Help Centre

As part of our Handicap and Handicap+ memberships, you get the ability to upload what are called ‘conforming social scores’. Handicap members may upload a total of 10 social rounds per membership year, Handicap+ members have no restrictions on the number of rounds uploaded.

The steps to do this are below.

Note: under Golf Australia and World Handicapping System any rounds for handicapping need to be played with or accompanied by another player who holds an active Golf ID.

• Email support (membership@golfnetwork.com.au)
• Open your Golfer App
• Select a Club to start a round (App will bring up courses closest to your location)
• Ensure you toggle the Handicap details and your GA Handicap and Golf ID number are correct.

• Toggle the "Conforming social score" button
• Read the notice and press "Proceed"
• Press the "Save" button to continue and start your round
• All you need to do is enter your strokes taken, the system will then automatically calculate your Stableford score. If you haven’t scored Stableford before, simply see our support article on the topic. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

• What is my Duty of Care as a Golfer? 

When playing or practicing at a golf facility, every individual has a responsibility to ensure they act in a way towards other individuals that does not put others in harm through your own actions. Some examples that you must follow are; 

• Ensuring greens, fairways and other target areas are clear before playing. 

• Calling “fore” as loud as you can when an errant shot is heading in the direction of others, or where others could be. 

• Taking note of weather conditions and allowing for the impact they may have on your shots 

• Ensure you adhere to all Local Rules including following instructional signage around the course 

• Taking care when driving golf carts, particularly in high traffic areas and carparks 

• Ensuring they are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs while playing. 

• How do I submit a claim under this Policy? 

If an incident occurs while you’re playing or practising golf, it’s important to report the details directly to your Club. This ensures you’ll have access to the liability protection of the Policy if you’re found negligent. Your Club administrator will help with the claim submission, gathering details from both parties to assist the Insurer in determining the outcome. 

• When will I have to pay the excess? 

You won’t be required to pay the excess directly to the Insurer while they’re assessing the claim. If the Insurer decides that your policy will cover a property damage claim against you, they’ll pay the settlement over the excess amount directly to the third party to efficiently close the matter. However, the third party may still need the excess amount to cover their damage value, which the club will manage. This is because the Insurer won’t share any personal information about our members with third parties. 

• What happens if I submit a claim and the damage value is less than the excess? 

The policy has a $1,000 excess in place for each and every property damage claim. If a claim is submitted for damage under this value, the insurer will assess the claim and revert the submission back to the insured member advising that the claim will not be settled given the value is underneath the excess. The member or club will be responsible for the payment of any damage required to be rectified. 

▪ What if I’m playing at a course other than my home club, does the policy still apply? 

Yes, the Golf Australia Player’s Pers policy covers you while playing at any golf course or facility, not just your home club. This applies as long as you are a registered member of an affiliated club or facility, regardless of the course you are playing on in Australia or New Zealand. 

▪ Am I covered by the policy if I injure myself? 

The Golf Australia Player’s Liability policy does not cover injuries you cause to yourself or are caused to you. It only covers claims made by third parties, such as other players or spectators, for injuries or property damage you may accidentally cause while playing golf. For personal injury coverage, consider personal accident or health insurance.

If you’ve previously held a Golf link number or Golf ID number, we’ll simply reactivate it and your old record. You can indicate this one the sign-up page. If you can’t remember your number, you should be able to obtain it from the Club you were a member of previously.

To activate a first-time handicap, you need to complete three steps: application, payment, and 54 holes of scorecards. These scorecards can be entered through any combination of 9 and/or 18-hole rounds.

Our standard process is to wait until all three steps are completed before activating the golfer’s entity on Golf Connect (Golf Australia’s Handicap Platform). However, some golfers prefer to receive their Golf ID number before submitting their scorecards. In these cases, the handicap will appear as ‘Pending’ on Golf Connect until 54 holes of scores are entered on the golfer’s playing history.

Rounds for handicap can be scored and submitted via our app (instructions below) or scored on a manual scorecard scored by and marked by another player with an active Golf ID.

