Terms

Terms of Service

Effective September 2, 2026 · Last updated September 2, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and BirdieYard, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("BirdieYard," "we," "us," or "our").

These Terms govern your access to and use of birdieyard.com, BirdieYard's coach tools and workspace (including BirdieYard Coach OS where that name is used), coach profiles, lesson requests, messaging, discovery, payments where available, subscriptions where available, and other BirdieYard products and services (collectively, the "Services").

By creating an account, clicking to accept these Terms, or otherwise using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree, do not use BirdieYard.

1. What BirdieYard Is

BirdieYard is an online platform that helps golfers discover and connect with independent golf coaches and facilitates certain related communications, administrative services, and transactions.

BirdieYard may also provide coaches with software and business tools.

BirdieYard is not the provider of golf coaching services.

A golf lesson or coaching relationship is provided by the individual coach selected by the golfer.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create a BirdieYard account.

You represent that:

you are at least 18;
you have legal capacity to enter into these Terms;
information you provide is accurate; and
you will comply with applicable law.

BirdieYard is intended for users and coaching services in the United States.

Minors

A person under 18 may participate in a lesson arranged through BirdieYard only through a parent or legal guardian.

A minor may not independently create an account, submit a lesson request, purchase a lesson, or enter into a contract through BirdieYard.

A parent or guardian who uses BirdieYard for a minor is the contracting BirdieYard user and is responsible for the minor's participation.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for:

maintaining accurate account information;
protecting your login credentials;
activity occurring under your account; and
notifying BirdieYard promptly of suspected unauthorized access.

You may not:

create an account for another adult without authorization;
impersonate another person;
maintain multiple accounts for fraudulent purposes;
use multiple accounts to manipulate fees, reviews, promotions, rankings, or relationship classifications; or
transfer an account without BirdieYard's permission.

BirdieYard may require identity or account verification when reasonably necessary.

4. Coaches Are Independent Service Providers

This section is important.

Coaches using BirdieYard provide coaching services as independent businesses or independent service providers.

A Coach is not:

an employee of BirdieYard;
an agent of BirdieYard;
a franchisee of BirdieYard;
a partner of BirdieYard;
a joint venturer with BirdieYard; or
authorized to enter into obligations on behalf of BirdieYard.

BirdieYard does not employ Coaches to perform golf lessons.

The Coach—not BirdieYard—provides the underlying golf coaching service.

Coach control and autonomy

Subject to applicable law, facility requirements, safety rules, and the Coach's agreements with golfers, Coaches control their own:

coaching methods;
professional judgment;
lesson structure;
curriculum and drills;
lesson prices;
schedule;
availability;
teaching locations;
tools and equipment;
business operations;
decision whether to accept or decline a prospective student; and
relationships with existing students.

BirdieYard does not require Coaches to work exclusively through BirdieYard.

Coaches remain free to:

maintain their own clientele;
market their own coaching business;
work through competing platforms;
receive referrals elsewhere;
operate their own websites and social accounts;
communicate with students through other channels; and
provide coaching outside BirdieYard.

A Coach's decision to decline a new lesson request will not by itself result in a penalty.

Once a Coach accepts or confirms a lesson, however, BirdieYard may consider fulfillment, responsiveness, cancellations, no-shows, safety issues, and other reliability factors in search ranking, trust decisions, and continued platform participation.

Coach-set rates

Coaches set the rate they charge for their coaching services.

Where BirdieYard charges a separate service or platform fee to a golfer, the fee and the total consumer price will be disclosed in accordance with the pricing provisions below.

Nothing in these Terms guarantees that the legal classification of any relationship will be determined solely by the terminology used in these Terms. Applicable law and the actual facts of the relationship control.

5. Coach Business Responsibilities

By offering coaching through BirdieYard, a Coach represents and agrees that the Coach:

is legally permitted to provide the offered coaching services;
provides services as an independent business or sole proprietor as appropriate under applicable law;
will obtain any business license, registration, permit, or tax registration legally required where the Coach works;
will maintain any legally required professional license or certification;
will provide accurate information about experience, credentials, playing history, affiliations, and qualifications;
will comply with applicable laws;
will comply with the rules of courses, clubs, ranges, schools, simulator facilities, studios, or other places where the Coach teaches;
has permission to provide coaching at any location the Coach identifies as a teaching location;
is responsible for the Coach's own taxes and business obligations; and
will not represent that BirdieYard employs, sponsors, or endorses the Coach.

Coaches should retain documentation of required licenses, registrations, certifications, or permissions.

BirdieYard may request reasonable documentation where necessary for verification or legal compliance.

6. Insurance

BirdieYard strongly encourages Coaches to maintain appropriate commercial general liability, professional liability, or other insurance appropriate for their coaching activities.

Insurance is not universally required for every Coach at launch.

BirdieYard may, however, require specified insurance as a condition of offering certain types of coaching, including potentially:

lessons at private residences;
lessons involving minors;
higher-risk activities; or
other categories BirdieYard reasonably determines require additional safeguards.

If insurance is represented as verified on a profile, that representation refers only to the verification BirdieYard actually performed.

7. Coach Profile Review and Verification

BirdieYard manually reviews Coach profiles before or in connection with publication.

Human review is intended to improve profile quality and reduce obvious inaccuracies or misuse.

Human review does not mean that BirdieYard:

guarantees the Coach's identity;
guarantees every profile statement;
guarantees coaching ability;
certifies the Coach;
endorses the Coach;
guarantees the Coach is appropriate for a particular golfer;
guarantees safety;
automatically conducts a criminal background check; or
guarantees future conduct.

Coach information may change after review.

Users should make their own judgment when deciding whether to work together.

8. Credentials and Course Affiliations

BirdieYard may manually verify specific professional credentials, playing history, course affiliations, teaching locations, or similar trust signals.

A verification means only that BirdieYard completed the particular verification process associated with that signal.

For example, confirmation that a Coach appears affiliated with a golf facility does not guarantee:

that the affiliation will continue;
that the Coach has unrestricted permission to teach there;
that the facility endorses BirdieYard;
that the facility supervises the Coach; or
that BirdieYard guarantees the Coach's conduct at the facility.

The Coach remains responsible for maintaining permission to provide coaching at the location.

9. Background Checks

BirdieYard does not automatically background check every Coach.

BirdieYard may offer or require background checks, identity verification, insurance verification, or other safety measures for certain Coaches or coaching categories.

BirdieYard may specifically require additional safeguards for:

Coaches working with minors;
Coaches teaching in private residential settings; or
other situations BirdieYard reasonably determines present additional risk.

A background-check badge or status indicates only the specific check conducted.

No background check can guarantee a person's character, safety, suitability, or future behavior.

10. Junior Lessons

Junior coaching requires additional care.

For a golfer under 18:

the parent or legal guardian must be the BirdieYard account holder;
the parent or guardian submits the lesson request;
the parent or guardian is responsible for payment;
material scheduling, payment, and BirdieYard communications should occur through the parent or guardian; and
the parent or guardian is responsible for evaluating whether the Coach, location, lesson format, and supervision arrangements are appropriate for the child.

Any direct communication between a Coach and a minor must be appropriate, reasonably related to coaching, and consistent with parent or guardian instructions and applicable law.

Coaches must not use information about minors for unrelated solicitation or marketing.

BirdieYard may impose additional safety standards for junior coaching at any time.

11. Smart Lesson Requests

A Smart Lesson Request helps a golfer communicate goals, experience, schedule, location, and other useful information to a Coach.

Submitting a request:

does not create a confirmed lesson;
does not require the Coach to accept the golfer;
does not guarantee availability;
does not guarantee a response; and
does not guarantee a particular coaching result.

A Coach is free to accept or decline a prospective student.

BirdieYard will not intentionally distribute a golfer's request to another Coach without authorization from the golfer. BirdieYard may offer the golfer the option to authorize sharing the request with one or more alternative Coaches.

