Establishing a handicap

[Scorp]

And... this is why I just said forget it the last time I was thinking of establishing a handicap... the handicap was transitioning over to the GHIN or whatever and speculation was that other feeds into that world handicap would go away... but they didn't.

But now they are?

There's generally two routes to go:

1). If you're a member of a course, handicap services are generally included with the membership.

2). If you're not a member of a course, you can go to your state golf association's website and they will have a way to join the handicap program. Some states include it if you join the state golf association, and others have it as a separate item. I think I pay $30 a year through my state association.

Once signed up you'll be able to use the GHIN app to input your scores. You will have to pick a "home" course, but you don't have to actually be a member there. You can just pick the public course you play the most.

1 - Not a member of a club or course although I did join SCGA years ago and they keep sending me a magazine. Maybe I need to reach out to them and ask if they'll feed into the world handicap or GHIN or whatever it's called...

I really like The Grint. However, with them not being able to provide an official handicap from next year, your best bet is going through the GHIN app.

Depending of what The Grint start charging for me for their service, I'm a club chairman right now so it's free but that is going away, I may very well change to GHIN through my club.

If I were to use one or the other, it'd be GRINT because I've heard a lot of complaints about the GHIN app... but if GRINT won't feed into GHIN then it's a waste of money for me to use it...

Ok here goes, I got a VIP membership at the club down the street (2 miles). It's essentially a daily fee course with memberships, and mine is just a discount on rates and few other smaller perks - paid for itself pretty fast - 3 rounds. But I was offered a discount in GHIN - like $30? for the year or the rest of the year - so I am carrying a handicap - I don't have tons of rounds played but it's a cap just the same and legitimate - so that's what I would suggest - you'll need to play some golf to get a cap, so might as well join something, and when you do you can get a GHIN cap included or at a small upcharge.

Good luck and welcome back to the game (so to speak).

Thanks. Yeah, I guess I've determined that golf means something to me after all. I'm not a member of a course. I don't think I want to be either. Too much money.

That takes me to a login page, but I trimmed the URL down to their home page & I'll poke around. Thanks!

ETA: No help there, either. Meanwhile, I went to their app page on Apple's app store and found this, all the way at the bottom:

In-App Purchases

1. Pro Membership 3.99/mo $3.99
2. Pro Membership 39.99/yr $39.99
3. PRO Membership $19.99
4. USGA Handicap-Only(Prior 2022) $19.99
5. PRO Membership Free Trial $39.99
6. PRO Membership Free Trial $3.99
7. Monthly Pro Merbership $2.99
8. PRO Membership $19.99
9. PRO Plus Membership $99.99
10. PRO Plus Membership $99.99

Now that that's cleared-up

I'll email 'em, I guess.

I appreciate you looking into that, thanks for the info.

 

[JW Smoove]

Do what I did, or look for it in your area. my 'VIP' membership is just an annual discount pass - so to speak. I looked it up, It costs me $120 year one, and $90 in subsequent years - and a discount for the GHIN capability. I get discounts on rates - and accumulate points for free golf (and one round free in my birth month). For me, I play (and walk about 50% of the time) on weekends - peak fees. Before tax my rate is $62 riding or $52 walking - the daily fee rate is $100 riding or (I assume $90 walking), so 4 rounds and I am about even. But I get the free golf - about 1 round every 10, and the 1 round in my birth month - also get a weekeday rate of $42 riding for seniors - or $32 walking.

Then about 10% off stuff range tokens and proshop, maybe lessons too?

Anyway if you have the same option and have a course you like that offers it - it's a low cost option to get your rounds in.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

If I were to use one or the other, it'd be GRINT because I've heard a lot of complaints about the GHIN app...

Yeah, TheGrint appears to be far superior to the GHIN app. Particularly wrt Apple Watch support, which is of key importance to me.

... but if GRINT won't feed into GHIN then it's a waste of money for me to use it...

I added an additional comment to my prior post regarding that. Look again.

I appreciate you looking into that, thanks for the info.

I've sent them an inquiry seeking clarification on their pricing structure. Stay tuned to this thread for updates

Meanwhile: If you create a TheGrint account, which I did last night, you can get to the info showing the differences between the free, Pro, and Pro Plus accounts.

Funny thing happened when I went to establish an account last night. Filled in my info, hit "Submit", got back "Oh no! An unexpected error occurred. Please try again." Reviewed my data. Looked good. Tried again. Same thing. Tried a different email address, because some servers don't like tagged (aka: "plussed") email addresses. Same thing. Changed it back. Tried again. Same thing. In the process of sending them a message about the problem, did it all over again so I could get the error message text exactly right.

