chiefcramer
USA Somewhere
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How do full-timers maintain a USGA Handicap if you don't belong to a golf club? I've looked on the web but haven't found much. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
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Periodically I've seen several on the net that advertise they can maintain a handicap without a club affiliation. Just do a thorough Google and I'm sure you could find one.
Alternatively, contact the folks at www.ghin.com and explain your situation. They may be able to either help you out or point you in the right direction.
Dennis Osha
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Rick & Cheryl
Texas
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What good would it be to have a USGA handicap anyway. About the only use I could see for it, would be to play in tournaments that are filled with sandbaggers.
Most private country clubs that have member-guest tourneys wont accept guest handicaps unless they can be verified by a pro at the specific club where the guest plays, and without that verification, the handicap isnt useable, or at least it wasnt at our member-guest.
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dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
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Rick & Cheryl wrote:What good would it be to have a USGA handicap anyway. About the only use I could see for it, would be to play in tournaments that are filled with sandbaggers.
Most private country clubs that have member-guest tourneys wont accept guest handicaps unless they can be verified by a pro at the specific club where the guest plays, and without that verification, the handicap isnt useable, or at least it wasnt at our member-guest.
Absolutely incorrect! My handicap is established and maintained at www.ghin,com and is recognized as official anywhere in the country that I play.
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Rick & Cheryl
Texas
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dgo1369 wrote:Rick & Cheryl wrote:What good would it be to have a USGA handicap anyway. About the only use I could see for it, would be to play in tournaments that are filled with sandbaggers.
Most private country clubs that have member-guest tourneys wont accept guest handicaps unless they can be verified by a pro at the specific club where the guest plays, and without that verification, the handicap isnt useable, or at least it wasnt at our member-guest.
Absolutely incorrect! My handicap is established and maintained at www.ghin,com and is recognized as official anywhere in the country that I play.
Your key phrase may be, "anywhere you play", because I can assure you that without a pro to verify your handicap you certainly couldnt play in our member-guest except in the open flight where handicaps are not used, there was just too much money at risk to allow sand-baggers to use unrealistic handicaps. I know of several that maintain off-course handicaps explicitly for the purpose of sandbagging, while maintaining a verifiable handicap at their home course.
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dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
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Rick & Cheryl wrote:dgo1369 wrote:Rick & Cheryl wrote:What good would it be to have a USGA handicap anyway. About the only use I could see for it, would be to play in tournaments that are filled with sandbaggers.
Most private country clubs that have member-guest tourneys wont accept guest handicaps unless they can be verified by a pro at the specific club where the guest plays, and without that verification, the handicap isnt useable, or at least it wasnt at our member-guest.
Absolutely incorrect! My handicap is established and maintained at www.ghin,com and is recognized as official anywhere in the country that I play.
Your key phrase may be, "anywhere you play", because I can assure you that without a pro to verify your handicap you certainly couldnt play in our member-guest except in the open flight where handicaps are not used, there was just too much money at risk to allow sand-baggers to use unrealistic handicaps. I know of several that maintain off-course handicaps explicitly for the purpose of sandbagging, while maintaining a verifiable handicap at their home course.
I doubt that a fulltimer really cares about private clubs as he is probably moving around too much to establish "residency".
In all my years of playing a private club sponsored member-guest (since I joined GHIN through my home club), I have never had a problem with my handicap being accepted. What happens most often is that either I or my sponsor has to fill out a form requesting personal information. If the sponsoring club wants to, they may check with my club but that has never happened before as it is just as easy to check on the GHIN web site to verify the information. Sandbagging is, and always has been, a problem. A call to a pro will not necessarily eliminate that problem, nor will a verifiable handicap. However, a verifiable handicap will cut down on the amound of research the local club will have to do.
As you know, Texas is a rather large place. Where do you play?
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stanbnv
Goldendale WA, La Peñita de Jaltemba, Nay.
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Golf is my handicap!
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Rick & Cheryl
Texas
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The original poster didnt have a club affliation but wanted a USGA handicap. After a brief visit to the ghin website it would appear to me that in order to use the site for handicap purposes the golfer must have a club affliation.
All I can say about verifying, is that I have personally watched/heard the pros calling individual clubs to verify handicaps and I would think that even with ghin, the same thing would happen. Our club was constantly monitoring scores, and even then there was a certain amount of "bogus" scores turned in and sandbagging attempts.
I cant imagine our club members being any different from most in that for some, cheating is acceptable and sandbagging still remains an issue for any golfer entered into a handicap tournament.
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dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
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Rick & Cheryl wrote:The original poster didnt have a club affliation but wanted a USGA handicap. After a brief visit to the ghin website it would appear to me that in order to use the site for handicap purposes the golfer must have a club affliation.
All I can say about verifying, is that I have personally watched/heard the pros calling individual clubs to verify handicaps and I would think that even with ghin, the same thing would happen. Our club was constantly monitoring scores, and even then there was a certain amount of "bogus" scores turned in and sandbagging attempts.
I cant imagine our club members being any different from most in that for some, cheating is acceptable and sandbagging still remains an issue for any golfer entered into a handicap tournament.
I sent the OP a private message telling him how to get a USGA handicap. Among others, Golfsmith offers a way to get one for $29.99.
I agree with your last paragraph.
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