Golf membership for handicap

caycro

I live abroad but I'm looking to join a golf club in Ireland in order to get a handicap as I'll be back for a chunk of time this year and would like to join friends in their golf clubs semi opens and opens. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap option? I'll be based in Dublin/Wicklow but club location doesn't matter as I'm really more interested in the handicap. Thanks.

Seve OB

caycro wrote: »

I live abroad but I'm looking to join a golf club in Ireland in order to get a handicap as I'll be back for a chunk of time this year and would like to join friends in their golf clubs semi opens and opens. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap option? I'll be based in Dublin/Wicklow but club location doesn't matter as I'm really more interested in the handicap. Thanks.

options are endless really

you do realise though, you will have to play a few games of golf in the club to get a handicap.

I still say Castleknock is the cheapest golf membership which only costs the price of the gui fee + insurance if you want to go for it. the caveat is the 600 you have to pay..... but it remains your money, you get a card with 600 credit to spend there, however you want. gear, clubs, balls, golf, food, drink. if you want to bring friends there for a few games you can pay for them with your credits and they can pay you back. a no brainer really

Wichita Lineman

A lot of course have a Distance membership option if you are living full time abroad this would apply. In Moate membership would be €200 plus the GUI fee of €21 and you'd have to play there 3 times to get your handicap. Then under new GUI rules a further 3 or 4 ?? in competition to keep it active going forward.

Check us out on www.moategolfclub.ie and if you are interested let me know by PM and I can help.

Kingswood Rover

caycro wrote: »

I live abroad but I'm looking to join a golf club in Ireland in order to get a handicap as I'll be back for a chunk of time this year and would like to join friends in their golf clubs semi opens and opens. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap option? I'll be based in Dublin/Wicklow but club location doesn't matter as I'm really more interested in the handicap. Thanks.

Not sure if you ever got fixed up But the Club i am a member of Blessington Lakes GC are running a golf promotion day next Saturday 22nd as they launch their new members price of 525 euro's from that date till the end of Feb 18. More details are up on the club website. Serious value for such a well maintained course, 9 holes with alternate tee's just to note. Nominated as the best 9 hole parkland in Ireland in a book by golf author Ivan Morris last year.

Eoinyh

Terrible course, I would not consider that good value, the €150 distance or intermediate member ship they did for people to get their gui card, not sure what they called it , now that was good value

Kingswood Rover

Eoinyh wrote: »

Terrible course, I would not consider that good value, the €150 distance or intermediate member ship they did for people to get their gui card, not sure what they called it , now that was good value

Ah here, are u sure you are not mixing us up with a neighboring "resort" type course

The Rape of Lucretia

Slievenamon is widely considered the Rolls Royce of the golf handicap market. Once you get things sorted with them, you dont even need to go back there again, which is fantastic. At €100, they might suit you :

http://www.slievenamongolfclub.com/index.php/distancemembship/overseas-membership

caycro

Thanks all for the input, got sorted in Ballymoney ⛳️

Kingswood Rover

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Slievenamon is widely considered the Rolls Royce of the golf handicap market. Once you get things sorted with them, you dont even need to go back there again, which is fantastic. At €100, they might suit you :

http://www.slievenamongolfclub.com/index.php/distancemembship/overseas-membership

Ehh you do 3 times at least in the following 12 months on receipt of handicap to keep it valid.

Seve OB

Kingswood Rover wrote: »

Ehh you do 3 times at least in the following 12 months on receipt of handicap to keep it valid.

You've never heard about slievenamon so.

Eoinyh

Kingswood Rover wrote: »

Ehh you do 3 times at least in the following 12 months on receipt of handicap to keep it valid.

If I had to do that in boys town, id bring my fishing rods an fill the cards in by the lake, better than having to play it!!!!!

Hoof Hearted2

Seve OB wrote: »

You've never heard about slievenamon so.

It's automatically built into the software, Slievenamon or any other affiliated club have no facility to override this condition, despite popular untrue rumors.
For clarity a players handicap becomes a non competition one on Jan 1st 2017 if he hasn't played 3 counting comps at his "home" club in the previous year.

d2ww

Hoof Hearted2 wrote: »

It's automatically built into the software, Slievenamon or any other affiliated club have no facility to override this condition, despite popular untrue rumors.
For clarity a players handicap becomes a non competition one on Jan 1st 2017 if he hasn't played 3 counting comps at his "home" club in the previous year.

If this is the case, are there any decent courses out there that offer distance membership? The thought of wasting 11-12 hours of your life swatting a ball around a farmer's field is just too depressing to contemplate.

brick tamland

d2ww wrote: »

If this is the case, are there any decent courses out there that offer distance membership? The thought of wasting 11-12 hours of your life swatting a ball around a farmer's field is just too depressing to contemplate.

You don't have to go for distance. Plenty of nice tracks offering pay and play deals. Look at corballis or similar

Kingswood Rover

Eoinyh wrote: »

If I had to do that in boys town, id bring my fishing rods an fill the cards in by the lake, better than having to play it!!!!!

Ah jaysus Eoin, sure don't you know that Blessington Lakes are actually terrible lakes built on the cheap by DCC. Now if you want a lake why not try Lough Tay or Lough Dan both laid out in the natural old fashioned way using the ingredients of time, glaciation and a little plate tectonics.