It went through

Mind you: Every attempt, save that one where I made an email address change, was identical, as the fields were all copy-n-pasted from my digital keyring.

 

[Scorp]

Yeah... I'm almost ready to chuck it and forget about it...

I'm looking at the South Carolina Golf Association. They have information from 2020 on how to establish a WHS... like, is there anything CURRENT? No.

I'm looking at USGA... they link me to a "local golf alliance"... and I see that there's Carolinas Golf Association. So... South Carolina doesn't get their own? Great. Whatever. Yet Ohio has 4 and they only golf 7 months of the year. WTF?

I've looked at the Grint... and gotten confused as they try to sell me their app... and apparently can't code an app worth a hoot...

Why isn't there an easy way to do this without me having to hit 4 websites to join 2 golf groups to get 1 WHS and use the GHIN app which is not the easiest thing to use from what I gather...

 

[Duffer Seamus]

@Scorpion12, as to why there's a "Carolinas" golf assoc. and not separate N. and S. Carolina golf assocs,. only the CGA can answer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As for TheGrint, GHIN, and me: If, by joining GAM (Golf Assoc. of Mi.), I can submit scores from TheGrint, then that's what I'll do. GAM membership is $41/year and provides a bunch of perks. I should be able to upload scores to GHIN from TheGrint with the free version + GAM membership If the Pro subscription is only $20/year I'll almost certainly sign up for that. If it's $40/year, I probably will.

I'm thinking $60-$80/year for GAM + TheGrint Pro would provide a lot of return for the investment.

 

[Scorp]

That's too much money. I'm cheap!

Alright. I hit the Carolina's Golf Association. The 2 courses I play are in their membership services or whatnot so that's good.
I noticed I received THEIR quarterly magazine so I joined them at some point in the past.
I've reached out to them and asked them whether THEY assigned me a GHIN and how I bring my membership current.


And IF Grint can still feed into USGA for the GHIN, then I'll use Grint. If not, then I'll use the GHIN app. And maybe Grint if it's free... but I've got a ShotScope and it'll do what the Grint app does too. Mostly.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

That's too much money. I'm cheap!

... but I've got a ShotScope and ...

One of these statements is inconsistent with the other

The stuff @MGoBlue posted suggests the free version of TheGrint can post GHIN scores if one has a GHIN account.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

Ok, got a reply back from TheGrint. The Pro subscription is $40/year. The Pro Plus sub. is $100/year.

If you create an account and are logged-in, you can see the tiers and their cost at https://www.thegrint.com/proshop

Under Free Features it clearly lists:

Link your WHS™ number and manage your USGA Handicap Index® from TheGrint.

From the emailed response:

As for the Scores synced to GHIN. That's not going away. As long as you have an active GHIN# or WHS# linked to your account, every score you upload to TheGrint will sync to the USGA. Or if you or your Club uploads a Score to GHIN or the USGA, that score will sync to TheGrint.

At $40/year I may or may not upgrade to Pro. Probably will. The decision will be left to next season. I won't be signing-up to GAM, either, until then, anyway. Not that much season left here. Meanwhile: I'll install the TheGrint app and give the free version a whirl.

Btw: My TheGrint username is the same as my THP username, minus the space

 

[AuzzieMatt]

Question for you @Scorpion12

Are you going to be playing in any tournaments?

If not, why bother going the GHIN way?

 

[Chef23]

I would go GHIN. I use it to track my stats as well. I find it a good app on my iPhone.

 

[pjleduc]

I was going to answer but @Duffer Seamus beat me to it. I bought a GHIN number via the MD Golf Association and as soon as I input it into The Grint they synced up. I have a free account but use Arccos for scoring during a round. I usually upload my round to The Grint within a day or so also.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

I was going to answer but @Duffer Seamus beat me to it.

The confirmation is good, though

 

[jbb2388]

I use 18 Birdies. Its free, tracks handicap, stats, GPS. I've tried theGrint but I recall the ads were more menacing with it.

 

[BigMac]

If I were to use one or the other, it'd be GRINT because I've heard a lot of complaints about the GHIN app... but if GRINT won't feed into GHIN then it's a waste of money for me to use it...

