Golf Digest, The Digest November, 1984, page 29
How to form a club at a public course

Thousands--perhaps millions--of public-course golfers are without a U.S. Golf Association handicap simply because they think they have to belong to a country club to get one. They've been misinformed.

All that's required is for a group of golfers to form their own club and then follow USGA procedures in posting scores and computing handicaps.

According to the USGA, a golf club "is an organization of at least ten individual members, that operates under bylaws with committees (including a Handicap Committee) appointed to supervise golf activities, provide peer review, and maintain the integrity of the USGA Handicap System. Its members must have a reasonable and regular opportunity to play golf with each other and be able personally to return scores or scorecards for posting and these scores must be immediately available for review by fellow club members. (An organization of amateur golfers at a public golf course is considered a golf club, provided it satisfies the conditions stated above.)" Driving ranges can't be golf clubs, for example, but companies formed from employees that play golf with each other can.

The USGA's Dean Knuth reports there are thousands of such clubs in the United States, more than 90 percent of which play permanently at a particular public course. The remainder of the clubs travel to different courses each week. The minimum membership requirement insures that there will be enough members to form tournament and handicap committees The USGA recommends there be a minimum of four members on these committees.

Once a club is formed, it can obtain from the USGA a checklist of 17 procedures that must be followed. These include posting the members' handicaps in a prominent location and making the scoring records of all players available for inspection.

Forming a club at a public facility can give you political clout to improve course conditioning. An with a USGA Handicap you can compete against players of all levels of ability, either in tournaments or in informal weekend play. Say the USGA: Don't leave home without a handicap.