Privacy Policy

Welcome to GolfConnect's Privacy Policy. This document outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information as a member or visitor of our golf society platform.

GolfConnect is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency in our data practices. We comply with all applicable data protection regulations, including GDPR, and follow industry best practices for information security.

By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.

We collect several types of information to provide and improve our services to you: **Personal Identification Information:** Name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth, and profile photographs that you provide during registration or profile updates. **Membership Information:** Handicap index, golf club affiliations, membership tier, payment information, and membership history within our society.

**Golf Performance Data:** Tournament scores, round statistics, course reviews, handicap calculations, and participation records in society events and fixtures. **Communication Data:** Email correspondence, newsletter subscriptions, notification preferences, and any feedback or inquiries you submit through our contact forms.

**Technical Information:** IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, referring URLs, and pages visited on our website. We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect this information. **User-Generated Content:** Photos uploaded to event galleries, course reviews, comments, and any other content you choose to share on our platform.

We use the collected information for various purposes: **Service Delivery:** To create and manage your membership account, process event registrations, calculate and maintain handicap records, and facilitate communication about society activities.

**Communication:** To send you important updates about fixtures, results, society news, and administrative notices. We also use your information to respond to your inquiries and provide customer support. **Personalization:** To customize your experience on our platform, recommend relevant courses and events, and display personalized content based on your preferences and activity.

**Analytics and Improvement:** To analyze usage patterns, understand member engagement, improve our services, develop new features, and optimize the user experience across our platform. **Marketing:** With your consent, to send promotional materials about society events, partner offers, and golf-related opportunities that may interest you. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time.

**Legal Compliance:** To comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms of service, protect our rights and property, and ensure the safety and security of our members and platform.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. However, we may share your information in the following circumstances: **Golf Courses and Venues:** We share necessary booking information with golf courses where society events are held, including names and contact details for reservation purposes.

**Service Providers:** We work with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our platform, processing payments, sending emails, and analyzing data. These providers have access to your information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated to protect your data.

**Member Directory:** With your permission, we display certain profile information (name, photo, handicap) in our member directory to facilitate networking and social connections within the society. You can control your directory visibility settings in your account preferences.

**Legal Requirements:** We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others. **Business Transfers:** In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity, subject to the same privacy protections outlined in this policy.

We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your personal information: **Encryption:** All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols. Sensitive information is encrypted at rest using advanced encryption standards.

**Access Controls:** We maintain strict access controls, ensuring that only authorized personnel with legitimate business needs can access your personal information. All staff members are trained in data protection practices and bound by confidentiality agreements.

**Regular Security Audits:** We conduct regular security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration testing to identify and address potential security risks. Our systems are monitored 24/7 for suspicious activity.

**Secure Payment Processing:** Payment information is processed through PCI-DSS compliant payment processors. We do not store complete credit card numbers on our servers. **Data Backup:** Regular backups are performed to prevent data loss, with backup systems maintained in secure, geographically distributed locations.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to using commercially reasonable means to protect your data.

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our platform: **Essential Cookies:** Required for basic site functionality, including user authentication, security features, and session management. These cookies cannot be disabled without affecting site functionality.

**Analytics Cookies:** Help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. We use this data to improve our services and user experience. **Preference Cookies:** Remember your settings and preferences, such as language selection, display options, and customization choices, to provide a more personalized experience.

**Marketing Cookies:** Used to track visitors across websites and display relevant advertisements. These cookies are only set with your consent and can be managed through your browser settings or our cookie consent tool. **Third-Party Cookies:** Some pages may contain content from third-party services (such as embedded videos or social media widgets) that may set their own cookies. We do not control these third-party cookies.

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may limit your ability to use some features of our platform. For more information about managing cookies, visit your browser's help section.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy: **Active Membership:** While you maintain an active membership, we retain all your personal information, golf performance data, and communication history to provide continuous service.

**Inactive Membership:** If your membership becomes inactive, we retain your basic information for 3 years to facilitate potential reactivation and maintain historical records. Performance data and scores are retained indefinitely for handicap calculation purposes and society historical records.

