How TheGrint Works With GHIN and the USGA: Link, Sync or Buy Your Handicap ID

TheGrint works with GHIN^® and the USGA^® as a licensed USGA Handicap Data Affiliate. If you already have a GHIN number, you can link it to TheGrint for free and your scores synchronize between the two. If you play in the U.S. without one, you can buy an official USGA Handicap ID inside the app.

This guide covers how TheGrint's GHIN integration works: how to link a GHIN number, what syncs, how to buy the official Handicap ID in the app, and what golfers outside the U.S. can use instead.

TheGrint has worked alongside the USGA for almost a decade, so your official handicap and your TheGrint scorecard, GPS and stats can live in one place.

How do TheGrint and GHIN work together?

TheGrint and GHIN are partners in the same system: the USGA calculates your official Handicap Index^®, GHIN holds your scoring record, and TheGrint connects to that record so you can post and follow your handicap from the app you score in. Three terms get mixed up, and each does a different job.

• GHIN. The USGA's handicap technology service. It stores your scoring record and runs the GHIN app and ghin.com. It does not calculate the number itself.
• Handicap ID (GHIN number). The primary identifier for your scoring record, and the number you link to TheGrint.
• Handicap Index. The number the USGA calculates from your scoring record under the World Handicap System^™ (WHS^™). It is the only official handicap in the United States, and it is the same number wherever you view it.

TheGrint is not a separate U.S. handicap system. It is a licensed partner that sells the official Handicap ID and stays connected to GHIN, which is why your handicap matches in both.

How do you link an existing GHIN number to TheGrint?

You link a GHIN number by adding it to your TheGrint account; linking is free on both Free and Pro. Once linked, your scoring record and your TheGrint account stay connected.

1. Find your GHIN number. If you do not know it, the USGA's advice is to use its Handicap ID Lookup if your account has an email address, or to contact your club or Allied Golf Association (AGA) (USGA: GHIN FAQs).
2. Open your TheGrint account. Download the app or sign up on the web; a Free account is enough.
3. Link your GHIN number in TheGrint. Go to Menu > My Handicap Settings, enter your Handicap ID and save it.
4. Post your next round in TheGrint. Post hole by hole and TheGrint applies the net double bogey adjustment for you.
5. Check your Handicap Index the next day. The USGA updates a Handicap Index "the day after a score is posted, at midnight local time based on the location of your Allied Golf Association."

The USGA requires a digital profile with a unique email address to log in to the GHIN Mobile App and ghin.com; if your GHIN profile has no email address, your club or golf association can add one.

What syncs between TheGrint and GHIN?

Your scores sync. A linked GHIN account synchronizes score information between TheGrint and GHIN, so both show the same scoring record and the same Handicap Index.

• Scores from your GHIN record. Scores already in your GHIN record, including rounds you played before TheGrint or posted somewhere else, are brought into TheGrint.
• Your Handicap Index. Revisions are processed nightly, so a score posted today shows in your Handicap Index tomorrow.
• System adjustments. On a linked record, TheGrint shows the markers the handicap system applies: O for an off-season round, E for an exceptional score reduction, X for a playing conditions calculation (PCC). See what the letters on your scorecards list mean.
• Private rounds still count. A Private Upload keeps a score out of your Activity Feed but not out of your handicap calculation or scoring record.

Posting hole by hole in TheGrint also feeds stats such as greens in regulation and putting. For how the number is worked out, see how to calculate a golf handicap.

How do you buy an official USGA Handicap ID inside TheGrint?

If you play in the United States, you can buy an official USGA Handicap ID directly in TheGrint, with no private club membership required. It is an official Handicap ID in the USGA's GHIN system, associated with your local AGA, and it connects to TheGrint automatically.

1. Buy the Handicap ID in TheGrint. Go to Menu > My Handicap Settings and buy it on its own or as part of the Pro + USGA Handicap Bundle.
2. Pay your AGA's price. The fee is set by your local AGA, and TheGrint passes it through with no markup. The USGA confirms that the cost of a Handicap Index "depends on your AGA."
3. Post scores from 54 holes. Any mix of 9- and 18-hole rounds counts. Your first Handicap Index appears the day after the score that completes the 54 holes.
4. Keep posting from TheGrint. Scores go to your official record from the scorecard you use for GPS, stats and games.

In the U.S., the Bundle combines an annual Pro Membership on TheGrint with the official Handicap ID for $20 less than buying them separately; current prices are on the Free vs Pro page. The full walk-through is in how to get an official golf handicap.

What if you play outside the United States?

Outside the United States, your official handicap comes from your national golf association rather than GHIN, and what TheGrint offers is GHAP. GHAP, the Golf Handicap for Amateurs Platform, is a separate partner handicap network with its own methodology. It is not a Handicap Index under the World Handicap System, and it is not offered to U.S. golfers.

• Where: every country except the United States.
• Cost: a one-month free trial, then a yearly fee on its own, or included with a Pro Membership on TheGrint outside the U.S.
• What you see: a GHAP handicap with its decimal, shown the way TheGrint shows an official Handicap Index.

TheGrint does not integrate with Golf Canada or England Golf handicap systems, so a Handicap Index there comes from your national association. More on GHAP: GHAP on TheGrint.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to link my GHIN number to TheGrint?

Yes. Linking an existing GHIN number is included for both Free and Pro members, so you do not need a Pro Membership to connect your official handicap. Once linked, TheGrint connects to your GHIN scoring record, your scores synchronize, and your Handicap Index in TheGrint matches the one in GHIN.

Is a Handicap ID bought through TheGrint the same as one from a club?

Yes. A Handicap ID bought through TheGrint is an official USGA Handicap ID in the GHIN system, associated with your local Allied Golf Association, and it produces a Handicap Index like any other. The difference is where you buy it: in the app, at your AGA's price with no markup, instead of through a course or the AGA directly.

Why didn't a score count toward my Handicap Index?

Two common reasons are timing and season. Handicap revisions run overnight, so a new score shows the next day. And in regions with an inactive season, scores played while the course is in its inactive season are not acceptable for handicap purposes. The season follows the location of the course you played, not where you live (USGA season schedule).

Can I look up another golfer's Handicap Index in TheGrint?

Yes. TheGrint's golf handicap lookup finds golfers by name or Handicap ID and shows their score and handicap information. Handicap information can stay visible there even when a golfer's TheGrint profile is private, because lookup supports peer review of scores.

Link your GHIN number or get your Handicap ID in TheGrint

Already have a GHIN number? Link it free in TheGrint. Playing in the U.S. without one? Buy the official USGA Handicap ID in the app at your AGA's price. Get started with TheGrint.

World Handicap System™, WHS™ and Handicap Index® are trademarks owned or licensed by the United States Golf Association® (USGA®) and/or The R&A. GHIN® is a registered trademark of the USGA. All rights reserved.