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Hello GBR community,

It’s hard to believe that the third men’s major championship starts this week. Shinnecock Hills is going to provide a stern test for players this week, with some windy weather forecast for the week, the winning score might well be something over par come Sunday evening.

Two stories we are covering in today’s GBR look at the initiatives put in place for local golf courses on the back of the U.S. Open and what fans can expect on site this week to keep them entertained when they are not watching the golf.

We start with a major new feature that’s been developed by GOLF.AI. For years, polished golf storytelling has largely belonged to tours, OEMs and top-end resorts with the money to pay for it. GOLF.AI Studios is betting that artificial intelligence can change that equation, putting cinematic content within reach of clubs, coaches, retailers and associations that previously could not afford it.

Elsewhere, while we know private clubs can spend serious money shaping the member experience on property, they often think least carefully about the one object members actually take home. T&S Medals and Insignia's story makes the case that awards, bag tags, and recognition pieces are not minor extras, but small, visible markers of club identity that can outlast the event itself.

Enjoy today’s edition of GBR.

GOLF.AI LAUNCHES GOLF.AI STUDIOS, AN AI CONTENT PLATFORM FOR THE GOLF INDUSTRY

GOLF.AI has launched GOLF.AI Studios, a production platform that uses artificial intelligence to create video and marketing content for golf brands, courses, associations, and professional golfers. The company positions it as a content partner for an industry where high-end storytelling has traditionally required film crews, drone teams and extended post-production — resources within reach only of the largest players in the game.

According to GOLF.AI, the platform produces broadcast-level content across several areas of the business:

• Product marketing — turning a manufacturer’s spec sheet into launch content designed to build demand before a club, ball or product reaches the market.

• Course visualization — rendering a development or redesign as a walkable course, allowing architects and developers to show a layout before ground is broken.

• Destination films — promoting resorts and courses as travel destinations, aimed at the golfer who plans a trip around where they play.

• Instruction — building coaching content around a professional’s game, packaged for players from their first lessons onward.

• Equipment brands — helping manufacturers sell more with smarter, AI-generated storytelling rather than conventional advertising.

• Creators — enabling the next generation of golf media makers to produce broadcast-level content without cameras or a film crew.

• Retailers — moving inventory with intelligent, personalized content rather than static product pages.

• Rules bodies and member groups — educating the modern golfer and sharing the game at scale, without the production costs that have historically limited that kind of output.

The context for the launch is GOLF.AI‘s own track record. The company says its AI-generated golf content has already built a community of more than 150,000 and drawn 4.67 million views and 46,000 interactions so far, all organic. Studio's productizes that capability: the company argues it delivers broadcast-level content at a fraction of the time and budget a traditional studio would require, and at a scale that makes it repeatable rather than a one-off campaign.

The launch arrives as AI-generated content reshapes media production well beyond golf. For the industry specifically, the significance is one of access. Cinematic course films, polished product launches, and destination campaigns have long been the preserve of major brands and tours with the budgets to commission them. A platform that lowers that cost barrier would put the same kind of output within reach of regional associations, single-course operators, individual professionals and creators — a shift, if it holds, from storytelling as a luxury to storytelling as a standard tool.

• GOLF.AI Studios has introduced the platform with a launch film:

THE CHEAPEST LINE ON THE BUDGET: WHY THE OBJECT YOUR MEMBERS TAKE HOME DESERVES A SECOND LOOK

There is a line on every private club budget that gets approved in about ninety seconds. Tournament awards. Member gifts. Recognition. It is small, it is simple, and the instinct in the room is always the same: keep it exactly as it was last year.

Nobody fights for it. Nobody questions it. And yet it is, on closer inspection, the only line in the entire budget that the member physically takes home and keeps. Everything else — the course, the clubhouse, the dining room, the practice facility — stays on the property. The bag tag from the Member-Guest, the medal from the Club Championship: those leave. They go in the car, onto the next bag, into a drawer where they will still be sitting a decade from now.

Most clubs hand that object out as if it were a receipt.

T&S Medals and Insignia has built a business case around the gap between what that object is and what it could be. The Australian family firm — four decades in operation, holders of the contract to produce the Order of Australia since the year 2000 — puts the numbers plainly. A volume supplier produces the standard bag tag for five to thirty dollars, depending on the product: soft alloy core, laser-printed decal, rubber molds. A T&S entry-level piece runs around forty-five dollars. Their premium work sits between fifty and fifty-five.

The delta, then, is roughly twenty-five dollars. Against a Member-Guest entry fee of two to three thousand dollars per pairing, that is not a cost decision. It is a rounding error that happens to be the most visible thing the club produces all year.

“T&S products are quality, made to last, and build a legacy between member and club,” says CEO Chris Wilkins. “It’s not always about achieving a 200% ROI.”

The proof is in the field. A top-150 U.S. country club — one that hosts a PGA Tour event — recently made the switch after its GM held a T&S piece for the first time. His reaction: Wow, our members will love these. The club went on to honor milestone members with 23-carat gold double-plated medals in leatherette presentation boxes, and sold nearly 800 bespoke members-only bag tags. Not bad for a transient membership.

The cheapest brand-equity investment on the entire schedule. The only one the member takes home. And, as it turns out, the easiest decision in the room.

• Read the full story at Golf Business Review.

• More information about T&S Medals and Insignia is available on their website.

CANYON 7 REOPENS: ANDY NORTH CHRISTENS THE HOLE HE DESIGNED

Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North returned to Trappers Turn Golf Club on May 19 to hit one of the first shots into a reopened Canyon 7 — the signature hole he designed, and the centerpiece of a year-long renovation that has changed it beyond recognition.

For decades, the hole’s drama was hidden. Sitting deep in a natural sandstone canyon, the green was hemmed in by overgrown trees that starved it of sunlight and airflow and concealed the rock walls that made the setting extraordinary. The renovation cleared all of it. The glacier-carved sandstone — a defining feature of the Wisconsin Dells landscape — is now fully exposed and frames the green, the putting surface has been nearly doubled to close to 6,000 square feet, and new waterfall work sits behind a shot North describes as playing into a box canyon.

The reopening drew owner Todd Nelson, the project’s architecture team, and a crowd that included Wisconsin Dells Middle School golfers, who closed the afternoon with a “Beat Andy North” challenge on the new hole.

The timing is no accident. Canyon 7 caps a sustained run of reinvestment at Trappers Turn — from the Andy North-designed 12 North par-3 course to expanded practice and putting facilities — that has turned a well-regarded Wisconsin Dells course into a genuine destination. With three championship nines and a fully transformed signature hole, Trappers Turn enters the 2026 season in the strongest position in its history.

• More information and tee times on their website.

• Read the full story here.

B. DRADDY DROPS NEW DRADDY SPORT STYLES FOR SS26

B. Draddy — the premium golf and lifestyle brand under the Summit Golf Brands umbrella — has expanded its Draddy Sport performance collection with new styles and colors for the 2026 season. The line covers polos, layers, and bottoms cut from the brand’s Cool Fabric™ jersey and a selection of Peruvian and Egyptian cottons, combining technical performance with the kind of comfort that carries through a full day on and off the course.