Eoinyh

Kingswood Rover wrote: »

Ah jaysus Eoin, sure don't you know that Blessington Lakes are actually terrible lakes built on the cheap by DCC. Now if you want a lake why not try Lough Tay or Lough Dan both laid out in the natural old fashioned way using the ingredients of time, glaciation and a little plate tectonics.

I've fished them all, an there is no denying it blessington lakes is terrible, Kings river is nice

bailey99

Hoof Hearted2 wrote: »

It's automatically built into the software, Slievenamon or any other affiliated club have no facility to override this condition, despite popular untrue rumors.
For clarity a players handicap becomes a non competition one on Jan 1st 2017 if he hasn't played 3 counting comps at his "home" club in the previous year.

Incorrect, I believe you need to play three qualifying competitions anywhere in the year to keep your GUI active. As Per the GUI website and rules changes section.

Kingswood Rover

bailey99 wrote: »

Incorrect, I believe you need to play three qualifying competitions anywhere in the year to keep your GUI active. As Per the GUI website and rules changes section.

Yep the 3 qualifying comps need to be within the previous 12 months of the 1 you are playing in.

d2ww

Kingswood Rover wrote: »

Yep the 3 qualifying comps need to be within the previous 12 months of the 1 you are playing in.

In your home club, or any open comp?

HighLine

bailey99 wrote: »

Incorrect, I believe you need to play three qualifying competitions anywhere in the year to keep your GUI active. As Per the GUI website and rules changes section.

It's your home club... otherwise the introduction of the rule would be a bit pointless.

AnneFrank

brick tamland wrote: »

You don't have to go for distance. Plenty of nice tracks offering pay and play deals. Look at corballis or similar

corballis is a kip run by amateurs

Pdoghue

HighLine wrote: »

It's your home club... otherwise the introduction of the rule would be a bit pointless.

My club closed down in 2015 and I didn't join a club in 2016. I am thinking of joining a club for 2017 however.

I have no problem with playing 3 comps in my home club to keep my GUI active, but would I be restricted from playing open singles comps in 2017 as per the rules as last I understood?

Seve OB

AnneFrank wrote: »

corballis is a kip run by amateurs

you are kinda new around here, so a bit of friendly advice.... don't diss the legend in these parts that is Corballis or you might find yourself sent to Coventry

Seve OB

Pdoghue wrote: »

My club closed down in 2015 and I didn't join a club in 2016. I am thinking of joining a club for 2017 however.

I have no problem with playing 3 comps in my home club to keep my GUI active, but would I be restricted from playing open singles comps in 2017 as per the rules as last I understood?

a bit of a mouthful there!
if you are not in a club, you don't have a handicap and you cannot play in open comps...
but if you join a club next year, then you can play open comps
but you will have to reapply for a handicap as you are without one for more than 6 months .... but your previous handicap will be taken into account

Pdoghue

Seve OB wrote: »

a bit of a mouthful there!
if you are not in a club, you don't have a handicap and you cannot play in open comps...
but if you join a club next year, then you can play open comps
but you will have to reapply for a handicap as you are without one for more than 6 months .... but your previous handicap will be taken into account

Cheers, yes of course I need a handicap to play any comps anywhere.

It's just I thought the GUI had introduced a rule barring someone from playing open singles until the second year into their membership in a club and provided they had played 3 singles comps in that club in the first year.

Golf365

Once you get your new handicap you are free to enter open competitions.

The Rape of Lucretia

Golf365 wrote: »

Once you get your new handicap you are free to enter open competitions.

So in theory, if you were to move club every year, you could simply play opens, and never have to play in any of the 'home' clubs, with your handicap staying valid all along ?

Golf365

To maintain your handicap you must play 3 qualifying competitions in your home course annually.

The Rape of Lucretia

Golf365 wrote: »

To maintain your handicap you must play 3 qualifying competitions in your home course annually.

Golf365 wrote: »

Once you get your new handicap you are free to enter open competitions.

Yes, but if you get a new handicap and can immediately play in open comps, then you wont have played in 3 qualifying comps. So if you just flit between two handicap clubs ever second year, then once you get the handicap each time, you are free to play in open comps. Effectively free to play in open comps permanently without ever playing in a qualifying comp in your home club. It looks like a solution that would suit some people.

clog

Pdoghue wrote: »

Cheers, yes of course I need a handicap to play any comps anywhere.

It's just I thought the GUI had introduced a rule barring someone from playing open singles until the second year into their membership in a club and provided they had played 3 singles comps in that club in the first year.

Technically the 3 cards submitted for initial handicap are 'Qualifing Scores' and count towards fulfilling the criteria for that year.

(Congu handbook 2016-2018. p56. Rule 25.3 note 2)

clog

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Yes, but if you get a new handicap and can immediately play in open comps, then you wont have played in 3 qualifying comps. So if you just flit between two handicap clubs ever second year, then once you get the handicap each time, you are free to play in open comps. Effectively free to play in open comps permanently without ever playing in a qualifying comp in your home club. It looks like a solution that would suit some people.

The transfer of handicaps between clubs is not automatic and a senario like you have described would be flagged up by the clubs handicapping software. The handicap committee would more than likely insist on new cards for the new 'home' club.