I'm not sure what the complaints are about the GHIN app. I use it every round on my phone, and have 110 rounds with it so far this year. The basic (free) version offers overhead views of the holes, limited GPS info (just center of green, not F/M/B), and limited stat tracking (score, putts, GIR, FW hit/missed). I like that I can take a couple seconds to enter my score/stats after each hole, and it totals and posts my round for handicapping when I finish. I don't recall ever having a glitch with it - it can track 9 or 18 hole rounds, you can choose which hole you're starting on if you're playing in a shotgun start (I played 2 of those the last 2 days), and you can review your stats (at least the ones it tracks) in the app at any time. Advertising on the app is minimal and not intrusive at all.

I don't use the Apple Watch app (my watch is a Garmin), so I can't attest to it there - one of my golf buddies uses it on his Apple Watch and his only complaint is that it occasionally jumps around holes and he hasn't figured out if it's the app or if he's doing something wrong.

 

[Scorp]

Question for you @Scorpion12

Are you going to be playing in any tournaments?

If not, why bother going the GHIN way?

Nope, not planning on playing in tournaments but I'm interested in playing in the Myrtle Beach World Amateur and seeing whether I can avoid coming in absolutely dead last in a flight. So I'll need a handicap for that.

Plus, I'm kind of tired of guesstimating exactly how poorly I play golf and just saying my handicap is 34 or whatever so... I'm going to jump in and do it as soon as I hear back from the carolina's golf association on if I have a GHIN number already or not.

 

[Scorp]

I'm not sure what the complaints are about the GHIN app. I use it every round on my phone, and have 110 rounds with it so far this year. The basic (free) version offers overhead views of the holes, limited GPS info (just center of green, not F/M/B), and limited stat tracking (score, putts, GIR, FW hit/missed). I like that I can take a couple seconds to enter my score/stats after each hole, and it totals and posts my round for handicapping when I finish. I don't recall ever having a glitch with it - it can track 9 or 18 hole rounds, you can choose which hole you're starting on if you're playing in a shotgun start (I played 2 of those the last 2 days), and you can review your stats (at least the ones it tracks) in the app at any time. Advertising on the app is minimal and not intrusive at all.

I don't use the Apple Watch app (my watch is a Garmin), so I can't attest to it there - one of my golf buddies uses it on his Apple Watch and his only complaint is that it occasionally jumps around holes and he hasn't figured out if it's the app or if he's doing something wrong.

The complaints I heard were all related to when GHIN switched to WHS and the associated lack of app support or preparation for that... maybe the issues have been resolved. I don't know, I've never used it.

It sounds like it works for you so I might take a look at it.

 

[captaincaution]

The complaints I heard were all related to when GHIN switched to WHS and the associated lack of app support or preparation for that... maybe the issues have been resolved. I don't know, I've never used it.

It sounds like it works for you so I might take a look at it.

It took a little bit of time, but all of the issues with the switch to WHS have been worked out.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Whatever you do, be sure it's a GHIN handicap. My local club uses another handicap system, and it's not accepted anymore by the World Am. I'm about to join my local state association so I have an official GHIN handicap. In fact, through last year, I used the handicap system that the World Am supplied called UShandicap, and they no longer accept it.

This is interesting and good info. A few years ago I had USH…now I know to stick with GHIN

 

[captaincaution]

This is interesting and good info. A few years ago I had USH…now I know to stick with GHIN

UShandicap really went downhill after the WHS implementation. Their customer service was terrible. It took a lot of pulling of teeth to cancel my subscription.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

I don't use the Apple Watch app (my watch is a Garmin), so I can't attest to it there - one of my golf buddies uses it on his Apple Watch and his only complaint is that it occasionally jumps around holes and he hasn't figured out if it's the app or if he's doing something wrong.

Apple Watch support are the main complaints I'm seeing, right now, in the reviews in Apple's app store. Proper Apple Watch support, without having to fiddle with the thing while I'm playing, is a requirement for any app I'm going to use.

Plus, if you read the reviews in Apple's app store: When people make a complaint about TheGrint, they respond.

The GHIN app?

 

[Duffer Seamus]

Plus, I'm kind of tired of guesstimating exactly how poorly I play golf and just saying my handicap is 34 or whatever so... I'm going to jump in and do it as soon as I hear back from the carolina's golf association on if I have a GHIN number already or not.

That's basically where I'm at. I don't know I'll play any sanctioned events, but I do know I want to start keeping score--no matter how bad it may be.

I figure I'll start by keeping score on the free version of TheGrint. If, next season, it seems worthwhile: I'll sign-up to GAM, get a GHIN number, upload what scores I saved in TheGrint, and carry on. Then, if I do find myself wanting to play an event, I'll have a legit HC I can use.

