How we play

Fit comes first.

Alola is built on one thing: the right people. We look for people who play honestly, lose cheerfully, spend generously on a good time and never on showing off, and who make a table better by sitting at it. Handicap, title and net worth count for nothing here.

An introduction is not a promise. Being put forward by a member, however senior, does not guarantee membership. Every candidate plays a round and shares a meal with us, the founding committee decides, and its decision is final. We never give reasons, and a no is not a judgement on anyone as a person or a golfer. It only means the fit was not right for this small group at this time.

We are here for the story.

Nobody remembers what they shot three years ago. Everybody remembers the night in Danang. We plan for the story first and the golf a very close second.

Your number is your word.

Every member plays off an Alola number. A pro sets it, and the friends who countersign your card keep it honest. Not a great golfer? Wonderful, most of us are not. Just be exactly as good as you say you are.

Nobody asks for strokes.

The sheet says who gets what, and on which holes. No negotiating on the first tee. Haggling for shots is beneath you, and it is beneath us.

Win loud. Lose louder.

Post what you won. Post what you lost, especially what you lost. The Wall of Shame is an honour. Wear it well, then come back for revenge.

The best, or not at all.

Private courses. Five-star stays. Tables worth the flight. We never ask what the cheapest way is. We ask what the best way is, and do that.

Look after each other.

Play fast. Pick up the phone. Pour for the table before yourself. Make the newest member feel like they have been here for years.

What happens at Alola stays at Alola.

Our feed, our photographs, our stories and our member list are for members. Laugh at each other in here. Never out there.

You are who you bring.

Members bring members. You have three introductions, for life. Spend them on people you would happily share a villa with.

The rules, in plain words

Joining

Membership is by introduction only. Nobody can apply unless a member has put their own name to them first.
Each member has three introductions for life. One comes back only if it is withdrawn before the candidate has answered. The chair alone is not limited, so that the club can be built.
The path: a member introduces you · you complete your own application · a second member vouches · your name is posted to all members for fourteen days, and any member may write privately to the committee · you play a round of golf with someone from the committee who did not introduce you · you have a meal with a second member · the committee votes · the chair welcomes you.
An introduction is not a promise. Being put forward by a member, however senior, does not guarantee membership. Every candidate plays a round and shares a meal with us, the founding committee decides, and its decision is final. We never give reasons, and a no is not a judgement on anyone as a person or a golfer. It only means the fit was not right for this small group at this time.
A candidate who is not admitted may be introduced again after three years.
No member gains status, perks, money or anything else by introducing people. Standing in the club is earned by playing.
While the club has fewer than five members there is nobody to second a candidate or to post their name to, so those two steps, the rule that the round and the meal need two different members, and the rule that an introducer does not vote on their own candidate, wait until the fifth member.

What Alola is

Alola is a private members' club owned and run by its founder's company. Membership is a personal, non-transferable right to take part. It is not a share, an investment or an ownership interest, and it has no resale value.
The founding committee decides who joins, within the limits written under The committee below. Fees, rules and the running of the club stay with the company.
Alola plans and hosts. When you travel, you book and pay hotels, courses and operators directly.

On the course

Your Alola number is worked out only from scorecards countersigned by members who played with you. It is Alola's own number, not an official handicap index.
Points in the feed and the season table are points. They have no money value, are never bought, sold or exchanged for anything, and Alola takes no part in anything members arrange between themselves.
No card, no points: a result counts for the season once a partner has confirmed it and the group's card is in.

How we treat each other

Do not sell to other members, raise money from them or pitch them, unless they ask. That includes business, charity and politics.
The member list, the feed, photographs and anything said among members are confidential.
You are responsible for your guests.
A concern about a member or a candidate goes quietly to the committee, never to the feed. The person concerned does not see it and takes no part in deciding it.
The chair, on the committee's advice, may suspend or end a membership that damages the club or its culture.

Every year

From the first Sunday of each year, every member signs How we play again before using the portal.
Members belong to a city chapter. A new chapter may open when twelve members live in a city.
The committee places each member in a small group of up to ten who play together regularly. You may ask to move once a year.

Your details

We hold your name, email, mobile, scores and what you post, to run the club: arranging games and journeys, keeping your number, and showing members' results to other members.
A candidate's details are used only to arrange their round and their meal with us and to consider their membership, and are seen only by the committee.
We do not sell personal data. You may ask to see, correct or delete yours at any time.

Questions about your details or these rules: hello@alola.com