12. Coaching Agreement

When a Coach and golfer agree to a lesson, the underlying coaching service is provided by the Coach to the golfer.

BirdieYard is not a party to the professional judgment exercised during the lesson.

The Coach is responsible for:

lesson content;
instruction;
drills;
safety decisions within the Coach's control;
equipment supplied by the Coach;
compliance with facility requirements; and
fulfillment of the agreed coaching service.

BirdieYard may facilitate discovery, communication, scheduling, payment, records, refunds, and related administrative functions.

13. Prices and BirdieYard Fees

Coaches control the rate they charge for their own coaching services ("Coach Rate").

BirdieYard may separately charge golfers a service, platform, or transaction fee ("BirdieYard Service Fee").

Current BirdieYard Service Fees may vary based on factors such as:

whether the golfer and Coach relationship is new;
whether the relationship is ongoing;
whether the Coach referred the golfer;
promotions;
discounts;
product offerings; or
other disclosed pricing programs.

Current applicable fees will be disclosed through the Services or transaction flow.

BirdieYard may change fees prospectively.

Changes do not retroactively alter the economics of a transaction that was already confirmed.

All-in consumer pricing

Where BirdieYard displays or advertises a consumer price for a lesson, the displayed amount will include mandatory BirdieYard Service Fees and other mandatory charges that must be included under applicable law.

BirdieYard may provide a breakdown showing how the displayed total is composed.

Government-imposed taxes or government-required fees may be calculated or added separately where permitted by law.

A payment-method fee that is genuinely avoidable by choosing another available payment method may be disclosed separately as permitted by law. If a payment-processing charge is mandatory for the transaction, it will be included in the displayed consumer price where required.

Promotions

BirdieYard may offer:

discounts;
promotional codes;
credits;
reduced fees;
seasonal offers; or
other promotions.

BirdieYard-funded promotions do not reduce the Coach Rate unless the Coach affirmatively agrees to participate in a Coach-funded promotion or discount.

Promotions may have eligibility requirements, expiration dates, or other conditions.

14. Relationship Classification

BirdieYard may use different transaction fees depending on whether a golfer-Coach relationship is new, ongoing, or Coach-referred.

BirdieYard generally determines relationship status using:

BirdieYard transaction and lesson history associated with the accounts involved;
information supplied by the Coach or golfer; and
other reasonable records.

Our records may not identify activity that occurred through a different account or outside BirdieYard.

Users must provide accurate information and may not create or use multiple accounts to manipulate relationship classification or avoid applicable fees.

BirdieYard may provide a reasonable process for correcting classification errors.

15. Coach-Referred and Coach-Imported Students

BirdieYard may allow a Coach to identify a golfer as an existing or prospective student brought to BirdieYard through the Coach's own business and may allow the Coach to add or import student or contact information into the Coach's workspace.

The Coach represents that:

the imported or supplied information is accurate to the Coach's knowledge;
the Coach has the right to provide the information to BirdieYard;
the Coach will use the information in accordance with applicable law; and
the designation of a student as Coach-referred or preexisting is truthful.

BirdieYard may review or audit designations when we reasonably suspect fraud, manipulation, or systematic misuse.

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's existing customer list or imported student relationships.

BirdieYard will not independently use an imported student's contact information for unrelated BirdieYard marketing merely because the Coach imported the record. If an imported contact later creates a BirdieYard account or separately consents to marketing, BirdieYard may communicate with that person consistent with those choices.

BirdieYard may provide Coach-requested features that send relationship-related invitations, reminders, or communications to imported contacts on the Coach's behalf, with the purpose and sender context disclosed through the applicable feature.

16. Payments and Stripe

Where payment functionality is available, BirdieYard may use Stripe or another payment processor.

Payment processing may be subject to the payment processor's separate terms and privacy policy.

Authorization

Coaches authorize BirdieYard and its payment providers, as applicable, to:

collect amounts paid by golfers;
collect applicable BirdieYard fees;
process transactions;
process refunds;
reverse transactions;
address disputes or chargebacks;
remit the Coach Rate to the Coach; and
make adjustments reasonably necessary to correct errors, fraud, refunds, chargebacks, or legally required reversals.

Payout timing

BirdieYard does not guarantee a specific payout time.

Estimated payout timing may be affected by:

Stripe;
financial institutions;
weekends and holidays;
identity or compliance review;
fraud prevention;
payment disputes;
chargebacks;
reserves;
legal requirements; or
other circumstances outside BirdieYard's control.

Chargebacks and reversals

A Coach is not entitled to retain payment for a transaction that is refunded, reversed, determined to be fraudulent, or successfully charged back.

Where legally and contractually permitted, BirdieYard or the payment processor may recover or offset amounts attributable to such transactions.

BirdieYard may review disputes and supporting information before making platform decisions.

17. Taxes

Coaches are responsible for taxes arising from income they earn through coaching, except taxes that BirdieYard is legally required to collect or remit.

BirdieYard or its payment providers may:

collect applicable transaction taxes;
withhold amounts where legally required;
request tax information; and
issue tax forms, including Forms 1099, where required.

Nothing BirdieYard provides constitutes tax advice.

18. Cancellations, Refunds, and No-Shows

BirdieYard may offer Coaches one or more supported cancellation-policy options.

The Coach selects the applicable cancellation policy for the Coach's lessons from the options BirdieYard makes available, and the applicable policy will be disclosed to the golfer before booking or purchase.

BirdieYard may provide a default cancellation policy where a Coach has not selected another available option.

A supported policy may address matters such as:

the deadline for a full refund;
treatment of late cancellations;
rescheduling;
no-shows; and
other ordinary lesson-cancellation terms.

Coach cancellation

If the Coach cancels and the lesson is not reasonably rescheduled with the golfer's agreement, the golfer is generally entitled to a full refund.

BirdieYard overrides

BirdieYard may override the ordinary Coach-selected cancellation policy when reasonably necessary because of:

fraud or unauthorized payment;
a safety or trust issue;
duplicate or erroneous charges;
a material BirdieYard or payment-processing failure;
Coach cancellation or failure to provide the booked lesson;
a legal requirement; or
another material platform failure for which applying the ordinary cancellation policy would be inappropriate.

BirdieYard will not ordinarily override a Coach's disclosed cancellation policy solely because a golfer is dissatisfied with a properly completed lesson.

BirdieYard may choose to provide a BirdieYard-funded goodwill credit without reducing the Coach Rate.

19. Lesson Quality and Outcomes

Golf coaching is subjective and individual.

BirdieYard does not guarantee:

satisfaction with a lesson;
handicap improvement;
lower scores;
improved ball striking;
tournament performance;
a particular swing change;
achievement of a golfer's goals; or
compatibility between every Coach and golfer.

Dissatisfaction with a completed lesson does not automatically create a right to a refund.

Golfers may provide an honest review of eligible completed lessons.

BirdieYard may separately investigate patterns of poor reviews, safety concerns, cancellations, or other quality issues and may reduce a Coach's visibility or remove the Coach from BirdieYard.

20. Communication Outside BirdieYard

BirdieYard does not require Coaches and golfers to communicate exclusively through BirdieYard.

After connecting, users may communicate through:

email;
text;
phone;
social media; or
another mutually convenient channel.

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's existing student relationships or customer list.

BirdieYard also does not claim ownership of the personal coaching relationship between a Coach and golfer.

Fee avoidance

Users may not deliberately:

misrepresent the source or status of a relationship;
manipulate account or referral data;
create alternate accounts;
falsely designate a BirdieYard-originated golfer as a preexisting client; or
reroute a transaction primarily to evade a BirdieYard fee that has already become applicable to a BirdieYard-originated or BirdieYard-confirmed transaction.

This restriction does not prohibit normal off-platform communication or a Coach's independent business relationships.

21. Reviews and Recommendations

BirdieYard distinguishes between Verified Reviews and Recommendations.

Verified Reviews

A Verified Review may be identified as such only when BirdieYard has evidence that the reviewer completed an eligible lesson through BirdieYard.

