Who is the competition for the GHIN system?

[RandallT]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

If you did't track stats then it's not important. GHIN has HBH tracking and it sucks. My GolfNet HI and GHIN HI are identical, accuracy isn't an issue. Surely you didn't miss that stat tracking is important to me if you took the time to quote my post. It's not unreasonable to believe that if the USGA wants to monopolize the market they should offer the best product. Currently they don't.

I use GolfNet myself (but have admittedly never tried GHIN). I shopped around in May this year, and found that the GolfNet service was exactly what I needed. Hole-by-hole stat tracking and analysis, plus a USGA-approved handicap. The price was significantly less than the price for handicaps at local clubs (via GHIN), plus GolfNet gave me the great stats and analysis tools. I asked a couple local clubs about tools for analyzing my rounds that I would get with their handicap, and they didn't seem very knowledgeable. Otherwise, if you just want a handicap, there's probably zero difference. The calculation is pretty simple. It's the features that I saw from GolfNet for analyzing your game that stood out for me- well, that and price was about half.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

If you did't track stats then it's not important. GHIN has HBH tracking and it sucks. My GolfNet HI and GHIN HI are identical, accuracy isn't an issue. Surely you didn't miss that stat tracking is important to me if you took the time to quote my post. It's not unreasonable to believe that if the USGA wants to monopolize the market they should offer the best product. Currently they don't.

If one wants to try to qualify for the US Open will the USGA accept a GN handicap for purposes of meeting the minimal handicap requirement or do they require a GHIN handicap?  My Excel spreadsheet is USGA compliant, right down to correctly rounding at the various steps, but that doesn't mean the USGA would accept my handicap calculation.  So I'm not sure I understand what USGA compliant means.

[GolfNet]

If one wants to try to qualify for the US Open will the USGA accept a GN handicap for purposes of meeting the minimal handicap requirement or do they require a GHIN handicap?  My Excel spreadsheet is USGA compliant, right down to correctly rounding at the various steps, but that doesn't mean the USGA would accept my handicap calculation.  So I'm not sure I understand what USGA compliant means.

While the calculation for a handicap index is simple (and can be done in a simple excel spreadsheet).... Belonging to a USGA licensed club is what makes your index compliant. GolfNet has hundreds of USGA licensed clubs across the country that anyone can join via USHandicap.com, Golf.com, Golfsmith, etc. Each club has a handicap chairman and complies with all USGA rules and regulations. Other 3rd party services outside of GHIN and GolfNet also facilitate USGA clubs. GHIN is just a technology vendor to State/Regional Golf Associations like the FSGA. Not every state Assn. uses GHIN. While they are the largest... they are not the only provider of USGA licensed club memberships. It's just important to understand that the USGA and GHIN are not the same thing. There's clearly some conflict of interest with their relationship... but that's another matter entirely.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by GolfNet

While the calculation for a handicap index is simple (and can be done in a simple excel spreadsheet).... Belonging to a USGA licensed club is what makes your index compliant.

GolfNet has hundreds of USGA licensed clubs across the country that anyone can join via USHandicap.com, Golf.com, Golfsmith, etc. Each club has a handicap chairman and complies with all USGA rules and regulations.

Other 3rd party services outside of GHIN and GolfNet also facilitate USGA clubs.

GHIN is just a technology vendor to State/Regional Golf Associations like the FSGA. Not every state Assn. uses GHIN. While they are the largest... they are not the only provider of USGA licensed club memberships.

It's just important to understand that the USGA and GHIN are not the same thing. There's clearly some conflict of interest with their relationship... but that's another matter entirely.

Thanks for the clarification.

[kpaulhus]

Interested in bumping this....I too had a GHIN handicap in 2010-2012 and also carried a handicap on what I think was stracka.com so I could track my hole by hole stats. Everyone at the club hated how I would mark all over the card with my numebrs, but it really helped me improve.

I am assuming that golfnet.com is now what stracka.com was? Wonder if there is any way I can retreive all my old rounds and stats (200+) @GolfNet

[GolfNet]

You can call GolfNet @ 910-215-8800 o r support@golfnet.com for help.

Best,

Jim Stracka

GOlfNet CEO

[kpaulhus]

Thanks, Jim. Turns out google.com found me...sort of scary. I was using stracka.com which is now ushandicap.com. I looked back and decided that Id like to start fresh with stats and whatnot since I had not posted a round since 3/25/12. Ill be creating an account on golfnet.com now so I can focus on my game going forward.

[GolfNet]

Lot's of good new stuff to use:

UShandicap.com for USGA Handicap

GPS+ will be integrated with USHandicap.com

and...

StrackaLine.com for a cool putting App

[kpaulhus]

Awesome. Sent a note to customer service since I was able to figure out my old login. Looking forward to getting back into the maddness of golf....my wife is not lol