membership type question

_DMac_

hey

i am looking to get a gui handicap in the cheapest possible way. i am looking for the handicap to as to play with the golf societies at work and enter the odd competition. I am fully aware that this is a seriously cheeky question for all you proper golfers but i have been playing a few rounds each year but never went about getting a gui or anything like that and i am looking to get a bit more serious about my golf now.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

i also hear that there is some sort of membership where you just pay a one off fee or something and you get a gui but thats all. no club memberships or anything like that. does that exist or have i imagined it??

thanks

L.O.F.T

Its called Country membership / distance membership. You play three rounds at your chosen club where you hold country / distance membership and you get your GUI handicap. You can then play in open competitions throughout the country and return your competition score to your home club for adjustment.

The perfect example of what you can expect to pay is in the below link, (Over 50 km from the club):

http://www.slievenamongolfclub.com/pages/fees.html

There seems to be a stigma attached to those that are country / distance members of clubs, I personally don't care if your a member of the K-Club or Slievenamon.

ShriekingSheet

L.O.F.T wrote: »

There seems to be a stigma attached to those that are country / distance members of clubs, I personally don't care if your a member of the K-Club or Slievenamon.

Just to clarify for the OP, incase you come accross such "stigma", it might be useful to offer some kind of explanation.

The issue some people have with distance membership is the monitoring of handicaps. In a more usual set-up, a player gets a handicap and plays in singles comps in his home club regularly, and is easily monitored and cut by the handicap sec.

Instead, what can happen is a guy gets a distance handicap of say, 20, which is fair based on the three cards at the time, and then plays a plenty of golf in Dublin via societies, open fourballs, work things etc. These competitions don't affect handicap, but can increase a new players ability quickly. So in a short space of time, through no real "fault" of their own, the guy can be much better than his handicap, which creates an unfair advantage.

So if we both take up golf, and both play 10 games individually and improve each time, 8 of my games will probably be at my home club, and improving scores will see my handicap cut a shot or two. Your 10 games will largely be work, society, fourballs etc, and though you may improve your game equally, none of these days will cut your h'cap. We meet in our 11th game, and while my handicap has been reduced to reflect my improvement, you have improved without any reduction in handicap - hence an unfair advantage.

The solution? You can operate completely fairly by playing the odd singles in your home club, playing singles opens in Dublin and ensuring to always submit your score on the computer, and send the card back to your home club, and by reporting any good scores in societies, open fourballs etc to the h'cap sec. (Everyone should do this, not just distance members)

So it's perfectly legit to work off a distance handicap (also a good way of getting people into competitive golf without the high Dublin fees). The problem is, without regular home golf you need to be maticulous in your handicap maintanence. And the trouble is, many distance members are new to golf, and aren't maticulous in this, and their handicaps aren't what they should be, or would be if they played locally.

londonred

Some clubs like Corbalis are offering good pay as you go deals , you pay a small bit up front circa 350 then reduced green fees when you play the course and you get a handicap. I can see this really taking off as a lot of people would like to have a home club but would not play if often enough to justify full memebrship. Some clubs also offer handicaps to pavilion(drinking) members.

kopjohn

hi
I am a captain of a small golf club in wexford called Tuskar Rock GC.
we have numerous distance members that pay for the privilege of getting a GUI handicap.
We have a new 5 day membership which is €250 at the moment.put in your 3 cards and get a Gui handicap.
BUT.The GUI recommend you play at least 3 club competitions a year to continue your handicap for the following year.