Questions
Everything
women ask
before the
first tournament.
Some of our most common questions. If yours isn't here, ask us — we answer every one.
Playing and
competing
The questions about the tournament itself.
How does the team format work?
Every GIR Club tournament is played in teams of two. You and your partner post a team score in every round and stay together for the whole tournament. Teams are flighted by combined handicap, so you compete against pairs playing your standard of golf.
The scoring format — best ball, scramble or alternate shot — is set per tournament and published with the field, so you always know what you're walking into.
I don't have a teammate. Can I still enter?
Yes. Entering on your own is a completely normal way to do this. Register on your own and we'll match you with a teammate before you travel, based on your handicap and what you tell us about how you like to play. You'll be introduced by email ahead of time, you'll meet properly at the welcome cocktails, and you play together for the whole tournament.
No need to miss a tournament because you don't have someone to come with. Plenty of golfing friendships start exactly this way, and we would not be surprised if yours does too.
Am I good enough to enter?
If you can play eighteen holes and keep your own score, yes. Teams are flighted by combined handicap, so you compete against pairs shooting what you shoot — not against the best players in the field. Flight winners get prizes the same as everyone else.
The team format helps here too: a bad hole is survivable when someone else is playing it with you.
What if my partner and I have very different handicaps?
Not a problem. Flighting is done on your combined handicap, so a mixed-ability pair is placed fairly against other teams of similar combined standard. A low handicapper paired with a beginner is a perfectly good team, because it is the combined number that places you.
Do I need an established handicap?
Yes. We need a GHIN handicap index to flight the field fairly, and with real money and real prizes on the line it has to be a number we can rely on.
If you don't have one yet it is easier to sort out than it sounds. Join a local club or an online association that gives you GHIN access, then post 54 holes — three eighteens or six nines, in any combination — before your first tournament with us. There is a fuller explanation in the Journal, including why a maximum index of 54 means there is a place here for you whatever you shoot.
Who else is in my group?
Your team goes out alongside another team, making a four. The draw is set by the GIR Club team and posted the night before each round at the cocktail hour, by the final day you've played with women from across the field.
Can I change partner between tournaments?
Absolutely. Nothing ties you to the same partner from one tournament to the next. Your GIR Club Cup points travel with you, and your new pairing simply starts a new team line in the Standings.
I've never played in a tournament. Is that a problem?
Not at all, and the format is built with you in mind. Posting a score that counts feels different from a casual round — the first tee is the hard part and it passes quickly. Tell us it's your first when you register and we'll look after you.
Can I walk instead of riding?
No. Tournament play is carts required. Carts are included in your entry.
Registering
and paying
How a place is held, what it costs you to change your mind, and when the balance falls due.
How do I reserve a place?
Every tournament has its own page with a registration section. You can pay a deposit to hold your place or pay in full. Payment is handled on a secure checkout page, and your confirmation and receipt arrive by email straight away.
What does the deposit do, and when is the balance due?
The deposit holds your place in a capped field. The balance is due on the date published on that tournament's page, and we invoice you by email before it falls due. Places are released if the balance goes unpaid past that date.
Is my deposit refundable?
The policy is stated on each tournament page, because it depends on the resort's own terms. Wherever a refund isn't possible, you can always transfer your place to another player — just tell us who.
What's included in the price?
Your tournament entry, your room at the host resort for the nights of the tournament, the social calendar — welcome cocktails, group dinners, the closing awards night ceremonies. Exact inclusions are listed on each tournament page.
Travel and anything you add at the resort are not included.
Do Passport holders pay less?
Returning players register at special rates, published with each tournament, and get an exclusive registration window before a tournament is announced publicly. See the GIR Club Passport.
Is my card information safe?
Yes. Payments run through a secure hosted checkout. Card details are entered there and are never seen by or stored on this site.
The waitlist
Fields are capped, so tournaments fill. The waitlist is real and it moves.
What happens when a tournament sells out?
The tournament page switches to Sold out and registration closes. You can join the waitlist from that page, and we work down the list in the order women joined it.
Does the waitlist actually move?
Yes. Plans change, balances go unpaid, and places open up in almost every field. Joining costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
How will I know if a place opens?
We email and text you with an offer, and hold the place for you for a set window — stated in that email — before it passes to the next woman on the list. Keep an eye out if a tournament matters to you.
Can I join the waitlist for more than one tournament?
Of course. Tell us which ones on the waitlist form and we'll keep you on all of them until you tell us to stop.
Do Passport holders get priority on the waitlist?
Passport holders register first, before a tournament is announced publicly, which is usually enough to avoid the waitlist entirely. Once a field is full the list runs in joining order.
Travel, rooms
and the resort
Getting there, staying there, and who comes with you.
Are flights included?
No — you book your own travel. Each tournament page lists the nearest airport, the transfer arrangements and how far the resort is.
Do I have to share a room?
No. Rooming options, including whether a single supplement applies, are set out on each tournament page. Tell us your preference when you register.
Can I bring my clubs, or should I ship them?
Either. Where a resort accepts shipped clubs we publish the address and the deadline on the tournament page.
Can I bring a partner or a friend who doesn't play?
The field is for players, but the resort isn't going anywhere. Ask us and we'll tell you what's possible at that property.
Can I arrive early or stay on afterwards?
Usually yes, often at the group rate. Ask us when you register and we'll arrange it with the resort.
The GIR
Club Cup
The season-long race, and how points are earned.
What is the GIR Club Cup?
A season-long tally. Think FedEx Cup in PGA. Every team earns points at every tournament — for completing it and for how they finish — and those points carry across the whole year. The pair on top when the season closes takes the title. See the current standings.
How are points awarded?
Every team that completes a tournament earns 25 points. On top of that, finishing points run from 100 for the winners down the field, and each contest won is worth 10. Positions are taken from the net team leaderboard, so the race is open to every handicap.
Do I have to play every tournament to be in the race?
No, but every tournament you play counts — nothing is dropped. A team that plays three tournaments will usually sit above one that played two, which is deliberate. Turning up is part of it.
What happens if I change partner mid-season?
Your points come with you. They're credited to you personally as well as to the team, so switching partners doesn't cost you anything — your new pairing just starts a new team line in the Standings.
Do my points disappear at the end of the season?
No. The season total resets so the GIR Club Cup race starts level each year, but every point also banks permanently in your Passport. That career total never resets and never expires.
What can I spend points on?
Cocktails, GIR Club kit, a spa treatment, a room upgrade, money off your next entry, or a guest discount for a friend who hasn't played with us before. The full list and the point costs are on the Passport page.
If I spend points, do I drop a level?
Never. There are two numbers on your account and they behave differently: your career total is everything you have ever earned and only goes up — that's what sets your level. Your balance is what you have left to spend. Redeeming a reward comes out of the balance and leaves the career total alone.
So you are never choosing between using your points and keeping your status.
How do I see my balance?
Ask us any time and we'll tell you: your season total, your career total, your current level and how far you are from the next one.
Passport
and account
Your stamps, your history and your saved tournaments.
What is the GIR Club Passport?
Every woman who plays a GIR Club tournament is issued one. Each tournament you finish earns a stamp, and stamps open earlier registration windows, special pricing and invitation-only fields. There's no fee and nothing to renew — read more on the Passport page.
Where do I find my payment and trip history?
Your receipts are emailed to you when you pay, and we keep a record of every tournament you've played. Email us and we'll send it over.
Can I save a tournament to come back to?
Yes — there's a save button on every tournament page. Saved tournaments are remembered on the device you saved them from.