Does anyone know of a course, within an hours drive of Zurich, that you can play on without a handicap cert? Or if not how do I get one - have played for many years, but never enough in one place to get certified....

Migros (! Yes, the supermarket...) is the biggest golf course operator in Switzerland and one of the few that allows playing without a membership in a club: http://www.golfparks.ch/

They do not require a handicap for the training courses and a simple test to go on the big ones.

If you live in Zurich, Otelfingen is the nearest.

there is also a club online which will give you a HC card. dont remember what its called though. you pay something like 140 a year to be a member

That's migros as well... http://www.golfparks.ch/asg-golfcard-migros/

When i said that the academy courses don't need a handicap - you do need to show that you know the rules and etiquette. I did a beginners course there and was allowed to go afterwards, otherwise I guess it takes one lesson with a pro or something.

There's an association for independent golfers (ie not members of a club) that organises "first handicap" competitions:

http://www.asgi.ch/index.php/de/akti...rstes-handicap

Not cheap though... membership of the association costs 300 CHF, and the competition entry fee is another 150. This is why I stopped playing golf when I moved to Switzerland, having been a member of a club in France for years .

Stephen there is a very friendly and cheap club at Les Etraches, between Pontarlier and Morteau, just over the border in the French Jura.

www.golfdepontarlier.fr

Yes, I've played there two or three times... It has the potential to be a fantastic course, the setting is superb.

Admittedly it's four years since I last went there, but at the time some of the fairways and greens were like ploughed fields - I think they were still very much in the process of setting things up, and had just expanded from 9 to 18 holes.

Much better and settled now - and very friendly management. The scenery is beautiful too. Much much cheaper than anything in CH.

Good, I'll give it another try. It always was very friendly - not the usual golf clubhouse atmosphere at all.

We have never played golf actually - but know many people who play there regularly and have been to the club a few times. If you go, drop us a pm and we can meet up there for a drink and a chat.

Always best to arrive early.