Quick question re getting a handicap

stiltskins

What's the cheapest way to get a GUI handicap? Just paying greenfees at the moment and am happy to continue doing so but would like to get a proper handicap to play in open comps etc. Sorry if this is a stupid question, relatively new to the game!

blackwaterfish

lad, if you take a gander back through the posts you wont be looking long until you find plenty of very similar queries.

best of luck!

PhilipMarlowe

You'll need to be a member of a club.
You can join somewhere cheap for under €200, play 3 rounds there with a member who will sign your cards and then you get issued your handicap so once you have your membership you don't necessarily have to play that course you joined ever again.
There's a few places mentioned on here if you do a search... slievenamon in tipperary is a popular one for distance members.

Russman

+1 to that from Licksy, exactly correct.
Slievenamon is a very popular one alright - sometimes i think half of Dublin is a member there !

I was driving past Dublin Mountain GC the other day and they are advertising €499 which may well be the cheapest in the Dublin area.....? Obviously thats not relevant if you're not based in Dublin !!

ShriekingSheet

I always thought the City West Lakes course was a good deal, and a really nice little set up. Used to be €800 pa but I'd imagine it's come down considerably these days.

It's a short course, around par 65 I think. The greens are always fairly nice, and very good at times. You'll always get out too. Really ideal for someone on a budget starting out.

Then again, there's 5 day memberships in Dublin too that are cheap but you get a full h'cap.

mike12

Hi,
If your based in dublin then joining a course like Corballis or elm green or sillogue are cheap ways to get your handicap as far as i'm aware you have to play 3 comps a year at your home course to keep a current handicap, allthe courses down the country will have distance membership for between 150 and 200 a year.
mike

PhilipMarlowe

At the moment there is no stipulation that you need to play anywhere, let alone at your home course to keep a handicap. The only requirement is that you keep paying your bills.
The lapsed handicap provided for in CONGU is only in place in Scotland and just this year in England too so it might be a consideration here sometime.

forkassed

Im in the same boat as yourself and am going to join Ballymoney near Gorey.

Its not too far from South Dublin where i live so atleast i will be able to get a few games in rather than joining somewhere i would never play.

Hope to get a handicap by the end of April and then play the Open comps at courses closer to home

http://www.ballymoneygolfclub.com/membership.php

Membership C (Distance Membership)

€ 240. “C” members must pay a reduced green fee each time they play.

stiltskins

Thanks lads, i'm in Kildare so i'll check out a few places out west down the M4.

Will a club like slievenamon mind that i'm blatantly just going to join, play 3 rounds and then probably never go back? And will they accomadate me playing the 3 rounds with a member as I obviously won't know anyone down there?

PhilipMarlowe

That's their stock in trade I imagine
Some clubs set them selves up that way to attract lots of distance members and they are bound to be accommodating to people looking to get their cards in and signed.
People try to do it over a weekend, maybe playing 2 rounds on a Saturday and 1 on a Sunday, staying over for 1 night locally...
As the lads mentioned, consider your options locally before you go down that course of action. Ok, it gets you a handicap and you can use it to compete but there's a whole other dimension to being a member of a club... the involvement, the convenience of a few holes on a summers evening, the social aspect etc.
I'd recommend joining a "club" a long way in front of joining a "course" if you know what I mean, though I understand it's not for everyone.

heavyballs

Portlaoise golf club,5 day distance membership €200 once you live more than 50 miles from course

Fatswaldo

Skarke Golf Club - couple of miles outside New Ross, €150 for 5 day membership & GUI handicap

boardlog

€300 for distance, well worth checking out(my new home club). www.dunmoreeastgolfclub.ie a lot of improvements lately new tees and two new greens etc... new manager and green keeper, think the fella from the old head of kinsale is advising them on certain aspects