golfrewind.com

I've once paid money to join the SCGA in order to get a handicap but I never received anything from them. After a while I just kind of forgot about it and never bothered again.

My game is not good and I've always kind of taken the attitude that once I improved, I would get a handicap. My idea of improvement in this case would be to be shooting consistently in the mid 90's. But still, I languish around the 100-110 mark. It may have something to do with the fact that I've only recently taken the game up again and haven't played in three weeks due to work and moving...

Okay, here's the real deal. I'm very embarrassed to go to the pro shop after a pathetic 100+ round and turn in a score like that. Do I have to turn in the score at the course or can I just go home where my shame is not made public information and do it online?

Regardless, I think I'm going to go ahead and bite the bullet and check out the USGA. After all, I did enter the "Phil's on the Phone" contest and I have to have a 23 or better handicap to play with him, that hillbilly, and that washed up football player my sister is in love with. Not that I have a realistic shot of getting down to a 23 by fall but I'll have fun trying. Besides, if I do win and I don't have the handicap, I still win the free vehicle.

Edited to add-
Holy cow! I was just looking over the USGA's stuff on getting a handicap and frankly it's quite confusing. By "Golf Club", could that mean just a group of 10 or more individuals or are they talking about a public and/or private course. if someone can shed the light of simplicity on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

My opinion is go ahead and turn in the 100's and start establishing the handicap if you intend to stay with the game (that means not quittin' outta frustration)...my reasoning is that the higher cap will help you if you enter any events where it counts and also it will boost your confidence when you start to whittle it down and see the number drop.

And if you do win and get to play Philbillyfootballgolf just do one thing for me...every time you hit a good one down the middle, give a leg kick and a fist pump and shout "Who's yer daddy!".

Shade

10 or more people.....yep....I think so, because I started one at my last company. But I'm sure some other people can shed more light here.

I asked myself the same question this spring, and opted to give it a try. At my local club, it was $15 to join and that included 9 holes of golf for free (making the fee about $4 for the year.) My local club (and many others) use GHIN.com. It's the USGA's official handicapping system.

I think you do need to sign up at a course that offers it, but then you can enter scores from anywhere via the Internet if you have the slope of the course. Thousands are in their database to lookup. With that system, you can choose between an 18-hole handicap or a 9-hole.

They e-mail me updates every 2 weeks, based on my club's "revision schedule" which you can read about at GHIN.com.