Legal

Terms, Privacy
& Cookies

By using The Family Golf Club website and services you agree to these terms. Please read them carefully. Last updated: January 2025.

Section 1

Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 1 January 2025 · Last updated: January 2025


1. Who we are

The Family Golf Club (“TFGC”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is an international membership organisation for golf families. Our registered contact email is [email protected]. References to “the website” mean thefamilygolfclub.com and all associated subdomains. References to “the services” mean the website, the TFGC mobile and web application, the WhatsApp community groups, Family Cup events, the annual Championship, and all other products and programmes we operate.

2. Acceptance of terms

By accessing the website, registering an account, joining a WhatsApp community group, purchasing a membership, or using any part of the services, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms & Conditions, our Privacy Policy, and our Cookie Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use our services. These terms apply to all users including free community members, paid members, partner clubs, sponsors, and visitors.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to register an account or purchase a membership. TFGC membership is sold to the family unit as a whole, with the account holder being an adult who accepts these terms on behalf of all family members. Children and juniors participating through the TFGC services do so under the supervision and responsibility of the adult account holder. You are responsible for ensuring all family members comply with these terms.

4. Membership and billing

TFGC offers monthly rolling membership billed in advance. The following billing terms apply:

Founding member rate: The €29/month founding rate is available to the first 100 families only and is locked for life provided the membership remains active and uninterrupted. If a founding member cancels their membership, the founding rate is forfeited permanently and the standard rate of €39/month applies upon any subsequent rejoining.

Standard rate: €39/month per family, billed monthly in advance.

Cancellation: You may cancel at any time via your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No partial refunds are issued for unused days within a billing period.

Refunds: TFGC does not offer refunds on membership fees already billed, except where required by applicable consumer protection law. If you believe you have been charged in error, contact [email protected] within 14 days of the charge.

Price changes: We reserve the right to change the standard membership price with 30 days’ written notice by email. Founding member rates are not subject to price changes while the membership remains active.

5. Events and participation

Entry to Family Cup events and the annual Championship requires an active TFGC membership at the time of registration and participation. TFGC reserves the right to refuse event entry or remove a participant from an event for conduct that is unsafe, disrespectful, or in breach of these terms. Separate event-specific terms, green fee arrangements, and liability waivers may apply for individual Family Cup events hosted at partner clubs. Participation in any golf event carries inherent physical risk. TFGC accepts no liability for personal injury, property damage or loss sustained during any event beyond what is required by applicable law. All participants are advised to hold appropriate personal sports insurance. Parents and guardians are responsible for assessing the suitability of events for their children.

6. User conduct

You agree not to use the services to post, share or transmit content that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, threatening, discriminatory or harassing. You agree not to impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organisation. You agree not to use the services to advertise or solicit business without TFGC’s prior written consent. You agree not to attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the services or to any other account. TFGC reserves the right to suspend or terminate any account that breaches these conduct requirements without refund.

7. Intellectual property

All content on the TFGC website and app including text, graphics, logos, photographs, rankings data, leaderboard data and software is the property of The Family Golf Club or its licensors and is protected by copyright and intellectual property law. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify or create derivative works from any TFGC content without our prior written permission. You grant TFGC a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use any photographs, videos or content you submit or tag in relation to TFGC events or services for the purpose of promoting the services.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, TFGC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from your use of the services, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of revenue, or loss of enjoyment. Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising from these terms or the services shall not exceed the total membership fees you paid to TFGC in the 12 months preceding the claim. Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

9. Third-party services

The services may include links to or integrations with third-party platforms including WhatsApp, payment processors, and affiliated golf camps and clubs. TFGC is not responsible for the content, privacy practices or terms of any third-party service. Your use of WhatsApp community groups is subject to Meta’s terms of service and privacy policy in addition to these terms. Your use of any affiliated golf camp or club is subject to that venue’s own terms and conditions.

10. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify active members by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect. Your continued use of the services after the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. The current version of these terms is always available at this page with the date of last update shown at the top.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland. Any disputes arising from these terms or the services shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ireland. If you are a consumer in the European Union, you may also have rights under EU consumer protection law that are unaffected by this clause.

Section 2

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 January 2025 · We are committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Acts of Ireland.


1. Who controls your data

The data controller for personal data collected through TFGC services is The Family Golf Club. Contact: [email protected]. You have the right to contact us at any time regarding how we use your personal data.

2. What data we collect and why

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Account and identity data: name, email address, country, family member names and ages. Collected when you register. Purpose: to provide the membership service and personalise your experience. Legal basis: performance of contract.

Payment data: billing information processed securely by our payment processor. We do not store full card details. Purpose: to process membership payments. Legal basis: performance of contract.

Usage and activity data: rounds logged, Family Cup points, leaderboard position, event registrations, app activity. Purpose: to operate the ranking, leaderboard and Championship qualification systems. Legal basis: performance of contract.

