Hello,

I'm not sure where to put this question but I've put a lot of time in trying to improve my game in the past 12 months. Basically I started this awesome game as an adult, and have been horridly addicted for 3 years.

So I don't have an official 'handicap' or anything of the sort. I was thinking of sticking my neck out a bit and joining a local league which consists of so many games per season at such and such a price.

What I'm wondering is if you think this is a bad idea for a newer golfer. Are most of these leagues for well established, skilled players? Are they fairly cliche?

I imagine that a league is a league, but maybe that isn't true. I suppose where I am could make a difference, or maybe they are all considered 'leisure' leagues.

I would be going it alone in this league because most of my golf playing buddies are actually too intimidated by so called 'organized play'. I told most of my buddies that it's a negative way to think and it's hard to bad mouth something we've never tried. I'm not sure that's the best way to think of league play, but I don't want to find myself way over my head either.

Any advice?

Definitely depends on the league. I played with a group of friends last summer that stage a tournament that I assumed was a beerfest. It was not. Every, and I mean every stroke counted, very serious golf, until the 19th hole and the beer came flying. However many of the leagues are mainly social, so enjoy.

A good way to start getting into the more competitive golf is to just start playing in your local courses mens night. You meet new people, have a chance to improve your game, and you play with a little bit of competitiveness.

I also started playing relatively late (1.5 years ago while 31 y. o.). My friend signed me up for a local mens club. I didn't have a handicap, but that didn't matter. I got my handicap established at that course, however until my 10th game on the card, they docked me 10%, which obviously sucked, but I can see their point - they don't want sandbaggers taking their money. Our club is also 100% business - EVERY stroke counts and EVERYBODY is watching. Everyone contributes $20 to the pot (sometimes couple hundred people), so the payouts can be quite nice. In addition to the "regular" game, we usually play 5 point Scotch among ourselves, which makes the round that much more competitive.

Thanks for the feedback. I called the course pro and he told me it was a fairly large mix of handicaps, with most of them being quite high. He used the term 'leisure' so I would hope that while you don't want to be cheating, that it isn't the end of the world if you're playing poorly or whatever.

It does sound like there's a lot of disparity though as far as competitiveness. Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into it a bit more and probably join this one, just to spite my friends. lol

Go join the league and get one of your buddies to play with you. Our mens league is count each stroke and is serious, but a he** of a lot of fun. My partner is a 19 or 20 handicap and we have a blast. I would say that out of 160 some odd guys there are 10-15 under a 10 handicap, so go out have some fun and it will make you a better golfer.