**Account Deletion:** Upon request for account deletion, we will remove your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or legitimate business interests (such as resolving disputes or enforcing agreements).

**Legal Requirements:** Certain information may be retained longer to comply with legal obligations, such as tax records (7 years) and transaction history required for financial auditing. **Anonymized Data:** We may retain anonymized or aggregated data indefinitely for statistical analysis and research purposes, as this data cannot be used to identify you personally.

You can request information about what data we hold about you and how long we plan to retain it by contacting our Data Protection Officer.

As a member or user of GolfConnect, you have several rights regarding your personal information: **Access and Portability:** You have the right to request a copy of all personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used format. This includes your profile information, scores, photos, and communication history.

**Correction:** You can update or correct your personal information at any time through your account settings. For information you cannot update yourself, contact us and we will make the necessary corrections promptly.

**Deletion:** You have the right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (such as legal retention requirements or active membership obligations). We will process deletion requests within 30 days.

**Objection and Restriction:** You can object to certain types of data processing, such as direct marketing or profiling. You can also request restriction of processing in specific circumstances while maintaining your membership.

**Withdraw Consent:** Where we rely on your consent for data processing, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. **Opt-Out:** You can opt out of marketing communications by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or updating your communication preferences in your account settings.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at privacy@golfconnect.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days and may require verification of your identity before processing your request.

GolfConnect is designed for adult golf enthusiasts and is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years of age.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16 without parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our servers. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information should contact us immediately.

For junior members aged 16-18, we require parental or guardian consent before creating an account. We collect only the minimum necessary information for junior membership and apply additional privacy protections for this age group.

Parents and guardians have the right to review, modify, or request deletion of their child's information at any time by contacting our Data Protection Officer.

GolfConnect operates primarily in the United Kingdom, and your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country.

When we transfer personal data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this privacy policy and applicable data protection laws. These safeguards may include: **Standard Contractual Clauses:** We use European Commission-approved standard contractual clauses for transfers from the EU/EEA to countries without adequate data protection laws.

**Privacy Shield Frameworks:** Where applicable, we comply with relevant privacy shield frameworks and principles for international data transfers. **Data Processing Agreements:** We maintain comprehensive data processing agreements with all third-party service providers who handle your personal information.

By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United Kingdom and other countries where we operate. If you have questions about international data transfers, please contact our Data Protection Officer.

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not operated by GolfConnect. This privacy policy applies only to our services and does not cover third-party sites.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites. When you click on a link to a third-party site, you will be subject to that site's privacy policy and terms of service. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Third-party integrations on our platform (such as social media widgets, embedded videos, or booking systems) may collect information about your interaction with their content. These third parties have their own privacy policies governing their data collection and use.

We carefully select our third-party partners and service providers, but we cannot control their privacy practices. If you have concerns about a third-party service integrated with our platform, please contact us.

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.

For significant changes that materially affect your rights or how we handle your personal information, we will provide prominent notice through: **Email Notification:** We will send an email to the address associated with your account at least 30 days before the changes take effect.

**Dashboard Alert:** A notification will appear in your member dashboard highlighting the policy changes and providing a link to review the updated policy. **Website Banner:** We will display a banner on our website informing visitors of the policy update.

Your continued use of our services after the effective date of the updated privacy policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the updated policy, you may close your account by contacting us.

We encourage you to review this privacy policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. You can always find the most current version of our privacy policy at this URL.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact us: **Data Protection Officer** GolfConnect Golf Society Email: privacy@golfconnect.com Phone: +44 (0) 1344 842 881 Address: Ridgemount Road, Sunningdale, Berkshire SL5 9RW, United Kingdom

For general inquiries about our society or membership, you can also reach us through: General Email: info@golfconnect.com Membership Inquiries: membership@golfconnect.com Technical Support: support@golfconnect.com

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 48 hours and will work diligently to address your concerns. For urgent matters related to data breaches or security concerns, please mark your communication as "URGENT" in the subject line.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe we have not adequately addressed your privacy concerns. However, we encourage you to contact us first so we can attempt to resolve any issues directly.