Setting up a society

Rodrigo

A couple of fellas at work are in the process of getting a group of us together to form a society, they say 12, I think its 15 needed for it to be a society. Regardless who's right, will a club accept you as a society if say only 8 or 10 golfers turn up to play? ( I think they'll struggle to get the numbers) Are there any major benefits to being a society as against a group of golfers?

stockdam

There's not much difference between a group of people and a society.

Clubs obviously like the money they get with larger numbers. However at times a large group can be very slow and then members will complain.

A society has a slight advantage in that they generally have a committee etc. and tend to be better run than a group.

Rodrigo

Thanks Stockdam, do you need insurance and if so how do you get it if not affiliated to the GUI? I since been reading loads of other threads about societies and there doesn't appear to be any major benefit to being a society.

Dr_Colossus

A group of players who regularly play golf together effectively are a society, there's no initiation process or minimum number of players required to be officially declared a society. Pretty much any club will take any group of fee paying players whether they call themselves a society or not but there are advantages to having as large a number of players as possible.

For example clubs often offer discounts for groups of 20+ but in terms of the society itself prizes are more meaningful the stronger the competition. Fun prizes such as the longest drive and nearest the pin ensue plenty of banter afterwards and with a respectable number of players and outings it's possible to run a Golfer of the Year (GOY) competition to spark interest and further bragging rights among the players. Whether a group of players or a society the ethos should be to have a fun social day out playing a variety of courses you may not otherwise get a chance to. It's also a good initiation for new players to the game in terms of competition, handicapping and general rules and etiquette.

There's no need for insurance, your green fee payable to the club is your cover for the day. It is possible to register with the GUI and get affiliated but as far as I'm aware the only real benefits are a central website to inform your members of outings and scores. The society handicaps are not GUI handicaps and don't entitle the players to play open competitions on GUI affiliated courses unless already a club member.

Whether you want to progress as a group of individuals or a society depends on your objectives in terms of the number of venues to play and whether you want to issue prizes and maintain society handicaps for your players. Prizes regardless of their value will require players to either pay a registration fee or an additional amount on top of the green fee rate so it depends on your players appetites for such. Perhaps your could approach your company for some funding towards prizes and the establishment of the social outings? Either way it's no bad idea for have a small committee responsible for the running of the outings and outlining the objectives/rules of the society before hand. There's a good example of such rules below for the boards golf society
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056669437

Rodrigo

Thanks for your post Dr Colossus, I think I know now where we stand, thanks again.