A player needs a minimum of three 18-hole scores to calculate a Handicap Index (or six 9-hole scores). See “How is a Handicap Index Calculated?” below for more details.

Yes, the World Handicap System requires that you are to be a part of what it identifies as a “golf club” in order to receive a Handicap Index. The Handicap System is built around something called peer review, which is oversight by a group and the ability of people you play with to support or dispute the validity of your scores. There are more than 1500 SCGA Golf Clubs, many tied to social, fraternal or work groups, so there should be a fit for you. If you are not formally connected to a club in any way and don’t believe an existing group matches up with your needs, you might consider SCGA Associate membership.

Yes, the SCGA offers an e-commerce portal for clubs that choose to offer this option.

SCGA membership in a club is a 365 day/annual subscription in most cases. The SCGA will attempt to notify you approximately 60 days before your membership is scheduled to expire (unless your club has advised us not to do so). In general, if you take no action to renew in your club (online or contacting the club directly) before the membership expiration date, your membership will automatically expire. So action is required on your part to keep your membership continuous. More and more clubs are using the SCGA’s online registration program to allow for credit card payment of dues to make this easy on their members. Note: if your club participates in the SCGA’s online registration program, when making a credit card payment you have an option to set up and participate in automatic renewal, which eliminates having to go through a payment effort each and every year. If you choose this option, you will be notified before a credit card is charged and have the ability to cancel the auto-renewal. As always, you can contact your club and interact with its representatives and make payment directly to them.

See previous answer. For clubs participating in the SCGA’s online registration program, you will be able (notified by an email) to make a payment at a direct link to your club’s online payment portal 60 days before expiration. This is unofficially called the “renewal period.” If a member tries online before that, the club’s portal will advise them they are already a member of that club. Most clubs will be happy to take your cash payment for renewal at any time and would appreciate payment before your membership expires.

If your club participates in the SCGA’s online registration program, the quickest way to rejoin is go to scga.org and click the renew tab on the left of the screen (or just click here) and find your club. If the club name appears and the phrase “Renew Now!” is listed to the right, then the club is participating in the online registration program. Click on that link and you will be on your way to renewing, including paying your dues. As always, you can contact an official from the club and interact with that person to take care of paying dues. Make sure to use/give your existing SCGA/GHIN number to your club/enter it in the registration program to quickly get your scoring record and Handicap Index back in action.

If you don't wish to renew with your previous club, visit scga.org and choose the renew tab. You can search for a club to find the right club for you. For those clubs that offer an online registration and payment option for membership, you can complete the action by clicking on the Renew Now! link. For those clubs that do not participate in the online registration, but are seeking members, a contact point with email address and phone number is listed. Clubs not seeking members in any way are unlikely to appear in any way on scga.org. If you cannot find a club, feel free to contact the SCGA at (818) 980-3630 and we’ll help connect you to a club. Additionally, for clubs tied to golf course facilities, you can usually visit the course and ask about membership in the club. In each case, please provide your existing SCGA/GHIN number to your new club, even if it has become inactive, so that your scoring record is transferred over, as this will be the quickest way to again have a Handicap Index. In general, if you have a minimum of five scores in your record, you will receive a Handicap Index from that club after the next revision (1^st and 15^th of each month).

Your SCGA membership card, tied to your club with the various partner benefits, including the Roger Dunn gift card, is emailed to you by the SCGA. Email distribution may take up to four weeks. Membership cards are not connected with the delivery of FORE magazine in any way. In addition, for verification purposes, those using the GHIN Mobile App can access and display their card and Handicap Index from the More section.

Both full and associate membership types provide you with “full” SCGA benefits, including a Handicap (posting scores via your GHIN number).

Full membership means that you are joining an SCGA-licensed golf club and you have “full” access to that club’s tournaments and benefits. Pricing will vary because each club determines their own club dues.

An Associate membership means that you are joining a licensed golf club as an Associate Member, which provides limited access to that club’s tournaments and benefits. The club determines the limited benefits it sets for associate members. A chart outlining participating Associate Member clubs and benefits can be viewed here. The standard cost for an Associate Membership is $60 and sometimes can be discounted if an individual has a promo code that is entered and applied (click the apply button if you enter a promo code) to reduce the cost.