A Second Submission to ACCC Lodged Against Golf Australia
The Golf Collective (TGC) submitted on Sunday April 5 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleging that Golf Australia (GA) has engaged in anti-competitive conduct.
The claim alleges that on December 1, 2025, GA entered the golf handicap market with The Golf Australia Club (The GA Club) to compete against existing golf clubs as a handicap provider and that GA used its significant market power to leverage an unfair advantage over its competitors.
The type of product, value proposition and inclusions GA offers in The GA Club are virtually identical to several operators already in the market, including TGC. An official golf handicap is an indexed number that allows golfers to compete on a level playing field. As the national governing body of Australian golf, GA owns, controls and oversees the management of the country’s handicap system. The current technology platform that hosts the Australian handicap system is GA Connect, which is a product GA has licensed from DotGolf, a company co-owned by The R&A and Golf New Zealand.
The allegation in the submission to the ACCC is that GA promoted the new GA App as a means of submitting Conforming Social Scores (CSS) for members of The GA Club, whilst withholding that same scoring system from its competitors. The option for competitor virtual clubs to offer this function to their members was disabled in the back-end settings of GA Connect. Golf Australia exercises complete control over these settings and functionality.
The allegation in the submission to the ACCC is that by withholding this option from its competitors, GA has breached Australian competition law by misusing its significant market power to gain an advantage over its competition. Since the first allegations against GA of anti-competitive conduct in March, GA has publicly stated that it is not ‘competing’ in the virtual club market, but that it is ‘complementing’ the market. GA’s case here seems to suggest that if GA are not a competitor in the market, then it cannot engage in anti-competitive behaviour. On face value, this seems a nonsensical argument, but as GA 100% owns, controls and regulates the golf handicap market in Australia, TGC’s preference is for the ACCC to determine whether GA is complementing or competing in the market.
According to Ruben Martins, Director of The Golf Collective, if the score submission pathways are inconsistent or withheld, then it undermines trust in the system and creates the potential for frustration across the national golfing community. “Australian golfers love having the option of tracking their progress and improvement by having an official handicap,” said Martins.
“For many people, their handicap is central to their golfing experience and participation in the game and its associated communities. But if the score submission systems are unfair or inconsistent, it can undermine people’s confidence in the entire handicapping system.”
“The game of golf is unique because it is built on the foundations of self-regulation, integrity and honesty.” Mr Martins said. “Handicapping sits at the heart of that.” “It is our view that the guiding principle for our governing bodies should be to lead the game positively and ethically with a focus on what best serves golfers and protects the integrity of the game.
That is what we want for golf, and that is what we hope this submission will help to achieve.”
SOURCE: Press release from The Golf Collective
