Just five weeks into a new season, the NCAA has officially severed ties with Spikemark for its official scores and rankings.
The NCAA announced Monday that Clippd will take over after a series of false starts and empty promises from Spikemark.
“A leader in the golf technology industry,” according to the NCAA, Clippd will take over from Spikemark “following an agreed handover period.”
Clippd bills itself as “a technology business founded and staffed by passionate golfers” and is already providing stats to more than 100 Div. I, II and III programs.
The NCAA notes that Spikemark approached Clippd for help. Clippd reports its site has been able to publish more than 75 percent of all Div. I college golf tournaments.
In July, the NCAA announced Spikemark Golf would become the provider for all golf scoring and ranking services utilized by the NCAA beginning with the 2023-24 season. Spikemark took over the service role previously provided by Golfstat.
Nine days later, Golfstat responded with a statement saying the company wasn’t going away, though its role was going to be reduced.
The 2023-24 season was already underway when Spikemark posted a message on its website, labeling the non-functioning platform as “Ground Under Repair.”
Spikemark was created and founded by former collegiate player and coach Derek Freeman. In the initial release, the company said it would provide tournament scoring, real-time leaderboards, detailed statistics, in-depth analytics and media, allowing fans to keep track of their favorite teams and players. Spikemark would also provide real-time access to team schedules, up-to-date results and the latest rankings.
However, many tournament directors were scrambling because of live-scoring issues in the initial week of competition. Some tournaments switched to Golf Genius or even back to Golfstat. Others kept scores on their own team websites.
In July the NCAA appeared confident in Spikemark’s technology.
“We are pleased to announce Spikemark as manager for NCAA golf scoring and ranking services,” Joni Comstock, NCAA senior vice president of championships, said in a July 2023 release. “Spikemark’s effective use of current technologies, including the implementation of a transparent ranking system with daily updates, will provide a statistical approach that has been widely adopted throughout the golf community, and one that will positively impact the user experience for our membership and the championships.”
Spikemark’s ranking system was developed in collaboration with Mark Broadie, who is widely known for his development of the Official World Golf Ranking algorithm and the modern statistical approach using “Strokes Gained” statistics. Broadie is also a 20-year member of the USGA’s handicap research team.
The NCAA’s release Monday said Broadie, “a pioneer in the world of golf analytics,” will be the ranking authority and is working with the Clippd team to provide individual and team rankings following the conclusion of the fall season.
“We are confident that Clippd will lead us through technology challenges faced during the 2023 fall season and serve as a valuable partner into the future, as well,” said Comstock. “The goal of this partnership is to fully deliver the quality services that our student-athletes and the college golf community deserves.”
– Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan contributed to this article.
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