2025 Tee Sheet and Booking Engine Market Moves: Who’s Winning and Who’s Falling Behind

The tee sheet is the operational heartbeat of every golf course — public or private. And in 2025, it's also the battleground where software companies are competing fiercely for market share.

Over the past four months, smbGOLF tracked vendor changes across thousands of North American golf facilities, revealing significant shifts in operator preferences. Based on our analysis, Lightspeed and Club Caddie have emerged as early winners, while legacy platforms like foreUP, Teesnap, and Tee-On are experiencing declines.

This article highlights the most important market transitions and explains what they mean for operators evaluating their current technology stack. For those seeking even deeper insights, we’ve prepared a separate gated report with vendor-by-vendor breakdowns, geographic trends, and detailed changes. Purchase Report Here.

A Note on Methodology

This analysis is grounded in smbGOLF’s proprietary dataset, which is built through a combination of operator and vendor interviews, digital monitoring, and direct outreach. The majority of our initial research focused on public golf courses, but there’s undeniable crossover — many vendors serve both public and private facilities, and our findings reflect that.

This report focuses specifically on traditional green grass golf facilities. While we actively track non-traditional venues — including indoor golf, simulator lounges, and driving range-based concepts — those environments are not included in this analysis but will be covered in future work.

Tracking a dataset of this size — updated daily — is a challenge. We acknowledge that not every course may be perfectly categorized, and vendor configurations can shift without notice. That said, we apply a consistent and rigorous approach:

• If we find a Lightspeed Golf booking engine on a course’s homepage, we confidently record that facility as using both the Lightspeed tee sheet and booking engine.
• When a facility is using a more ambiguous or decoupled setup — such as GolfBack or Sagacity — we take the extra steps to confirm the underlying tee sheet through outreach, integration analysis, and observed usage patterns.

We also identified more than 175 golf courses using a technology vendor in 2025 that had no identified vendor in 2024. In many of these cases, the course recently became more digitized. In others, the vendor may have been in place for years — but improved data collection has only now brought it to light.

Our goal is perfection, but the result is more often practical with directional accuracy. This helps both operators and vendors make more informed decisions about the technology powering golf today.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The first four months of 2025 have revealed clear momentum shifts in the tee sheet software market:

• Lightspeed Golf grew its customer base by close to 7% — the highest volume gain across all providers
• Club Caddie led in percentage growth with nearly 20% gains and a strong net positive shift of +60 accounts
• Legacy platforms including foreUP, Teesnap, and Tee-On are experiencing declining market share

What's Driving These Market Shifts?

The golf software landscape is evolving rapidly as operator priorities change. Today's buyers are prioritizing:

• Speed and reliability in day-to-day operations
• Transparency in pricing and contract terms
• Support for integrated features like marketing automation and dynamic pricing
• Unified core systems that reduce technology complexity

Lightspeed’s edge lies in its modern architecture, aggressive new-client incentives, and deep integrations across the golf tech ecosystem. The platform makes switching attractive even for established courses by combining flexible onboarding, competitive payment processing, and reliable access to operational data. While vendors like Toast and Agilysys work to expand their presence in golf, Lightspeed remains the only broad hospitality tech company with true scale in the space. That scale benefits operators through lower payment fees, a vast partner network, and compatibility with best-in-class third-party applications.

Club Caddie's rise reflects its successful push into distinct golf course profiles. First, The Semi-Private Club Focused on Member Experience. Second, The Public Golf Course with a focus on value and diverse amenities. Club Caddie enjoys two secret weapons. One, their CEO, Jason Pearsal heads up a group who owns and operates a golf course. They know first hand what functionality matters most when trying to turn a profit running one of the more complicated small businesses in the hospitality industry. Second, Club Caddie is thriving in the Vertus Group, owned by Constellation Software. Their developer bench is deeper than most they compete with and the business is managed for long-term growth with no interest in a fast cash grabbing exit.

foreUP, once a market darling, is now experiencing decline. In the North American tee sheet landscape, foreUP still maintains a substantial presence with more installations than Lightspeed's 1,700+, though it remains well behind the GolfNow group's dominant position of close to 3,300 facilities. Despite foreUP's strong functionality, its churn rate in early 2025 has outpaced new client acquisition — particularly among public courses with higher expectations for system stability and responsive customer support. The smbGOLF data reveals consistent net losses to multiple competitors, including Club Caddie, Lightspeed, Eagle Club Systems, MemberSports, TenFore Golf, and the GolfNow group. foreUP does show some positive momentum against select vendors, including Teesnap and Club Prophet, but these gains haven't been sufficient to offset overall losses.

