Establishing an official handicap seems so easy … at least for members of golf clubs.

For a fair portion of other golfers, those who roam from course to course each summer in search of the best deal, getting a handicap has always been decidedly less clear-cut.

The golf season in Oregon officially began over the weekend when the Oregon Golf Association figuratively flipped the switch on the handicapping season. Every shot from here on out — from 300-yard bombs to lip-outs to shanks — will now count toward a golfer’s handicap index.

But where does a golf nomad who has no interest in the commitment that goes along with joining a single club go to get a handicap? After all, per United States Golf Association rules a golfer must be a member of a club to get an official handicap.

Well, the answer has gotten simpler in recent years, thanks in part to an initiative by the OGA to modernize the process of joining a club by making some available to the general public informally through the OGA’s own website, www.oga.org.

“We tried to remove some roadblocks that people might have and make it a little bit easier for those people who are doing it this way (through the web),” says Kelly Neely, the OGA’s senior director of handicapping and course rating. “And that is certainly not everybody.”

Most golfers get their handicap through traditional methods: Join a club at a local golf course and let that club handle the handicapping service. Nothing wrong with that.

But in an increasingly informal culture the OGA wanted to knock down some of the barriers to getting a handicap. Through the OGA’s website, a golfer can sign up online to join any one of several Oregon clubs, sight unseen.

In Central Oregon, clubs at Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters, Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, River’s Edge Golf Club in Bend and Sunriver Resort are participating.

All four area clubs cost $54.95 annually to join as part of the OGA’s program, and the cost includes OGA membership and handicapping service with little or no commitment to actually play golf at the courses.

“We were just trying to answer people who were looking to use a credit card and a very quick way to join,” says Neely. “It wasn’t meant to replace the way people traditionally join.

“The cool thing is that it allows that person who is shopping and doesn’t know where they want to be, it gives them a place to land for their handicap,” she adds.

The number of golfers with handicaps through the OGA has largely remained flat in recent years, Neely says. But there is evidence that making memberships more accessible through the OGA’s website has attracted some to the participating clubs.

“The program has worked beautifully for the last two years,” says Troy Eckberg, director of golf at River’s Edge, which started using the OGA site in 2011.

The memberships have helped introduce more golfers to River’s Edge, Eckberg says. And about half of the golfers who have joined through the website have become even more active members.

That certainly provides a benefit to River’s Edge.

For those who do not become more active, well, that is still fine with Eckberg. The idea, after all, is to make handicaps more accessible and in the process make golfers more familiar with a certain golf course.

“To me, it’s a win-win,” Eckberg says. “I know it works for us, and I appreciate the folks who do it. And I hope for more, honestly.”

Accessible or not, many golfers still feel they have little need for a handicap. Perhaps they do not.

Handicaps do help track the progress of an individual golfer. And the bottom line is that the handicap system creates equity between golfers who may play at different skill levels.

So even in an informal Wednesday game between friends, a handicap can provide value. (This has been made easier by the Golf Handicap and Information Network’s mobile phone application that provides instant calculations.)

Still, often the more nomadic golfers dismiss the idea of a handicap because they do not often play in formal tournaments, Neely says.

“There are all kinds of tournaments, from the most casual to a qualifier for a national event to something that is a state event,” Neely says. “People just get rigid about it, and they shouldn’t because it could be a really fun event at their local club.

“Don’t assume that it’s a serious thing or that you have to be a certain ability,” Neely adds. “It’s for everybody.”

That last line is precisely the point. The entire golf industry wants to make the traditions of golf less daunting.

A simple online initiative helps break down at least one barrier.

— Reporter: 541-617-7868,
 zhall@bendbulletin.com.

There is evidence that making memberships more accessible through the OGA’s website has attracted some to the participating clubs.