Buying Guide for Golf Course Websites
Your website is your front desk. Most golfers meet your course on a phone before they ever meet your staff. They want rates, today's conditions and a tee time in under a minute. This guide shows how to get a site that does that, whether you keep the one your tee sheet vendor gave you or build your own.
Disclosure: Golf Course Tech Reviews is published by smbGOLF, a digital hospitality agency that builds and optimizes golf course websites. We say where we're involved, and our vendor reviews stay independent.
Three ways courses get a website
- Bundled with your tee sheet. GolfNow, Lightspeed Golf, Club Caddie and others sell tee sheet, POS, booking engine, payment processing and a website as one package. It's quick to launch and booking works on day one.
- A local agency or DIY builder. Looks can be great, but most generalists don't know how golfers book, what a frost delay is, or how to connect your booking engine cleanly.
- A site built for your course. Your brand, your content and your data. It connects to whichever tee sheet you use and answers golfers' questions before they call the shop.
Bundled vs. built for your course
- Brand: bundled sites use a template shared with many courses, with limited layout changes. A custom site is designed around your course, photos and voice.
- Ownership: a bundled site is often tied to the vendor contract, so leaving can mean losing the site. With a custom site you own the domain, content and site.
- Booking: bundled sites book well, but usually only with that vendor's engine. A custom site connects to your booking engine and survives a tee sheet switch.
- Everyday updates: bundled sites mean logging in to the vendor portal or opening a ticket. A custom site allows easy edits, including texting conditions straight to the site.
- Google and tracking: bundled sites rarely tune local search or show which pages lead to bookings. A custom site is built around the searches golfers make near you and tracks visits through to booked rounds.
- Cost: a bundled site is folded into the package, sometimes paid in tee times. A custom site has a build fee and a yearly care plan.
A bundled site is not a bad choice. For many courses it's the right one, and it can be made much better.
Keeping your vendor's site? Tune it up
If your website came with your tee sheet, you don't have to replace it. These are the fixes we see pay off most often on bundled sites:
- Match your Google Business Profile. Hours, rates, photos and the booking link should say the same thing everywhere golfers look.
- Answer the questions that ring the phone. Frost delays, cart rules, dress code, range hours and today's conditions, updated in seconds.
- Shorten the path to a tee time. Count the taps from your home page to a confirmed booking on a phone, and cut the extra ones.
- Fix titles, descriptions and local search. Template sites often ship with generic page titles. Yours should say "public golf near [your town]".
- Measure bookings, not just visits. Set up tracking so you can see which pages and campaigns lead to paid rounds.
What smbGOLF builds into course websites
- Hole-by-hole guides: every hole with yardages, tips and photos, built for a phone in the cart.
- Handicap calculator: golfers work out their handicap on your site, and come back to do it again.
- Event promotion module: tournaments, leagues, outings and specials, each with its own page, sign-up and reminders.
- Membership sales pages: plans, pricing and benefits laid out so a prospect can say yes without calling.
- Complete lead generation: outing, wedding and membership inquiries captured, tracked and sent to the right person.
- Custom schema: golf course, restaurant and local business schema, so Google and AI answers get your details right.
- Permanent and standing tee time modules: sell and manage recurring tee times online.
- Golf Genius and Spark Golf: custom builds that bring your tournaments and leagues onto your own site.
- Toast: menus and restaurant ordering connected to the Toast POS you already run.
- Text-to-Web: staff text one message and frost delays, cart rules or closures appear on the site.
- Fairway Bites: golfers order food and drink from their phones, and staff handle it from theirs.
Website
Our comprehensive review delves into the features and capabilities of golf course websites across desktop and mobile platforms. Key aspects include: Responsive Design: Adapts to various screen sizes, enhancing accessibility. User Interface: Examines ease of navigation and user engagement. Functionality: Assesses online booking systems, event management, and user interaction. Visual Appeal: Evaluates the aesthetic presentation of the course and information. Integration: Looks at social media and SEO effectiveness for audience reach. Performance Metrics: Discusses how website analytics can guide marketing strategies.
Pros
- Attract new players and keep existing members informed.
- Automate bookings, manage memberships, and streamline communication.
- Reach a wider audience through SEO and online advertising.
- Stand out from other courses with a modern and user-friendly website.
- Versatile Design Compatibility
Cons
- Website development and ongoing maintenance require investment.
- Managing website content and security can be complex.
- Keeping the website fresh and updated requires ongoing effort.
See it on real courses
A few golf websites smbGOLF has built:
Questions to ask any website provider
- Who owns the site and the domain, and what happens to both if we change tee sheets?
- How many taps does it take to book on a phone, starting from the home page?
- How do we post today's conditions, and how fast does it show up?
- Can you connect a website visit to a booked round?
- How do you handle our Google Business Profile, reviews and local search?
- What does a full year cost: build, hosting, updates and anything paid in tee times?
Get a free website check
Send us your course website, bundled or custom. We'll show you what golfers see on a phone, how many taps it takes to book, and the three fixes that would help most. Check my website.