Operator Spotlight: Why One GM Switched to Club Caddie After Two Failed Installs

When Michael Woodward took over management at The Norsk Golf Club, a public nine-hole course in 2019, he inherited a paper tee sheet, no online reservations, and a bowling alley that “looked like a dump.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Woodward has led a full digital transformation — including a recent switch to Club Caddie, which he says was his third and final attempt to find a modern tee sheet that actually works for his business.

“I’ve now been through three tee sheet installs,” Woodward told us. “And Club Caddie’s was by far the best.”

Why He Left foreUP and Club Prophet

Woodward originally adopted foreUP to bring online bookings to his course during the COVID boom. But he grew frustrated with recurring system issues and what he describes as “daily notifications about outages — even after we canceled.”

A brief stint with Club Prophet was equally problematic.

“I lasted one summer. The back end was just too clunky,” he said. “I had to eat crow with my board and tell them, ‘We’re switching again.’”

What Made Club Caddie Different

Club Caddie stood out in three key areas for Woodward:

1. Integrated Booking for Golf and Bowling:
   With an eight-lane bowling alley on property, he used to take phone reservations or rely on a paper sheet. Now, bowlers can reserve lanes online — which has reduced staff burden and increased usage.
2. Built-In Loyalty Program:
   “We use Club Caddie’s loyalty system across green fees, food and beverage, even bowling,” he said. “It’s easier to manage than what we had before.”
3. Responsive Support and Real-Time Updates:
   “We’ve only been live since January, and I’ve already seen three or four software updates,” Woodward said. “They’re clearly committed to improving. Their chat support even fixed our printer issue on Day One while I was on vacation.”

Dynamic Pricing Integration That Finally Works

Woodward is also a firm believer in dynamic pricing — but only when it works as intended.

“I tried Sagacity and GolfBack. One had communication issues. The other charged a service fee that made people stop booking online,” he explained.

Now, with Club Caddie’s integration to Priswing, he’s seeing better results — and using Priswing Radar to track competitor pricing.

“I just learned I’m undercharging for carts. That insight alone paid for the software.”

Lessons for Other Operators

Woodward’s story echoes a growing theme in 2025: Operators want software that works, integrates tightly, and comes with real support. They’re tired of compromises.

“I like everything under one roof,” he said. “And I like that Club Caddie keeps improving without nickel-and-diming us.”

Where foreUP and GolfNow Clients Are Going

The 2025 tee sheet shake-up isn’t just about overall gains and losses — it’s about who is taking share from whom. Two of the industry’s largest vendors — foreUP and the GolfNow group (which includes EZLinks, IBS, EZSuite, and Golf365 Pro) — offer a revealing contrast.

Together, these platforms account for more than 200 course transitions already this year. But the nature of those changes tells a deeper story.

foreUP: Net Losses and Migration

Based on smbGOLF’s data, foreUP has seen a net decline in total clients during the early part of 2025. The company has lost at least 68 golf courses, with 43 of those clients switching to just two vendors: Lightspeed and Club Caddie.

Operators leaving foreUP often cite frustration with reliability issues, and difficulty getting support. The vendor's once-loyal client base is showing signs of real erosion.

GolfNow Group: Flat Net Change, but High Churn

In contrast, the GolfNow group is effectively flat in net client count. That doesn’t mean churn isn’t happening — far from it. The data shows more than 100 courses have moved away from GolfNow platforms so far this year.

The difference? GolfNow’s sales team has successfully backfilled many of those losses, keeping overall totals steady even as dozens of clients transition out.

