The very core of Golden Tee is not actually the game itself. It is the competition and camaraderie. It is you and your buddy playing for a beer after work, talking trash, enjoying your time together.

But real-life—jobs, families, schedules, kids, responsibilities (yuck)—can often get in the way of this plan to connect at your favorite watering hole every week. It is this reality that led us down a road.

How can we connect Golden Tee players better than we have been? How can we make the game more personal? How can we bottle that camaraderie we all so desperately love and make it more accessible?

Invitationals, which we recently introduced, are coming. You will soon be able to challenge buddies in private contests for bragging rights or prizes. You will become the creator and have a slew of customizable options at your fingertips.

That is the biggest story 2017 and one of the biggest changes we have ever made. But this exciting new addition would not be possible without the debut of Golden Tee’s very own social network.

On the GT Caddy, which I implore you to download for your Android and Apple device, you will now be able to connect with people you choose to connect with. You will have your own Friends list moving forward, bringing those you enjoy to play with—online or in person—closer than ever before.

You will have your own avatar. Pick one of our images or pick your own. Whatever you choose, this will be what your Friends see when they search for you.

This list will allow you to compare your stats with this other player whenever you please. You can see what they’re wearing, monitor their progress compared to yours and see how your games stack up side-by-side.

But this Friends list will serve an even greater purpose than this. It will be the catalyst to your Invitational experience.

Want to setup a new contest with a friend? After you name it—let’s call this one “The Big Game”—you will be asked to pick who you want to play against. Open up your Friends list; select the appropriate people and presto. You are all set.

These contests will also select the friends you choose as groups, meaning you can segment your Friends into different groups. Within each group you can track plays, wins, losses and prizes won.

Have a pocket of Friends who don’t want to play for prizes? Have a buddy in California who wants to only play you for handicap? Have a buddy who only wants to play you on a certain course?

You will be able to not only add these people to your overall list but then separate them. This will make the process of creating Invitationals seamless. Sure, the contests themselves are the headliner. But the people and the ability to connect players together—back to that original core—will ultimately be what drive this forward.

This concept of Golden Tee friends and groups will only expand as the GT Caddy continues to add new features. This opens up many possibilities.

We have so much still to show you. Soon we will show you exactly how to manage your Friends list—how to search and add people—along with the next step in this process: playing these Friends in your very own private contests.

The whole world is changing so quickly. And soon, very soon, we’re going to bring everyone closer together than they have ever been.