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2 October 2026 · 10 min read

Failed the Platzreife? Retaking it, how long it lasts and what the Platzerlaubnis is

Yes, you can fail: 28 of 40 questions in the theory, targets on the practice area, a pro on the course. On retakes and validity Swiss Golf is silent, and your club decides.

Failed the Platzreife? Retaking it, how long it lasts and what the Platzerlaubnis is — post image

Yes, you can fail the Platzreife. The theory is passed with at least 28 of 40 questions right, and on the practice area and on the course a pro decides whether you meet the targets (Swiss Golf). How often you may retake it and how long the Platzreife stays valid, Swiss Golf does not say. Your club decides that. This post sets out what is documented, where the documents are silent and what to ask your club.

What does Platzreife mean in golf?

The Platzreife, PR for short, is the proof that you may play the golf course on your own. Swiss Golf asks beginners to show that they play at a good pace, move safely on the course, endanger neither themselves nor other players and know the basic rules. The regulation calls it an official certificate that attests the theoretical basics and a level of play (Platzreife regulation). It is not yet a handicap. If the test was taken on a course homologated by Swiss Golf, the signed scorecard can be submitted as the first HCP Index. It is recognised as soon as you hold a Swiss Golf Card from a club or from ASGI or Migros GolfCard. What that card is, is explained in The golf licence in Switzerland.

Can you fail the Platzreife?

Yes. Each of the three parts has a criterion you can meet or miss. The table sums them up from the Swiss Golf page:

PartWho examinesPassed if
A Theorya person appointed by the clubat least 28 of 40 questions right
B Tee shotsSwiss PGA Pro3 of 6 balls fly 80 m (men) or 70 m (women)
B Long gameSwiss PGA Pro3 of 6 balls fly 60 m
B Pitching from 15 to 18 mSwiss PGA Pro2 of 6 balls land in a circle of 6 m radius
B Chipping from 10 to 12 mSwiss PGA Pro2 of 6 balls land in a circle of 4 m radius
B BunkerSwiss PGA Pro2 of 6 balls stay on the green
B PuttingSwiss PGA Pro9 holes, at most 21 strokes
C Courseas a rule a Swiss PGA Prothe examiner compares your behaviour with the targets and decides

In the theory test you can do the sum: 28 of 40 is 70 per cent, so you may get up to twelve questions wrong. For the course the page names no score. What is examined is etiquette with safety, consideration, pace of play, priorities and care of the course, the play itself and filling in the scorecard with the conversion into Stableford points, as Stableford and the scorecard explained shows.

The PDF regulation says for the step after it, tournaments and EDS cards, that a result of at least 36 Stableford points over 18 holes or 18 points over 9 holes is enough. The Swiss Golf page on the Platzreife does not carry that figure. Whether your club sets it as a hurdle, you only learn there.

How often may you retake the Platzreife?

Swiss Golf says nothing on this. I read the Platzreife page, the PDF regulation, the Swiss Golf FAQ and the page of Golf Club Thunersee on 2 October 2026. The word "retake" does not occur in any of the four texts. There is no maximum number of attempts, no waiting period and no fee for a second attempt.

What is documented is only what the structure gives. The test has three parts, each with its own examiner, and the test on the practice area can take place in one or several sessions. A club may set additional conditions for obtaining the Platzreife. Whether it limits retakes or charges fees, only the club knows. Golf Club Thunersee sells part C on the course as a double lesson with a golf teacher, at CHF 220 per person and CHF 280 for two people (Golf Club Thunersee). What a second attempt costs there, the page does not say. The PDF regulation carries no date and still speaks of the EGA handicap, so ask for today's position.

How long is the Platzreife valid?

Swiss Golf names no period. Neither the Platzreife page nor the regulation gives an expiry date. There is, though, a hint of how the Platzreife is held today: since 1 February 2024 the Swiss Golf Card shows the index 54.0 for golfers who hold a Platzreife and are active members of a Swiss Golf club or a Public Golf Organisation (Swiss Golf, notice of 15 February 2024). The index 54.0 means that no result exists yet with which you could get below the maximum of the World Handicap System. Before, the note "PR" stood in that place. That describes the card; it is not a statement about a period of validity.

Two figures must not be mistaken for validity. The online course for the theory from FIT4PAR costs CHF 99 once and runs for six months (FIT4PAR). That is the term of the course, not of the Platzreife. And the two years you know from Germany belong to the DGV Platzreife: a facility that offers it recognises an exam passed elsewhere within two years when you join the club (DGV, Platzreife FAQ). If you return after years, you ask the club, and that is exactly what the DGV writes for Germany: whether a Platzreife still counts after a break can only be clarified with the facility in question.