A Verified Review designation reflects transaction verification, not BirdieYard endorsement of the opinion expressed.

Recommendations

BirdieYard may allow Coaches to display recommendations from existing students, prior students, colleagues, or other contacts.

Recommendations are not Verified Reviews unless they meet BirdieYard's separate verification requirements.

Recommendations must be clearly distinguishable from Verified Reviews.

A Coach submitting or providing a recommendation represents that:

the recommendation is genuine;
the recommender had the represented relationship or experience;
the Coach has appropriate permission to use the statement; and
the Coach has permission to use any name, photograph, or identifying information supplied with it.

Review integrity

Users may not:

purchase fake reviews;
create fabricated reviews or recommendations;
review themselves;
use fake identities;
condition compensation or incentives on a positive or negative sentiment;
pressure a golfer to remove an honest negative review;
threaten a reviewer because of a negative review; or
manipulate review systems.

BirdieYard may remove or decline content that is:

fake or fraudulent;
abusive;
threatening;
discriminatory;
irrelevant;
legally actionable;
invasive of privacy;
unrelated to the relevant experience; or
otherwise in violation of these Terms.

BirdieYard will not remove a review merely because it is negative.

22. Search, Recommendations, and Ranking

BirdieYard may determine how Coaches are displayed, recommended, sorted, or ranked.

Signals may include:

location and proximity;
relevance;
specialties;
golfer goals;
availability;
responsiveness;
completed lessons;
reviews;
cancellations after acceptance;
profile completeness;
verified information;
course or facility context;
trust and safety information; and
other quality or reliability factors.

BirdieYard does not promise a particular search position.

Declining a new prospective student will not by itself be treated as a ranking penalty.

BirdieYard may lower visibility or remove a Coach for patterns involving:

excessive cancellations after acceptance;
non-responsiveness;
poor reviews;
safety concerns;
false information;
fraudulent conduct;
review manipulation;
violations of these Terms; or
other serious trust or reliability issues.

BirdieYard is not required to publicly disclose its ranking algorithm or weighting.

If BirdieYard introduces paid or sponsored placement, sponsored placement will be identified as such where required by law.

23. Coach Access to Relationship Records

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's customer relationships.

Subject to reasonable privacy, security, legal, fraud-prevention, and technical limitations, a Coach may request a copy or export of student and coaching-relationship records associated with the Coach's BirdieYard account.

An export may exclude information BirdieYard is not permitted to disclose, internal trust-and-safety information, security information, other users' information that is not appropriately part of the Coach's records, or information BirdieYard must withhold or retain under applicable law.

24. User Content

"User Content" includes information, text, photographs, video, recommendations, reviews, profile content, messages, and other material a user submits to BirdieYard.

You retain ownership of your User Content.

By submitting User Content, you grant BirdieYard a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to:

host;
store;
reproduce;
format;
adapt for technical presentation;
display;
distribute; and
otherwise use the content as reasonably necessary to operate, improve, and provide BirdieYard.

Public Coach Content

For content intentionally published as part of a public Coach profile, the license also permits BirdieYard to use that content to promote:

the Coach;
BirdieYard;
local coaching discovery; and
BirdieYard's products and services.

This may include use in:

BirdieYard web pages;
local or SEO pages;
social media;
email;
presentations;
advertising; and
other BirdieYard marketing.

After deletion

If User Content is deleted or an account is closed, BirdieYard will cease new promotional use of private or removed content within a reasonable operational period.

Copies may remain:

in backups;
in legal or transactional records;
in previously created marketing materials;
in cached systems; or
where continued retention is legally permitted or required.

BirdieYard is not required to recall or destroy marketing materials lawfully created and distributed before deletion.

25. Rights to Uploaded Content

You represent that you have all rights and permissions necessary for content you provide.

This includes appropriate consent for:

photographs;
video;
testimonials;
recommendations;
trademarks;
copyrighted material; and
photographs or video depicting students.

You must be especially careful before uploading content depicting minors.

Do not upload photographs or video of another person's child without the appropriate parent or guardian permission.

Users must not film or record other students or minors at a shared facility in violation of law, facility rules, or reasonable privacy expectations.

26. BirdieYard Intellectual Property

Except for User Content and third-party materials, BirdieYard owns or licenses the Services and associated intellectual property, including:

software;
source code;
interfaces;
design systems;
trademarks;
logos;
text;
graphics;
databases;
data models;
search and ranking systems;
workflows;
compilations;
product concepts; and
other BirdieYard materials.

These Terms do not transfer ownership of BirdieYard intellectual property to you.

You may not copy, reproduce, reverse engineer, scrape, sell, sublicense, or commercially exploit BirdieYard intellectual property except as expressly authorized or permitted by law.

27. Copyright Complaints

BirdieYard respects intellectual-property rights.

If you believe content on BirdieYard infringes your copyright, send a written notice containing the information required by applicable copyright law, including:

identification of the copyrighted work;
identification and location of the allegedly infringing material;
your contact information;
a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized;
a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act for the copyright owner; and
your physical or electronic signature.

BirdieYard, Inc.
Attn: Copyright / DMCA
2261 Market Street STE 14825
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States
support@birdieyard.com
Telephone: (510) 214-6408

Where applicable, BirdieYard may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material and provide the affected user an opportunity to submit a legally compliant counter-notification.

BirdieYard may terminate repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

BirdieYard intends to register and maintain its designated DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office. The designated-agent registration and contact information should be completed before BirdieYard relies on DMCA safe-harbor protections for user-hosted content.

28. Prohibited Conduct

You may not use BirdieYard to:

violate law;
commit fraud;
impersonate someone;
provide false credentials;
misrepresent course or facility affiliation;
harass, threaten, stalk, or intimidate another person;
discriminate unlawfully;
engage in violence or dangerous misconduct;
engage in inappropriate conduct involving a minor;
solicit a minor improperly;
publish private personal information without authorization;
spam users;
sell or misuse golfer contact information;
manipulate rankings;
manipulate reviews;
manipulate bookings;
evade applicable transaction fees through fraud or misrepresentation;
scrape or harvest BirdieYard data without authorization;
access accounts or systems without authorization;
interfere with security controls;
upload malware;
probe or attack BirdieYard systems;
reverse engineer Services except where the law expressly permits it;
infringe intellectual-property rights; or
use BirdieYard in a manner that materially harms BirdieYard or its users.

29. Physical Activity and Safety

Golf and golf instruction involve physical activity and inherent risks.

Risks may include:

strains;
falls;
impact from golf clubs or golf balls;
equipment-related injuries;
environmental conditions;
injuries associated with physical movement; and
other risks inherent in golf facilities and athletic activity.

Golfers are responsible for determining whether they are physically able to participate.

Coaches are responsible for conducting their own coaching services reasonably and safely.

BirdieYard does not supervise lessons and does not control the Coach's instructional judgment.

30. No Medical Advice

BirdieYard does not provide medical diagnosis, treatment, physical therapy, rehabilitation advice, or other healthcare services.

A Coach's golf instruction should not be treated as medical advice merely because it discusses movement, mobility, strength, injury history, or physical limitations.

An individual Coach who separately holds a healthcare or other regulated professional credential is responsible for clearly identifying when the Coach is acting in that separate professional capacity and complying with laws applicable to that practice.

31. Paid Subscriptions

BirdieYard may offer optional paid coach plans or other subscription products.

Specific:

prices;
billing periods;
included features;
trial terms;
renewal terms; and
cancellation terms

will be disclosed before purchase.

Automatic renewal

If a subscription is identified as automatically renewing, it will continue for the disclosed billing period until canceled.

BirdieYard will obtain the affirmative consent required by applicable law before beginning automatic renewal billing.

BirdieYard will provide legally required reminders and renewal notices.

A user who enrolls in a subscription online will be provided a reasonably accessible online cancellation method as required by applicable law.