The timing is notable: B. Draddy heads into summer 2026 as the Official Uniform and Apparel Provider of the Presidents Cup and Official Uniform Supplier of the 2026 and 2028 U.S. Solheim Cup Teams — tour-level exposure that tends to move product in the pro shop. The SS26 collection is available now, starting at $120.

• Browse the full Draddy Sport collection

USGA PAIRS COMMUNITY INVESTMENT WITH FAN EXPERIENCE PLANS FOR 2026 U.S. OPEN AT SHINNECOCK

The USGA has outlined a broad community program tied to this week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, with the aim of leaving a lasting impact across Eastern Long Island beyond championship week.

Working with the Metropolitan Golf Association and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, the governing body will provide support to four Suffolk County public courses, Indian Island, Timber Point, Bergen Point, and West Sayville, through two years of agronomic consulting from the USGA Green Section to help improve course conditions, management practices, and long-term sustainability. The initiative will also expand youth golf opportunities within the Shinnecock Nation, including enhanced programming at the Shinnecock Nation Boys & Girls Club, while the USGA’s Pathways Discover program will return for a fifth straight year to give 24 college and graduate students from underrepresented backgrounds a paid introduction to careers in golf and sports business. USGA chief executive Mike Whan said the championship was an opportunity to invest in “the people, places and programs that make golf more accessible and sustainable across Suffolk County.”

That longer-term community focus will sit alongside an expanded on-site fan experience at Shinnecock. The USGA said spectators can expect a mix of technology, hospitality and interactive features including Rules AI with Deloitte, an Interactive Map powered by Cisco in the USGA app, GOLFZON simulators, the GHIN Putting Experience presented by Sentry, the Swing Experience Driven by Lexus, enhanced digital displays using ShotLink and Trackman data at the range, and a 34,000-square-foot merchandise pavilion carrying more than 500,000 items from 45 brands. Additional activations will include American Express cardholder perks, the Ally Bunker Challenge, T-Mobile member benefits, the return of the Lemon Wedge cocktail by DEWAR’S, Sun Cruiser’s 19th Hole, and a SeatGeek mural at the ticket entrance. USGA chief commercial officer Jon Podany said the goal was to ensure every fan experienced both the history of Shinnecock and “a modern, world-class championship experience.”

TORO SETS NEW 2030 TARGETS AS GOLF IRRIGATION SOFTWARE FEATURES IN SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE

The Toro Company’s fiscal 2025 Sustainability Impact Report puts a stronger emphasis on golf-related efficiency tools, with the clearest course-specific development being the launch of Toro Spatial Adjust, software designed to help golf facilities make more precise irrigation decisions by collecting thousands of moisture readings during routine mowing.

Toro said the wider report introduces new 2030 targets, including cutting direct operational emissions and emissions linked to purchased electricity by 15% from a 2025 baseline, while also committing to a 90% zero-waste-to-landfill diversion rate and continued sustainability checks in new product development. For golf and turf operators, the most relevant themes are the company’s continued expansion of autonomous and battery-powered equipment, a push toward more data-led resource management, and a broader focus on helping customers reduce engine emissions and improve labor efficiency.

Chairman and chief executive Richard Olson said Toro’s approach was centered on responsible practices and innovation, while the company said its 2025 progress also included battery recycling support across 48 U.S. states and wider operational improvements aimed at resource efficiency and lower waste.

GOLF CART MARKET FORECAST TO REACH $4.9BN BY 2033

The global golf cart market is projected to grow from $3.4 billion in 2026 to $4.9 billion by 2033, according to Persistence Market Research. Representing a 5.4% compound annual growth rate, the research shows that carts are becoming more widely used across golf courses, residential communities, resorts, commercial sites, and recreational venues.

The report says the strongest demand continues to come from small two-to-four-seat models, which account for 61% of the market, while golf clubs remain the leading product category with a 55% share. North America leads the market with 40%, supported by its large golf course base, mature recreational infrastructure and broader use of golf carts for personal transport, while Europe and Asia Pacific are also expanding as tourism, hospitality and leisure developments create new demand.

Persistence said growth is being driven both by golf and by broader uptake in private communities, resorts, event venues and commercial properties, with an incremental opportunity of $1.5 billion expected through 2033 as manufacturers respond with product innovation and efficiency improvements.

FIVE IRON GOLF OPENS 30,000-SQ-FT CORAL GABLES FLAGSHIP AS BRAND ENTERS FLORIDA

Five Iron Golf has opened its new Coral Gables flagship at The Plaza Coral Gables, marking the company’s first Florida location and its largest U.S. venue to date.

The 30,000-square-foot site includes 12 Trackman-powered simulators, instruction affiliated with the Jim McLean Golf School, Callaway Tour Fitting experiences, league play, memberships, and year-round access to virtual rounds on well-known courses.

Co-founder and chief executive Jared Solomon said Florida had long been one of the country’s most important golf markets, while venue owner and developer Peter McCormick said early demand showed golfers were looking for more flexible, technology-led ways to practice, improve and spend time around the game.

The venue is also tying into Women’s Golf Month by hosting Women’s Wednesday events throughout June in partnership with Legs Golf Miami.

GOLF SWING SYSTEMS JOINS INDOOR GOLF PARTNER IN EMEA EXPANSION MOVE

UK simulator specialist Golf Swing Systems has become part of Denmark-based Indoor Golf Partner, in a deal intended to strengthen the combined company’s position in the indoor golf market across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

IGP, Trackman’s exclusive installation partner across the EMEA region, has completed more than 3,000 simulator installations over the past decade and is known for building premium indoor golf environments for residential, coaching and commercial use. The agreement is expected to expand Golf Swing Systems’ capabilities in simulator design, installation and customer support, while also giving the UK business access to wider technology and international resources. Founded more than 25 years ago, Golf Swing Systems has developed a strong presence across home simulators, coaching studios, golf clubs and entertainment venues, and both companies said they would now work together to deliver consultation, design and installation services across projects of varying size and complexity as demand for indoor golf continues to rise.

GRASS LEAGUE OPENS FRANCHISE PROCESS FOR TWO NEW TEAMS AHEAD OF 2027 SEASON

Grass League has opened applications for two new expansion franchises for the 2027 season, with the successful bidders becoming the 12th and 13th teams in the league.

The application window opened last Thursday (June 11th) and will remain open till September 1, with final selections expected by October 10 and public confirmation in December 2026. Chief executive Jake Hoselton said demand for franchises had exceeded expectations, with interest coming from private equity firms, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, athletes, golfers, celebrities and sports content creators, but said the league was seeking owners with financial strength, strong golf and local-market credibility, and a media-led approach to building audience and franchise value.

Grass League currently has a two-year broadcast deal with Golf Channel through 2027 and plans to expand its schedule, with its headline events, the Grass Clippings Open, Summer Grind and Grass League Championship, featuring purses of more than $150,000, a live draft and a franchise-based structure.

LIV GOLF ADELAIDE DELIVERS $97.1M ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

LIV Golf Adelaide 2026 generated a record A$97.1 million for South Australia’s economy, up almost 20% on the previous year, taking the tournament’s total economic contribution since launch to A$314.6 million.