These numbers suggest that operators are increasingly consolidating around modern, integrated platforms that offer:

• Affordable, short-term agreements
• Flexibility in POS and Payments configurations
• A clear product roadmap with consistent improvements

This Isn’t Just Vendor Swapping — It’s a Realignment

At first glance, tee sheet market changes might look like a simple reshuffling — one vendor gains what another loses. But 2025 tells a deeper story, especially when it comes to Club Caddie.

Unlike many other providers that are mostly trading clients within a narrow band of competitors, Club Caddie is gaining from nearly everyone — and not giving much up in return.

Club Caddie's 2025 Head-to-Head Performance (YTD):

This wide-based growth — across vendors, regions, and course types — indicates more than a tactical marketing win. It signals that Club Caddie is meeting core operator demands better than others in 2025:

• A full-stack system with tee sheet, POS, and mobile app in one platform
• Personalized onboarding and U.S.-based support
• Flexibility across public, semi-private, and even multi-course models

“I’ve done three installs now,” said Woodward, “Club Caddie’s was by far the best. They keep improving the product, and their support is outstanding.”

Other vendors may still be competitive in specific niches — but Club Caddie’s cross-platform appeal is a sign that operators are no longer satisfied with “just good enough.”

Lightspeed’s Growth Isn’t Just Volume — It’s Versatility

Lightspeed is having a strong start to 2025 — no surprise for a company that's one of the three largest tee sheet providers, with a user base skewed heavily toward public golf courses. But what's most interesting isn't just the number of courses switching to Lightspeed. It's the range of vendors those clients are coming from.

Lightspeed isn't just growing by outcompeting one or two rivals — it's proving to be a flexible option that appeals across business models, including public, municipal, and semi-private facilities.

Lightspeed's 2025 Head-to-Head Performance (YTD):

Lightspeed Is Winning — But Not Untouchable

Among the "big three" vendors, Lightspeed is the one winning the most head-to-head matchups in 2025. It has posted significant net gains versus both foreUP and the GolfNow group, solidifying its position as a leading option for modern public golf operations.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

Lightspeed suffered a high-profile loss earlier this year when the Montgomery County Revenue Authority switched all of its facilities to TenFore Golf — a move that didn’t just impact Lightspeed, but also displaced several other vendors in one of the most talked-about tech transitions of the year.

The result? A double-digit net loss to TenFore Golf, a fast-moving upstart that's proving it can win meaningful deals in competitive markets.

Still, Lightspeed’s broad appeal remains clear. Its POS, tee sheet, booking engine, and marketplace tools — combined with a well-established ecosystem — continue to attract public course operators looking for speed, scale, and reliability without the need for custom development.

Lightspeed isn’t dependent on any single competitor for growth. It’s winning across the board — and losing just enough to keep things interesting.

Noteefy Named Fastest Growing Tech Company in Golf

While tee sheet vendors like Lightspeed, Club Caddie, and Tenfore Golf are clearly in growth mode, no company in the golf technology space has expanded faster or more effectively than Noteefy. In just 16 months, Noteefy has grown from roughly 60 facilities to over 760 locations — a level of momentum that has elevated them into a class of their own.

And that growth isn't just about adoption. It's also a reflection of culture, discipline, and execution.

Built Around Solving Two Big Problems

Co-founder Jake Gordon says the team obsesses over two key operator challenges:

1. Perishable inventory going unfilled, with limited tools available to optimize revenue.
2. Friction for golfers trying to book when and where they want.

Noteefy’s alert-based waitlist was just the starting point. Tools like Confirm — a rebooking engine that fills cancelled times automatically — have shown unexpected value even at low-volume or seasonal facilities where missed revenue opportunities were previously chalked up as inevitable.

“We’re like the world’s most hardworking pro shop assistant,” Gordon explains. “You can’t expect staff to call every golfer every day — but our system can.”

Culture Drives Growth

Noteefy’s success isn’t just product-driven. It's culture-driven.

“We operate like a high-performance sports team,” says Gordon. “High trust, high accountability, championship mindset. Every department — sales, engineering, customer success — holds the same standard: excellence.”