Cancellation

Unless a different offer states otherwise:

subscriptions may be canceled at any time;
cancellation stops future renewal charges;
access generally continues through the end of the paid billing period; and
payments already made are generally non-refundable except where required by law or expressly offered by BirdieYard.

32. Promotional Credits

BirdieYard credits, coupons, or promotional balances:

have no cash value unless required by law;
may not be transferred unless BirdieYard says otherwise;
may be subject to eligibility conditions;
may expire where legally permitted; and
may be revoked if obtained through fraud or misuse.

33. No Guaranteed Business Results

BirdieYard does not guarantee any Coach:

lesson requests;
students;
bookings;
revenue;
repeat customers;
search ranking;
traffic;
profile views;
business growth; or
other commercial outcome.

Coach participation is a business decision made independently by the Coach.

34. Third-Party Services

BirdieYard may integrate with or link to third-party products and services, including:

Stripe;
golf courses and facilities;
social platforms;
map providers;
email providers;
verification providers;
background-check providers; and
other websites or services.

BirdieYard does not control third-party services.

Your use of a third party may be subject to that party's terms and privacy policies.

35. Suspension and Termination

BirdieYard may investigate, restrict, suspend, unpublish, or terminate an account where reasonably necessary because of:

violation of these Terms;
fraud;
safety concerns;
false credentials;
harassment;
misconduct involving minors;
illegal conduct;
review manipulation;
nonpayment;
repeated reliability issues;
excessive cancellations after acceptance;
misuse of private information;
security concerns;
significant risk to BirdieYard or users; or
other serious misuse.

For a Coach, BirdieYard may:

unpublish the Coach profile;
stop new lesson requests;
reduce visibility;
cancel or refund future bookings if appropriate;
reconcile payment disputes or chargebacks; and
retain records necessary for legal, safety, fraud, or financial purposes.

BirdieYard may also modify or discontinue all or part of the Services for legitimate business reasons.

36. Closing Your Account

You may stop using BirdieYard and request account closure.

Account closure remains subject to:

outstanding lessons;
refunds;
payouts;
disputes;
chargebacks;
legal obligations; and
records BirdieYard is permitted or required to retain.

If an account closes while future lessons remain scheduled, BirdieYard may determine whether those lessons should proceed, be transferred, be canceled, or be refunded based on the circumstances.

37. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE."

BIRDIEYARD DISCLAIMS WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND OTHER WARRANTIES TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

BIRDIEYARD DOES NOT WARRANT THAT:

THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED;
THE SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE;
EVERY COACH PROFILE WILL ALWAYS BE COMPLETE OR CURRENT;
EVERY COACH WILL RESPOND;
A PARTICULAR COACH WILL ACCEPT A REQUEST;
A VERIFIED FACT WILL REMAIN TRUE INDEFINITELY;
A BACKGROUND CHECK WILL IDENTIFY EVERY RISK;
A COACH WILL BE SUITABLE FOR A PARTICULAR GOLFER; OR
A GOLFER WILL ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR RESULT.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

38. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BIRDIEYARD AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST BUSINESS, LOST DATA, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BIRDIEYARD'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

$100; or
the amounts the claimant paid directly to BirdieYard during the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

For purposes of this limitation, compensation paid for the Coach's underlying coaching service is not treated as an amount paid to BirdieYard merely because BirdieYard processed the transaction.

BirdieYard Service Fees and BirdieYard subscription fees paid by the claimant are amounts paid to BirdieYard.

These limitations do not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law, including liability that cannot lawfully be limited for fraud, willful injury, or other legally non-waivable conduct.

Some jurisdictions do not permit certain exclusions or limitations, so some provisions may not apply to you.

39. Coach Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Coach agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BirdieYard and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and agents from third-party claims, liabilities, losses, damages, judgments, and reasonable legal expenses arising out of or relating to:

the Coach's coaching services;
the Coach's negligence or misconduct;
injury or property damage caused by the Coach;
the Coach's violation of law;
the Coach's violation of facility or course rules;
the Coach's lack of required permission to teach at a location;
false or misleading Coach information;
credential or affiliation misrepresentation;
the Coach's User Content;
infringement caused by the Coach's content;
information the Coach improperly imports or provides about another person;
the Coach's tax obligations;
the Coach's business-license or regulatory obligations; or
the Coach's violation of these Terms.

This provision does not require a Coach to indemnify BirdieYard for liability that applicable law prohibits BirdieYard from shifting to the Coach.

40. User Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, users agree to indemnify and hold harmless BirdieYard and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and agents from third-party claims arising out of:

the user's unlawful conduct;
the user's violation of these Terms;
the user's User Content;
infringement caused by content supplied by the user; or
misuse of the Services.

41. Informal Dispute Resolution

Before initiating arbitration or litigation, you and BirdieYard agree to attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

A notice of dispute should include:

your name;
account email;
a description of the dispute;
relevant transaction or lesson information;
the relief requested; and
information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

Notices to BirdieYard may be sent to:

support@birdieyard.com

with the subject line "Legal Dispute Notice."

This informal-resolution requirement does not prevent either party from seeking urgent relief reasonably necessary to address immediate safety, security, intellectual-property, or similar harm.

42. Arbitration Agreement

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND YOUR ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

Except as provided below, you and BirdieYard agree that disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that cannot be resolved informally will be resolved through binding individual arbitration.

The Federal Arbitration Act governs this arbitration agreement.

Consumer users

For disputes involving an individual using BirdieYard primarily for personal or household purposes, arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its applicable Consumer Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, as modified by these Terms.

Coaches and business users

For disputes arising primarily from a Coach's or other business user's commercial use of BirdieYard, arbitration will be administered by AAA under its applicable Commercial Arbitration Rules, unless AAA or applicable law requires a different rule set.

Location and format

Arbitration may be conducted through written submissions, telephone, video conference, or an in-person hearing as permitted by the applicable rules and determined by the arbitrator.

Nothing in this provision requires a consumer to travel to an unreasonably burdensome location where applicable law or AAA rules provide otherwise.

Arbitration costs

Fees and costs will be allocated under the applicable AAA rules and applicable law.

BirdieYard will pay arbitration fees that applicable law or the applicable AAA consumer rules require BirdieYard to pay.

Arbitrator authority

The arbitrator may award the same individualized remedies that would be available in court, subject to these Terms and applicable law.

The arbitrator will issue a reasoned decision where required by the applicable rules.

43. Exceptions to Arbitration

Either party may bring an eligible individual claim in small claims court.

Nothing in these Terms prevents a party from:

reporting a matter to a government agency;
cooperating with a government investigation; or
seeking relief that applicable law does not permit to be waived or required to be arbitrated.

Nothing in these Terms requires a California user to waive a right to seek public injunctive relief where that right cannot lawfully be waived.

44. Class and Representative Action Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND BIRDIEYARD AGREE THAT DISPUTES SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION WILL BE RESOLVED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

Neither party may seek relief in arbitration as a plaintiff or class member in a class, collective, consolidated, coordinated, or representative proceeding except where applicable law provides otherwise.

The arbitrator may award relief only to the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to resolve that individual party's claim, except for relief that applicable law does not permit the parties to waive.

45. Arbitration Opt-Out

You may opt out of the arbitration agreement in Sections 42–44 by notifying BirdieYard within 30 days after you first accept these Terms.

Your notice must include:

your full name;
the email address associated with your BirdieYard account; and
a clear statement that you are opting out of the arbitration agreement.

Send the notice to:

support@birdieyard.com

with the subject line:

"Arbitration Opt-Out."

Opting out of arbitration does not affect any other part of these Terms.

46. Governing Law

Except where federal law controls or applicable consumer law requires otherwise, these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

47. Court Venue

For disputes that are not subject to arbitration, the parties consent to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, except where applicable law gives a consumer the right to bring a claim in another jurisdiction.

48. Changes to the Services

BirdieYard continues to develop its products.

We may:

add features;
remove features;
change workflows;
change pricing;
change eligibility standards;
change verification programs;
change product packaging; or
discontinue portions of the Services.

