Couple Questions from a new guy!

[Al Sieber]

First of hello, I introduced myself in the new guy forum. But a Little about me: I am a 38 year old beer drinking, blue collar boy from west texas living in AZ. I have been trying to play golf for about 15 yrs (self taught), and very inconsistant playing time so Im not that good AKA Hacker, mid 90's is norm for me.

I have decided I would like to start to carry a Handicap Index for the first time, and push myself to get more out of this awsome game I love to play. So more to the point, I have a couple questions as how to go about this.

Should I just register with the AGA (Arizona Golf Assosiation) And start to track my Handicap? Or Go to local course pay fees and track there?

Last option I was interested in as it would add some extra fun factor in the game would be to locate a local golf group that provides tracking and USGA handicap and events access. Team aspect and stuff?

All in all im a virgin in trying to take this game to a higher lvl for me on several lvl's fun and competition being the forefront, so Im wanting to take the best steps to maximize fun and competition. Any and all suggestions welcome also Im likeing this site it seems to be very active and lots of info looking forward to all responses

[BigAl5150]

Al,

Another option would be through Golf Galaxy as they have a club you join (without joining a club). I know some courses in MN will allow you to "join" their club for a small fee in order to establish a handicap.

Alan

[WUTiger]

If you're going to make the big push into regular golf, you might take some lessons. A good teaching pro could take what you have and fine-tune it quite a bit in a couple of lessons. Along with the lessons, you need to get in some practice. Make sure you practice two or three times the week following the lesson to reinforce what you've learned. The practice doesn't need to be three hours ending up with bleeding hands. If you just hit a small bucket a couple of times, and concentrate on what you're doing, this will help you groove your swing. Many golf instructors now offer video summaries of your lesson - the before and after, and what you need to practice. They e-mail them to your computer. You can download these summaries to your iPod (or whatever) and replay them at the range before you practice. Check out our Instruction and Playing Tips forum. We've had several threads this spring on people asking about lessons.

[walk18]

There are many free handicap calculators out there, I think this would be a good fit for you right now. Do a google search. They may not be official, but they are just as accurate assuming you enter the correct info. When your hcp drops to a point where you feel you'd like to play some tournaments, then you can pay for an official one.

[Al Sieber]

Originally Posted by walk18

There are many free handicap calculators out there, I think this would be a good fit for you right now. Do a google search. They may not be official, but they are just as accurate assuming you enter the correct info. When your hcp drops to a point where you feel you'd like to play some tournaments, then you can pay for an official one.

Appreciate all the responses so far for sure, its cheap to maintain so I might still get one. Plus getting into a club could be fun with the added benefit of a USGA tracked AGA tracked handicap Index and people to play with and learn from. Team sponsored events things like that

[skierbri10]

If you just want to know your handicap for your own personal info, and you have a smartphone. Get an app that will keep track of it. If you want it to play in league or tournaments use the USGA. I have seen some places won't accept anything other than USGA. Btw the apps are usually free or less than $2.