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GHIN, which stands for the Golf Handicap and Information Network, dates back to 1980, when the Metropolitan (N.Y.) Golf Association approached the USGA looking for a better, more “official” handicap software provider. Here we are, more than 40 years later, continuing to innovate and modernize the platform.
Most avid golfers know what a Handicap Index® is — a single number that measures your playing ability. The Handicap Index is crucial to the GHIN platform, as golfers sign up for membership to their local Allied Golf Association (AGA) and receive a Handicap ID that is used to unlock the full features of GHIN. If you have a Handicap Index and you live in the U.S., you can use GHIN to post scores, monitor your Handicap Index, keep score in-round, play games and even use advanced features like GPS and putt maps. It’s also an entire digital platform used by association and golf club administrators to view golfer information, manage updates and changes to handicaps, and communicate directly with golfers.
This surprising state has best average handicap index in the U.S.
But what people know most these days is the mobile app. Its usage has grown exponentially since the app launched in 2012. In 2024, more than 2.5 million people used the app to post more than 80 million scores. It’s without question the most popular recreational golf app on the market.
Looking ahead, the USGA is doubling down on GHIN’s future, shifting the app from a tool for posting scores to an all-in-one golf companion. Future investments, some coming as early as this year, will include a new look and feel to make things easier and simpler, improved statistics and insights into your game, and exciting social features that gamify golf beyond the sport it is today.
The future of GHIN is bright, and it’s only getting better. So if you haven’t yet joined the millions already using the app, now’s the time to get on board — because the best is yet to come.
Tom Padula is the USGA’s senior director of product, GHIN.