That mindset has fueled an overwhelming amount of interest in joining the company. As of this spring:

• Over 86,000 applications have been submitted to work at Noteefy
• The company received 3,000+ applications for a single Account Executive role‍
• Candidates are filtered not just for skills — but for grit, urgency, and “extreme ownership”

Gordon, a former athlete himself, says every hire is expected to “be the CEO of their own function.” The culture is urgent but intentional, focused not on selling to everyone, but finding the right operators and maximizing their success.

Distribution is Not an Afterthought — It’s a Strategy

Noteefy understands something many startups overlook: distribution matters as much as product.

“You can build great tech, but if you don’t have a way to get it in front of the right people, it just collects dust,” says Gordon.

In addition to traditional sales, Noteefy uses LinkedIn, live events, strategic PR (including appearances in Forbes, Golf.com, and Golf Inc.), and a steady stream of operator-led webinars to amplify their message.

It’s a full-stack go-to-market engine — and it’s working.

A New Category, Not Legacy Tech

Despite their deep integration with tee sheets, Noteefy is not building its own. They are staying “Switzerland” in that fight, instead creating a new category of B2B Golf Course SaaS focused on revenue optimization.

Today, that means their tools like Confirm and the alert-based waitlist. Tomorrow, it may include AI-driven business intelligence, channel management tools, or integrations with emerging marketplaces — all in the service of one mission: help operators maximize yield without adding labor.

“We’re in love with the problem, not the solution,” Gordon says. “Our roadmap evolves based on where we can create the most value.”

And It’s Not Just Noteefy That’s Winning

Gordon’s team isn’t the only one smiling. Operators across the industry are beginning to solve long-standing challenges with Noteefy’s help — particularly when it comes to reducing no-shows and improving tee sheet efficiency.

In an internal note shared by Noteefy, Scot Wellman, VP of Sales & Marketing at Landscapes Golf Management, congratulated Todd Anderson, GM at Pacific Springs Golf Club in Nebraska, for taking a bold step forward.

“I can’t thank you enough for being willing to take a risk of implementing a cancellation policy, Noteefy Confirm, and booking online only,” Wellman wrote.

The risk paid off. In the early part of 2025, Pacific Springs reduced no-show rounds by 58% and increased revenue by 12% — despite having worse weather than in 2024.

Landscapes, like many other operators, is embracing a multi-step approach to revenue optimization — one that Noteefy has not only championed but operationalized. What was once a conversation about tee time alerts has become something much bigger: a movement to rethink the cost of canceled tee times and act on it.

Booking Engines Are More Than Just Software — They’re a Strategic Choice

While most golf courses still default to the booking engine bundled with their tee sheet, our 2025 data reveals a rising trend: more operators are decoupling the two — opting for booking engines that better align with their brand identity, revenue goals, and customer experience strategy.

The Rise of Mix-and-Match Booking Stacks

In systems like Lightspeed Golf, the majority of clients still use the native booking engine. But that’s beginning to change. A growing number of operators are now integrating third-party engines, choosing flexibility and performance over default compatibility.

This shift has elevated vendors like GolfBack, CourseRev, and Golf Geek — but it has also highlighted the peculiar and powerful position of Sagacity Golf.

With roots tracing back to Cypress Golf — the earliest version of what would become GolfNow — Sagacity now supports hundreds of courses directly and many more through licensing arrangements, both in and outside North America.

Sagacity’s role varies widely:

• At some courses, it acts as the booking engine layered on top of another tee sheet, like foreUP and Lightspeed.
• At others — such as Harbour Town Golf Links — Sagacity powers the tee sheet, while the course uses its own custom-built booking engine.
• In still other cases, Sagacity provides both the tee sheet and the booking engine, paired with an integrated POS like Toast or Clover.

But Sagacity isn’t just infrastructure — it’s a performance partner. The company provides the majority of its clients with demand forecasting, pricing tools and guidance, helping operators optimize yield across peak and off-peak times. And beyond back-end services, Sagacity is also behind what’s quickly becoming the most favored mobile app in golf, giving golfers a polished, fast, and easy booking and loyalty experience that matches the expectations of today’s golfer.