Where is the Platzreife valid: another club, abroad?

Whether a second Swiss club recognises your exam without a retake is not on the Swiss Golf page. A club may set additional conditions. For a Platzreife from abroad Swiss Golf is clearer: as a rule it does not count in Switzerland, because the test must be taken by a Swiss pro (Swiss Golf, FAQ). ASGI words it more softly: a foreign Platzreife must be attested by a Swiss PGA Pro or by a PGA Pro of that country (ASGI, Golfeinstieg). Because the two sentences differ, you ask your club or ASGI before a holiday course.

The other way round, for a Swiss Platzreife abroad, there is no documented standard. The DGV writes that there is no internationally valid Platzreife standard, and that the holder of the house right of the facility in question alone decides who may play the course on their own.

What is the difference between Platzreife and Platzerlaubnis?

The term Platzerlaubnis comes from Germany. The DGV explains it as a confirmation, within the house right, that a beginner may play the course for which it was granted, with criteria that each facility sets itself. The DGV Platzreife, by contrast, is a uniform examination standard. In Switzerland it looks like this:

Platzerlaubnis (DGV)Platzreife in Switzerland (Swiss Golf)
Who sets the criteriaeach golf facility individuallySwiss Golf describes theory, practice area and course, a club may add conditions
How it is confirmedas a confirmation within the house rightby a test in three parts, the practical part as a rule by a Swiss PGA Pro

In the Swiss Golf texts I read, the word Platzerlaubnis does not occur. In Switzerland the proof is called Platzreife. Whether a club also knows a permission of its own, only the club knows. What is possible without a Platzreife is in Golf without a Platzreife and without a membership.

May you go straight to the exam, without a course?

The regulation sets an order: first the theory, then the practice area, then the course. The test on the course takes place after the theory is passed and the practice area played successfully. The Swiss Golf page names no compulsory course and no minimum number of lessons, but says that the training on the practice area is given by a Swiss PGA Pro.

Golf Club Thunersee recommends an official rules course, at whose end the theory exam is included. Anyone who wants to take the theory individually should contact the management. Part B runs there in the basic course or in private lessons. FIT4PAR offers the theory as an online course, and there too the exam is taken by a person appointed by the club. So going straight to the exam works where the club allows it.

What this means for you

How your club deals with a failure is in no regulation. Before you register, ask:

  • After a failure, is only the part not passed repeated, or the whole exam?
  • Is there a waiting period or a maximum number of attempts?
  • What does a second attempt cost, and does the pro have to be booked separately?
  • How long does a passed part count, for example the theory, if the rest follows later?
  • Does the club recognise a Platzreife you passed elsewhere, and until when?

The targets themselves are fixed, so you can prepare for them. How the exam works and what the simulator can do for it is in Platzreife in Switzerland, what courses cost in Platzreife course price comparison, and how much time to plan in How long does it take to learn golf.

Where to practise the targets indoors

If you look for lessons before the exam: the directory lists 110 indoor venues, 81 of them with coaching (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries). The venues with coaching are on indoor golf training, the first hour is explained on golf simulator for beginners, and the nearest venue is on the map.

Frequently asked questions

Can you fail the golf Platzreife?

Yes. The theory is passed with at least 28 of 40 questions right. On the practice area targets apply such as 3 of 6 tee shots over 80 m (men) or 70 m (women), and on the course the examiner decides whether the test is passed (Swiss Golf).

How often may I retake the Platzreife?

The Swiss Golf documents do not say: no maximum number of attempts, no waiting period and no fee. A club may set additional conditions for obtaining the Platzreife. So ask your club before you register.

How long is the golf Platzreife valid?

Swiss Golf names no period. Since 1 February 2024 the Swiss Golf Card shows the index 54.0 for active members with a Platzreife. The two years you may know apply to the DGV Platzreife in Germany. After a longer break you ask your club.

What is the difference between Platzreife and Platzerlaubnis?

The DGV explains the Platzerlaubnis as a confirmation within the house right for exactly the course for which it was granted, with criteria set by the facility. The Platzreife is an exam to a fixed standard. In the texts read, Swiss Golf uses only the word Platzreife.

May I go straight to the Platzreife exam, without a course?

The Swiss Golf page names no compulsory course and no minimum number of lessons, but asks for training by a Swiss PGA Pro. Golf Club Thunersee also allows the theory individually if you contact the management. Ask your club.

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