One of the most exciting aspects of joining Future Golf is undoubtedly getting a handicap and beginning to track your golfing ability and progress.
Getting your GolfLink number
When you sign up, and haven't had a previous handicap, we'll provide you a GolfLink number instantly from Golf Australia and will be where all of your golf scores moving forward will be entered and how your new Official Golf Australia handicap will be generated.
Now the next bit is a little more complex and we've tried to explain it as clearly as we can - check out the links for some supporting articles as you go as well.
Playing your first rounds of golf
Golf Australia needs a total of 54 holes of golf, made up of 18 and 9 hole rounds, to be submitted to be able to calculate your handicap for the first time - in fact, when you go to the Golf Australia website it will actually say the GolfLink number is “Invalid” - don’t worry, it is valid, there’s just no scorecards on there yet.
For these first rounds there are a number of key things to remember and take note of:
- Daily handicap - for 18 holes = 36 Male or 36 Female and for 9 holes = 18 Male or 18 Female
- Number of strokes - that's the number of actual shots it took you to get the ball in the hole!
- Number of stableford points - check out our article on stableford points to calculate these
- You must sign the card and write your GolfLink number on it
- Someone else with a GolfLink number must sign the card and write their GolfLink number on it
- What tees did you play from on the day (white/blue/black)
Now, get out there and enjoy yourself! Whether you're new to the game or been playing socially for a while, remember to relax and not take things too seriously - your first handicap does not define you!
Submitting your cards
You've got your cards ready and all the information listed above, now you need to send them to us so we can enter them into Golf Australia.
Head over to the Future Golf App and log in. You can find it here for iOS and here for Android
From there click the Plus icon at the bottom of the page
The pop up will look like this
Then click on "Submit Handicap Rounds":
You will also need to attach a photo of the card showing the scores as noted with the appropriate signatures and GOLF Link numbers; some good tips here:
- Check the picture before uploading
- Keep your fingers out of it
- Landscape is best for scorecards, unless it's 9 holes
Once you are done hit submit!
Remember you'll need to upload a total of 54 holes to have enough for Golf Australia to work out your handicap.
What happens next?
OK so this article is already pretty long, however, it's important to understand what happens next. Your cards are then entered into Golf Australia's system (GolfLink), Golf Australia takes this information and uses an algorithm to calculate your first handicap - to be clear, Future Golf do not work out your handicap.
The calculation takes into account the courses you played, the tees you played from, the scores you had and the variance between those scores and it will typically end up being on the lower end of your expectations, but . . .
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW GOLF HANDICAP!