We do not guarantee that a particular feature will always remain available.

49. Changes to These Terms

BirdieYard may update these Terms prospectively.

If a change is material, we may notify users by:

email;
in-product notice;
requiring acceptance of a new version; or
another appropriate method.

Where applicable law requires affirmative consent, we will request it.

Material changes to Coach payment terms or other significant contractual provisions may require Coaches to affirmatively accept the updated Terms before continuing to use affected functionality.

Changes will not retroactively alter already-confirmed transactions unless required by law or agreed by the affected parties.

50. Electronic Communications

You agree that BirdieYard may provide agreements, notices, disclosures, transaction records, and other communications electronically.

Transactional, account, security, lesson, payment, and legal notices may be sent even if you opt out of marketing communications.

51. Assignment

You may not assign these Terms without BirdieYard's prior written consent.

BirdieYard may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, corporate reorganization, sale of assets, or similar transaction, or to an affiliate or successor.

52. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted or severed where appropriate, and the remaining provisions will remain in effect.

53. No Waiver

Failure by BirdieYard to enforce a provision of these Terms does not waive BirdieYard's right to enforce it later.

54. Entire Agreement

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any additional terms expressly presented for a particular BirdieYard product or transaction constitute the agreement between you and BirdieYard regarding the Services.

Specific checkout, subscription, promotional, cancellation, or payment terms presented to you may supplement these Terms.

If supplemental terms conflict with these Terms concerning the specific product they govern, the supplemental terms control for that product.

55. Survival

Provisions that by their nature should survive account closure or termination will survive, including provisions concerning:

payment obligations;
refunds and chargebacks;
intellectual property;
licenses where applicable;
disclaimers;
limitation of liability;
indemnification;
dispute resolution;
governing law; and
retained records.

56. Contact

BirdieYard, Inc.
2261 Market Street STE 14825
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States

Support and general notices: support@birdieyard.com
Privacy: privacy@birdieyard.com

Terms

Terms of Service

Effective September 2, 2026 · Last updated September 2, 2026

Contact support

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and BirdieYard, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("BirdieYard," "we," "us," or "our").

By creating an account, clicking to accept these Terms, or otherwise using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree, do not use BirdieYard.

1. What BirdieYard Is

BirdieYard is an online platform that helps golfers discover and connect with independent golf coaches and facilitates certain related communications, administrative services, and transactions.

BirdieYard may also provide coaches with software and business tools.

BirdieYard is not the provider of golf coaching services.

A golf lesson or coaching relationship is provided by the individual coach selected by the golfer.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create a BirdieYard account.

You represent that:

you are at least 18;
you have legal capacity to enter into these Terms;
information you provide is accurate; and
you will comply with applicable law.

BirdieYard is intended for users and coaching services in the United States.

Minors

A person under 18 may participate in a lesson arranged through BirdieYard only through a parent or legal guardian.

A minor may not independently create an account, submit a lesson request, purchase a lesson, or enter into a contract through BirdieYard.

A parent or guardian who uses BirdieYard for a minor is the contracting BirdieYard user and is responsible for the minor's participation.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for:

maintaining accurate account information;
protecting your login credentials;
activity occurring under your account; and
notifying BirdieYard promptly of suspected unauthorized access.

You may not:

create an account for another adult without authorization;
impersonate another person;
maintain multiple accounts for fraudulent purposes;
use multiple accounts to manipulate fees, reviews, promotions, rankings, or relationship classifications; or
transfer an account without BirdieYard's permission.

BirdieYard may require identity or account verification when reasonably necessary.

4. Coaches Are Independent Service Providers

This section is important.

Coaches using BirdieYard provide coaching services as independent businesses or independent service providers.

A Coach is not:

an employee of BirdieYard;
an agent of BirdieYard;
a franchisee of BirdieYard;
a partner of BirdieYard;
a joint venturer with BirdieYard; or
authorized to enter into obligations on behalf of BirdieYard.

BirdieYard does not employ Coaches to perform golf lessons.

The Coach—not BirdieYard—provides the underlying golf coaching service.

Coach control and autonomy

Subject to applicable law, facility requirements, safety rules, and the Coach's agreements with golfers, Coaches control their own:

coaching methods;
professional judgment;
lesson structure;
curriculum and drills;
lesson prices;
schedule;
availability;
teaching locations;
tools and equipment;
business operations;
decision whether to accept or decline a prospective student; and
relationships with existing students.

BirdieYard does not require Coaches to work exclusively through BirdieYard.

Coaches remain free to:

maintain their own clientele;
market their own coaching business;
work through competing platforms;
receive referrals elsewhere;
operate their own websites and social accounts;
communicate with students through other channels; and
provide coaching outside BirdieYard.

A Coach's decision to decline a new lesson request will not by itself result in a penalty.

Coach-set rates

Coaches set the rate they charge for their coaching services.

Where BirdieYard charges a separate service or platform fee to a golfer, the fee and the total consumer price will be disclosed in accordance with the pricing provisions below.

5. Coach Business Responsibilities

By offering coaching through BirdieYard, a Coach represents and agrees that the Coach:

is legally permitted to provide the offered coaching services;
provides services as an independent business or sole proprietor as appropriate under applicable law;
will obtain any business license, registration, permit, or tax registration legally required where the Coach works;
will maintain any legally required professional license or certification;
will provide accurate information about experience, credentials, playing history, affiliations, and qualifications;
will comply with applicable laws;
will comply with the rules of courses, clubs, ranges, schools, simulator facilities, studios, or other places where the Coach teaches;
has permission to provide coaching at any location the Coach identifies as a teaching location;
is responsible for the Coach's own taxes and business obligations; and
will not represent that BirdieYard employs, sponsors, or endorses the Coach.

Coaches should retain documentation of required licenses, registrations, certifications, or permissions.

BirdieYard may request reasonable documentation where necessary for verification or legal compliance.

6. Insurance

BirdieYard strongly encourages Coaches to maintain appropriate commercial general liability, professional liability, or other insurance appropriate for their coaching activities.

Insurance is not universally required for every Coach at launch.

BirdieYard may, however, require specified insurance as a condition of offering certain types of coaching, including potentially:

lessons at private residences;
lessons involving minors;
higher-risk activities; or
other categories BirdieYard reasonably determines require additional safeguards.

If insurance is represented as verified on a profile, that representation refers only to the verification BirdieYard actually performed.

7. Coach Profile Review and Verification

BirdieYard manually reviews Coach profiles before or in connection with publication.

Human review is intended to improve profile quality and reduce obvious inaccuracies or misuse.

Human review does not mean that BirdieYard:

guarantees the Coach's identity;
guarantees every profile statement;
guarantees coaching ability;
certifies the Coach;
endorses the Coach;
guarantees the Coach is appropriate for a particular golfer;
guarantees safety;
automatically conducts a criminal background check; or
guarantees future conduct.

Coach information may change after review.

Users should make their own judgment when deciding whether to work together.

8. Credentials and Course Affiliations

BirdieYard may manually verify specific professional credentials, playing history, course affiliations, teaching locations, or similar trust signals.

A verification means only that BirdieYard completed the particular verification process associated with that signal.

For example, confirmation that a Coach appears affiliated with a golf facility does not guarantee:

that the affiliation will continue;
that the Coach has unrestricted permission to teach there;
that the facility endorses BirdieYard;
that the facility supervises the Coach; or
that BirdieYard guarantees the Coach's conduct at the facility.

The Coach remains responsible for maintaining permission to provide coaching at the location.

9. Background Checks

BirdieYard does not automatically background check every Coach.

BirdieYard may offer or require background checks, identity verification, insurance verification, or other safety measures for certain Coaches or coaching categories.

BirdieYard may specifically require additional safeguards for:

Coaches working with minors;
Coaches teaching in private residential settings; or
other situations BirdieYard reasonably determines present additional risk.

A background-check badge or status indicates only the specific check conducted.

No background check can guarantee a person's character, safety, suitability, or future behavior.