The event, held at The Grange Golf Club from 12-15 February, attracted a record 115,000 spectators, up 12% on 2025 and 21% on 2024, with 43% of attendees traveling from interstate and staying an average of 3.71 nights, helping drive a record 10,895 hotel rooms occupied in Adelaide on 14 February 2026. The tournament also set a new national attendance benchmark for golf and produced the largest single-day crowd in LIV Golf history, with 38,500 on the Saturday, while fans also saw Ripper GC win the team title and Anthony Kim claim his first LIV Golf individual victory in the league’s new four-day, 72-hole format.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the event had given the state “314 million reasons” to back major events, while LIV Golf executive vice president and head of events Ross Hallett said Adelaide continued to set a new standard for what a golf tournament could bring to a city; the event moves to Kooyonga Golf Club in 2027 before shifting to the redeveloped North Adelaide Golf Course in 2028.

ROCKET TO END TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF DETROIT PGA TOUR EVENT AFTER 2026

Rocket will not renew its title sponsorship of the Rocket Classic after the 2026 tournament, ending an eight-year run as backer of the Detroit PGA Tour event.

It may not be the end of tournament golf in the Michigan area, as the Tour is still expected to explore whether the market remains viable with a new sponsor. Industry sources said the event had been considered as a possible Track 1 tournament under the Tour’s proposed 2028 structure, but Rocket was not prepared to meet the $30 million-plus annual commitment believed to be sought for those events, with its existing full-field title deal estimated in the $15 million to $18 million range. Other factors are understood to have included differing views over venue strategy; Rocket wanted to keep the event at Detroit Golf Club in the city, while the Tour was open to a broader Detroit-area move, as well as wider corporate pressure, with Rocket’s share price down almost 38% year to date.

The company will remain an official marketing partner of the PGA Tour through the end of 2026 and could return in the future, while the tournament itself is now under new leadership with former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis succeeding Intersport. The wider decision comes as the Tour’s Future Competitions Committee nears the end of its work on the 2028 model ahead of a June 22 Policy Board meeting, with chief executive Brian Rolapp saying recently there had been “a lot of interest” from sponsors in both Track 1 and Track 2 events. Josh Carpenter, Sports Business Journal.

SCOTTY CAMERON ADDS PHANTOM 3.2 AND PHANTOM 12 TO 2026 PUTTER RANGE

Scotty Cameron has expanded its 2026 Phantom lineup with two new models, the Phantom 3.2 and Phantom 12, aimed at different player preferences within the mallet category and priced at $499.

The Phantom 3.2 is a compact mid-mallet with a “.2” plumbing neck for moderate toe flow, multiple alignment features including a Tri-Line sight line, T-Crown shaping and open rear windows, plus a full-face Studio Carbon Steel insert with chain-link milling to soften sound and feel while preserving ball speed.

At the other end of the range, the Phantom 12 is a larger high-MOI mallet with the deepest and lowest center of gravity in the Phantom family, achieved through a multi-material build using Space Gray aluminum in the face and mid-body and heavier stainless steel low and around the perimeter, with steel accounting for about 65% of total head weight.

It also uses chain-link milling, a long single sight line, T-Crown alignment, and a mid-single-bend shaft for minimal toe flow. The Phantom 3.2 right-handed model will be available from June 25, with the left-handed 3.2 and Phantom 12 following on July 23.

B. Draddy, the premium golf and lifestyle apparel brand founded in 2013 and part of Summit Golf Brands, has added new styles and colorways to its Draddy Sport performance line, reinforcing its position as one of the golf apparel brands most committed to the overlap between on-course functionality and everyday wearability.

The expanded SS26 collection covers the three categories where golf operators see the most apparel movement: performance polos, mid-layers, and bottoms. All pieces are built around B. Draddy‘s proprietary fabric lineup — Cool Fabric™ ultra-lightweight performance jersey for heat management, and a mix of Peruvian and Egyptian cottons for pieces where softness and breathability take priority over technical construction.

The brand’s positioning is deliberate: Draddy Sport is engineered for rounds that start early and days that run long, with pieces designed to transition off the course without requiring a wardrobe change. For golf course operators, that crossover appeal matters — members and guests who wear B. Draddy on the course are likely to wear it in the clubhouse and beyond, extending both brand exposure and purchase occasions.

The SS26 drop comes at a moment of significant momentum for the brand. B. Draddy is the Official Uniform and Apparel Provider of the 2026 Presidents Cup and an Official Uniform Supplier of the 2026 and 2028 U.S. Solheim Cup Teams — two of the most watched events on the international golf calendar. The brand is also the first-ever Mission Partner of Old Barnwell. That level of tour-level visibility tends to pull through to retail, and operators stocking Draddy Sport this summer are positioned to benefit from it.

• Prices for the SS26 Draddy Sport collection start at $120.

• The full Draddy Sport for Men SS26 collection is available here

  

On May 19, two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North stepped to the tee on a hole he knows better than almost anyone — and hit one of the first shots into a Canyon 7 that looked nothing like the one golfers remembered.

The occasion was the grand reopening of the signature hole at Trappers Turn Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells, closing out a year-long renovation that has reshaped the most talked-about hole on the property. North, who designed the hole, was joined by owner Todd Nelson, the project’s architecture team, and a crowd that came to see the canyon revealed for the first time. A group of golfers from the Wisconsin Dells Middle School program capped the afternoon with a “Beat Andy North” challenge — their first crack at the legend on the newly reopened hole. For a hole that spent decades hidden, it was a fitting way to step back into the light.

What the canyon finally looks like

Canyon 7 was always Trappers Turn‘s signature hole, but for years its drama was buried. Sitting deep inside a natural sandstone canyon, the green was hemmed in by overgrown trees that choked off sunlight and airflow and hid the rock walls that made the setting extraordinary. The renovation cleared all of it.

What’s left is the hole North always pictured. The glacier-carved sandstone walls — a defining feature of the Wisconsin Dells landscape — are fully exposed and now frame the green. The putting surface has been nearly doubled to close to 6,000 square feet, opening up new pin positions and a more dynamic, championship-style green complex. Expanded tee boxes, restored airflow for healthier turf, and new waterfall work behind the green complete the picture. The shot now plays into what North calls a box canyon — enclosed, dramatic, and unlike almost anything else in American golf.

A destination entering its strongest season

The reopening lands at the right moment. Canyon 7 caps a sustained, multi-year run of reinvestment that has steadily widened what Trappers Turn offers — from the Andy North-designed 12 North par-3 course to its expanded practice and putting facilities. Together they’ve turned a well-regarded Wisconsin Dells course into a genuine destination, anchored by owner Todd Nelson, founder of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions.

With three championship nines, 12 North, and now a fully transformed signature hole, Trappers Turn enters the 2026 season in the strongest position in its history — and Canyon 7 is the hole guests will want to see first.

• Canyon 7 is open now.

• More information and tee times at trappersturn.com.

And then they will arrive at a line near the bottom—tournament awards, member gifts, recognition—and they will approve it in about ninety seconds, because it is small, and because the instinct in that room is always the same: keep it small, keep it simple, don’t explore new ways or options — and ultimately, keep it the same.

This is the line nobody fights for. It is also, on closer inspection, the only line in the entire budget that the member physically takes home and keeps. No one thinks to explore better options, different options, better value for money.

