Far Hills, N.J. (Sept. 15) – The United States Golf Association announced today that the Virginia State Golf Association (VSGA) will join the Golf Handicap and Information Network® (GHIN) in 2009, becoming the 63rd state and regional golf association to subscribe to the handicap service.
“We are very happy to have the Virginia State Golf Association become part of the GHIN service,” said Steve Smyers, a USGA Executive Committee member and chairman of the GHIN Committee. “After the VSGA did an extensive review of its options in a very competitive marketplace, we think it speaks volumes about what GHIN has done in developing our products and services to assist and support golf associations, and its member clubs and golfers.”
Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, the VSGA will make the switch from its current handicap provider. The active season dates of March 1 – Dec. 1 for Virginia will remain unchanged.
“We are very pleased to be joining the many associations and golfers currently using the GHIN service,” said Steve Smith, president of the VSGA. “We look forward to continuing to provide the best services possible for our members. In the interim, we can assure golfers in Virginia and our member clubs that there will be no interruption in their service, and that they will continue to receive the same top-level support in regard to handicapping and all their needs.”
With some 80,000 members, the VSGA is the largest golf association to join the GHIN service in 17 years. The Idaho Golf Association became part of the network this year, with the Toledo (Ohio) District Golf Association and Bermuda signing on in 2007. Approximately 2 million golfers and 10,000 clubs throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and Bermuda now utilize the GHIN service, making it the world’s largest handicap service provider.
With GHIN, VSGA members can expect to see the following benefits and services:
- A nationally networked system
- Internet score posting
- Internet handicap verification
- Handicap revision e-mails
- One unique golfer number and scoring record regardless of how many clubs at which a golfer is a member
- Up-to-date course rating database of clubs in the United States
In addition to the above, VSGA members clubs can expect the following benefits and services:
- Ability to perform club maintenance and print reports from your home computer or laptop via the Internet
- Ability to design and print custom reports through the handicap system and tournament management program
- Nationally recognized tournament software
- Ability to design and print custom scorecards
- A web tool that will enable clubs to post subject matter available to the public and/or to members only
The handicap and tournament software (TPP®) packages that accompany the GHIN service are developed by the USGA and will be supported by the VSGA.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses.
The Association's most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women's Amateur.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System and administers an ongoing "For the Good of the Game" grants program, which has allocated more than $62 million over 11 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities. For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
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