Easiest way to get a GUI handicap

Ive been looking around and some.clubs are charging 20 quid for an open ?

They would want to get their heads examined.

Some clubs are perpetuating below cost golf themselves..

Push that up to 30 quid.to start ..then have the conversion again....

easiest/cheapest way to get a handicap is to take a flexi mebership of Highfield GC in Edenderry for €195.

This gives you a GUI membership and 10 rounds of golf. Play 3/4 games and you have your handicap.

Friends on mine currently in the US got their cards earlier this year when visiting and plan a trip to some of the top course in the southwest in Sept - all at GUI rates. (saving a fortune on non gui rates)

still having trouble using a search engine it seems

you called me out on it? how did you do that exactly

look it seemed i cut too close to the bone on the last remark

A lot of the comments I've seen on this are the typical pearl clutching, the world is ending, kneejerk reactions that always seem to pop up anytime change is mentioned.

This change was always going to come about. The UK have it with iGolf. The USGA have it with their GHIN app. As is usual, Ireland lags behind and is one of the last to adopt any changes. We seem to have this attitude of "Oh well things are different here than everywhere else and we need to do things differently..." which is completely untrue. We're no more special than any other country despite what people want to believe.

When this change comes about, there's not going to be a massive exodus of members resulting in clubs shutting their doors within weeks. This isn't the end of days. The vast vast majority of club members aren't members purely to obtain a handicap. They're members because they either A) Enjoy the club aspect of it. Or B) It makes financial sense to be a member. I fall into the latter category. It makes financial sense for me and I enjoy being able to nip out for 9 or 12 holes on summer evenings. Being a member gives me the ability to do that. I couldn't give a hoot about the club aspect and I'd be considered a carpark golfer by some people on here. I generally only walk through the doors of the club to use the toilet and that's it. Some people on here would look down on me for that and say that I should be somehow obliged to "support the club more." That side of it doesn't interest me, and that attitude annoys me.

Tbh, if clubs lost all of their members purely because of this new iGolf change, then that's a failure on the clubs behalf. If all they have to offer is a handicap, then their business model is flawed and they need to offer more to keep members. If opens are the main issue then all the clubs need to do is get together and have a special "member affiliate" rate which gives the discount to anyone who's a member of another club. If clubs see this change as a threat, then they should also get together and have more partnerships that are mutually beneficial. A number of clubs banding together and offering discounted green fees to each others members would certainly make the membership option more attractive.

Lots of people here are losing their minds about this when they had zero issues with people paying buttons for a distance membership purely to obtain a handicap. Smacks of hypocrisy to me.

There's also still this attitude of the old boys club among people here. The whole world is making the sport more accessible for everybody yet there's still a lot of gatekeeping going on, keeping out the peasants. Some of the comments here are horrendous, particularly the one along the lines of "If you can't afford a club membership then go find another hobby". That is a disgusting comment and if that's your attitude then you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself tbh.

Poor effort trying to deflect.

I pay my membership fees. I purchase things in the pro shop. I've used the restaurant the odd time. Just because I don't swamp a load of pints every time I'm there, or go to a bingo night once a month doesn't mean I should feel ashamed about anything. I'm there to use the golf course which is what I pay for just like everyone else.

Your original comment however, was absolutely appalling. The snobbery and elitism on display for all to see. You let the mask slip. Your attitude and outlook is everything that is wrong with golf.

the members who don't play much are subsidising those that do

This is a key point in the discussion because the concern clubs will have is not about the existing club members who are there week in week out, those guys are not leaving to get a cheap Igolf membership.

It’s the members who play maybe once a month. As you say @blue note these lads are subsidising the more regular club members. Plenty of these golfers are only members to keep a handicap.

So maybe they will look at their sub of eg €1,200 as €100 a game. But then look at the possibility of leaving and now being able to play in the open for a mere €30. Some will leave for GI and when they do, what will happen to the club? Subs may have to go up for everyone else there to balance the books. But the price for the open should also go up to anyone who is not a club member. Open cost for Full GI member, €30 or for an I golf member, €50. I don’t think anyone could argue against that. It’s probably where we should be heading

I have to agree with this comment. There is a significant proportion of people who join a members' club but see themselves as buying a service, rather than becoming members.

These people don't contribute any time or effort to managing competitions or operating the club, they don't even go to AGMs but are quick to complain if everything is not to their liking.

If only there was a middle ground between the entitled "I want it therefore I should be able to have it" gang and the elitist "golf is expensive, if you can't afford it, play something else" crew, eh ?

I mean, FFS, bar probably 10 or 12 clubs, golf in Ireland certainly isn't elitist and is pretty accessible by and large. The fact remains though that maintaining and manicuring 100+ acres of land costs a lot of money. In fairness I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with both sides of the argument above. Maybe people are looking for something that isn't possible to have ? Personally I think one of the terrible things for clubs in the last 12/15 years has been the amount of nomad members that go from club to club, chasing deals, year on year. At least back in the day, a joining fee ensured some loyalty, but when the crash happened it became a race to the bottom for too many clubs, many of whom still haven't recovered fully.

Does Ireland have too many clubs ? The numbers thrown about re no. of members Vs no. of people who played golf would suggest we don't have too many clubs. Yet, if the interest in iGolf is as high as some expect, the logical conclusion is people want golf but not at the cost of a membership. So how to accommodate the xxx thousand who want their 20 games a year but don't want any part of the cost of maintaining a course somewhere. I dunno, is iGolf the answer ? I guess the proof will be in the pudding and we'll know in 18 months time. I still can't see how its any different to taking out a distance membership somewhere tbh.

Stating that golf is an expensive hobby and if you cant afford it take up some other hobby is not elitist or rude..it is a fact..stop being so WOKE.

Cut your cloth to suit your measure.

I dunno if it's elitist but I'd certainly consider it a very rude comment to make.

Is it any more rude than saying that if you can't afford a Ferrari you should consider getting a Mazda MX5?

I completely understand all that ...the point is..if a course is struggling to stay open ..but are charging what people have suggested 300 quid a year or lower ?

Then there is a fundamental flaw in that..

An "I golfer" would genuinely contribute more to the general golf economy ..

I've looked around at opens too and some are like 20 quid...it is crazy to charge 20 quid...or even expect to get out on a course for 20 quid.

Maybe Irish golfers have built up an unrealistic expectation for the price of golf...

I call out the 400 quid clubs and places with no opens...but at same measure you should call out a race to bottom and golfers not covering their costs...

Just did quick check on my club agm accounts.

Expenditure €1.08 ml last year. Thats under a stressed financial position.

Little scope for capital spend that course and clubhouse require.

Difficult for parkland courses to maintain that level of spend.. 460k direct maintenance spend on course..

well the cost to maintain a club and course will be a bit higher in Dublin but should not be massively different to anywhere else round the country. You can tell the courses who charge more for membership because the course and facilities tend to be better maintained and in better condition.

the fact that you are only now realizing that opens are typically offered at a discount on the normal green fee shows that like every other golfer you don't play them

this is the issue, people play the vast majority of their golf at their own club. Why, because they have paid for it

Opens, they are mostly on mid week. At times people dont want to play or cant

Any green fee brought in is extra cash to the club. Go out to almost any club midweek and they have open slots are half empty

Igolf is creating a market for opens that doesn't exist

Clubs love a greenfee