Everything else the club spends money on stays on the property. The course, the clubhouse, the practice facility, the dining room—a member experiences all of it, and then drives home empty-handed. The bag tag from the Member-Guest, the medal from the Club Championship, the charm that marks a hole-in-one: those leave with them. They go in the car, into a drawer, onto a desk, onto the next golf bag. They are the only part of a five- or six-figure annual relationship that the member can hold in their hand a decade later.

Most clubs hand that object out as if it were a receipt.

The marginal cost, stated plainly

Let’s put real numbers on the decision, because the numbers are the whole argument.

A standard tournament tag or medal from a volume supplier—the kind that fills merchandise drawers at thousands of clubs—costs the club somewhere in the range of twenty to thirty dollars, and even as little as $5–$7 depending on the product. Core material of soft alloy materials, laser printed decal, usually with rubber moulds where wording is illegible. It does the job for a season and then begins its quiet migration toward a landfill.

A T&S piece—genuine hard enamel, hand-finished, with steel moulds and hand-crafted, the same process the firm uses for national honors—runs the club roughly forty-five dollars at entry level, fifty to fifty-five for premium work. “Far beyond anything else in the market,” says Chris Wilkins, CEO of T&S Medals and Insignia — and the kind of object that looks identical in fifty years because of the highest quality of materials and processes employed.

The difference, then, is on the order of twenty to thirty dollars per piece.

Now hold that delta against everything else in the transaction. The Member-Guest that the tag commemorates carries an entry fee of two to three thousand dollars per pairing. The annual dues that fund the whole enterprise run well into five figures. Against those numbers, a twenty-five-dollar upgrade on the one object the member keeps is not a cost decision. It is a rounding error that happens to be the most visible thing the club produces all year. Some might say it’s the one-percenters that count.

Run it at the event level. Take a Member-Guest with a field of 100 to 150 players. Upgrading every award to T&S adds, in round terms, $2,500 to the event’s total cost—less than a single team’s entry fee. The club is already collecting tens of thousands of dollars for the weekend. The marginal spend to make the thing people walk away with feel like an heirloom rather than a giveaway is a fraction of one entry.

“The markup elsewhere is real,” Wilkins notes of the wider awards market, where commemorative coins at the most prestigious tournaments in the world sell for two hundred and fifty dollars or more while costing perhaps twenty or twenty-five to produce. “But the quality isn’t always there to justify it.” The T&S argument runs the other way: a modest, honest increase in cost, against a disproportionate increase in what the member actually perceives.

What the delta actually buys

A business case is not complete until you price the return, so here is the return.

First, belonging—and the retention that follows from it. Clubs do not compete on fairways alone; they compete on the feeling of membership, on identity, on the sense that being here means something. A heavy, permanent object that marks a member’s achievement is a physical instantiation of that feeling. It is the club saying, in materials rather than words, what you did here mattered, and we treated it accordingly. Members who feel that stay. In a category where the cost of acquiring and replacing a member dwarfs anything on the awards line, retention is the entire game.

Second, off-property advertising the club never pays for again. A genuine curated piece travels. It hangs from the bag at the member’s next club, on the buddies trip, at the destination course three time zones away. It gets noticed, turned over, asked about. A piece of stamped zinc does none of this; it is invisible by design. Every T&S tag in circulation is a small, durable billboard for the club’s standards, carried voluntarily by the member, seen by exactly the audience the club would most like to reach. There is no media buy that does this as cheaply.

Third, brand-standard consistency. This is the argument that tends to land hardest in the committee room, because it reframes the whole question. Walk the bag drop at any serious club and look at what the members carry: forged irons built with the metallurgy of samurai swords, milled putters treated like religious artifacts, hand-stitched leather. These people have already decided, with their own money, that craftsmanship matters. “If a member cherishes a milled Scotty Cameron putter for its craftsmanship,” as Wilkins puts it, “why would a club recognize their achievements with anything less?” The hardware the club hands out should match the hardware already in the bag. When it doesn’t, the member notices—not consciously, perhaps, but in the same way the eye notices a cheap frame around a good painting, or a cheap pair of leather shoes with a beautifully tailored Ralph Lauren suit.

The proof a committee actually wants

Arguments move some people. Evidence moves committees. So here is what a switch looks like in practice.

A top-150 U.S. country club — one prominent enough to host a PGA Tour event — had been doing what most clubs do: consistently re-ordering from the incumbent. The same pieces, year after year, administered through the pro shop by assistants, with the GM largely removed from the decision. His golf shop didn’t even look at what else was in the market.

Then T&S knocked on the door. The GM — a thirty-year golf management veteran — held a T&S piece for the first time. His reaction was immediate: “Wow. These are real quality. Our members will love them.” It was, he said, unlike anything he had seen.

What followed tells you everything. The club decided to honor members reaching milestone years of tenure with a beautifully curated 23-carat gold double-plated medal, presented in a leatherette box acknowledging their time as members. Some of those members said it was the finest thing they had ever received in their golfing lives. The club went further, offering a bespoke members-only bag tag for purchase — and sold nearly 800 of them. Not bad for a transient membership.

Longevity is a line on the balance sheet, not a feature

There is a way of accounting for this that committees understand instinctively once it’s pointed out: cost per year.

A twenty-five-dollar tag that is forgotten in a season, replaced, and eventually discarded has a cost-per-year that only looks low on the day it’s purchased. A fifty-dollar T&S piece that a member still has—still uses, still displays—a decade or two later has a cost-per-year approaching zero, and a perceived value that compounds in the opposite direction. The cheap object depreciates the moment it’s handed over. The crafted object appreciates into memory.

This is not a metaphor. Hard enamel fused to metal at eight hundred degrees Celsius and ground flush by hand does not degrade. The piece made for this year’s champion will be legible, intact, and heavy in the palm long after the committee that approved it has rotated off.

The business itself bears this out. “We are very lucky that our business grows each year through word of mouth and happy clients,” Wilkins says. “They trust us — and now they trust our products.”

Who actually signs off—and the language that reaches them

There is a practical wrinkle worth naming, because it determines who needs to hear this argument and how.

The Director of Golf, in Wilkins’ experience, tends to understand the value instantly. They are golfers; the neural pathway is already built. They have spent years learning the difference between something made and something manufactured, and when they hold a T&S piece, their thumb does the rest of the work.

The decision, increasingly, doesn’t sit with them. At larger clubs—the ones with the budget and footprint to support a dedicated merchandise operation—it is often the Merchandise Manager who makes the call on awards. And that person, professional and well-intentioned as they are, is frequently young, early in their golfing journey, and not yet fluent in the language of craft. “They’re very young in their golfing journey to understand what I’m trying to say — and their members, and building a legacy between member and club,” Wilkins admits. “Because they’re also not usually golfers.”

This is precisely why the case has to be made in business terms, not aesthetic ones. The argument that travels up to the people who approve budgets is not this feels nicer—it is this is the cheapest brand-equity and retention investment on the entire schedule, and it is the only one the member takes home. That sentence works in a committee room. The feeling, once they hold the object, does the rest.

“T&S products are quality, made to last, and build a legacy between member and club.” — Chris Wilkins, CEO, T&S Medals and Insignia.

The cheapest line on the budget

Come back to that winter committee meeting, and the line near the bottom that gets ninety seconds.

