Payment, Cancellation & Refund Policy

1. Membership plans

New accounts receive a six-month launch trial while the Website is in development. The trial does not automatically convert to a paid plan. Paid membership costs $24 per year. When live membership billing is enabled, choosing to subscribe authorizes an initial $24 charge and automatic annual renewal at $24 unless cancelled. The charge is shown in Stripe Checkout before you confirm payment.

The Membership page identifies whether its checkout is live or test-only. Live membership checkout collects real money; development and test membership checkouts do not. Test subscriptions are separate from live subscriptions and never convert into real charges. Activating live membership billing does not activate real golf-round payments or Guide payouts.

Signed-in subscribers can turn off auto-renewal on the Membership page. This prevents the next annual charge and preserves access through the current paid period; it does not automatically refund the current period. For membership refund requests or billing assistance, contact support@localgolfbuddy.com. The Company will review the request and any applicable legal refund rights. Nothing in this policy limits rights required by applicable law.

2. Public rounds with a local Golf Guide

For a public-group tee-time request, the test checkout may show these per-golfer amounts: a $10 Website platform fee, the Golf Guide fee selected for that listing ($0, $5, $10, $15, or $20), and a refundable deposit equal to the individual golfer member rate entered by the host. The displayed amounts are presented before a request is completed.

The Golf Guide fee is separate from the platform fee. The Company’s planned share is 15% of the Golf Guide fee, deducted from the Guide’s payout; it is not an additional amount charged to the requesting golfer. Real Guide payouts are not enabled during development.

The planned payout method is Stripe Express. Guides will provide required identity and payout details through Stripe’s secure onboarding and may select a supported bank account or eligible debit card. After a round is marked complete, the Guide’s net earnings are planned to remain subject to a 45-day payout hold before becoming eligible for transfer to the Guide’s Stripe Express balance and subsequent payout to the selected destination. Stripe verification, disputes, available balances, and processing times may affect payout timing. This is a payout hold, not escrow; Stripe does not provide escrow services. No real Guide payouts are active during development.

The owner may rehearse this schedule using a separate test clock and owner-confirmed transfers to a Stripe Express test balance. Test-clock changes do not alter actual tee-time or completion dates. These sandbox tests do not send money to a bank or activate live payouts.

Golf course charges—including any guest surcharge—are separate from Website checkout and are paid to the course under its instructions. The host must attend the round and is responsible for listing accurate rates and following the applicable membership-card and guest rules. A Website request is not a course reservation or a guarantee that the course will admit a guest.

3. Private-group rounds

Tee-time coordination within private golf groups has no Website platform fee or Golf Guide fee. Golfers pay any course charges directly to the course and remain responsible for its booking, guest, and cancellation rules.

4. Cancelling a tee time or a spot

Platform fee — non-refundable for golfer-initiated cancellations. Once your paid public-group booking is confirmed and you have been added to the tee time, the $10 platform fee per golfer is non-refundable if you initiate cancellation at any time, including more than 48 hours before play. When you cancel at least 48 hours before scheduled play, the Website automatically refunds your Golf Guide fee and no-show deposit to your original payment method, retains the platform fee, reopens your spots, and notifies the host. No owner approval, receipt, or completion confirmation is required. No Guide earnings are payable for that cancelled booking. This rule does not change the full pre-play host-cancellation refund below, or any refund rights required by law.

A golfer who joined a tee time should use My Tee Times to cancel at least 48 hours before the scheduled tee time. At less than 48 hours, the golfer must contact the course directly to ask about changing the reservation. The course decides whether it will accept that change. Cancelling a spot on the Website does not cancel or modify the course’s reservation.

If a host cancels a listing through the Website, golfers who joined it are notified. The host remains responsible for contacting the course about the underlying reservation. A course’s own cancellation and refund rules continue to apply.

When a host cancels a paid public-group tee-time listing before its scheduled tee-off, the Website automatically requests a full refund of the platform fee, Golf Guide fee and no-show deposit to the original payment method. No round-completion confirmation, receipt upload or owner approval is required for this cancellation refund. The Guide receives no earnings from the cancelled round. Refund status appears in My Tee Times; payment-provider or bank processing may take additional time. Temporary processing failures are retried automatically, and unresolved failures may require owner assistance. This workflow currently uses Stripe test mode only and does not return real money.

5. Deposit refunds and other refund requests

For a completed public round, the no-show deposit is eligible for a refund after either the requesting golfer and host both mark the round complete, or the Website owner approves a paid course receipt uploaded by the golfer. Uploading a receipt alone does not approve a refund. Under this completion process, the refund is for the deposit only; it does not include the platform fee or Golf Guide fee.

This refund process currently runs in test mode and does not return real money. The Website does not currently collect live payments or issue real refunds. Live-payment refund treatment for cancellations, no-shows, course closures, weather, disputes, or other circumstances has not been activated. No real charge or refund should be inferred from a test transaction.

When live payments are considered, the Company will publish the applicable cancellation and refund terms before enabling them. Until then, contact the golf course directly about course charges or reservation changes; the course controls those matters.

6. Card disputes and Golf Guide earnings

Guide-initiated cancellation charges. If a Guide cancels two public tee times with confirmed, paid golfers in a rolling 30-day period, a $10 cancellation charge is assessed against that Guide’s earnings. Each cancelled tee time counts once regardless of how many golfers booked. No more than one $10 charge is assessed per 30 days. Private rounds, public local-play rounds with no Website fees, unpaid listings, and golfer-initiated cancellations do not count. The charge is deducted from available or future Guide earnings before transfer; if earnings are insufficient, the unpaid amount carries forward. The Website does not debit the Guide’s external bank account for this charge. Guides can review the count and adjustments in My Guide Payouts. Golfer refunds, including full refunds for pre-play host cancellations, are not reduced by this charge. Current payout transfers remain test-only.

7. Payment questions

For questions about a Website test checkout or a listing payment, use the support information provided on the Website. For course charges, reservation changes, or course-issued refunds, contact the golf course directly.

See also the Website terms and course policy.