Google's Book Online Button Now Works for More Golf Courses

smbGOLF checked more than 100 golf listings on November 5, 2026. Every Book online button worked, including at courses whose booking engine never finished a Reserve with Google integration.

The short version

• If your course ever saved its booking engine link in your Google Business Profile, Google now appears to be using that link for the Book online button in Search and Maps.
• That is big news for courses on booking engines such as Golf Geek Software that never completed a Reserve with Google integration. smbGOLF confirmed working buttons at two Golf Geek courses: Gateway National Golf Links near St. Louis and Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
• Google tags every click so bookings can be tracked. Whether courses will get to see those numbers is not confirmed yet.

What smbGOLF found

On November 5, 2026, smbGOLF, a digital hospitality agency, checked more than 100 Google listings for golf businesses, from regular golf courses to indoor golf. Every Book online button worked. Each one sent the golfer straight to a live booking page.

Google's Book online button first showed up on golf course listings in 2024. Until now, it mostly showed up for courses whose booking engine had a direct Reserve with Google integration (see which booking engines are connected). Courses on booking engines without one usually had no button at all, even when they had saved a booking link in their profile. That appears to be changing, and it is not limited to one vendor or to indoor golf.

What we saw, and what we think

What we saw: working Book online buttons that open the course's own booking page. On the way, Google adds a tracking code to the link, rwg_token (the "rwg" stands for Reserve with Google).

What we think, but Google has not confirmed: Google is reusing the booking links courses already saved in their profiles to power the button. We have not found an announcement from Google or any booking vendor, and we don't know exactly when this started.

Five examples

Golf Geek Software, a booking engine and marketing software provider owned by a golf course management company, never completed a Reserve with Google integration. Golf Geek and other smaller booking engines told us Google typically declined vendors with fewer than about 20 to 25 customers. None of the other vendors here advertise a Google integration either. TrackMan's public Booking & Payments integrations list (updated October 30, 2026) does not mention Google or Reserve with Google.

“Getting the ‘Book Online’ button live on Google is a big win for our clients. We want to make it as easy as possible for golfers to find available tee times and book a round. By putting that functionality directly where golfers are already searching, we’re removing friction from the booking process, improving the customer experience, and creating another opportunity to drive rounds and revenue.”

— Aaron Gleason, founder, Golf Geek Software

Foxchase shows how it works. The club's own /book page already forwards golfers to Whoosh, with or without Google. Google's Book online button simply points at that same club link and adds its tracking code. Whoosh did not create the button. Google used the link the club already had.

What is the rwg_token?

Google's developer documentation says Google adds rwg_token to the link when someone clicks. When the booking is completed, the booking system can send that code back to Google so the booking counts as a conversion. To see Google bookings in your own reports, read Part 1 of our booking engine guide on GA4 tracking.

Two things to keep straight:

• This is a hand-off to your booking page. Golfers do not pick a tee time or pay inside Google.
• The code makes tracking possible. It does not prove your booking vendor is sending bookings back to Google yet.

Will courses see the numbers?

Not confirmed. Based on its own recent work with the Google Business Profile API, smbGOLF expects booking tracking to show up for courses within days. That is our expectation, not a Google promise.

smbGOLF tracks booking links for tens of thousands of golf businesses. The links courses saved match the booking pages the Book online buttons now open, which is why we believe saved links are what Google is using.

What to do this week

1. Check your button like a golfer would. Sign out of your Google account and search your course on a phone and a computer, in Google Search and in Maps. Click Book online and note where it lands.
2. Make sure it lands on your own booking engine. It should open your current tee times, not an old booking engine, a dead page or a marketplace. If GolfNow shows up and you don't want it there, use the GolfNow opt-out form listed in our Reserve with Google guide.
3. Check the booking link in your Business Profile. Fix it if it is wrong, but don't delete it. That link may be what powers your button. Our guide to Google Business Profile mistakes that cost tee time sales covers the other settings to check.

Bottom line

Google's Book online button is now working for golf courses that never had a Reserve with Google integration, and the booking link you already saved is most likely the reason. smbGOLF checked more than 100 listings and every button worked. Check where yours goes and keep your booking link current. It matters more as Google adds AI agents that book tee times for golfers.

More on Google and tee times: Reserve with Google: A 2026 Guide for Golf Operators · Google's Book Online Button: Uninvited Access to Golf Course Tee Times (2024) · What Google I/O 2026 Means for Your Tee Sheet

Disclosure: smbGOLF manages websites and Google Business Profiles for golf courses, including courses that use vendors named here. No vendor paid for this article. See our revenue disclosure.

Sources

• Google Actions Center: Appointments Redirect conversion tracking
• Google Business Profile Help: Manage local business links
• Google Business Profile Help: Set up bookings through a provider
• Google Maps Help: Make a reservation in Google Maps
• TrackMan support: Booking & Payments integrations list, updated October 30, 2026 (support.trackmangolf.com)
• Google Search and Maps listings and booking pages, checked by smbGOLF on November 5, 2026