The instinct in the room is to keep it small. The better instinct is to recognize what it actually is: not a merchandise expense to be minimized, but the single most durable, most portable, most personal piece of brand equity the club produces in a year—handed directly to the member, carried off the property, kept for decades. Not always about achieving a 200% ROI.

Since the year 2000, the firm at the center of this argument has held the contract to produce the Order of Australia, the highest civilian honor the country bestows. The same hands that make the medal pinned to a knighted citizen are available to make the tag that hangs from a member’s bag. The Club Championship medal can carry the gravity of a national honor, or it can carry the weight of a bubblegum-machine token. The cost difference between those two outcomes is about twenty-five dollars.

It is, by some distance, the best twenty-five dollars a club will spend all year. And the easiest decision they have to make in that meeting.

• More information: T&S Medals and Insignia.

HOW TO PARTNER WITH US: If you are interested in contributing to and strengthening our content offering as a partner, company, or institution, we would be pleased to hear from you at newsroom@golfbusinessreview.com.

Dear GBR family,

This week, the centre of gravity of the golf business is not in Florida, not in Surrey, not in the Gulf. It is in Caledon, Ontario — a town of 80,000 people, forty-five minutes from Toronto Pearson — where the 115th RBC Canadian Open is being played at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. Only The Open Championship and the U.S. Open have been around longer. And this year, Canada’s national championship is telling a story that goes far beyond the leaderboard.

We have always paid close attention to Canada at GBR, and not out of courtesy. More than 6% of our readers follow us from Canada — and among our paid subscribers, that figure rises to 17%. Our Canadian readers are disproportionately the people who run clubs, federations and golf businesses. When Canada moves, this newsletter listens.

But there is a second reason for this special report, and we want to put it up front. We don’t do politics at GBR. We do economics — and the economics of the U.S.–Canada relationship are impossible to ignore this week. The tariff confrontation of the past eighteen months has had real consequences: Canadian trips to the United States fell by more than a fifth last year, and golf has felt it directly — fewer Canadian snowbirds on Florida fairways, higher equipment and construction costs on both sides of the border.

Our editorial position is simple, and we will hold it: the North American golf economy is one economy. A Canadian bank title-sponsors marquee tournaments in both countries. American brands fill the merchandise tent in Caledon; Canadian players headline American broadcasts; and even now, American visits to Canada are rising again. Golf is living proof that the two economies are structurally bound together, and GBR will always defend those crossed interests — whatever the political weather.

So this week we put the spotlight north of the border. What we found is a market that has quietly stopped being underrated.

The economics of one week in Caledon

Start with the headline numbers. Golf Canada and the Government of Ontario project approximately $100 million in economic impact from this year’s tournament — roughly $84 million of it flowing through Ontario’s tourism, hospitality and event sectors. For calibration: the 2025 edition delivered more than $65 million for Ontario by the government’s own accounting, with over 130,000 spectators on site. A similar crowd is expected this week.

The machine behind those numbers is substantial. More than 2,000 volunteers are running the event. Twenty-six commercial partners are activating on site, alongside the Governments of Ontario and Canada — the province alone has put in CAD $1.6 million this year. The tournament travels worldwide through the PGA TOUR’s international feed, reaching over 200 countries in 30 languages, while at home TSN is delivering more than 32 hours of live coverage, on top of 30-plus hours of editorial programming in the lead-up week. Last year’s final round drew 3.4 million viewers on CBS in the United States, up 14% year on year.

Even the merchandise tent is a business story. The reimagined Golf Canada Fan Shop has grown its retail footprint by 50%, adding 13 new brands — Peter Millar, G/FORE, Nike, TravisMathew, Good Good Golf among them — under a new multi-year retail partnership, and record merchandise sales are expected this week.

That last clause matters more than it seems — because the most interesting part of this story is not the tournament at all.

The tournament is the shop window. Behind it sits a national federation that has stopped renting and started building, a participation boom that the data says is structural rather than a pandemic hangover, and the most original answer we’ve seen anywhere in the world to golf’s oldest northern problem: winter. That is the part of the Canadian story your club, your federation or your investment committee can actually copy — and it’s where we go now.

Read more

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Hello GBR,

Welcome to this week’s first edition of GBR, which moves from the pro shop phone to the practice range and from global participation data to the continuing expansion of golf technology. GOLF.AI’s AI Concierge raises fresh questions about how golfers will book tee times, while Reeves County’s Power Tee investment shows municipal facilities are also looking for ways to modernize the everyday player experience.

The R&A’s latest participation report provides the bigger backdrop, with 112.2 million people now playing golf in all forms outside the United States and Mexico. We’ve got some of the key headlines from the report, but we’ll take a deeper dive into what the numbers tell us in a later edition of GBR.

The Middle East has featured heavily in the news of late for reasons that should be obvious to most readers. However, what do untroubled times spell for the golf clubs of the UAE, which have been on the periphery of events?

The region relies heavily on tourism in the early part of the year, as the temperature is suitable for many people to visit, but that has not been the case this year.

In a report by Golf Digest ME, golf clubs are surviving by creating bigger community initiatives, which are having a positive impact on participation numbers in the region.

Elsewhere, Uneekor’s European expansion, Bridgestone’s supply-chain review and Golf Australia’s new tour agreement add further evidence of an industry still adjusting, investing and looking for its next advantage.

Enjoy today’s Golf Bizz Review.

FOR TWENTY YEARS WE TAUGHT GOLFERS TO BOOK TEE TIMES ON AN APP — AI JUST RETIRED IT

Powered by GOLF.AI

For twenty years, golf taught its players to book online. First the website, then the app. Open it, log in, search availability, filter by date and time, pick a course, enter the number of players, add card details, confirm. Every step was sold as progress. None of it was built for the golfer. It was built for the pro shop because online booking moved the work off the counter and onto the customer. The golfer adapted because there was no alternative. There is now.

The fastest interface is no interface

Instead of opening an app and working through a sequence of screens, the golfer picks up the phone and says one sentence. The AI Concierge understands natural language, checks the tee sheet, and completes the booking. On the courses already running it, GOLF.AI reports what that looks like in practice:

• A booking in a sentence. “Book me a tee time for two this Wednesday at 10 am” takes about four seconds to say. For a returning golfer, the AI Concierge already holds the name, contact details, and preferences and completes the booking in under thirty seconds.

• A cancellation in three words. “Cancel my booking” is done in under twenty seconds. No app to reopen, no confirmation number to dig out of an inbox.

• A payment in five words. “Pay with my card on file” settles a green fee in roughly fifteen seconds, with no card to re-enter and no checkout to navigate.

• Nothing to install, remember, or update. The interface is a conversation. There are no menus, no passwords, no downloads, and no screens to learn.

A 2016 study by Stanford University and Baidu found that voice input is three times faster than typing on a mobile device — and twenty per cent more accurate. GOLF.AI puts the conversational booking route at roughly twice as fast as the best modern booking apps, and more than ten times faster than the legacy systems many courses still run. Add the friction of a typical app booking — by our count, six to eight separate taps and decisions before a tee time is confirmed — and the gap stops being a question of seconds and becomes a question of whether the golfer bothers at all.

