Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide analytics information to website owners. Cookies can contain information such as your preferences, login status, or a unique identifier that allows websites to recognize you on future visits.

Cookie Storage: Cookies are stored locally on your device and only the website that created the cookie can access it. Cookies cannot access your hard drive, steal personal information, or install malware, but they do allow websites to remember information about your visit.

Cookie Types by Duration:

• Session Cookies: Deleted when you close your browser
• Persistent Cookies: Remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them

2. Why We Use Cookies

Scratch Golf uses cookies to:

• Keep you logged in to your account
• Remember your shopping cart and product preferences
• Personalize your shopping experience
• Track website usage and performance analytics
• Identify repeat visitors and measure traffic patterns
• Understand which products and pages are most popular
• Improve website functionality and user experience
• Process payments securely through Shopify
• Prevent fraud and ensure security
• Deliver relevant marketing messages

Without cookies, many of these features would not be possible, and your browsing experience would be significantly diminished. For example, you would have to re-enter your login information on every page, and your shopping cart would be lost if you left our Site.

3. Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the Site to function and cannot be disabled. They are used for:

• Authentication and login functionality
• Session management
• Shopping cart persistence
• Payment processing through Shopify
• Security and fraud prevention

Analytics Cookies

We use analytics cookies to understand how visitors use our Site. These cookies collect aggregated, non-personally identifiable data about:

• Number of visitors and page views
• Time spent on pages
• Bounce rate and click patterns
• Referring websites and search terms
• Device types and browsers
• Geographic locations (approximate)

Functionality Cookies

These cookies enhance your user experience by remembering your preferences and choices:

• Language preference
• Product sorting and filtering preferences
• Previously viewed items
• Personalized recommendations

Marketing and Targeting Cookies

These cookies may be used to track your behavior across websites to deliver relevant advertising and marketing messages. These cookies are optional and can be disabled through your browser settings.

4. Google Analytics 4

Scratch Golf uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to collect and analyze information about how visitors use our Site. GA4 is Google's latest analytics platform that provides advanced insights into user behavior and journey mapping.

What GA4 Tracks

GA4 Cookies and Identifiers:

• _ga: The main GA4 cookie that persists for 2 years and stores a unique identifier for each visitor
• _ga_[property-id]: Used to throttle request rate and persists for 2 years
• _ga_[measurement-id]: Used by Google Analytics to track data

Data Collected by GA4

GA4 collects:

• Unique visitor IDs (anonymized)
• Session duration and frequency
• Pages viewed and time on page
• Event data (clicks, form submissions, purchases)
• Approximate geographic location (city-level)
• Browser and device information
• Traffic source (direct, organic, referral, paid)

GA4 Privacy

GA4 data is processed by Google according to Google's privacy policies. The data is aggregated and anonymized, meaning it cannot be used to identify you personally. Scratch Golf uses this data to:

• Monitor Site performance and identify issues
• Understand user journeys and improve the checkout experience
• Identify popular products and content
• Make data-driven decisions about Site improvements

Opting Out of GA4

You can opt out of GA4 tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, or by disabling cookies in your browser settings (see "How to Manage Cookies" section below).

5. Google Tag Manager

Scratch Golf uses Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage analytics tags and tracking pixels on our Site. GTM allows us to deploy and manage analytics, conversion tracking, and remarketing tags from a central dashboard without modifying our Site code.

What GTM Does

GTM itself does not store data or cookies. Instead, it manages other tracking tools that may use cookies, including:

• Google Analytics 4 tracking
• Conversion tracking pixels
• Remarketing tags for advertising
• Heat mapping and session recording tools

GTM Privacy

GTM respects your privacy and consent preferences. The specific data collected and cookies placed depend on which tags are configured within GTM (GA4, conversion tracking, etc.). Opting out of individual tracking services (like GA4) automatically opts you out of GTM-managed versions of those services.

6. Shopify Checkout Cookies

When you proceed to checkout on the Scratch Golf Site, you are redirected to Shopify's secure checkout platform. Shopify uses its own cookies to process payments and manage the checkout experience.

Shopify Cookies

Shopify may place cookies on your device including:

• Checkout session cookies: Used to maintain your checkout session and cart
• Payment processing cookies: Required to process payments securely
• Fraud prevention cookies: Used to prevent fraudulent transactions
• Analytics cookies: Used by Shopify to track checkout performance

Shopify Cross-Domain Cookies

Shopify's cookies are placed on the checkout.shopify.com domain and may be accessible across partner sites using Shopify. This allows Shopify to maintain your checkout session and payment information securely.

Shopify Privacy

Shopify's collection and use of cookies is governed by Shopify's privacy policies. For more information, visit Shopify's Privacy Policy.

7. Local Storage

In addition to cookies, Scratch Golf may use browser local storage to enhance your user experience. Local storage is similar to cookies but allows websites to store larger amounts of data on your device.

What We Store in Local Storage

Shopping Cart: Items in your shopping cart are stored in local storage so your cart persists if you close the browser and return later.

Visitor ID: A unique identifier may be stored in local storage to help identify you as a returning visitor for analytics purposes.

User Preferences: Preferences like layout, language, or product sorting choices may be stored in local storage.

AI Advisor Sessions: When you interact with our AI advisor tool, session data and interaction history may be stored locally to provide continuity in your conversation.

8. Third-Party Cookies

In addition to our first-party cookies, some third-party services may place cookies on your device when you visit the Scratch Golf Site.

Third-Party Services

Google Services (Analytics, GTM, Ads): Google may place cookies to provide analytics, tag management, and advertising services.

Email Service Providers: Email service providers may place tracking pixels in emails we send you to track open rates and click-through rates.

Shopify and Payment Processors: Shopify and payment processors may place cookies to facilitate secure payments and fraud prevention.

Social Media Services: If we embed social media widgets, social media platforms may place cookies to track your interactions.

Advertising Networks: Advertising partners may place cookies to serve targeted ads based on your browsing behavior.

9. How to Manage Cookies

Browser Cookie Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:

• View cookies currently stored on your device
• Accept or reject cookies from specific websites
• Delete cookies from your browser
• Block third-party cookies
• Enable "Do Not Track" (if your browser supports it)

Browser-Specific Instructions

Google Chrome: Go to Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data

Mozilla Firefox: Go to Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data

Safari: Go to Preferences → Privacy → Cookies and website data

Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Cookies and other site data

Important Notes About Disabling Cookies

Essential Cookies: If you disable all cookies, some features of the Scratch Golf Site may not work properly, including:

• Login functionality (you won't be able to access your account)
• Shopping cart (your cart will be cleared)
• Checkout process (payment processing may fail)

We recommend allowing essential cookies to ensure the Site functions properly, while you can disable optional cookies for analytics and marketing if desired.

10. Do Not Track

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature. When you enable DNT, your browser sends a signal to websites requesting that they do not track your activity.

Current Status: There is no universal standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. Scratch Golf currently does not modify our tracking practices in response to DNT signals. However, we respect your privacy choices and you can manage tracking through your browser settings and cookie preferences.

Privacy and Security: Regardless of DNT settings, Scratch Golf maintains the same commitment to data security and privacy as outlined in our Privacy Policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies or how to manage them, please contact us:

For more detailed information about how we collect and use data, please see our Privacy Policy. You can also visit allaboutcookies.org for more information about cookies and how to manage them.