 

[AuzzieMatt]

Nope, not planning on playing in tournaments but I'm interested in playing in the Myrtle Beach World Amateur and seeing whether I can avoid coming in absolutely dead last in a flight. So I'll need a handicap for that.

I was thinking about possibly playing in that myself.

 

[wadesworld]

Apple Watch support are the main complaints I'm seeing, right now, in the reviews in Apple's app store. Proper Apple Watch support, without having to fiddle with the thing while I'm playing, is a requirement for any app I'm going to use.

Plus, if you read the reviews in Apple's app store: When people make a complaint about TheGrint, they respond.

The GHIN app?

You may be misunderstanding how most people use GHIN.

While it's possible to enter hole-by-hole scores and also use the GPS features of the app, I'd be willing to bet the VAST majority of golfers use something else for their GPS / stats tracking and then just enter their total score into the GHIN app. I know that's what I do.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

You may be misunderstanding how most people use GHIN.

While it's possible to enter hole-by-hole scores and also use the GPS features of the app, I'd be willing to bet the VAST majority of golfers use something else for their GPS / stats tracking and then just enter their total score into the GHIN app. I know that's what I do.

That's fine, but that's not how I wish to use an app. I have a phone that does GPS fine. I have a smart watch linked to that phone. Personally, already having those--and they do a good bit more than just golf course stuff [*], I see no sense in having a separate watch just for golf and manually entering a score into another app, when, theoretically speaking, the hardware I have already, coupled with TheGrint, should do the same thing for me with less trouble.

The only way that's likely to change is if I later decide to get, say, Shot Scope or Arccos. (And the fact they require a separate watch is the main reason I'm not particularly anxious to go there.)

[*] Among other things: Heartbeat anomaly and fall detection--along with automatic emergency notification. These become somewhat interesting once one reaches a Certain Age

Wandering a bit OT, but... Y'know what would rock? A open data framework that would allow different hardware and software to work with one another. Imagine: You purchase a set of, say, Shot Scope sensors and a small belt-clipped device to talk to them and, via BlueTooth, your phone. Then, because of the open software framework, TheGrint can automatically detect club selection from Shot Scope. Now everything about your game can be automatically captured, logged, and uploaded to GHIN, without any manual intervention. With your smart watch you can simply raise your wrist and see the distance to the next hole, hazard, etc., without having to take your phone out of your pocket. Beautiful

 

[Scorp]

It took a little bit of time, but all of the issues with the switch to WHS have been worked out.

Thank for the update. I appreciate it.

That's basically where I'm at. I don't know I'll play any sanctioned events, but I do know I want to start keeping score--no matter how bad it may be.

I figure I'll start by keeping score on the free version of TheGrint. If, next season, it seems worthwhile: I'll sign-up to GAM, get a GHIN number, upload what scores I saved in TheGrint, and carry on. Then, if I do find myself wanting to play an event, I'll have a legit HC I can use.

I'm going to probably give grint and ghin a run and put them in a thunderdome. Whichever one I like the best wins and the other gets deleted.

I was thinking about possibly playing in that myself.

Come on over! @PatsFan is playing in it right this year. They said they NEED more THPers to represent! Ok, they didn't actually say that, they said it would be cool if more THPers were playing

That's fine, but that's not how I wish to use an app. I have a phone that does GPS fine. I have a smart watch linked to that phone. Personally, already having those--and they do a good bit more than just golf course stuff [*], I see no sense in having a separate watch just for golf and manually entering a score into another app, when, theoretically speaking, the hardware I have already, coupled with TheGrint, should do the same thing for me with less trouble.

The only way that's likely to change is if I later decide to get, say, Shot Scope or Arccos. (And the fact they require a separate watch is the main reason I'm not particularly anxious to go there.)

[*] Among other things: Heartbeat anomaly and fall detection--along with automatic emergency notification. These become somewhat interesting once one reaches a Certain Age

Wandering a bit OT, but... Y'know what would rock? A open data framework that would allow different hardware and software to work with one another. Imagine: You purchase a set of, say, Shot Scope sensors and a small belt-clipped device to talk to them and, via BlueTooth, your phone. Then, because of the open software framework, TheGrint can automatically detect club selection from Shot Scope. Now everything about your game can be automatically captured, logged, and uploaded to GHIN, without any manual intervention. With your smart watch you can simply raise your wrist and see the distance to the next hole, hazard, etc., without having to take your phone out of your pocket. Beautiful

Oh man. You're geeking out here. Hmm... what you're describing... sounds... familiar... like open source, community supported... starts with an "L" and ends with "inux"...