Technology that follows the golfer, not the other way round

Adoption works when technology follows customer behavior rather than trying to rewrite it. The behavior here is not subtle. According to the National Golf Foundation, more than eleven million American golfers are aged fifty or older — and they are the game’s most committed players. Baby Boomers are still turning sixty-five at a rate of ten thousand per day, steadily enlarging the cohort that built its habits around a phone call, not a screen. Many of those golfers are comfortable with apps. Millions still reach first for the phone. For two decades, the industry pushed them the other way, because online booking suited the operation. Voice removes the trade-off. The golfer gets the channel they always preferred, and the course still captures every booking — now answered instantly, around the clock, in plain language.

The most counterintuitive part is what it does to the experience. Putting AI on the pro shop phone does not make booking a tee time feel more technological. It makes it feel more human — a short conversation, the way golfers booked before software ever came between them and the first tee.

The future of tee time booking is not another app, for public play or for members. It is an agent that answers the phone, understands what the golfer wants, and takes care of the rest. For a growing number of courses, that future is already picking up on the first ring.

• GBR readers only: Head to GOLF.ai this week and enter the draw to win a free annual AI Concierge subscription — and have Sir Nick Faldo answering your Pro Shop calls.

REEVES COUNTY GOLF COURSE ADDS POWER TEE TO UPGRADE MUNICIPAL PRACTICE OFFER

Reeves County Golf Course has expanded its practice offer with the installation of 10 Power Tee automatic golf ball teeing machines, making it one of the first municipal golf facilities in West Texas to introduce the technology.

The upgrade is designed to give local golfers a more efficient and comfortable range experience typically associated with higher-end golf destinations and entertainment-led venues, and the course said it has already produced a noticeable increase in driving-range traffic and overall customer activity. Superintendent Michael Elrod said golfers had responded strongly to the new setup and that the facility’s decision to move ahead of nearby competitors had helped differentiate Reeves County in the local market.

Power Tee founder and owner Martin Wyeth said the project reflected a broader trend of municipal golf courses investing in modern amenities to improve participation, raise customer satisfaction, and encourage golfers to spend more time practicing and using the facility.

R&A REPORT SHOWS GLOBAL GOLF PARTICIPATION RISES TO 112.2 MILLION

We’ll have a more in-depth look at the R&A’s 2025 Global Participation Report, but the key highlights from the newest edition show that 112.2 million adults and juniors are now playing golf in all its forms outside the United States and Mexico, an increase of 4.2 million in the past year.

Adult participation rose by one million to 65 million, while junior participation climbed by 3.2 million to 47.1 million, with off-course formats continuing to drive much of the growth as 68.3 million people now engage through shorter formats, driving ranges and simulator experiences. The number of registered golfers also increased from 8.4 million to 8.7 million, contributing to a 16% rise in registered players since 2020 across around 18,500 courses in R&A-affiliated nations. Regionally, Asia leads adult participation with 26.2 million, followed by Europe with 20.6 million and Canada with 7.1 million, while Europe has the largest junior total at 19.9 million. In Great Britain and Ireland, club membership has recovered from just over one million in 2019 to 1.35 million, its highest level since 2010.

MIDDLE EAST GOLF LEANS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AS TOURISM SOFTENS

Golf operators across the Gulf are responding to softer inbound tourism by putting greater emphasis on resident play, community events and broader lifestyle experiences, according to industry figures interviewed by Golf Digest Middle East.

Kieren Pratt of the Emirates Golf Federation said overseas rounds in March and April fell sharply from normal levels, but clubs responded by bringing in more local residents and UAE nationals and creating a more welcoming atmosphere, while DJ Flanders of Troon International said the local market, especially in the UAE, had proved more resilient than many expected. Chris May of Viya said clubs that had already invested in membership experience were better placed to absorb the drop in international visitors, with members benefiting from increased peak-season tee-time access and a stronger sense of belonging.

The shift is also supporting wider structural growth, with operators pointing to rising participation among women, juniors and UAE nationals, the growing role of venues such as Topgolf Dubai and indoor golf sites in introducing new players, and the increasing importance of non-golf revenue through dining, entertainment, wellness and technology. May said Dubai Golf’s Viya platform now has 25,000 active golf users in the UAE, while Pratt said the wider GCC was entering a fresh phase of expansion, with countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain continuing to invest in new golf facilities and the UAE Cup returning to Al Ain in December after drawing players from 38 countries last year.

59CLUB USA SIGNS WESTERN GOLF PROPERTIES AS NEW MULTI-COURSE PARTNER

59club USA has added Western Golf Properties as a new multi-property partner, with the operator set to use Golf Visitor Experience mystery shopping audits across its portfolio of managed clubs in California and Nevada.

The program will cover Alta Vista Country Club, Ashwood Golf Course, Birch Hills Golf Course, Brea Creek Golf Course, Camarillo Springs Golf Course, Cottonwood Golf Club, San Ramon Golf Club, The Legacy Golf Club, The Revere Golf Club and Yucaipa Valley Golf Club, giving Western Golf Properties independent analysis of the customer journey at each site through 59club’s measurement and benchmarking tools. Western chief operating officer Bill Klemke said the partnership would provide valuable insight into team performance and future improvement opportunities, while Bret Garrison, director of operations at 59club USA, said the agreement reflected a shared focus on service standards and continuous improvement.

Western Golf Properties joins a wider 59club client network that includes Kohler, TPC, Omni Hotels & Resorts, KemperSports, Landscapes Golf Management, Evergreen Partners, Founders Group International, Troon, and Cabot-managed properties.

UNEEKOR BUILDS EUROPEAN SALES TEAM AS SIMULATOR BRAND EXPANDS INTO NEW MARKET

Uneekor has launched a dedicated European sales operation as the golf simulation and performance technology company expands beyond its established bases in South Korea and the United States.

The move includes the appointment of Stuart Archibald as EMEA Director of Sales, Mark Stevens as UK & Ireland Director of Sales, and Charlie Brazil as EMEA Supply Chain Manager, with products now available through authorized resellers including Golf Bays UK, Golf Swing Systems, Golf Sim Rooms, Urban Golf and Golf Balls.AT. Uneekor said the expansion builds on strong North American growth and a product range that spans portable launch monitors and professional overhead systems, all supported by a wider software ecosystem, 4K immersive courses and AI-powered training tools.

The company’s technology is based on camera-led precision, with its patented Dimple Optix system designed to capture high-frame-rate ball flight and spin data using the player’s own golf ball. Global head of sales Scott Gaines said success in a new market depended on having the right people in place, while global marketing director James Murphy described the European launch as the next stage in Uneekor’s international growth.

BRIDGESTONE GOLF TO CLOSE COVINGTON BALL PLANT AS SUPPLY CHAIN REVIEW CONTINUES

Bridgestone Golf will close its golf ball manufacturing and testing facility in Covington, Georgia, on June 30. The move that will affect 86 jobs as the company looks to optimize its global supply chain and improve the long-term position of its golf business.

The company said the decision followed a review of market volatility, supply-chain pressures, operating efficiency and cost management, while confirming that some corporate and business operations roles will remain in Georgia and move to a new headquarters before the end of the year. “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one that was ultimately necessary to help put our global Bridgestone Golf business in a better position for the future,” said President and Chief Executive Dan Murphy, who said the company would work with local partners to support affected employees.

