Handicaps
Some clarity and options regarding getting your official golf handicap. . .
In my experience most people just don’t know how easy and accessible it is, I certainly didn’t until it was explained to me, so hopefully the below helps you too.
I think that this biggest misconception regarding handicaps is that you have to be a member of a physical golf club to have one. While this used to be the case, these days there are other options.
But first, let’s talk about the benefits of having an official handicap:
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Most importantly, for me anyway, having an official handicap simply means that I can track my golfing ability over time. I played happily for years without one and during that time I just didn’t get any better. There is something about having a tangible record of each and every round that helps focus the mind and as such progress is more likely.
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Having a handicap means that even social golf is more fun. It means that even when playing with friends there can be an element of friendly competition. No-one ever says this really, but golfers with a handicap do prefer to play with other golfers who have a handicap.
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An official handicap opens up tee times! This is arguably the best reason. Many people don’t realise that almost all golf clubs run open competitions every week. Anyone with an official handicap can join these competitions, you don’t have to be a member of that club to play. Don’t be put off by the word competition, I was for a long time. Competition simply means that you fill in a score card during your round and hand it in at the end - other than that it’s just the same as any other social round. This means that you can get around different clubs and play at times that otherwise would not be accessible for social booking.
How to get a handicap without joining a physical club?
Join an ‘online club’!
There are a number of online clubs you can join that basically offer the same handicap service often wrapped up with some additional benefits. The main benefit of an online club is that you can submit social rounds towards your handicap. You simply complete a score card when you play, submit it to the club usually via e-mail or an app and they do all the work to get and update your handicap, it’s super simple.
We encourage everyone do to their own research as there is no one size fits all when it comes to selecting the right service for you but having done all the research there are 2 options we will suggest for you to consider:
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Future Golf - This is by far the biggest online club with many thousands of members across mainly NSW. FG is not the cheapest with members option from $250-900 per year, and they often have deals on, but their membership comes with one main benefit which many find appealing. With your membership you get vouchers for free/discounted rounds at certain clubs. You can only use a voucher once for each venue. Future golf run events all over NSW every month that you can access as a member, they are really well run and full of great people. To learn more about Future Golf memberships click here - https://futuregolf.com.au/referral/ref/62829.
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Golf Crew Australia - This is a more ‘boutique’ option in comparison to Future Golf and the the service that as a community we chose to partner with for Sydney Golf 2.0. GCA is rapidly approaching 1,000 members in Australia, with crews in all the major regions - Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and more. Sydney is the newest and fastest growing crew, thanks to Sydney Gold 2.0 partnership. With GCA you can submit all your social rounds and have your official handicap up and running after just 3 submitted rounds. Golf Crew run 2-3 events around Sydney every month, some weekend, some mid-meek and some evening (sim) which gives everyone something to join in with. Joining golf crew is great value, it’s work out at just $10 a month with their current offer - Join now and get the rest of 2025 and all of 2026 for just $185. Why did we choose to partner with Golf Crew? We wanted to build our community with a service that would evolve, grow and adapt to suit our needs - we wanted something that was as focused on the community, the players, as we were. We found it in GCA. To learn more about GCA membership click here - https://www.golfcrewaustralia.com.au/
We hope that the above information brings some clarity around getting your handicap.
We truly believe it’s something that all golfers should aspire to have whilst of course appreciating that it’s not going to be for everyone.
Any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
