What actually happens? What do I do when I get there? Who do I play with? What if I am the worst one?
So here is the whole thing, start to finish.
The shape of the week
Five days, four nights, three rounds of tournament golf.
At Hammock Beach you arrive on Sunday 11 April and leave on Thursday 15 April. You play three rounds in between, and the last night is the awards dinner. The whole field stays at the same resort — that is deliberate, and it is most of the reason the week works the way it does.
You arrive with your clubs and your clothes. Everything else on the schedule is handled.
Day one: arrival
Bags go to your room, clubs go to the bag drop, and you are done thinking about logistics.
There is an optional practice round for anyone who wants to see the course before it counts. It is not included in your entry, but we did negotiate a reduced rate with the resort for anyone who wants to play it.
That evening is the welcome cocktails, which is also when the draw for round one goes up. So you will know who you are playing with before you go to bed, and you will have met a good number of them already.
Days two, three and four: the tournament
Every tournament day runs to the same rhythm.
Morning
A stretch session and a short clinic with the golf pro, for anyone who wants it. Then teams head out for a shotgun start.
On the course
Lunch comes to you out on the course. Rounds are done by early afternoon.
Afternoon
Yours. The spa, the pool, a walk, a nap, the shops. Spa treatments are booked ahead through the GIR Club website so you are not fighting for an appointment when you arrive.
Evening
Cocktails, a group dinner, and entertainment. The next day's draw goes up. And at some point you should try a GIR-ita.
How the golf works
Teams of two. You and your partner post one team score in every round, and you stay together for the whole tournament.
The scoring format — best ball, scramble, or alternate shot — is set per tournament and published with the registration announcement, so you always know what you are walking into before you enter.
Flighting is the part that matters
Once registration closes, teams are flighted by combined handicap. That means a pair breaking 90 and a pair breaking 110 are not competing against each other. They are each competing against teams of a similar combined number, for prizes of their own.
So "am I good enough" has a straightforward answer. If you can play eighteen holes and keep your own score, you are good enough. You are not playing the best players in the field. You are playing women who shoot what you shoot.
A mixed pair works too. If you and your friend are a 12 and a 28, your combined number puts you in a flight against other mixed pairs. It is the combined figure that counts, not the gap between you.
Who you play with
Your team goes out alongside another team, making a four. The draw is set by us and posted the night before each round, at the cocktail hour.
Teams rotate every round. So over three rounds you will play with six different women rather than seeing the same two faces all week.
If you do not have a partner
Register on your own. We match you before you travel — on handicap, and on what you tell us about how you like to play.
This is the question I get asked more than any other, and I want to be plain about it: you do not need to arrive with someone. Coming alone is a completely normal way to enter.
What you are playing for
More than you would think for a field this size.
- Flight winners — prizes in every flight, not just the top one
- The overall team title
- Closest to the pin, long drive, and the skins pot
- Points towards the GIR Club Cup
- A stamp in your GIR Club Passport
There is a live leaderboard, posted in the clubhouse and on your phone, updated as cards come in. That is what makes the back nine on the last day feel like something.
The GIR Club Cup
A season-long tally, a bit like the FedEx Cup. Every team that completes a tournament earns 25 points, finishing points run from 100 for the winners down the field, and each contest won is worth 10.
Positions come off the net team leaderboard, so the race is genuinely open to every handicap, not just the low ones.
The Passport
Everyone who plays is issued a Passport at check-in, with your name on it. Each tournament you finish earns a stamp, awarded as part of the closing night.
Stamps are not decoration. They get you into the next field before registration opens publicly, they unlock returning-player pricing, and some tournaments are only ever offered to Passport holders. On a capped field, an early registration window is the whole game.
There is no fee and no application. The only way in is to play.
What is included, and what is not
Included
Your place in the field and all three rounds. Your room at the host resort for the nights of the tournament. Carts. The social calendar — welcome cocktails, group dinners, the closing awards night. Swag and prizes.
Not included
Flights. You book your own travel, and each tournament page lists the nearest airport and the transfer arrangements. Anything you add at the resort is yours too — spa treatments, extra nights, the bar tab.
You do not have to share a room. Rooming options are set out on each tournament page.
You can usually arrive early or stay on afterwards, often at the group rate. Ask when you register.
The practical questions
Do I need a handicap?
Yes. A GHIN is required to enter. With real money and real prizes on the line, the flighting only works if the numbers are ones we can rely on.
Can I walk?
No, tournament play is carts required.
What if I have never played in a tournament?
The format is built for exactly that. All levels of golfer are welcome and encouraged to join us. Tell us it is your first when you register and we will look after you.
How do I hold a place?
A deposit holds your spot in a capped field. The balance is due on a date published on that tournament's page, and we invoice you by email before it comes due.
What I cannot tell you yet
Two things, and I would rather say so than be vague about them.
Pricing is not published yet. It will be on each tournament page when registration opens, with everything that is included listed line by line.
Dates, format, field size and what is included will all be on the tournaments page when registration opens.
If you want to know the moment the tournaments open, the waitlist is the way. Also sign up for the GIR Club Journal as tournament details are posted there as well.
The short version
Five days, four nights, three rounds. Teams of two, flighted by combined handicap so your flight is full of women playing at your level. Come with a partner or come alone and we will match you. Mornings are the tournament, afternoons are yours, evenings are dinner. Prizes in every flight, points towards the season, and a stamp in your Passport at the end of it.
The first one is the 2027 GIR Club Classic at Hammock Beach, April 11 to 15. The field is capped at 36 teams.
Come with me!
Wendy
The 2027 GIR Club Classic at Hammock Beach runs April 11–15, and the Fingerlakes Open at Turning Stone follows on July 18–22. Fields are capped, so join the waitlist and you will hear the day registration opens.