Bridgestone Golf president Shunsuke Kunihisa said North America remained the company’s most important golf market, and the group believed the move would strengthen its global supply chain and create room for future brand investment and growth. Bridgestone began making golf balls in 1937 and had produced them in Covington since 1990, with the site including a 135,000-square-foot testing range and a 24,000-square-foot plant.

GOLFEVENTS.COM LAUNCHES TO CONNECT GOLFERS, FUNDRAISERS, AND TOURNAMENT ORGANIZERS

A new interactive platform, GolfEvents.com, has launched with the aim of helping golfers find events and giving tournament organizers a central place to promote outings and attract players and sponsors.

Built around the tagline “Fill your field. Find your foursome,” the site allows organizers to post events free in minutes, with the option to upgrade to a featured listing for greater visibility, while golfers can use interactive maps to find local public events, discover courses, connect with other players and support charitable causes. The company says the site is entering a market of more than 150,000 annual U.S. golf fundraisers, offering organizers a way to stand out while giving players access to a single database that can also surface opportunities to play exclusive private courses for a cause. “GolfEvents.com provided an effective way for us to promote our event to potential players and sponsors,” said Richard Elias, a fundraising event chairperson.

GOLF AUSTRALIA SECURES DP WORLD TOUR AND PGA TOUR BACKING FOR MEN’S AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Golf Australia has confirmed a new agreement with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour covering 2027 through 2029 that will keep the men’s Capital.com Australian Open co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, while marking the first formal partnership between Golf Australia and the PGA Tour.

The deal is intended to lift prize money, secure a clearer position in the global calendar and improve the tournament’s ability to attract leading international players, with further details due at the 2026 Capital.com Australian Open, where Rory McIlroy is set to return. The agreement sits alongside Golf Australia’s wider push to elevate the championship, following its partnership with Capital.com and confirmation that the redeveloped North Adelaide Golf Course will host three men’s Australian Opens from 2028 to 2034. Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the ambition was to make the Australian Open one of the 10 most prestigious tournaments in world golf, while DP World Tour chief tournament and operations officer Ben Cowen, PGA TOUR senior vice president Christian Hardy and PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman all said the arrangement would strengthen the event’s global standing and wider value to Australian golf.

Further reading: Australian Golf Digest has also covered the new partnership in more detail here.

LIV GOLF FACES FRESH QUESTIONS OVER SEASON AS FUNDING UNCERTAINTY GROWS

LIV Golf’s immediate future has come under renewed scrutiny after Tyrrell Hatton beat Jon Rahm by two shots in Andalucia to win $4 million, leaving the league with a 47-day gap until its next scheduled event at JCB Golf & Country Club from July 23-26.

According to Front Office Sports, multiple sources inside and around LIV now believe Saudi PIF funding could stop earlier than expected, putting the four remaining events in doubt, even though one senior league source said LIV still receives funding monthly and is operating on the assumption that payments will continue through the end of the season. Chief executive Scott O’Neil said LIV was sharing its business plan with prospective partners and pointed to year-on-year first-quarter growth of 129% in ticketing and 40% in sponsorship, while the league continues to search for investors, work with Ducera Partners, and reshape its model around a more team-focused “LIV 2.0” concept that could reduce the schedule to 10 events in 2027 and lower purses from the current $32.3 million level.

At the same time, travel spending is being tightened, confidence over later-season events in Indianapolis and Michigan appears weaker than for New York at Bedminster, and attention is increasingly turning to the position of Bryson DeChambeau and Rahm, whose long-term value to the circuit remains central as LIV tries to secure its next phase.

Further reading: Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan also carries the story; his report can be read here.

TAYLORMADE EXPANDS SPIDER RANGE WITH TORCHED FINISH AND FOUR DISTINCT HEAD DESIGNS

TaylorMade has released its new Spider Tour Torched putter line, built around a fresh PVD torched-style finish inspired by Rory McIlroy’s Spider Tour X and a four-model lineup designed to suit different stroke types and feel preferences.

The range includes the Spider Tour, the most rearward-weighted and most traditionally mallet-like head; the Spider Tour X, which now places weight further forward to create a different centre-of-gravity profile and is offered in L-neck, slant-neck and double-bend TruePath versions as well as an L-neck single-line option; the fang-shaped Spider Tour F, which has the second-most forward CG and comes in configurations intended to vary how blade-like it feels; and the Spider Tour V, the most blade-like model in the family, built with the most forward CG and available only with an L-neck.

TaylorMade has also included a Spider Tour counterbalanced version, a face-balanced build using a spud neck at a stock length of 35 inches rather than the more common 38-inch format. Across the line, the company has retained the PureRoll insert, while using weight placement, neck configuration and alignment options to create meaningfully different putters under the same Spider Tour Torched banner, with the full range priced at $349.99 (£260.99, €301.99).

HOW TO PARTNER WITH US: If you are interested in contributing to and strengthening our content offering as a partner, company, or institution, we would be pleased to hear from you at newsroom@golfbusinessreview.com.

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Hello GBR,

In my younger days, the golf club was essentially a “members-only” type of affair.

These weren’t some ultra-exclusive clubs; these were blue-collar-type clubs, where the members worked hard during the week and filled the tee sheets on a Saturday and Sunday.

Once the rounds were over, the course was empty, and the clubhouse bar was packed.

Times change, and golf is evolving rapidly. The operating model for golf clubs needs to reflect the different demands and expectations of members and visitors.

Today’s GBR has a focus on how golf clubs need to change. Technology plays its part; the only technology in the golf club I was a junior member of was the till and fruit machine (slot machine for American readers).

Certainly, the golf club of the future will be highly digitally integrated from booking and managing tee-times to course management and the clubhouse operation. We know this, it is happening, but not all clubs are alive to the opportunities it creates.

However, we’ll show with the help of our good friends at 59club that success for golf clubs going forward isn’t just solely the digital journey; it’s still very much the human story and the human interaction that will make a difference to how clubs will thrive going forward.

Enjoy today’s GBR, and have a good weekend.

59club Data Shows The Commercial Cost Of Missed Sales Conversations

This article is the latest in Golf Bizz Review’s partnership with 59club, bringing regular customer-experience insight, mystery shopper analysis and best-practice learning to golf industry readers.

Customer service is often discussed as a soft measure of club performance, but 59club’s mystery shopper data shows it has a direct commercial impact.

59club is a leading specialist in golf customer service, sales analysis, and performance benchmarking, helping clubs and resorts understand how their operations are experienced by members, guests, and prospective customers. Through mystery shopper feedback, global benchmarking data and best-practice learning, 59club gives venues a clearer picture of how service standards perform in real-world situations — from the first point of contact to the quality of sales conversations, product recommendations and follow-up.

In this latest analysis, 59club highlights how small moments in the retail journey — from the first approach to active listening, product matching, upselling and closing the sale — can shape buying decisions and overall profitability. The findings show clear gaps between the industry averages and the best-performing properties within the 59club network, particularly in the ability to start meaningful sales conversations, understand customer needs, and convert interest into revenue.

