As the sun warms the greens and fairways across the country, we naturally turn our minds to tournaments, tee times, and the timeless rituals of golf. But while the season stirs old traditions, it also invites us to reimagine how we engage our golfers, not just as players, but as people.
On May 13th, NGF and Players 1st hosted a landmark webinar: "Unlock Your Course’s Revenue Potential." And though the subject was digital, the spirit behind it echoed a centuries-old principle, that golf thrives not just through competition, but through loyalty and connection.
Golf has always been more than a score. It’s a ritual, a return, a relationship. And yet, as Kevin McLendon, VP of Marketing Services at NGF, made clear during the session, the modern golfer behaves like a free agent.
“They’re choosing between three or four courses every time they play,” McLendon said. “They’re loyal — but only to the experience that earns it.”
And therein lies the challenge. Revenue growth, in today’s landscape, can’t rely solely on increased rounds or capital upgrades. It begins by turning data into decisions and visits into loyalty.
For years, NGF helped courses understand what drove golfer satisfaction. But the tools had their limits. As technology leapt forward, expectations did too. Operators needed something better: faster, smarter, and seamless.
That’s where the partnership with Players 1st began. And with it came Golfer’s Voice, a platform with AI-driven copilots, push-button reporting, and integration with T-sheet systems. It takes something once complicated and makes it intuitive.
But the magic isn’t in the interface. It’s in the insight.
Managers can now track wallet share: the percentage of rounds a golfer plays at your course compared to others nearby. They can see which competitors draw their customers away, often with surprising results. And they can respond personally.
Peter Smith, Players 1st’s SVP and General Manager, expanded on what makes this platform more than just a survey tool. It's a full customer experience management system, used by 3,000+ clubs worldwide.
“Golf is no longer just about turf and tee times,” said Smith. “It’s about what happens before the first shot, and long after the last putt drops.”
Smith outlined how Net Promoter Score (NPS), the gold standard for customer sentiment, ties directly to future rounds played. Their studies showed that a 10-point increase in NPS translated into a 7% rise in rounds. It's not abstract. It's action-driving.
The system doesn’t just help you identify pain points, slow greens, unengaged staff, a lagging booking process, but it empowers teams to respond and improve in real time. Even better, it offers competitive benchmarking, showing how your course stacks up not just against your own past, but against peers across the region and globe.
Golfer’s Voice is designed for that very moment. It helps you spot leaky buckets and seal them. It helps you turn casual players into committed ones, and returning players into loyal advocates.
Because in the end, loyalty isn’t a number on a report.
It’s a golfer, walking to the first tee, thinking:
“I belong here.”
Missed the webinar?
Don’t worry, you can find the replay here. But in the meantime, think about this:
When was the last time a golfer told you, “I felt seen. I felt valued.”?
With Golfer’s Voice, that moment is just a click away.