10. Junior Lessons

Junior coaching requires additional care.

For a golfer under 18:

the parent or legal guardian must be the BirdieYard account holder;
the parent or guardian submits the lesson request;
the parent or guardian is responsible for payment;
material scheduling, payment, and BirdieYard communications should occur through the parent or guardian; and
the parent or guardian is responsible for evaluating whether the Coach, location, lesson format, and supervision arrangements are appropriate for the child.

Any direct communication between a Coach and a minor must be appropriate, reasonably related to coaching, and consistent with parent or guardian instructions and applicable law.

Coaches must not use information about minors for unrelated solicitation or marketing.

BirdieYard may impose additional safety standards for junior coaching at any time.

11. Smart Lesson Requests

A Smart Lesson Request helps a golfer communicate goals, experience, schedule, location, and other useful information to a Coach.

Submitting a request:

does not create a confirmed lesson;
does not require the Coach to accept the golfer;
does not guarantee availability;
does not guarantee a response; and
does not guarantee a particular coaching result.

A Coach is free to accept or decline a prospective student.

12. Coaching Agreement

When a Coach and golfer agree to a lesson, the underlying coaching service is provided by the Coach to the golfer.

BirdieYard is not a party to the professional judgment exercised during the lesson.

The Coach is responsible for:

lesson content;
instruction;
drills;
safety decisions within the Coach's control;
equipment supplied by the Coach;
compliance with facility requirements; and
fulfillment of the agreed coaching service.

BirdieYard may facilitate discovery, communication, scheduling, payment, records, refunds, and related administrative functions.

13. Prices and BirdieYard Fees

Coaches control the rate they charge for their own coaching services ("Coach Rate").

BirdieYard may separately charge golfers a service, platform, or transaction fee ("BirdieYard Service Fee").

Current BirdieYard Service Fees may vary based on factors such as:

whether the golfer and Coach relationship is new;
whether the relationship is ongoing;
whether the Coach referred the golfer;
promotions;
discounts;
product offerings; or
other disclosed pricing programs.

Current applicable fees will be disclosed through the Services or transaction flow.

BirdieYard may change fees prospectively.

Changes do not retroactively alter the economics of a transaction that was already confirmed.

All-in consumer pricing

BirdieYard may provide a breakdown showing how the displayed total is composed.

Government-imposed taxes or government-required fees may be calculated or added separately where permitted by law.

Promotions

BirdieYard may offer:

discounts;
promotional codes;
credits;
reduced fees;
seasonal offers; or
other promotions.

BirdieYard-funded promotions do not reduce the Coach Rate unless the Coach affirmatively agrees to participate in a Coach-funded promotion or discount.

Promotions may have eligibility requirements, expiration dates, or other conditions.

14. Relationship Classification

BirdieYard may use different transaction fees depending on whether a golfer-Coach relationship is new, ongoing, or Coach-referred.

BirdieYard generally determines relationship status using:

BirdieYard transaction and lesson history associated with the accounts involved;
information supplied by the Coach or golfer; and
other reasonable records.

Our records may not identify activity that occurred through a different account or outside BirdieYard.

Users must provide accurate information and may not create or use multiple accounts to manipulate relationship classification or avoid applicable fees.

BirdieYard may provide a reasonable process for correcting classification errors.

15. Coach-Referred and Coach-Imported Students

The Coach represents that:

the imported or supplied information is accurate to the Coach's knowledge;
the Coach has the right to provide the information to BirdieYard;
the Coach will use the information in accordance with applicable law; and
the designation of a student as Coach-referred or preexisting is truthful.

BirdieYard may review or audit designations when we reasonably suspect fraud, manipulation, or systematic misuse.

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's existing customer list or imported student relationships.

16. Payments and Stripe

Where payment functionality is available, BirdieYard may use Stripe or another payment processor.

Payment processing may be subject to the payment processor's separate terms and privacy policy.

Authorization

Coaches authorize BirdieYard and its payment providers, as applicable, to:

collect amounts paid by golfers;
collect applicable BirdieYard fees;
process transactions;
process refunds;
reverse transactions;
address disputes or chargebacks;
remit the Coach Rate to the Coach; and
make adjustments reasonably necessary to correct errors, fraud, refunds, chargebacks, or legally required reversals.

Payout timing

BirdieYard does not guarantee a specific payout time.

Estimated payout timing may be affected by:

Stripe;
financial institutions;
weekends and holidays;
identity or compliance review;
fraud prevention;
payment disputes;
chargebacks;
reserves;
legal requirements; or
other circumstances outside BirdieYard's control.

Chargebacks and reversals

A Coach is not entitled to retain payment for a transaction that is refunded, reversed, determined to be fraudulent, or successfully charged back.

Where legally and contractually permitted, BirdieYard or the payment processor may recover or offset amounts attributable to such transactions.

BirdieYard may review disputes and supporting information before making platform decisions.

17. Taxes

Coaches are responsible for taxes arising from income they earn through coaching, except taxes that BirdieYard is legally required to collect or remit.

BirdieYard or its payment providers may:

collect applicable transaction taxes;
withhold amounts where legally required;
request tax information; and
issue tax forms, including Forms 1099, where required.

Nothing BirdieYard provides constitutes tax advice.

18. Cancellations, Refunds, and No-Shows

BirdieYard may offer Coaches one or more supported cancellation-policy options.

BirdieYard may provide a default cancellation policy where a Coach has not selected another available option.

A supported policy may address matters such as:

the deadline for a full refund;
treatment of late cancellations;
rescheduling;
no-shows; and
other ordinary lesson-cancellation terms.

Coach cancellation

If the Coach cancels and the lesson is not reasonably rescheduled with the golfer's agreement, the golfer is generally entitled to a full refund.

BirdieYard overrides

BirdieYard may override the ordinary Coach-selected cancellation policy when reasonably necessary because of:

fraud or unauthorized payment;
a safety or trust issue;
duplicate or erroneous charges;
a material BirdieYard or payment-processing failure;
Coach cancellation or failure to provide the booked lesson;
a legal requirement; or
another material platform failure for which applying the ordinary cancellation policy would be inappropriate.

BirdieYard will not ordinarily override a Coach's disclosed cancellation policy solely because a golfer is dissatisfied with a properly completed lesson.

BirdieYard may choose to provide a BirdieYard-funded goodwill credit without reducing the Coach Rate.

19. Lesson Quality and Outcomes

Golf coaching is subjective and individual.

BirdieYard does not guarantee:

satisfaction with a lesson;
handicap improvement;
lower scores;
improved ball striking;
tournament performance;
a particular swing change;
achievement of a golfer's goals; or
compatibility between every Coach and golfer.

Dissatisfaction with a completed lesson does not automatically create a right to a refund.

Golfers may provide an honest review of eligible completed lessons.

BirdieYard may separately investigate patterns of poor reviews, safety concerns, cancellations, or other quality issues and may reduce a Coach's visibility or remove the Coach from BirdieYard.

20. Communication Outside BirdieYard

BirdieYard does not require Coaches and golfers to communicate exclusively through BirdieYard.

After connecting, users may communicate through:

email;
text;
phone;
social media; or
another mutually convenient channel.

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's existing student relationships or customer list.

BirdieYard also does not claim ownership of the personal coaching relationship between a Coach and golfer.

Fee avoidance

Users may not deliberately:

misrepresent the source or status of a relationship;
manipulate account or referral data;
create alternate accounts;
falsely designate a BirdieYard-originated golfer as a preexisting client; or
reroute a transaction primarily to evade a BirdieYard fee that has already become applicable to a BirdieYard-originated or BirdieYard-confirmed transaction.

This restriction does not prohibit normal off-platform communication or a Coach's independent business relationships.

21. Reviews and Recommendations

BirdieYard distinguishes between Verified Reviews and Recommendations.

Verified Reviews

A Verified Review may be identified as such only when BirdieYard has evidence that the reviewer completed an eligible lesson through BirdieYard.

