Get unstuck.

Fresh install? Here's the whole flow.

1. 1
   Download the free 14-day trial from thecoursecontrol.com/download. It's the same installer whether you're trialing or already bought. The trial starts on first launch.
2. 2
   Run CourseControl-Setup-x64.exe (or the -arm64 build on an ARM PC). If Windows SmartScreen warns you, see that section.
3. 3
   Allow Course Control through your firewall when prompted on first launch. Without this, your phone can't reach the PC.
4. 4
   The dashboard window opens with a QR code. Make sure your phone is on the same WiFi network as the PC, open the camera, and point it at the QR.
5. 5
   Tap the link your phone shows. The control screen loads, no app install needed.
6. 6
   Open GSPro on the PC and click on its window so it's focused. Hit a control on your phone and you should see GSPro respond.

Course Control runs in your phone's browser, so there's no app store and nothing to download. You can still add it to your home screen for a one-tap icon that opens full screen, with no browser bars. It works the same on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

iPhone & iPad (Safari)

1. 1
   Open the controller in Safari (scan the QR, or type the address in).
2. 2
   Tap the Share button, the square with an arrow pointing up.
3. 3
   Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
4. 4
   Tap Add. A Course Control icon lands on your home screen.

Android (Chrome)

1. 1
   Open the controller in Chrome.
2. 2
   Tap the three-dot menu in the top right.
3. 3
   Tap Add to Home screen (some phones say "Install app").
4. 4
   Tap Add. A Course Control icon lands on your home screen.

One thing about connecting. If the installed app opens to a connect screen, type the address shown on your Course Control desktop dashboard once. It often carries over on its own, especially on Android. A QR scan always opens your browser, not the installed icon, so the installed app may need the address typed in the first time you use it.

The Trackpad tab turns your phone into a mouse and keyboard for the PC. It covers everything that isn't a labeled button: typing player names, picking a ball, setting up a scramble, clicking through any GSPro menu. You never have to walk back to the PC.

1. 1
   Drag one finger to move the cursor. Slow drags stay precise. Fast flicks travel further.
2. 2
   Tap once for a left click. There is no right click or double click.
3. 3
   Drag two fingers up or down to scroll lists, like the course picker.
4. 4
   Type with the text field at the bottom. First click into a GSPro text box with the trackpad, then tap the field on your phone and type. Each character lands in GSPro as you type it, no Send button.
5. 5
   Put the keyboard away with Done, your phone's Enter key, or a tap on the pad. You're back to mousing.

One quirk to know: the phone's keyboard can't pop up on its own when you click a GSPro text box. The connection only flows one way, so GSPro can't tell the phone a text box is focused. Tap the field on your phone yourself.

Course Control runs entirely over your local WiFi. If the phone can't reach the dashboard URL, the issue is almost always one of these:

1. 1
   Both devices on the same WiFi network. "Guest" networks usually isolate clients from each other, so switch to your main network. Mesh routers with separate 2.4/5GHz SSIDs are usually fine, but check.
2. 2
   Firewall is blocking it. If you clicked "Block" or dismissed the firewall prompt, Windows is silently dropping the connection. Open Windows Defender Firewall → Allow an app and make sure Course Control is checked for Private networks.
3. 3
   The dashboard shows a VPN address, not your LAN. Course Control prefers 192.168.x.x over VPN/Docker adapters, but if you're connected to a VPN that uses that range, it might pick the wrong one. Disconnect VPN, restart Course Control, and try again.
4. 4
   Type the address manually. The IP and port are shown next to the QR. Put them in your phone's browser as http://192.168.x.x:3747. If that works but QR doesn't, the issue is the QR scanner, not the connection.

Some Android phones on Chrome fail to connect when you type the address by hand, even though the same phone connects fine from the QR code. Here is what is happening and how to fix it.

1. 1
   Scan the QR code instead of typing. Chrome's keyboard can autocorrect the address as you enter it, so a wrong address gets saved and the connection fails. The QR code carries the exact address with no typing, so it always connects. This is the reliable fix.
2. 2
   The "Not secure" warning is normal. Chrome flags every plain web address that is not https. Course Control runs on your local WiFi with no certificate, so this label always shows. It does not block the connection. Your phone and PC talk directly, and nothing leaves your network.
3. 3
   If you do type it, include the prefix. Enter the full http://192.168.x.x:3747. Without http://, Chrome may treat the address as a search instead of a link.

Your phone saves the PC's address the first time you connect. That address comes from your router, and the router can hand the PC a new one after a reboot, a power outage, or a change of WiFi network. When that happens, the saved address points at nothing and the phone shows "Not connected". Nothing is broken. You don't need to reinstall anything.

