How to feed your scorecard to the machine without breaking it

If you are migrating away from messy spreadsheets, notes apps, or premium trackers that locked your data behind a paywall, you can bulk-import your entire golf history directly into Birdie Lab using our flat-file template.

To get started, grab the exact file template: DOWNLOAD

The structural ground rules

Our import pipeline is strict because clean data yields a trustworthy handicap tracker view. If your spreadsheet structure is messy, the machine will reject it to save you from corrupting your own trend charts.

• One row per hole: Do not put an entire round on one line. For a standard 18-hole round, your spreadsheet must contain exactly 18 rows.

• Leave the headers alone: Keep the top header row completely intact. Do not rename or delete columns.

• Export format: Save the final file strictly with a .csv extension.

The layout anatomy

Your template contains the following exact column layout sequence verbatim: Round Id, Course, Scorecard Id, Tee Type, Scorecard Type, Handicap Type, Handicap, Hole Id, Hole Number, Par, Stroke Index, Score, Putts, Drive Result, Penalty Strokes, Bunker Hit, Net Score, Strokes Taken, Date Inserted

The non-negotiable fields

To calculate a valid WHS handicap differential or plot your performance snapshot, Birdie Lab requires four core data points on every single row:

• Course: The exact name of the track you played.

• Date Inserted: Use a consistent DD/MM/YYYY format (e.g., 31/05/2026) so our timeline logic charts it correctly.

• Hole Number: Must be a plain numeric value from 1 to 18.

• Score: The actual gross strokes taken on that specific hole (accepted range: 1 to 20).

Everything else in the spreadsheet can technically be left blank, but feeding the machine extra details like putts, penalties, and driver accuracy is how you unlock the real advanced diagnostics.

Recommended values for clean insights

To prevent validation errors and keep your course analysis looking sharp, format your optional metrics within these exact parameters:

How to map a single round correctly

1. Group your rows: Assign the exact same Round Id to all 18 holes belonging to that specific day.

2. Copy the metadata: Repeat the identical Course name and Date Inserted across all 18 rows for that round.

3. Sequence the holes: Number the Hole Number column sequentially from 1 straight through to 18.

4. Log the damage: Fill in your gross Score for each hole, then overlay your optional stats like Putts or Drive Result to build a true tactical game plan for next time.

The "Why is this broken?" troubleshooting guide

If your upload fails, don't throw your computer into a water hazard. It is almost always one of these common spreadsheet errors:

• The skip-duplicate safety switch: Birdie Lab automatically skips an import if a round with the exact same course and date already exists in your history collection. If you are trying to overwrite an existing round, edit it directly in the UI instead of re-uploading.

• "Missing required column": You accidentally modified, renamed, or deleted one of our core headers (Course, Date Inserted, Hole Number, or Score). Download a fresh template and copy your data over.

• "Date is invalid": Your spreadsheet software sneakily auto-formatted your dates into a weird layout. Force the column format back to a clean, consistent format like DD/MM/YYYY.

• "Score/Strokes must be 1-20": Look closely at your data rows. You either left a hole score entirely blank, typed text by mistake, or logged an accidental 0.

Where to drop the file

1. Create your scorecard

2. Fire up Birdie Lab.

3. Navigate to your Log Round.

4. Click "UPLOAD ROUND"

5. Enter in all the key details for the round using the UI

6. Entre shots (if you want).

7. Log the round!