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Imagine striding into your local golf course’s pro shop to check in for your next round and being asked to show your license.
Not your driver’s license, but your golf license.
What probably sounds like an abomination to many rugged American individualists is actually the norm for millions of golfers in other countries.
It goes by various names. In France, it’s a Brevet d’aptitude. In Germany, it’s a Platzreife, or “green card.” In the Netherlands, it’s a Golfvaardigheidsbewijs. But in all cases, golfers in these and several other countries must be certified in order to tee it up at most golf courses.
Could a time be coming for American golf courses to follow suit?
Golf has never been a more popular hobby than at the current moment, with millions of new players taking up the game in the last half-dozen years. The industry was starving for a fresh infusion of revenue. It has arrived in the form of billions of dollars flying into the pockets of course operators, equipment companies and apparel and accessory brands and other service providers.
But that progress has come at a price. More and more complaints are flying around in reviews and on social media about cracks beginning to show in the traditional golf experience. Slow pace of play, unfixed divots and ball marks and even heated on-course confrontations (I witnessed one of these just last week) are making veteran golfers wonder if the social fabric of the game is being torn apart.
I believe there is a case to be made that while the American free-for-all approach to onboarding has helped usher the recent flood of new golfers to the pro shop register quickly, it has fomented unnecessary tension between entrenched golfers and eager and well-meaning newbies.
The main issue here is inexperience, not malice. Some of my favorite rounds in recent years have been with enthusiastic newcomers to the game. It's exciting to see golf through their experience.
But there is an undeniable knowledge and etiquette gap. New American golfers simply don’t know what they don’t know, because this country has no formal golf onboarding process for adults. Junior golf programs include lessons about etiquette, pace of play and basic care for the golf course. But other than the need to dress to play and bring a set of clubs, an enthusiastic 25-year old crosses fewer checkpoints into a first round of golf than a 5-year-old does.
In order to get their golfers on the same page when it comes to these big concepts, perhaps American golf courses should start requiring licenses.
What could a golf license look like for American golfers?
Golf licenses in other countries revolve around safety, pace of play and care for the golf course, which are sources of recent complaints in the post-pandemic golf boom. They are often administered at the golf course level. Aspiring card-carrying golfers must study the rules of the game and attend training sessions that ground them in the rules of the game and its important points of etiquette. The goal is ensuring even high-handicap players can keep pace and that all golfers understand their responsibilities around caring for the golf course.
The confirmation process is not unlike obtaining a driver’s license; golfers need to pass a written test and a practical, on-course exam to be granted the privilege of arranging to play various courses as well as the ability to maintain a handicap. This system empowers golf courses themselves to police the process; they simply do not allow unlicensed golfers, or those without a handicap, to visit.
Would American golf courses band together in a similar way? I can already hear the objections and fears about turning away willing customers, and that such a policy would undo various “grow the game” efforts. But untamed growth is what weeds do, and there are advantages to golf’s traditions and sense of propriety. It is not about keeping out certain people, but rather maintaining a healthy, close-knit community by making sure there is widespread agreement on how to ensure everyone has a good time and leaves golf courses better than they find them.
Many great golf courses worldwide require a handicap or some other certification in order to play, and they have no shortage of willing visitors. I think the easiest first step in the United States would be for high-profile public and resort golf courses to start requiring handicaps, too. Handicap-holding golfers in the U.S. are inherently more in-tune with the Rules of Golf and have accrued enough experience to develop proper etiquette. Even a relatively small step like that would start the ball rolling towards a future where golfers across this country play faster, take better care of our courses and enjoy more rounds together.
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