Golf Australia has been accused of engaging in anti-competitive conduct after launching a handicap subscription service that a rival virtual golf provider claims is a copy of its existing business model, Melbourne’s Herald Sun reports.
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Melbourne-based start-up Social Golf Australia (SGA) has lodged a submission with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), alleging Golf Australia replicated the concept of providing golfers with an official handicap without requiring membership of a traditional golf club.
SGA, which has operated since 2006, allows recreational golfers to maintain an official Golf Australia handicap while playing at courses across the country. Its memberships start at less than $11 a month, with the organisation claiming about 31,000 members nationwide.
The company’s complaint has also received support from SGA member Tom Tomlin and Perth-based virtual golf club The Golf Collective, which have separately raised concerns with the ACCC.
Virtual golf clubs have emerged as an alternative for social golfers who want an official handicap without joining a traditional club, where annual memberships can cost thousands of dollars.
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Golf Australia launched its own subscription service, The Golf Australia Club, in December 2025. The $124-a-year offering, or $15 a month, provides golfers with a handicap along with additional member benefits, including exclusive offers and promotions.
SGA managing director Matthew Pitt said Golf Australia’s new service was a “carbon copy” of existing virtual club offerings and represented a breakdown in the relationship between the two organisations.
“Since 2006, we have been partners with Golf Australia, helping grow participation in the game by providing a pathway of access for casual and social golfers to progress to club membership,” Pitt told the Herald Sun.
“Since the launch of the GA Club, the senior management we have dealt with for years have refused to talk with us. They have effectively ended our relationship and changed it from treating us as a client and partner that pays them affiliation fees to an aggressive direct competitor.”
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Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland rejected the claims, saying the GA Club was designed to complement existing providers rather than compete with them.
“Golf Australia Club was created to address a clear gap in the golfer journey between casual round players and club membership,” Sutherland said. “Importantly, the introduction of Golf Australia Club has not changed the way existing social or virtual clubs operate.”
The dispute also centres on an issue involving the submission of social scores for handicap purposes.
Since 2014, golfers have been able to submit “conforming social scores” from casual rounds, provided certain conditions are met. SGA alleges that when the GA Club app launched, golfers linked with other virtual clubs received an error message stating their club did not allow submission of conforming social scores.
SGA claims the message remained for two months before being removed after legal intervention.
Pitt described Golf Australia’s explanation that the new service was designed to complement existing providers as “nonsense”, while Golf Australia maintains its subscription model has not altered the operation of other virtual golf clubs.