Sagacity’s strength lies in its adaptability. It’s not just a system — it’s a full-stack enabler, giving courses the flexibility to build a tech stack that fits both their brand and their business.

As more operators unbundle their software environments, platforms like Sagacity are increasingly positioned for long-term relevance.

Booking Engine Usage Among Lightspeed Tee Sheet Clients:

• GolfBack – 25 courses
• Golf Geek – 14
• CourseRev – 4
• Otto – 1
• Golf District – 1

Among foreUP Tee Sheet Clients:

• GolfBack – 13
• Sagacity – 6
• Let's Play – 6
• GolfPay – 2

Club Caddie Clients Show Even Greater Divergence:

• GolfBack – 65 courses
  (More than 15% of all Club Caddie tee sheet users are pairing it with GolfBack.)

Keep an Eye on Golf District

Though still early in its rollout, Golf District now powers 7 installations across the U.S. Our early analysis suggests it's gaining traction with operators seeking simplicity and control, while giving their golfers never-before-seen booking experiences and options.

If adoption continues at this pace, the booking engine landscape will look very different a year from now — and radically reshaped over the next five.

The Fall of EZLinks — and the Rise of Troon Digital

Once the dominant booking engine in public golf, EZLinks is steadily losing its grip. While still used by many GolfNow-aligned properties, its influence is waning — especially as management companies opt for internal alternatives like Troon Digital.

Booking Engine Shifts Away from EZLinks:

• Troon Digital – 56 installations
• Let's Play – 6

If 2024 taught operators anything, it’s that their booking engine is more than a front door. In 2025, operators know the booking engine is their storefront, their funnel, and a direct extension of their revenue strategy.

This sharp rise in adoption of Troon Digital’s booking engine prompted us to reach out to Jeff Ma, the former MIT card counter made famous in Bringing Down the House, now leading strategy at Troon Digital.

Q&A with Jeff Ma, Chief Digital Officer

Why has Troon launched Troon Digital?

"Troon believes that one of the best ways to drive value for our customers is to help them leverage data and technology to drive demand and revenue at the courses. Troon Digital's mission is to build tools that help our courses better control their businesses from a pricing, marketing and operational standpoint."

Why is the new Troon booking engine such an important piece of that strategy?

"A booking engine is a key part of creating a direct relationship with the golfer. It is the best way to unlock value for both the course and the golfer."

Does the Troon Digital booking engine integrate with tee sheets beyond EZLinks and Golf365 Pro?

"We integrate with the GolfNow API so theoretically could integrate with anyone on GolfNow. We are working on a dedicated integration with Lightspeed currently."

Troon Digital is now one of the fastest-growing brands in the golf technology space. Out of the more than 90 booking engines we identified in use across North America, very few have gained share as quickly — and with as much strategic alignment — as Troon Digital.

Small but Mighty: Emerging Tee Sheet Vendors Are Gaining Ground on the Big Guys

While the major tee sheet providers still dominate overall market share, 2025 has proven to be a breakout year for a trio of smaller players: Eagle Club Systems, TenFore Golf, and MemberSports.

These three vendors, each with fewer than 100 customers, are growing faster than many larger competitors — and more importantly, they’re winning business from established names:

Eagle Club Systems

Eagle continues to excel in its core mission: guiding golf courses from manual "paper" systems to the digital age, onboarding 10 such facilities in 2025 with their cloud-based tee sheet and integrated online booking. Their success extends beyond this, as they are also competitively winning over established digital users, evidenced by 8 gains from foreUP and 6 from Teesnap. A significant strength for Eagle is their customer retention, with a notably lower loss rate than most competitors. Reviews suggest this loyalty stems from a genuine sense of partnership and alignment between Eagle and its clients.

Interestingly, Eagle Club Systems operates efficiently with a lean team, likely managing more customers per employee than their rivals. As the leading "Small but Mighty" vendor poised to exceed 100 customers, their future growth will hinge on effectively scaling development, support, and sales.

TenFore Golf

The biggest single win of 2025 so far belongs to TenFore Golf, which pulled off a major conversion of the Montgomery County Revenue Authority golf courses. In one coordinated move, TenFore replaced a previously integrated stack of Lightspeed (tee sheet), Noteefy (waitlist), and Golf EMS (event registration) — a noteworthy shift that rippled through the vendor landscape.

