Golf Course Member Benefits

Member clubs are clubs connected with a regulation-length or executive-length golf course facility located within the geographic region of the SCGA.

Licensing by the United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association, which authorizes the Southern California Golf Association the ability to use the USGA Handicap System, has established the Handicap System Licensing Program. The USGA Handicap System Licensing Program for Clubs begins January 1, 2005, and is a requirement for all clubs in the United States wishing to utilize the USGA Handicap System™. The SCGA maintains all licensing agreements on file for inspection by the USGA when requested.

Course and Slope Ratings
The SCGA provides to each member club men’s course and Slope ratings for each set of tees. These course and Slope ratings are officially recognized by the United States Golf Association.

Course Measuring
As of 2005, the SCGA will conduct the measurement of courses using a Global Positioning System. The SCGA is one of only 3 associations in the world using this latest technology! GPS units have been around golf courses for many years. They have been used primarily in golf carts to obtain exact yardage for every shot. With this new technology, the SCGA will be able to measure a golf course more efficiently and accurately. Eventually, all golf courses in Southern California will be re-measured using the GPS device.

SCGA EHS 2000 (E/2)
The SCGA has implemented an electronic touch screen handicapping system throughout Southern California. Under E/2, clubs capture home and away scores of golfers playing at that facility and transmit those scores daily to the SCGA’s mainframe computer. All scores posted both at golf course facilities and through the internet are then updated on a daily basis to each player’s member file shown on the E/2 system. All men’s and women’s golf associations in Southern California are using this system.

Monthly Computerized Indexes
Each member automatically receives a monthly computerized index on the first of each month. This index is used to calculate the player’s handicap at any course on the Slope system (nearly all courses in the U.S. now use Slope and the system is being adopted worldwide).

SCGA members may view their current index file of 20 scores, current and low indexes, and previous year’s posting history through the SCGA web site’s Handicap section.

Members can also have their Handicap Index emailed to them at the end of each month through the SCGA I-Mail program.

Monthly Detailed Handicap Reports
All member clubs will automatically receive monthly computerized indexes on or before the first of each month. All clubs will receive a printout of each member’s current index, low index, number of games played home, away and any scores posted through the internet. Other pertinent information contained in these reports include the club’s statistical analysis, away game report, exceptional tournament score report and the club detail report.

Member Club Report Cards
Each year the SCGA compiles member club’s posting statistics and mails the results to the club. This information includes the average number of scores posted each day of the week as well as the total number of rounds posted each month at the golf course facility - both home and away scores.

Verification of Indexes for Member-Guest and Invitational Tournaments
The SCGA handicap department will verify indexes for your club’s member-guest and invitational tournaments and return the up to date information to your club. Clubs may also use the administrative functions on the E/2 system to verify any player’s index in Southern California. For players outside of Southern California indexes may be verified through the International Golf Network.

SCGA Electronic Tournament Module
The SCGA has developed a windows based tournament module which allows clubs to electronically accomplish the following:

1. Select players from the master club roster
2. Select players from within Southern California
3. Develop pairings
4. Choose from multiple tournament formats including match and stroke play, four ball and stableford competitions
5. Print and dot scorecards for stroke allocation
6. Generate several results formats including gross, net, stableford and skins
7. Will post results directly to E/2 for handicap purposes

Please contact the handicap department for details.

Listing in the Annual Southern California Directory of Golf
Your club will be listed in the annual Southern California Directory of Golf, an invaluable resource used by SCGA and SCPGA members throughout the year. The listing will include the club’s name, address, telephone (including pro shop or starter telephone), play policies, key personnel, web address, email address, directions to the club, and course and Slope ratings.

Turfgrass Research
In conjunction with other interested parties, the SCGA continues to research turfgrass at the University of California, Riverside and is a member of the U.C. R. turf research advisory council.

Green Seminars
The SCGA conducts several seminars each year in conjunction with the USGA designed to help course superintendents maintain and improve turfgrass conditions at their club.

Legal and Tax
The SCGA assists clubs by acting as a clearinghouse for information on important legal and tax issues. The association also keeps abreast of and tries to influence policy making in ways that would help promote the game of golf for everyone.

Team Play
One of the oldest programs in the SCGA (in existence since 1900), Team Play promotes a sense of camaraderie, fellowship, and competition among the member clubs of the association. More than 6,000 individuals participate annually in this program.

Golf Rules Assistance and Interpretations
Knowledgeable SCGA staff members in the office can help answer those tricky questions on The Rules of Golf and other areas. In addition, a member of the SCGA Rules and Competitions department will be happy to meet with your course officials to explain how a course should be properly marked and how the local rules should be worded.

Speaker’s Bureau
SCGA staff members are happy to speak at your club meetings on a variety of subjects, including The Rules of Golf, handicapping, course rating, history of the association or any other SCGA related activities. Contact the club relations department for details.