Virginia Golfer September / October 2015 | Page 12

The Virginia Golfer Conversation

Is Your Club
Licensed?
The VSGA will help
member clubs
meet all USGA
Handicapping
System requirements
for 2016

by MICHAEL WALDER

W

12

V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER/O CTOBER 2015

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

e have made the
turn onto the
back nine of
2015, and with
that, an important deadline is fast approaching for
VSGA member clubs. By the end
of the year, clubs in Virginia, as well
as the rest of the country, will be
required to renew their license to
utilize the USGA Handicap System™ for 2016.
For a golf club to issue a valid
Handicap Index® to its members,
it must be licensed to do so.
The VSGA offers assistance to
all member clubs to meet the
obligations of the licensing
program, which include having
a handicap committee in place
and participating in a handicap
seminar. However, if your club
fails to complete the licensing
requirements by the end of the
year, your Handicap Index on Jan.
1, 2016 will show “NH,” which
stands for “No Handicap.”
The USGA Handicap System
Licensing Program for Clubs was
created by the USGA 10 years ago
to bring much-needed consistency
to handicapping nationwide. At
that time, it had become apparent
that certain handicap procedures
were not known, not well understood, or not followed properly
from club to club.

vsga.org