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No. GOLFLink numbers are specific to each club.

The first five digits are the club ID number and the second five digits are the member number at that club.

When you join The Golfer Social Golf Club we will send you a new GOLFLink number but you will retain all your previous playing history on GOLFLink.

Many people are surprised with how low their initial GA Handicap is. There are a few reasons for this:

• The system is calibrated for the handicap to sit at the low end of what a golfer is capable of - it is intended that a player only plays to or beats their handicap when they play well.
• Many golfers without an official handicap believe the handicap represents the scoring average but this is not the case. Statistically, an Australian golfer plays better than their handicap only once in every eight rounds.
• Initial handicap calculations are made from the adjusted hole scores from the best of the three submitted rounds with reference to the Scratch Rating of the course and multiplied by .93.
• The GA Handicap is referenced to the Slope Rating of a Course to generate the Daily Handicap that a golfer plays from in a competition. The formula is GA H/cap x Slope Rating / 113. Hence, on a course with a slope rating of 130, a player with a GA Handicap of 15.8 will play from a Daily Handicap of 18.

Yes, to enter a competition, all you need is your GOLFLink number.

The day we activate your handicap, we will email you your new GOLFlink number. When you play in a competition, simply tell the club your GOLFLink number and they will be able to verify your handicap with that. After playing in a club competition, the club will enter your score on GOLFLink and the system will update your handicap automatically.

You may like to download the GA Handicap App to keep up to date

Each golf club has nominated competition days and you may be welcome to enter as a guest depending on the club's policy on accepting guests into their competitions.

You will need to ask the golf club if their competition days are open to guests generally and to Golfer Social Club Members specifically.

You may also seek to play in Open Tournaments and other Open events

Yes, these are called Conforming Social Scores (CSS). You can use as many CSS as you like to affect your handicap as long as the following requirements are met.

• The player must email membership@golfnetwork.com.au  prior to the round taking place informing that the player is using the round for their handicap.
• The score format must be singles Stableford.
• If the round is not entered after choosing to do so a score of 10 Stableford points will be entered
• The card must have the Name of the club, Tees used and the Tee off Time. It must be signed by a player with a Golf Link number and the number written on the card.

This will be placed directly into your Crazy Golf Deals Account, this is to be used within 30 days and does not accrue. It can be used on any deal on CGD including Golfer Tour events, Stay and Plays as well as Golf Market.

Yes. The handicapping rules require that you inform a new club if you have ever held an official handicap at another club.

When you join a new club and you wish it to be your Home Club where you maintain your handicap, you are required to submit your most recent GOLFLink number.

Handicaps are calculated in accordance with the Australian Handicapping & Course Rating Systems based on scores of each golfer provided for initial handicap calculation and then scores in competition play thereafter. You can read more on the Golf Australia website about how Australian Handicaps are calculated. In simple terms, official GA Handicaps are calculated as follows:

•   Take the best 8 differentials from the most recent 20 scores
•   Divide that number by 8
•   Multiply that number by 0.93

·   If a golfer has less than 20 scores, the number of scores used is less

A GA Handicap is the Golf Australia Handicap that is assigned to a golfer. This handicap is then referenced against The Slope Rating of a set of tees on a golf course to calculate the Daily Handicap that a golfer plays from in a competition.

12 months from the date of activation with the option to renew annually.