A Verified Review designation reflects transaction verification, not BirdieYard endorsement of the opinion expressed.

Recommendations

BirdieYard may allow Coaches to display recommendations from existing students, prior students, colleagues, or other contacts.

Recommendations are not Verified Reviews unless they meet BirdieYard's separate verification requirements.

Recommendations must be clearly distinguishable from Verified Reviews.

A Coach submitting or providing a recommendation represents that:

the recommendation is genuine;
the recommender had the represented relationship or experience;
the Coach has appropriate permission to use the statement; and
the Coach has permission to use any name, photograph, or identifying information supplied with it.

Review integrity

Users may not:

purchase fake reviews;
create fabricated reviews or recommendations;
review themselves;
use fake identities;
condition compensation or incentives on a positive or negative sentiment;
pressure a golfer to remove an honest negative review;
threaten a reviewer because of a negative review; or
manipulate review systems.

BirdieYard may remove or decline content that is:

fake or fraudulent;
abusive;
threatening;
discriminatory;
irrelevant;
legally actionable;
invasive of privacy;
unrelated to the relevant experience; or
otherwise in violation of these Terms.

BirdieYard will not remove a review merely because it is negative.

22. Search, Recommendations, and Ranking

BirdieYard may determine how Coaches are displayed, recommended, sorted, or ranked.

Signals may include:

location and proximity;
relevance;
specialties;
golfer goals;
availability;
responsiveness;
completed lessons;
reviews;
cancellations after acceptance;
profile completeness;
verified information;
course or facility context;
trust and safety information; and
other quality or reliability factors.

BirdieYard does not promise a particular search position.

Declining a new prospective student will not by itself be treated as a ranking penalty.

BirdieYard may lower visibility or remove a Coach for patterns involving:

excessive cancellations after acceptance;
non-responsiveness;
poor reviews;
safety concerns;
false information;
fraudulent conduct;
review manipulation;
violations of these Terms; or
other serious trust or reliability issues.

BirdieYard is not required to publicly disclose its ranking algorithm or weighting.

If BirdieYard introduces paid or sponsored placement, sponsored placement will be identified as such where required by law.

23. Coach Access to Relationship Records

BirdieYard does not claim ownership of a Coach's customer relationships.

24. User Content

"User Content" includes information, text, photographs, video, recommendations, reviews, profile content, messages, and other material a user submits to BirdieYard.

You retain ownership of your User Content.

By submitting User Content, you grant BirdieYard a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to:

host;
store;
reproduce;
format;
adapt for technical presentation;
display;
distribute; and
otherwise use the content as reasonably necessary to operate, improve, and provide BirdieYard.

Public Coach Content

For content intentionally published as part of a public Coach profile, the license also permits BirdieYard to use that content to promote:

the Coach;
BirdieYard;
local coaching discovery; and
BirdieYard's products and services.

This may include use in:

BirdieYard web pages;
local or SEO pages;
social media;
email;
presentations;
advertising; and
other BirdieYard marketing.

After deletion

If User Content is deleted or an account is closed, BirdieYard will cease new promotional use of private or removed content within a reasonable operational period.

Copies may remain:

in backups;
in legal or transactional records;
in previously created marketing materials;
in cached systems; or
where continued retention is legally permitted or required.

BirdieYard is not required to recall or destroy marketing materials lawfully created and distributed before deletion.

25. Rights to Uploaded Content

You represent that you have all rights and permissions necessary for content you provide.

This includes appropriate consent for:

photographs;
video;
testimonials;
recommendations;
trademarks;
copyrighted material; and
photographs or video depicting students.

You must be especially careful before uploading content depicting minors.

Do not upload photographs or video of another person's child without the appropriate parent or guardian permission.

Users must not film or record other students or minors at a shared facility in violation of law, facility rules, or reasonable privacy expectations.

26. BirdieYard Intellectual Property

Except for User Content and third-party materials, BirdieYard owns or licenses the Services and associated intellectual property, including:

software;
source code;
interfaces;
design systems;
trademarks;
logos;
text;
graphics;
databases;
data models;
search and ranking systems;
workflows;
compilations;
product concepts; and
other BirdieYard materials.

These Terms do not transfer ownership of BirdieYard intellectual property to you.

You may not copy, reproduce, reverse engineer, scrape, sell, sublicense, or commercially exploit BirdieYard intellectual property except as expressly authorized or permitted by law.

27. Copyright Complaints

BirdieYard respects intellectual-property rights.

If you believe content on BirdieYard infringes your copyright, send a written notice containing the information required by applicable copyright law, including:

identification of the copyrighted work;
identification and location of the allegedly infringing material;
your contact information;
a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized;
a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act for the copyright owner; and
your physical or electronic signature.

BirdieYard, Inc.
Attn: Copyright / DMCA
2261 Market Street STE 14825
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States
support@birdieyard.com
Telephone: (510) 214-6408

Where applicable, BirdieYard may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material and provide the affected user an opportunity to submit a legally compliant counter-notification.

BirdieYard may terminate repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

28. Prohibited Conduct

You may not use BirdieYard to:

violate law;
commit fraud;
impersonate someone;
provide false credentials;
misrepresent course or facility affiliation;
harass, threaten, stalk, or intimidate another person;
discriminate unlawfully;
engage in violence or dangerous misconduct;
engage in inappropriate conduct involving a minor;
solicit a minor improperly;
publish private personal information without authorization;
spam users;
sell or misuse golfer contact information;
manipulate rankings;
manipulate reviews;
manipulate bookings;
evade applicable transaction fees through fraud or misrepresentation;
scrape or harvest BirdieYard data without authorization;
access accounts or systems without authorization;
interfere with security controls;
upload malware;
probe or attack BirdieYard systems;
reverse engineer Services except where the law expressly permits it;
infringe intellectual-property rights; or
use BirdieYard in a manner that materially harms BirdieYard or its users.

29. Physical Activity and Safety

Golf and golf instruction involve physical activity and inherent risks.

Risks may include:

strains;
falls;
impact from golf clubs or golf balls;
equipment-related injuries;
environmental conditions;
injuries associated with physical movement; and
other risks inherent in golf facilities and athletic activity.

Golfers are responsible for determining whether they are physically able to participate.

Coaches are responsible for conducting their own coaching services reasonably and safely.

BirdieYard does not supervise lessons and does not control the Coach's instructional judgment.

30. No Medical Advice

BirdieYard does not provide medical diagnosis, treatment, physical therapy, rehabilitation advice, or other healthcare services.

A Coach's golf instruction should not be treated as medical advice merely because it discusses movement, mobility, strength, injury history, or physical limitations.

31. Paid Subscriptions

BirdieYard may offer optional paid coach plans or other subscription products.

Specific:

prices;
billing periods;
included features;
trial terms;
renewal terms; and
cancellation terms

will be disclosed before purchase.

Automatic renewal

If a subscription is identified as automatically renewing, it will continue for the disclosed billing period until canceled.

BirdieYard will obtain the affirmative consent required by applicable law before beginning automatic renewal billing.

BirdieYard will provide legally required reminders and renewal notices.

A user who enrolls in a subscription online will be provided a reasonably accessible online cancellation method as required by applicable law.

Cancellation

Unless a different offer states otherwise:

subscriptions may be canceled at any time;
cancellation stops future renewal charges;
access generally continues through the end of the paid billing period; and
payments already made are generally non-refundable except where required by law or expressly offered by BirdieYard.

32. Promotional Credits

BirdieYard credits, coupons, or promotional balances:

have no cash value unless required by law;
may not be transferred unless BirdieYard says otherwise;
may be subject to eligibility conditions;
may expire where legally permitted; and
may be revoked if obtained through fraud or misuse.

33. No Guaranteed Business Results

BirdieYard does not guarantee any Coach:

lesson requests;
students;
bookings;
revenue;
repeat customers;
search ranking;
traffic;
profile views;
business growth; or
other commercial outcome.

Coach participation is a business decision made independently by the Coach.