Event participation data: family names, handicap information, scores submitted at Family Cup events. Purpose: to operate the competition. Legal basis: performance of contract.

Communications data: emails, enquiry form submissions, WhatsApp community participation. Purpose: to respond to your enquiries and communicate service updates. Legal basis: legitimate interest and, where required, consent.

Website analytics data: browsing behaviour, pages visited, device and browser type, IP address (anonymised), session duration. Collected via Google Analytics through Google Site Kit. Purpose: to understand how visitors use the site and improve it. Legal basis: consent (via cookie banner).

Marketing data: your preferences for receiving newsletters or updates. Purpose: to send you relevant communications about TFGC. Legal basis: consent. You may withdraw consent at any time by clicking unsubscribe in any marketing email.

3. Google Site Kit and Analytics

This website uses Google Site Kit, which connects Google Analytics, Google Search Console and other Google services to our WordPress site. Google Analytics collects anonymised data about your visit including pages viewed, time on site, device type and approximate location (country/city level). This data is transmitted to and stored on Google’s servers. We have enabled IP anonymisation. Google acts as a data processor on our behalf under a Data Processing Agreement. Google may also use this data for its own purposes in accordance with Google’s privacy policy available at policies.google.com. Analytics cookies are only placed with your explicit consent via our cookie banner. You can withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences using the link in the footer of this page.

4. How we share your data

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only as follows:

Payment processors: to process your membership subscription securely.
Event host clubs: family name and entry information shared with partner clubs for the purpose of running Family Cup events you have registered for.
Google: anonymised analytics data as described above.
Email service providers: to send you transactional and marketing communications you have consented to.
Legal authorities: where required to do so by law, court order or regulatory authority.

All third-party processors we use are subject to data processing agreements and are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with GDPR.

5. International transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google, process data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, or we rely on adequacy decisions where applicable. You can request details of these safeguards by contacting us.

6. How long we keep your data

Account and membership data is retained for as long as your membership is active and for up to 3 years after cancellation for legitimate business and legal purposes. Event participation records including scores and rankings may be retained indefinitely as part of our competition records. Analytics data is retained in Google Analytics for 26 months. Marketing data is retained until you withdraw consent. Payment records are retained for 7 years for accounting and legal compliance purposes.

7. Your rights

Under GDPR you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: to request correction of inaccurate data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to request that we limit how we process your data.
Right to portability: to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interest, including direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected] with the subject line “Data Rights Request”. We will respond within 30 days. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission of Ireland at dataprotection.ie.

8. Children’s data

TFGC membership accounts are held by adults aged 18 or over. Where children’s data (such as first name and age for app profiles) is collected as part of a family membership, this is done under the authority of the adult account holder who provides consent on the child’s behalf. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children under 13 without verified parental consent. If you believe a child has submitted personal data to us without appropriate parental consent, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Section 3

Cookie Policy

Effective date: 1 January 2025 · This policy explains what cookies are, which ones we use, and how you can control them.


1. What are cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They allow the website to recognise your device, remember your preferences, and collect information about how you use the site. Some cookies are essential for the website to function. Others are used for analytics, personalisation or marketing, and are only placed with your consent.

2. Cookies we use

Category

Cookies / Source

Purpose & Consent

Strictly necessary

WordPress session cookies
Login authentication cookies
Security and CSRF tokens

Essential for site functionality and secure login. Cannot be disabled. No consent required under GDPR.

Analytics

_ga, _ga_XXXXXXXX
_gid
(Google Analytics via Site Kit)

Tracks pages visited, session duration, device type and approximate location. IP is anonymised. Requires your consent. Retained 26 months.

Preferences

Cookie consent status
Language and display preferences

Remembers your cookie consent choice so you are not asked again on every visit. Expires after 12 months.

Marketing

Not currently in use

TFGC does not currently use advertising or marketing cookies. This policy will be updated if that changes.

3. Your consent and how to manage cookies

When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner will appear. You can choose to accept all cookies, accept only strictly necessary cookies, or customise your preferences. Analytics cookies (including Google Analytics via Site Kit) will only be activated if you explicitly accept them. Your consent choice is stored for 12 months. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking “Cookie Settings” in the footer of this website.

You can also manage cookies directly in your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to view, block or delete cookies. Note that blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect how the site functions. Browser-level cookie management does not replace your consent choice on our site. For information on managing cookies in your browser visit the support page for your browser.

To opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites you visit, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

4. Do Not Track

Some browsers send a “Do Not Track” signal. Our website does not currently alter its behaviour in response to Do Not Track signals. Your cookie consent choice made via our banner is the primary mechanism for controlling analytics tracking on this site.

5. Updates to this Cookie Policy

We will update this Cookie Policy if we add new cookies or change how existing ones are used. Material changes will be notified via the cookie consent banner on your next visit. The current version and effective date are always shown at the top of this section.

Questions about your data or these policies?

Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Data Rights Request”. We respond within 30 days. You also have the right to contact the Data Protection Commission.