Usually it fixes itself. When the connection drops, the app searches your network for the PC's new address and reconnects on its own. Give it a minute with the controller open. If it's still not connected after that, here's the manual route:

1. 1
   Re-scan the QR code on the Course Control dashboard. It always shows the PC's current address, and scanning it updates your phone's saved one.
2. 2
   Using the home screen icon? A QR scan opens your browser, not the installed app. Inside the installed app, go to Help, open Troubleshooting, tap Enter a new server IP, and type the address from the dashboard.
3. 3
   Want it to never happen again? Give the PC a fixed address in your router. Look for "DHCP reservation" or "static lease" in the router settings, pick the PC, and save. Five minutes, one time, and the address never changes after that.

The phone is connected (you see the green dot), but tapping buttons does nothing in GSPro. Usually one of two things:

1. 1
   GSPro isn't the active window. Course Control ships with Safety Mode on by default. It only sends keystrokes when GSPro is in the foreground. Click on the GSPro window to give it focus, then try again. (Hit Alt+Tab if it's behind something.)
2. 2
   You're on multiple monitors or fullscreen. Both work fine. Safety Mode checks whether GSPro is the focused window, not which monitor it's on, so you can run GSPro fullscreen on one screen and keep a video or scorecard on the other. Just click GSPro to give it focus before you swing. There's a full walkthrough in the fix GSPro losing focus guide.
3. 3
   You hit Pause. Look at the dashboard. If the dot is amber and says "Paused", click Resume. Phone stays connected, but inputs are held until you resume.
4. 4
   GSPro's keyboard shortcuts changed. If a recent GSPro update remapped keys, some controls might do the wrong thing or nothing. Update Course Control (Check for updates in the dashboard footer). Fixes ship as soon as we notice.
5. 5
   You're a power user who wants Safety Mode off. The Settings tab on the phone has a Safety Mode toggle. Off means controls fire whether GSPro is focused or not: handy if you keep switching windows, risky if you forget the phone in your pocket.

If your phone's camera won't read the QR, the dashboard fix is almost always to type the URL by hand: tap Copy next to the address, then paste it into your phone's browser. But here's what to try first:

1. 1
   Hold the phone 6 to 10 inches from the screen. Closer than that and many cameras can't focus on the pattern.
2. 2
   Make sure your phone's WiFi is the same network as the PC. If they're on different networks, the QR will scan fine but the URL won't load.
3. 3
   If the dashboard QR looks blurry on a 4K display, the dashboard window may be rendering too small for your DPI scaling. Restart Course Control.
4. 4
   Some Android camera apps don't auto-scan QRs. Open your browser's QR scanner (Chrome and Edge have one in the search bar) or download a dedicated QR app.

If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, you'll need to:

1. 1
   Click More info on the warning dialog.
2. 2
   Click Run anyway.

Course Control's installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen doesn't recognize it and flags it on install. This is expected. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with the installer. Once it's signed and enough people have installed it, the warning goes away.

If your antivirus flags Course Control, you can verify the installer is clean by uploading it to virustotal.com. Our releases are scanned against 70+ engines before publishing.

The 14-day trial unlocks the full app on first launch, no key needed. When you're ready to keep it (or the trial ends), buy a one-time $30 license: free updates forever, no subscription. You can start the purchase from inside the app (Buy a license on the dashboard) or at thecoursecontrol.com/download. Either way it opens the checkout in your browser; buying is web-only, so there's no in-app payment.

Your key arrives by email after checkout. To enter it:

1. 1
   On the dashboard, click Enter license key.
2. 2
   Paste the key. It'll look like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
3. 3
   Click Activate.

If activation fails:

• Trim invisible spaces. Copying from email sometimes adds a trailing space or a non-breaking space. Re-type the key by hand to test.
• Check your internet connection. Activation requires a one-time online check. After that, Course Control works fully offline.
• The key is already used on another PC. Licenses activate one machine at a time, so email us to transfer.
• You have a beta key, not a purchased license. Beta keys still work and are entered the same way, but they may have an expiry baked in. If yours expired, you'll see "Beta key is no longer valid."

Course Control checks for updates automatically every time it launches. You don't have to do anything. If a new version is available, it downloads silently in the background.

You'll see the status in the dashboard footer:

• Checking for updates… right after launch.
• Downloading v1.0.1… while an update downloads.
• Install v1.0.1 and restart (in green) once download finishes. Click it to apply.
• Up to date if you're current.

You'll also get a desktop notification ("Update Ready") when the install is queued. The update applies on next quit, or right away if you click the install button.

If "Check for updates" hangs on Checking, your network may be blocking GitHub Releases. Course Control fetches updates from github.com/coursecontrol/coursecontrol-releases, so check your firewall or DNS.

If your problem isn't covered above (or our advice didn't fix it), send a note. A real human reads it.