That win alone contributed to 11 golf courses switching from Lightspeed to TenFore in just the first four months of the year — making Lightspeed the primary source of TenFore’s competitive gains.

With an 91% year-over-year growth rate, TenFore is quickly emerging as one of the most aggressive and effective climbers in the tee sheet market.

Municipal Momentum — But Not Yet Counted

In our research, smbGOLF has submitted several requests — similar to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filings — to municipalities across the U.S. to identify awarded contracts for tee sheet providers. One name shows up frequently: TenFore Golf.

TenFore has quietly built momentum in the public sector, winning several competitive RFPs. However, in line with our methodology, we only count vendor wins once installation is complete. Many of TenFore’s municipal wins — while confirmed — are still in the onboarding phase and therefore not yet reflected in our totals.

Still, the signal is strong: TenFore is emerging as a go-to vendor for government-managed golf, offering price flexibility, custom development, and responsive support that align well with the needs of public operators.

TenFore is no longer an upstart — it's a contender.

MemberSports: Quietly Consistent, Strategically Focused

TenFore isn’t alone in its municipal momentum. MemberSports, which made headlines in 2024 by winning the City of Denver and the City of Groveport, has quietly continued to build on that success. While not yet broadly publicized, these placements reflect MemberSports’ ability to win trust in competitive, publicly funded environments. Additional municipal contracts are confirmed but have not yet been formally announced or fully installed. MemberSports has found traction by being the opposite of many competitors in the payments space. MemberSports is offering what most competitors don't - "pick your payment processor and we'll make it work."

And while the volume is smaller, the impact is sharp.

Of MemberSports’ 11 new clients in 2025, five came directly from foreUP — and none have been lost.

In a market where switching vendors is often time-consuming and risky, zero losses combined with targeted gains signals standout retention and trust. MemberSports is showing what’s possible for niche vendors that focus on the right segments, deliver a clean user experience, and support onboarding with precision.

But perhaps the most notable detail about MemberSports is how forward-looking their product strategy is. More than most, they are building technology for where the golf market is headed — not just where it’s been. From streamlined staff tools to flexible booking workflows and member-facing digital experiences, the platform reflects the needs of a more tech-savvy, mobile-first generation of golf operators and players.

This long-view approach may prove to be a defining factor when the MemberSports team looks back at how they became a leading vendor in the Golf Course SaaS industry.

Looking Ahead: What This Means for Golf Operators

The 2025 tee sheet software landscape reveals several important trends for course operators to consider:

Integration Is King

The most successful platforms are those that prefer “yes” over “no.” Rarely do we hear about Lightspeed or Club Caddie declining an integration request — and both are thriving. How could Scot Wellman and Landscapes Golf Management consider doing business with GolfNow when their tech options — and their ability to control their own destiny — would be limited?

Support Matters More Than Features

Operators are increasingly valuing responsive support and frequent updates over long feature lists. Too many golf SaaS vendors have lost touch with their customers — and it shows. Without empathy-driven support, retention and innovation both suffer.

Decoupled Booking Engines Are Gaining Traction

More courses are separating their tee sheet from their customer-facing booking tools to optimize both revenue and user experience. The tee sheet remains the operational hub, but weak or inflexible interfaces have opened the door for a new class of booking engine vendors.

Smaller, Specialized Vendors Can Win

Niche platforms focused on specific segments are proving they can compete — and win — even against industry giants. Focused value and customer alignment matter more than size alone.

For operators evaluating their technology stack in 2025, the message is clear:

The software landscape continues to evolve rapidly — but the fundamentals haven’t changed.
Choose partners who understand your business model, offer dependable support, and show a clear commitment to continuous improvement.

As Michael Woodward’s story shows, sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right technology fit — but when you do, the payoff is worth it.

For the complete 2025 Golf Technology Market Report, with detailed vendor-by-vendor analysis, click here. The report is free of charge for smbGOLF data subscribers and $39 for all others.
For course-level data or custom analysis, please contact us to schedule a call.