For more information, visit: https://golfnetwork.com.au/how-do-i-submit-a-conforming-social-score-via-the-golfer-app/4550 

Once you’ve submitted 54 holes of compliant scorecards Golf Australia will automatically issue you with a handicap. You can then view your handicap record on the golf.com.au website. Note you may need to register first using your Golf ID number.

Under the Golf Australia (GA) handicapping system, these two terms are closely related but serve different purposes.

GA Handicap (Golf Australia Handicap)

Your GA Handicap is your long-term measure of playing ability.

• It is a number (to one decimal place) that reflects how you normally score relative to the difficulty of courses you play.
• It is calculated from your best recent scores (generally the best 8 of your last 20 eligible rounds).
• It updates automatically when you submit a score through GOLF Link.
• It stays the same regardless of which course you play.

Example:
If your GA Handicap is 19.2, that represents your overall golfing ability, not how many shots you receive on a specific course.

Daily Handicap

Your Daily Handicap is your GA Handicap adjusted for the course you are playing that day.

It takes into account:

• Course Rating
• Slope Rating
• Par

This ensures fairness between golfers playing:

• Different courses
• Different tees
• Courses of varying difficulty

Your Daily Handicap determines:

• How many strokes you receive for that round
• Your net score in competitions

How they work together

1. GA Handicap = your base handicap (ability)
2. Daily Handicap = how many strokes you get on that course, from those tees, on that day

Example:

• GA Handicap: 19.2
• Easier course / lower slope → Daily Handicap might be 17
• Harder course / higher slope → Daily Handicap might be 21

Simple way to remember it

• GA Handicap = Who you are as a golfer
• Daily Handicap = What the course gives you today

Golf Australia uses the World Handicap System (WHS) to calculate your official GA Handicap. This global system ensures your handicap is fair, consistent, and recognised at every affiliated course in Australia and overseas.

When you enter your scores, whether in a competition or a social round with a marker, the WHS adjusts them for course difficulty and automatically updates your handicap. Your handicap travels with you, whether you’re playing at your local club or teeing up internationally.

This system gives every golfer, from beginner to low-marker, a fair shot in competitions. It responds quickly to improvements in your game, and because it’s a global system, your GA Handicap is trusted everywhere you play.

Golf Australia uses a few key steps to determine your handicap:

1. You play a round & submit your score
   Every valid 9- or 18-hole score goes into your scoring record.
2. Your Score Differential is created
   This adjusts your score based on the difficulty of the course you played.
   Score Differential = (Adjusted Gross Score – Course Rating) × 113 ÷ Slope Rating
3. Your best 8 rounds count
   Out of your most recent 20 rounds, the lowest 8 Score Differentials are averaged.
   This ensures your handicap reflects your true playing ability.
4. Caps protect your number
   The system includes controls to stop handicaps blowing out during a rough patch:
• Soft Cap: slows increases after your handicap rises 3 strokes above your best 12-month form
• Hard Cap: limits total upward movement to 5 strokes
5. Your handicap updates daily
   Once processed, your scores update your GA Handicap overnight so it always reflects your current level.

NOTE: When a player is gaining a handicap a sliding scale of score differentials is used (see table below). As a result of this your handicap will likely fluctuate quite a bit as you’re submitting your first 20 round.

Memberships with the Golfer Social Club last for 12 months from the date of sign-up.

As part of our Handicap and Premium+ Membership categories you will receive an Australian Golf ID number (previously called GOLF Link numbers) and official World Handicapping System handicap.

If you’ve previously held a Golf ID (or Golflink number) we will be able to reactivate this upon sign up. If you haven’t held one before, we’ll issue you one.

It's a common misconception that Golf ID’s and/or Golflink numbers expire. This isnt the case so its always best (and due process) to let us know if youve previously held one.

Australian Golf ID numbers do not expire — they are a unique identifier that stays with you for your lifetime as a golfer in Australia.

