In the golfing world all amateur club players must have a handicap. On 2nd November 2020 WHS was adopted in the UK and all country-wide handicaps are now controlled and administered by England Golf. To join the Club we have the following basic procedures:

• If you presently hold a valid WHS handicap you will join the Club’s handicap list with your existing handicap. Prospective members with a valid handicap are invited to play an ‘introductory’ round with the Club on a guest basis before joining.

• If you do not have a handicap we have the ability to award you a starting handicap that is based on your playing performance. The handicapping rules allow handicaps for men and women up to handicaps of 54.

To gain a starting handicap it is necessary to undergo a handicap qualification process where the main features are as follows:

• The rules require that a prospective member plays 54 holes of medal/stroke play golf in rounds of 18 holes or 9 holes. The prospective member must be ‘marked’ by the holder of a live handicap and we encourage the rounds to be played at Richmond Park.

• The rounds of golf played through the handicap qualification period need not necessarily be played on consecutive weeks. We do, however, require that the handicap qualifying rounds are completed within a period of six months. Also, to help with an understanding of the Club’s procedures we try to arrange for prospective members to play with one of the Club’s committee members when at Richmond Park.

• One important point to consider is that we do have a qualification level for Club membership. For the Club to award a handicap of 54 or better we will be looking for prospective members to be able to achieve a score of no more than 120 on either course during the handicap qualification process. This point is particularly important and if you are not sure whether you can manage the required standard please play at least one full round of golf at the Park and gauge your own performance. For those prospective members who approach us but are unable to achieve this standard we normally recommend a period of golf lessons and practice before returning for a fresh attempt at a starting handicap.

The handicap qualification rounds give prospective members an ideal opportunity to see how we operate and to see if our playing timetable is suitable before joining. Please note that we do not take the Club entry fee or the annual subscription charge until the appropriate qualifying rounds have been played and the prospective member’s handicap has been determined.