34. Third-Party Services

BirdieYard may integrate with or link to third-party products and services, including:

Stripe;
golf courses and facilities;
social platforms;
map providers;
email providers;
verification providers;
background-check providers; and
other websites or services.

BirdieYard does not control third-party services.

Your use of a third party may be subject to that party's terms and privacy policies.

35. Suspension and Termination

BirdieYard may investigate, restrict, suspend, unpublish, or terminate an account where reasonably necessary because of:

violation of these Terms;
fraud;
safety concerns;
false credentials;
harassment;
misconduct involving minors;
illegal conduct;
review manipulation;
nonpayment;
repeated reliability issues;
excessive cancellations after acceptance;
misuse of private information;
security concerns;
significant risk to BirdieYard or users; or
other serious misuse.

For a Coach, BirdieYard may:

unpublish the Coach profile;
stop new lesson requests;
reduce visibility;
cancel or refund future bookings if appropriate;
reconcile payment disputes or chargebacks; and
retain records necessary for legal, safety, fraud, or financial purposes.

BirdieYard may also modify or discontinue all or part of the Services for legitimate business reasons.

36. Closing Your Account

You may stop using BirdieYard and request account closure.

Account closure remains subject to:

outstanding lessons;
refunds;
payouts;
disputes;
chargebacks;
legal obligations; and
records BirdieYard is permitted or required to retain.

If an account closes while future lessons remain scheduled, BirdieYard may determine whether those lessons should proceed, be transferred, be canceled, or be refunded based on the circumstances.

37. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE."

BIRDIEYARD DISCLAIMS WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND OTHER WARRANTIES TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

BIRDIEYARD DOES NOT WARRANT THAT:

THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED;
THE SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE;
EVERY COACH PROFILE WILL ALWAYS BE COMPLETE OR CURRENT;
EVERY COACH WILL RESPOND;
A PARTICULAR COACH WILL ACCEPT A REQUEST;
A VERIFIED FACT WILL REMAIN TRUE INDEFINITELY;
A BACKGROUND CHECK WILL IDENTIFY EVERY RISK;
A COACH WILL BE SUITABLE FOR A PARTICULAR GOLFER; OR
A GOLFER WILL ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR RESULT.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

38. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BIRDIEYARD'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

$100; or
the amounts the claimant paid directly to BirdieYard during the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

For purposes of this limitation, compensation paid for the Coach's underlying coaching service is not treated as an amount paid to BirdieYard merely because BirdieYard processed the transaction.

BirdieYard Service Fees and BirdieYard subscription fees paid by the claimant are amounts paid to BirdieYard.

These limitations do not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law, including liability that cannot lawfully be limited for fraud, willful injury, or other legally non-waivable conduct.

Some jurisdictions do not permit certain exclusions or limitations, so some provisions may not apply to you.

39. Coach Indemnification

the Coach's coaching services;
the Coach's negligence or misconduct;
injury or property damage caused by the Coach;
the Coach's violation of law;
the Coach's violation of facility or course rules;
the Coach's lack of required permission to teach at a location;
false or misleading Coach information;
credential or affiliation misrepresentation;
the Coach's User Content;
infringement caused by the Coach's content;
information the Coach improperly imports or provides about another person;
the Coach's tax obligations;
the Coach's business-license or regulatory obligations; or
the Coach's violation of these Terms.

This provision does not require a Coach to indemnify BirdieYard for liability that applicable law prohibits BirdieYard from shifting to the Coach.

40. User Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, users agree to indemnify and hold harmless BirdieYard and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and agents from third-party claims arising out of:

the user's unlawful conduct;
the user's violation of these Terms;
the user's User Content;
infringement caused by content supplied by the user; or
misuse of the Services.

41. Informal Dispute Resolution

Before initiating arbitration or litigation, you and BirdieYard agree to attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

A notice of dispute should include:

your name;
account email;
a description of the dispute;
relevant transaction or lesson information;
the relief requested; and
information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

Notices to BirdieYard may be sent to:

support@birdieyard.com

with the subject line "Legal Dispute Notice."

This informal-resolution requirement does not prevent either party from seeking urgent relief reasonably necessary to address immediate safety, security, intellectual-property, or similar harm.

42. Arbitration Agreement

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND YOUR ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

The Federal Arbitration Act governs this arbitration agreement.

Consumer users

Coaches and business users

Location and format

Arbitration may be conducted through written submissions, telephone, video conference, or an in-person hearing as permitted by the applicable rules and determined by the arbitrator.

Nothing in this provision requires a consumer to travel to an unreasonably burdensome location where applicable law or AAA rules provide otherwise.

Arbitration costs

Fees and costs will be allocated under the applicable AAA rules and applicable law.

BirdieYard will pay arbitration fees that applicable law or the applicable AAA consumer rules require BirdieYard to pay.

Arbitrator authority

The arbitrator may award the same individualized remedies that would be available in court, subject to these Terms and applicable law.

The arbitrator will issue a reasoned decision where required by the applicable rules.

43. Exceptions to Arbitration

Either party may bring an eligible individual claim in small claims court.

Nothing in these Terms prevents a party from:

reporting a matter to a government agency;
cooperating with a government investigation; or
seeking relief that applicable law does not permit to be waived or required to be arbitrated.

Nothing in these Terms requires a California user to waive a right to seek public injunctive relief where that right cannot lawfully be waived.

44. Class and Representative Action Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND BIRDIEYARD AGREE THAT DISPUTES SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION WILL BE RESOLVED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

45. Arbitration Opt-Out

You may opt out of the arbitration agreement in Sections 42–44 by notifying BirdieYard within 30 days after you first accept these Terms.

Your notice must include:

your full name;
the email address associated with your BirdieYard account; and
a clear statement that you are opting out of the arbitration agreement.

Send the notice to:

support@birdieyard.com

with the subject line:

"Arbitration Opt-Out."

Opting out of arbitration does not affect any other part of these Terms.

46. Governing Law

Except where federal law controls or applicable consumer law requires otherwise, these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

47. Court Venue

48. Changes to the Services

BirdieYard continues to develop its products.

We may:

add features;
remove features;
change workflows;
change pricing;
change eligibility standards;
change verification programs;
change product packaging; or
discontinue portions of the Services.

We do not guarantee that a particular feature will always remain available.

49. Changes to These Terms

BirdieYard may update these Terms prospectively.

If a change is material, we may notify users by:

email;
in-product notice;
requiring acceptance of a new version; or
another appropriate method.

Where applicable law requires affirmative consent, we will request it.

Material changes to Coach payment terms or other significant contractual provisions may require Coaches to affirmatively accept the updated Terms before continuing to use affected functionality.

Changes will not retroactively alter already-confirmed transactions unless required by law or agreed by the affected parties.

50. Electronic Communications

You agree that BirdieYard may provide agreements, notices, disclosures, transaction records, and other communications electronically.

Transactional, account, security, lesson, payment, and legal notices may be sent even if you opt out of marketing communications.

51. Assignment

You may not assign these Terms without BirdieYard's prior written consent.

BirdieYard may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, corporate reorganization, sale of assets, or similar transaction, or to an affiliate or successor.

52. Severability

53. No Waiver

Failure by BirdieYard to enforce a provision of these Terms does not waive BirdieYard's right to enforce it later.

54. Entire Agreement

Specific checkout, subscription, promotional, cancellation, or payment terms presented to you may supplement these Terms.

If supplemental terms conflict with these Terms concerning the specific product they govern, the supplemental terms control for that product.

55. Survival

Provisions that by their nature should survive account closure or termination will survive, including provisions concerning:

payment obligations;
refunds and chargebacks;
intellectual property;
licenses where applicable;
disclaimers;
limitation of liability;
indemnification;
dispute resolution;
governing law; and
retained records.

56. Contact

BirdieYard, Inc.
2261 Market Street STE 14825
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States

Support and general notices: support@birdieyard.com
Privacy: privacy@birdieyard.com