it shouldn’t take a genius to run a golf trip.
Choosing a tool
Though if you’re running a club championship, it probably should.
The short answer. Golf Genius Trip Manager is tournament software with a trip mode. Strong scoring, a deep format library, one flat fee of US$149 per trip for up to 36 players and 12 rounds. Caddi is a trip app: players register and pay themselves, the itinerary sits with the golf, and you pay A$15 per player as they join. Under about fourteen players Caddi costs less. Over that, Golf Genius does.
But price is the least interesting question here. A golf trip is a great deal more than a scoreboard, and that’s where these two part company.
formats, which is where this gets interesting
Golf Genius publishes its library as Ryder Cup, best ball, Skins and Nassau. Good formats. American ones.
Caddi runs Stableford, stroke play in net or gross, best ball, Ambrose, team aggregate and match play in four-ball, foursomes and singles, plus skins. One round can feed several at once, so the same cards settle a team day, the individual board and a skins pot without anyone entering a score twice. Net and gross run side by side, every phone updates as scores land, and tapping any player opens their full scorecard.
Boards can be split by division, so a women’s winner and a men’s winner come off the same round. Each day can rank its own places alongside the trip-long board.
If your trip is a Stableford, or you play foursomes on the second morning, check their published list before you pay. Ours starts there.
side by side
| Feature | Caddi | Golf Genius Trip Manager |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An app for the whole trip | Tournament software with a trip mode |
| Price | A$15 per player | US$149 per trip |
| When you pay | As players join | Up front |
| Cheaper when | Under ~14 players | Over ~14 players |
| Player limit | None | 36 |
| Round limit | None | 12 |
| Formats | Stableford, stroke (net and gross), best ball, Ambrose, team aggregate, match play (four-ball, foursomes, singles), skins | Ryder Cup, best ball, Skins, Nassau |
| Live scoring | Net and gross side by side, updating on every phone | Yes |
| Full scorecard per player | Tap any player, from the scoring screen, its leaderboard, or the Scores screen | Not listed |
| Several competitions on one round | Yes | Not listed |
| Divisions (men’s, women’s, grades) | Yes | Not listed |
| Pairings | Yes | Yes, avoids repeats |
| Trip website | Branded, at caddigolf.app | Custom |
| Players register themselves | Yes | Not listed |
| Players pay through it | Yes | Not listed |
| Expenses | Tracked as you go | Tracked, with settlement |
| Itinerary, travel, accommodation | Yes | Not listed |
Golf Genius details taken from their own product page, checked 15 September 2026. Check it yourself before you decide; products change.
when Golf Genius is the right call
Say it plainly, because it’s sometimes true.
You’re running a club or charity tournament. That’s what they’re built for and they’re better at it. Caddi isn’t in that business. We’re built around one person: the organiser. Across forty-three interviews, putting a group trip together took them between fifteen and forty hours. The best part of a working week, spent on a weekend they’re also meant to enjoy. Everything we build is aimed at that.
Big group, and the competition is the whole point. Twenty-four players playing American formats with a points table people take seriously; their flat fee is better value at that size.
Your club already runs Golf Genius. The handicaps and the habits are already there. That’s worth more than a feature list.
when Caddi is the right call
You’re the one holding the money. Players register and pay through a link, so you’re not reconciling your own bank statement against a list of names for six weeks. Golf Genius will help you work out who owes what afterwards. Caddi collects it up front.
You play Stableford, foursomes or fourball. Check their list. Then check ours.
The trip is more than the golf. Flights, the house, Saturday dinner, who’s in which car, the address of a course with no phone signal. Roughly half the questions you get asked on a golf trip aren’t about golf. Caddi carries a proper itinerary (the actual shape of group travel, not a schedule of tee times) and it’s built to be looked at, because the trip should feel like it’s gone pro before anyone gets on a plane.
Your group is small, or you don’t know yet. Six players is A$90 on Caddi. Golf Genius is US$149 before you know whether Dave’s actually coming. Caddi is free to build; you pay as people join.
Your trip is bigger than 36 players or longer than 12 rounds. Trip Manager stops there. Caddi doesn’t.
the honest summary
Golf Genius is a tournament company that built a trip product, on rails laid for the corporate day and the club championship. Caddi is a trip product that also runs the tournament.
If the scoreboard is the reason you’re going, start with them. If the reason you’re going is four days away with your mates and the scoreboard is one part of it, start here.
Caddi carries the bag. Golf Genius runs the tournament.
questions people actually ask
Is Caddi cheaper than Golf Genius?
Under about fourteen players, yes. Golf Genius Trip Manager is US$149 per trip for up to 36 players, roughly A$209. Caddi is A$15 per player, so ten players is A$150 and twenty is A$300. Caddi is also free to build and charges only as players join, so you commit nothing up front.
What’s the real difference between them?
Golf Genius is tournament software with a trip mode; Caddi is a trip app that also scores. Three practical differences. Caddi lets players register and pay through the app, so the organiser isn’t funding the trip. Caddi runs Stableford, foursomes and fourball, which aren’t in Golf Genius’s published format library. And Caddi carries the whole trip. A personalised itinerary built for the mess of group travel, not just the golf.
Does Golf Genius Trip Manager do Stableford?
Their published library lists Ryder Cup, best ball, Skins and Nassau. If Stableford matters to your trip, ask them directly before paying. Caddi runs Stableford, stroke play in net or gross, best ball, Ambrose, team aggregate, match play in four-ball, foursomes and singles, and skins.
Can Golf Genius handle a big group?
Up to 36 players and 12 rounds on the US$149 plan, per their pricing. Beyond that you’d need to speak to them. Caddi has no player or round limit.
Is Golf Genius available in Australia?
Golf Genius works with clubs internationally, but we couldn’t find Trip Manager being sold or supported in Australia, and its pricing is quoted in US dollars. Worth asking them directly what you’d actually pay and who supports you here before you commit.
Which is better for a buddies trip?
If it’s essentially a competition with accommodation attached, Golf Genius. If it’s a trip with a competition in it (travel, a house, shared costs, people arriving at different times), Caddi.
Do I need either?
No. A group chat and a spreadsheet run plenty of good trips. Both of these start earning their money at around eight people and two nights.