HenryHoneyBalls
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- Oct 28, 2023
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So here is what I have learned about golf so far in Buenos Aires as a bogey golfer who lives between Ireland and Buenos Aires and my experiences to date.
Even though Argentina uses the world handicap system it does not seem possible for me to use my Irish handicap to enter competitions in Argentina, instead I pay an annual fee to my contact in the shop in Palermo Golf Course and he in turn gives me an Argentinian handicap (matricula) which allows me to enter competitions and get greatly reduced green fees for the part of the year I live in BA. $20 vs potentially $100-$150 per round. I pay a reduced rate for the matricula too as I do not sign up for the full year. $100 vs $300+. You can view your handicap at the Argentinian Golf Association website once you have one:
I play about 50/50 casual rounds vs competitions, all my casual rounds are in the public course Palermo Golf Club (Campo de Golf de la ciudad), the last time I played it was about $14 a round. For what you pay its great, great views of the city but not amazingly well maintained particularly the greens which are a bit slow and the bunkers which can be hard but the course has improved year on year. There are two options for getting a tee time, you either book a tee time time through Vista Golf link below or you just show up and most of the time you will be given a tee time after a 30 to 90 minute wait. Vista Golf a booking site for a handful of golf courses has to be one of the worst websites I have ever used and it took me a year to figure out how to use it to book a tee time. In the end I realised I needed to get a clave from the starter at the course to login along with my matricula to book a time.
www.vistagolf.com.ar
As for playing in competitions the best way to sign up to them is to register with the website adondejugamos.com. It is very straight forward to use and lists all the courses in BA and around that have open competitions and the days they are on. You generally book online and pay at the course, sometimes payment by card only. Using this site I have so far played in competitions in, San Martin, Hurlingham, San Isidro Jockey Club and Los Lagartos (Pilar). The best course in my view is Los Lagartos, its quite a nice set up. The worst was San Martin albeit it was no worse than Palermo really. San Isidro and Hurlingham are nice courses with amazing club houses, worth the trip for the lunch afterwards alone. All competitions I have played in are stroke play, stableford doesnt seem very popular in Argentina. Some courses make you record your score on an app rather than a score card like San Martin. There are quite a number of courses I would like to try but some courses like Olivos do not have many open competitions. Here is my wish list, Ranelagh, Pilar, Buenos Aires Golf club, San Andres, Olivos, Nordelta, Martindale, Highland Park, Pilara. I should add I speak passable Spanish so it has been a nice way to meet and chat with locals and it does add to the experience.
As for practice and lessons Driving Norte near the aeroparque is the driving range I use, they have chipping areas too and pros that provide lessons. There is no trackman but otherwise a good spot.
So anyway to conclude Ill be in BA again in Dec 2025 if anyone (expat or local) with a matricula wants to play a round in Palermo or a competition elsewhere. Also let me know what your favourite courses are and your experiences playing golf in Argentina.
Even though Argentina uses the world handicap system it does not seem possible for me to use my Irish handicap to enter competitions in Argentina, instead I pay an annual fee to my contact in the shop in Palermo Golf Course and he in turn gives me an Argentinian handicap (matricula) which allows me to enter competitions and get greatly reduced green fees for the part of the year I live in BA. $20 vs potentially $100-$150 per round. I pay a reduced rate for the matricula too as I do not sign up for the full year. $100 vs $300+. You can view your handicap at the Argentinian Golf Association website once you have one:
I play about 50/50 casual rounds vs competitions, all my casual rounds are in the public course Palermo Golf Club (Campo de Golf de la ciudad), the last time I played it was about $14 a round. For what you pay its great, great views of the city but not amazingly well maintained particularly the greens which are a bit slow and the bunkers which can be hard but the course has improved year on year. There are two options for getting a tee time, you either book a tee time time through Vista Golf link below or you just show up and most of the time you will be given a tee time after a 30 to 90 minute wait. Vista Golf a booking site for a handful of golf courses has to be one of the worst websites I have ever used and it took me a year to figure out how to use it to book a tee time. In the end I realised I needed to get a clave from the starter at the course to login along with my matricula to book a time.
Vistagolf
As for playing in competitions the best way to sign up to them is to register with the website adondejugamos.com. It is very straight forward to use and lists all the courses in BA and around that have open competitions and the days they are on. You generally book online and pay at the course, sometimes payment by card only. Using this site I have so far played in competitions in, San Martin, Hurlingham, San Isidro Jockey Club and Los Lagartos (Pilar). The best course in my view is Los Lagartos, its quite a nice set up. The worst was San Martin albeit it was no worse than Palermo really. San Isidro and Hurlingham are nice courses with amazing club houses, worth the trip for the lunch afterwards alone. All competitions I have played in are stroke play, stableford doesnt seem very popular in Argentina. Some courses make you record your score on an app rather than a score card like San Martin. There are quite a number of courses I would like to try but some courses like Olivos do not have many open competitions. Here is my wish list, Ranelagh, Pilar, Buenos Aires Golf club, San Andres, Olivos, Nordelta, Martindale, Highland Park, Pilara. I should add I speak passable Spanish so it has been a nice way to meet and chat with locals and it does add to the experience.
As for practice and lessons Driving Norte near the aeroparque is the driving range I use, they have chipping areas too and pros that provide lessons. There is no trackman but otherwise a good spot.
So anyway to conclude Ill be in BA again in Dec 2025 if anyone (expat or local) with a matricula wants to play a round in Palermo or a competition elsewhere. Also let me know what your favourite courses are and your experiences playing golf in Argentina.