Key points

• Under the new Golf Australia Connect system (launched early October 2025), your old Golf Link number became your Golf ID — and it remains unchanged forever, even if you change clubs.
• A Golf ID is essentially permanent: once issued, it stays with you for life and doesn’t have a set expiry date.
• If you stop being a member of a club or let your handicap lapse, your Golf ID still exists — it just might become inactive in terms of handicap tracking until you join a club again and reactivate your account.

So unlike some membership numbers that might expire after a period of inactivity, an Australian Golf ID does not expire — it stays yours permanently.

Under Golf Australia (GA) / World Handicap System (WHS) initial handicap cards and conforming social round requirements, a marker is the person who attests (verifies) your score. GA is clear about who can and cannot act as a marker.

Who can act as a marker ✅

A marker must be an acceptable golfing companion, meaning they can be:

• A member of an affiliated golf club (any club, not just yours)
• A golfer who holds a GA Handicap or a recognised overseas handicap
• A golfer who is capable of understanding the Rules of Golf
• Someone who played with you for the round (or at least observed your play)

They do not need to:

• Be a member of the Golfer Social Club (but we encourage it)
• Have the same handicap level as you
• Play in the same competition (for social rounds)

Who cannot act as a marker ❌

• Yourself (self-marking is not allowed)
• Someone who did not play with or observe you
• A non-golfer with no understanding of the Rules of Golf
• Someone who only joins for part of the round and cannot reasonably attest to the score
• A person who refuses or is unable to sign or attest the score

Marker responsibilities

The marker must:

• Keep or verify your hole-by-hole gross scores
• Confirm the round was played:

• Over at least 9 holes
• Under the Rules of Golf
• In acceptable playing conditions

• Sign the scorecard (physical or electronic attestation)

Simple rule of thumb for your website

A marker must be another golfer who played with you (or observed your round), understands the Rules of Golf, and is willing to attest your score.

When you submit scorecards to obtain an initial GA Handicap (under the Golf Australia / World Handicap System), the cards must contain enough information to verify who played, where, how, and under what conditions.

Required details on each scorecard

1. Player details

• Full name
• Signature of the player

2. Marker details

• Name of the marker (person who kept/verified your score)
• Marker’s signature
• Marker must be an acceptable golfing companion (not yourself)

3. Course details

• Name of the golf course
• Tees played (e.g. White, Blue, Red)
• Date the round was played

4. Scores

• Hole-by-hole gross scores (preferred and strongly recommended)
• At minimum, a total gross score, but hole-by-hole is best and often required

5. Format & conditions

• Played over at least 9 or 18 holes
• Played in acceptable playing conditions
• Played under the Rules of Golf
• Must be an authorised format (stroke or Stableford converted to gross)

How many cards are usually required

• Typically 3 x 18-hole cards (or 6 x 9-hole cards)
• Must be from different days
• All must be signed and verified

Important things that will cause cards to be rejected

❌ No marker signature
❌ No tee colour listed
❌ Social rounds not properly attested
❌ Played alone
❌ Ambiguous course or date

Practical tip

If possible, submit:

• Recent rounds
• Hole-by-hole scores
• Played with members of affiliated clubs

This speeds up approval and avoids follow-ups from the club handicapper.

In late 2025 Golf Australia transitioned from the Golflink handicapping system to the DotGolf system. 

Under the Golflink system:

• The old 10-digit GOLFLink number was split into club ID (first 5 digits) and member number (last 5 digits).
• When you joined a new club, the system issued a new number, even though your playing history and handicap carried over.

However, under the current Golf Australia Connect / Golf ID system (post-2025):

• Your Golf ID is now permanent and unique to you, not tied to a club.
• You keep the same Golf ID when moving between clubs.
• All your handicap history, scores, and records remain linked to that Golf ID.
• You can now select which Club will be your home club (and thus manage your handicap), however this selection doesnt change your Golflink number. 

So essentially, the old statement about “getting a new GOLFLink number at a new club” no longer applies — your Golf ID now follows you for life, across all clubs.