GHIN Outage: USGA Did Not Renew The GHIN.com Domain

The United States Golf Association's Golf Handicap And Information Network (GHIN) was rendered inoperable on all digital platforms late last Wednesday, August 14th and all-day Thursday, August 15th. Two sources confirm the online handicap computation service and registry was out of commission because the USGA did not renew the GHIN.com website domain before the expiration date.

In a statement, the USGA says there was an issue with "auto renewal."

"The GHIN Service experienced an issue with its domain name auto-renewal process on Thursday which caused a temporary disruption in service. Appropriate action was immediately taken, and the site is fully operational. We apologize for any inconvenience and assure our customers that steps are being taken to prevent this from happening in the future."

I queried my Twitter followers and several reported getting an "unable to join network" message all day Thursday, while those using the GHIN mobile app were required to re-enter their handicap number and log-in information.

A search of GHIN.com reveals that the address was created on August 15, 1996, updated on August 15, 2013 and now expires on August 14th, 2014.  In the FYI department, USGA.org and USOpen.com both expire on October 5, 2013.

Perhaps Fox Sports could supply a down payment on their new television money to help the USGA cover the two, sometimes even three-figure cost of renewing domains.