Where Public Golf Quietly Loses Control

Most public golf courses in the U.S. aren’t struggling because of a lack of golfers. In many cases, demand is still there. Tee sheets are busy on weekends. Phones ring. The parking lot is full on good days.

The issue is more subtle than that.

A lot of courses are quietly underperforming because they don’t fully control how golfers find them, book, return, and spend. Over time, that gap adds up. Not in a dramatic, end-of-the-world way, but in missed upside, weaker pricing power, and increasing dependence on third parties. That’s the real problem. Not demand, but control.

Most courses don’t really own their booking flow. They don’t have a clear picture of who their golfers are beyond surface-level data. And they don’t have many levers to influence behavior once a round is played. Decisions get outsourced to platforms, legacy setups, or habits that made sense years ago but haven’t been revisited.

This isn’t about blaming the people running these courses

Operations and marketing teams care deeply about their clubs and their players. They keep things running, often with limited time and limited resources. But asking them to also master modern digital distribution, booking behavior, pricing dynamics, and repeat play is a big ask. It’s not what most of them signed up for, and it’s not where their strengths necessarily lie.

Golfers and expectations have changed

Booking expectations are higher. Patience is lower. The experience starts long before the first tee and continues after the round. If the path to booking feels clunky, confusing, or indirect, golfers simply move on. Not because they’re unhappy, but because alternatives are easy.

Many courses respond to this by trying to “do more marketing.” More ads, more promotions, more everything. That usually isn’t the answer.

What’s missing is clear thinking around how demand is used, how golfers are guided back, and how existing systems can be used more intentionally instead of replaced. That’s where our work usually starts.

Not with software. Not with campaigns. Not with ripping anything out. Just with understanding what’s already in place, where control has slowly been lost, and how small changes can compound over time.

Teemu 
Founder
Growth Golf & Country Club
Miami, FL, USA