A spreadsheet can run a golf pool well. It needs a picks tab, a scores tab, a few lookup formulas and someone to update it through the weekend. Here is how that works, and which parts TourneyRun does for you.
Four tabs cover most pools: entries (name, paid, picks, tiebreaker), the field (with tiers if you use them), scores (each golfer's rounds to par and status), and standings (each entry's total, looked up from the scores tab and ranked). A fifth tab with the written rules saves arguments later.
Add a status column to the scores tab and mark CUT, WD or DQ after round 2. Then have the round 3 and round 4 cells use your penalty when the status is set, for example =IF(H2="CUT", 8, E2) for an 8-stroke penalty. Decide before the tournament whether a withdrawal gets the same treatment.
At least once after each round, Thursday to Sunday, and again on Monday if weather pushes the finish back. Anything closer to live means copying scores in during play.
IMPORTHTML and IMPORTXML can read a table from a web page, but only one that exists in the page's HTML. Leaderboards built by scripts often come back empty, and a change to the page layout breaks the formula without warning, so check the numbers against the leaderboard.
Your member list, yes. The commissioner imports an .xlsx, .xls or .csv file with Name and Email columns, checks a preview, and TourneyRun adds everyone to the pool; people without an account get an invite email. Picks are made in the pool, not imported.
A spreadsheet is free. On TourneyRun the commissioner pays once at launch: an Office Pool is $12.99 up to 20 teams and $19.99 up to 40, rising with the team cap, and a Snake Draft is free during its beta. Members never pay TourneyRun.
The commissioner can download every entry as a CSV (name, email, entry number, paid status and entry date), plus a separate CSV of unpaid entries.