is joining a club the way to go

[andiritchie]

currently i a nomad golfer playing whenever i can get out, i practise hard and have lessons i shooting regular 75s but as i not a member of a club dont have a handicap, will playing the monthly medals etc help my game to get better and is club life any good, any suggestions will great

 

[TonyN]

All depends on what you want from your golf TBH.

What do you want?

 

[TonyN]

Welcome to the forum by the way, I forgot to say!

 

[theeaglehunter]

Join a club! Anyone as good as you should have a course that they can call their home. If you play regularly anyway it may not make you get any better but I am sure it will increase your enjoyment of the game, playing competitively in medals etc.

And before I forget, welcome to the forum

 

[SS2]

Welcome to GM.

If you can find the right club at the right price, joining is a non-brainer, especially for a player of your high standard. If clubs are either too expensive or full of people not to your liking (...), then stick as a nomad as it seems to have served your golf scoring well so far.

 

[viscount17]

hello and welcome'

if you let us know where you're based there will be guys on here who can steer you to decent clubs in the area.

 

[OldWindy]

Welcome to the forum.

The more obvious reasons for joining would be competition the social side. Nomad golf is great but you just don't get the sense of belonging as with a club.

With your ability you might also get to scratch that bit sooner cos there will be plenty of other good players wanting to play with you!

 

[andiritchie]

thanks for the welcome and the advice i think i going to look at joining somewhere next year as i do want to get as low as i can,i live in the wigan area if anyone knows of a decent club,i do float about playing private clubs with friends but dont fancy the 40 min drive every week with petrol prices and that

 

[mick]

i found that joining the club brought my scores down dramatically with all the extra golf and practice i was getting in,i dont understand(please dont take offence as none is meant)people who wait till their game improves before joining a club as surely being a member of somewhere
is beneficial to your game.

 

[andiritchie]

none taken well since i started playing again after a 6 year break my gf has took it up so spend more time playing less damanding courses that suit her like our local club which is only 4860 off the whites, i just wondered if the competions would really sharpen my game

 

[Basher]

I think your game would improve by taking part in club comps. Also, you'd get better value for money from your club subscription too. Now the season is el under way, most weekends at my club have competitions going on. As I don't enter them I find I cannot play most weekends until the last comp players have teed off which can be frustrating.

I feel I'm sometimes not good enough to enter competitions. This puts me off entering for fear of making myself look like a rubbish golfer.
Been a member of my club for almost a year and have so far played 1 competition (Stableford)
The medal comps scare the bejesus out of me.
The thing is I know my game would improve if I played in them.

 

[andiritchie]

not being good enough to play comps,thats what the handicap system is for to make it a fair playing field,yeah i think ill be looking into joining somewhere sooner really the only downside i can see is if i payed the fee for the club i would not wanna play anywhere else apart from holidays etc i might get bored of the same track

 

[Basher]

I don't think you'd be bored of playing the same track mate. You get the hance to play golf almost when you want. You don't pay for a round and feel you need to play the full course to get your moneys worth.
You can play 18, 9, 6, as many or as few as you like. You get to use the facilities provided, enter the competitions and also get yourself an official handicap.

Have I said enough to persuade you yet?

You're not THE Andy Ritchie are you?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Basher,

Quite simply the only way to improve is to play competitive golf. It is all well and good playing well with your mates when there is no pressure, but to fully understand the complexities of the game even at our level, you need that feeling standing on the 18th tee knowing you have to hit the fairway to be in with a chance of winning.

To be honest, if you are a club member and have got an official handicap there should be nothing stopping you from playing medals and stablefords regularly. Not only will you get a regular fix of weekend golf, but you will get to meet other club members.

You will find that most members will be fine about you having a bad round. My mate Rob who was int he GM challenge plays of 28 and often gets 40+ points with us socially. Stick a card in his hand and he goes to pieces. However he still enters every competition and plays hard everytime. However he is pretty good with playing provisional balls (in medals) and picking up in stablefords if he has a particularly poor hole so his bad play does not impact on his fellow competitors.

My advice would be get your name down for as many competitions as possible. Go in with a positive attitude and even if you don't play well try and get use to grinding the best score possible. Even if you have an absolute howler you'll know that there is always next week.

 

[golfer1]

Welcome to the Forum.

I would recommend joining and do it asap. If you join part way through the year most clubs will pro-rata the joining fees.
I don't think you would get bored playing the same course, and if you do feeling like playing other courses you could always play in inter club matches, and Open compititions.

 

[Basher]

Thanks for the confidence boost Homer, that's just what I need mate.
I remember the night before my first competition I was absolutely bricking it (as I stated on here at the time!)

Positive comments from the good people on here certainly helped, as have yours just now.
I intend putting my name down for a competition at the end of the month. I have no doubt I'll be informing all and sundry about it afterwards!

Thanks again mate.

 

[andiritchie]

yeah thanks for the advice thats my task today to visit local clubs and equire joining somewhere will make going to the range in winter a purpose, i suppose if i get to a pretty decent standard i could play team matches as a local club of mine has numerous teams,i just need to get used to the pressure

 

[TonyN]

IF? If you get to a decent standard, shooting regular 75's is more than a decent standard!

 

[andiritchie]

yeah i suppose it is all i am though is a long hitter and good with wedges iam no shot maker

 

[Parmo]

is joining a club the way to go

Depends if you take golf seriously or you just play for fun really.