach Hub).

Creating a Practice Plan:

1. Tap New Plan and give it a name.
2. Add sections — each has a name, time allocation (minutes), and optional coaching note.
3. Reorder sections with the drag handle; remove with ✕.
4. Tap Save Plan.

Assigning a Practice Plan: Open any saved plan and tap Assign. Select one or more players and tap Confirm.

Drills

Tap the Drills pill in the Practice header.

Creating a Drill:

1. Tap New Drill.
2. Enter a name, category (Putting, Short Game, Approach, Off the Tee, Mental, Fitness, or Other), and description.
3. Optionally add a target metric (e.g., "Make 8 of 10 from 6 feet").
4. Tap Save Drill.

Assigning Drills: Open any drill and tap Assign. Select players and tap Confirm.

Team Codes

Under the Team section you will find two codes:

Each code has two sharing options:

• Copy — copies just the code. The recipient enters it manually at app.birdielab.net/register.
• Copy invite link — copies a full URL that opens the registration page with the code pre-filled. The easiest option to share via text or email.

Coaching Staff

The Coaching Staff section (visible to head coaches only) lists all current assistant coaches on your team. To remove an assistant coach, tap the trash icon next to their name and confirm. Removed coaches immediately lose access to your team data.

Subscription

The Subscription section is visible to the head coach only — assistant coaches are always free and do not have a billing section.

Tap Manage Billing (active subscribers) or the upgrade buttons (trial/no plan) to access the billing portal or start a checkout session.

Course Catalog

Under Settings → Courses, manage the courses your team uses most often. Search for a course and save it — it then appears in the Saved courses list every time anyone on your team starts a new round. Saved courses auto-fill per-hole par, yardage, and stroke index. You can also add game plans to a course — strategy notes for each hole.

Push Notifications

Push notifications work automatically in the native app. To enable them:

1. Open the app and tap your avatar to go to Settings.
2. Scroll to Notifications.
3. Tap Enable.
4. When your device asks for permission, tap Allow.

If the button shows Blocked, go to your device's Settings → Notifications → BirdieLab Coach and re-enable it there.

Security

Scroll to Security to change your password. You must enter your current password first. New password: minimum 8 characters, at least one uppercase letter, at least one number.

Pull-to-Refresh

On pages that show live data (Performance Board, Team Leaderboard, Team Feed, Roster), pull down from the top of the screen to refresh. A green spinner appears while the refresh is in progress.

Creating an Event

Tap Add Event in the calendar header. Fill in:

Recurring Events

When you edit or delete a recurring event, BirdieLab asks whether to apply the change to this event only or this and all future events. Use "this event only" to adjust a single occurrence (e.g. a practice moved one week due to weather) without affecting the rest of the series.

Acknowledgment Tracking

For events with acknowledgment required, tap the X / Y confirmed line at the bottom of the event card to open the response summary. A progress bar shows overall confirmation rate. You can see at a glance who hasn't responded without needing to chase anyone individually.

Month Navigation

Use the ‹ and › arrows at the top of the calendar to browse forward and back by month. Events are grouped by date in chronological order within each month.

AI Round Summaries

After every round is saved, BirdieLab generates a short AI summary visible on the round detail page. The summary explains what actually happened in plain English: scoring patterns, stat anomalies, one key takeaway, and a suggested focus for next time.

Coaches can see round summaries on every player's scorecards. Players can see their own summaries. Summaries generate within a few seconds of a round being saved — they appear automatically; there is no button to tap.

Weekly Coach Digest

Every Monday morning, a Weekly Coach Digest is generated for your team and posted to the Coach Hub. It covers all rounds and practice sessions logged in the prior 7 days across your full roster — who improved, who regressed, what patterns are emerging, and what to focus on at this week's practice.

The digest is visible only to coaches and refreshes each Monday automatically.

AI Observations

The Alerts page includes a dedicated AI Observations section below the rule-based alerts. Each observation is a single sentence identifying the most actionable pattern in a player's recent data. Observations refresh daily for all players with at least 5 rounds in the last 90 days.

AI Game Plans

When a player is logging a round at a course with at least 2 rounds of history, a brain icon button (AI) appears in the scorecard header. Tapping it generates a course-specific pre-round game plan based on that player's full scoring history at that course.

The game plan identifies scoring opportunities (holes where the player consistently makes par or better), trouble holes (where strokes are regularly lost), and ends with one specific tactical focus for the round. It is 3–4 sentences and uses real hole numbers.

Game plans are cached per player per course and regenerate automatically when new rounds at that course are logged. If a player has fewer than 2 rounds at the selected course, the button shows an "insufficient data" message instead.

Coaches can also open AI Game Plans from a player's profile during a qualifying round — the same button and flow is available from the coach-side round view.

Data requirements summary