Terms of Use

The agreement between you and Fairways.

Last updated: 26 August 2026

These terms apply when you use the Fairways app. By creating an account you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

On iPhone and iPad, your subscription is also governed by Apple's standard licence agreement, which takes precedence over these terms where the two conflict.

1. What Fairways is

Fairways is a golf app for recording scores, tracking a handicap index, following live leaderboards, running events and measuring distances on course. It is an aid to your golf. It is not an official handicapping authority, a rules official, or a surveying instrument.

2. Your account

You must be at least 18 to hold an account.
Give us accurate details and keep your password to yourself. You are responsible for what happens on your account.
One account per person. Do not impersonate another golfer.
Tell us promptly if you think someone else has got into your account.

3. Subscription, trial and billing

Fairways is sold as an annual auto-renewing subscription. The price shown in the app is the price for your storefront, including any applicable tax.
New subscribers get a 1-month free trial. If you cancel before the trial ends, you pay nothing.
Payment is charged to your Apple or Google account at confirmation of purchase, or at the end of the free trial.
The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the period.
You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple or Google account settings. The app links you there. We cannot cancel it for you — the stores do not permit it.
Cancelling stops the next renewal. It does not end the period you have already paid for, and it does not trigger a partial refund.
Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their own policies, not by us. If you have a South African consumer-law right to a refund, contact us and we will help you pursue it with the relevant store.
If a free trial is offered, any unused portion is forfeited when you buy a subscription.

4. Playing for money

Fairways never handles your money. Where the app records stakes in a game or event, it does nothing more than calculate and display who owes whom. It does not hold, transfer, escrow, process or take a cut of any amount. All money moves directly between players, through their own banks, entirely outside this app.

Any wager between you and other golfers is a private arrangement between those people. Fairways is not a party to it.
We do not guarantee that anyone will pay you. Marking a payment as received is a statement by the person who was owed — it is a shared note, not proof of payment and not a guarantee by us.
You are responsible for ensuring that any game you play for money is lawful where you play it. Gambling is regulated in South Africa and elsewhere. Do not use these features for anything unlawful.
Amounts shown are calculated from the scores entered. If the scores are wrong, the amounts will be wrong. Check them.

5. Distances, scores and handicaps

GPS distances are estimates. They depend on satellite signal, your device, and the accuracy of our course data. Do not rely on them where accuracy matters — and never use the app in a competition where a distance-measuring device is not permitted under the Rules of Golf.
Course data may be wrong or out of date. Pars, stroke indexes, tee positions and pin locations change. The scorecard at the club is the authority, not us.
Handicap index calculations are unofficial. We follow World Handicap System principles, but only your affiliated club or national body can issue an official handicap. Do not present a Fairways figure as an official index.
Scores and results in the app are a convenience record. Competition results are decided by the committee running the competition.

6. Using the app properly

Do not:

enter false scores to gain an advantage, or manipulate another golfer's handicap;
harass, abuse or post offensive content about other golfers, including in event chat;
attempt to break, reverse-engineer, scrape or overload the app or our servers;
resell or redistribute access to the app, or share one subscription across many people;
use the app for anything unlawful.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these rules. Where we do, and you have paid for a period you can no longer use, we will deal with that fairly and in line with South African consumer law.

7. Your content

Your scores, photos and comments remain yours. You give us permission to store and display them as needed to run the app — for example, showing your score on a leaderboard to others in your event. You are responsible for what you upload, and you confirm you have the right to upload it.

8. Availability

We work to keep Fairways running, but we do not promise it will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may change, suspend or discontinue features. If we discontinue the app entirely, we will give reasonable notice and deal fairly with subscriptions still running.

9. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot be limited by law, including under the Consumer Protection Act, 2008. Subject to that:

Fairways is provided “as is”, without warranties beyond those the law requires.
We are not liable for losses arising from a wager between players, an inaccurate distance or course record, a disputed handicap, or a competition result.
Where our liability can lawfully be limited, it is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

10. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect and why, including how the app uses your location during a round. Please read it — it forms part of these terms.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is significant we will tell you in the app before it takes effect. Continuing to use Fairways after that means you accept the updated terms.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction.

13. Contact

privacy@playfairways.co.za