The True Cost of Customer Service

Mystery shopping data collected from venues worldwide provides an accurate account of current trends and the ability of venues to influence buying decisions, increase retail sales, and improve overall profitability.

59club measures the retail Industry’s ability to approach a customer within a minute of browsing a specific product. It’s a well-measured practice that allows time to browse without feeling neglected.

The Industry average (of Unaffiliated properties) sits 42% behind the 59club Podium (the three Best Performers overall). The way the approach is made has a devastating effect, and it comes down to the age-old question, “Can I help?” This phrase has no place in 59club’s sales process. Instead, employees should instigate open and engaging conversations with questions about the customer’s golf to build trust and create rapport.

As the customer begins browsing in a certain area of the shop, that conversation can develop around the sale. For example, when someone is showing signs of interest in your golf shoes, you could ask what brand they currently wear, how they like them, and if there is anything they found disappointing – all naturally engaging conversation starters.

In terms of the ability to begin sales-related conversations, we see the Podium outperform the Industry by as much as 60%.

As the conversation develops, there is an opportunity to promote features and benefits. However, as we look to the Podium to set the tone, there is a difference of just 16% between the Best Performers and the Industry.

In contrast, when it comes to listening to the customers’ words, prising out and interpreting their needs, the difference between the Industry and Podium is vast. The ROI on getting this right not only makes a significant P&L impact but will also lead to happy customers.

The Podium Performers enjoy a 54% lead over the Industry when it comes to actively listening and matching the benefits of the product to the customer in response to their needs. Upselling related sale items is an easy add-on to increase revenue. The Industry currently sits 88% behind the Podium Performers in this area.

Finally comes the moment the sales process has been building up to – closing the sale. Trends show the Industry remains 40% behind the Best Performers in this area, a significant gap that highlights the Industry’s hesitancy and ability to seize sales opportunities.

59club helps clubs see their operation through the eyes of members, guests, and prospective customers, and turn that insight into measurable improvement.

For golf venues looking to understand how service standards affect sales performance, customer loyalty and the overall guest experience, 59club’s data-led approach offers a practical starting point.

Through mystery shopping, benchmarking and best-practice learning, 59club helps clubs identify where the customer journey is working well, where opportunities are being missed, and how small improvements in service and sales conversations can make a measurable commercial difference.

To learn how 59club can support your venue, contact the 59club team here: www.59club.com

SCOTTISH GOLF SURVEY REVEALS GROWING THREE-TIER ECONOMY ACROSS THE GAME

New findings from Glasgow’s The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2026 suggest Scottish golf is becoming a more uneven, three-tier market shaped by geography, scale and access to visitor demand, with clubs increasingly shielding members from rising costs by charging more to visitors.

Across Scotland, the average green fee has risen 12.4% to £82.58, but the median remains just £45, showing how a small number of elite courses charging £250 to £350 or more are pulling the mean well above what most golfers actually pay. Membership pricing is more tightly constrained, with the average subscription around £775 and the median at £650, reflecting what the survey describes as a more socially limited pricing structure.

In Edinburgh and the Lothians, clubs operate in a relatively stable premium market, with average green fees up 11.6% to £75.80, subscriptions up 5.3% to £1,052, and confidence above 8 out of 10, helped by consistent global demand and strong transport links. At Bruntsfield Links, chief executive Mike Braidwood said the club raised both subscriptions and green fees by 10% to help fund future capital projects, including a new irrigation system. In the Highlands & Islands, by contrast, average subscriptions sit at just £404, while visitor pricing rose by about 19% across a wide range of fees from £9 to £360, a jump that often reflects low starting prices more than strong pricing power.

The region’s confidence score of around 6.7 out of 10 masks a more fragile picture, with tourism-linked clubs better placed than smaller community venues. “Some of the clubs are now beginning to recognise that they have a very strong product that should be priced accordingly for visitors,” said Robbie Francis of Thorntons, though he added that it is harder to tell whether those opportunities are spreading across the wider sector. The broader result, the survey suggests, is a market increasingly divided between top-end clubs with real pricing power, a pressured but stable middle tier, and smaller community courses facing deeper structural challenges, as visitors become the main mechanism through which many clubs can grow income.

TOPGOLF ROLLS OUT SOCCER-THEMED SUMMER PROGRAMME ACROSS U.S. VENUES

With the World Cup starting next week, Topgolf is launching a soccer-themed summer program across its 100-plus U.S. venues, adding new gameplay, food, drink and viewing packages tied to the global soccer calendar.

From June 11 to July 19, venues will show every tournament match on high-definition screens in bays and bars, while 26 venues will offer special game-day packages for the June 12 match and 20 venues will provide premium game-day suites with extra space, upgraded food and drink, and extended bay time. On the play side, 63 venues will install full-size soccer goals in the outfield, allowing guests to shoot at the net during gameplay, while Topgolf is also bringing back Shot Shuffle with a soccer-themed format, which started last week and runs through to July 19, featuring a stadium-style setting, country flags and a soccer-ball tracer. The company said the activation will be supported by tournament-inspired menu offers, as well as its returning Summer Fun Pass, now starting at $179, and a simplified daily pricing model with reservations from $20. “From soccer-inspired game play and game day experiences to new menu items and everyday value offers, we’re giving our guests and soccer fans more ways to play this summer,” said Chief Executive David McKillips.

NINE-HOLE GOLF GAINS GROUND IN AUSTRALIA AS SHORTER FORMATS GROW

New data from the Capital.com GA Handicap shows nine-hole golf is becoming a more significant part of how Australians play, with more than 734,000 nine-hole rounds submitted in the 12 months to May 2026, an increase of 11.4% year on year.

The inaugural Golf Australia Insights Hub report, based on more than 20 million rounds over the past four years, found that nine-hole rounds now account for 5.86% of all handicap submissions, up from 5.42% a year earlier, with women more than three times as likely as men to submit a nine-hole score (13.5% of women’s rounds versus just over 4% for men). Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the figures reflected a shift towards formats that better fit modern lifestyles, while Dr Jarred Pilgrim, head of data and intelligence for Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia, said the growth was visible across every state and pointed to a lasting trend rather than a short-term spike.

The report also found that nearly 20% of golfers now play both nine and 18 holes, 3% play only nine holes, and 6% are nine-hole dominant, with younger golfers and those aged 55+ more likely to favour shorter formats; those primarily playing nine holes had an average handicap of 30.4, compared with 17.9 for 18-hole dominant players, supporting the view that shorter formats are often an entry point into the game.

8AM GOLF TAKES STAKE IN PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP BRAND REDAN

Redan, the private membership club and heritage golf brand co-founded by Jon Buscemi, Andrew Pavoni and Daniel Libman, has received a strategic investment from 8AM Golf, the golf-focused holding company led by Hoyt McGarity and founded by Howard Milstein.

Redan has built a private member network offering curated experiences at high-profile courses, an Italian-made apparel line, concierge services, and co-branded projects with names including Bettinardi, Cadillac, Moët Hennessy, Mr. Leight, FootJoy, Private Suite, and Atlas Card. 8AM Golf said the partnership will support Redan’s international expansion, with McGarity describing it as “one of the most compelling membership brands to emerge in golf in a generation,” while Redan chief executive Andrew Pavoni said 8AM was the only partner with the network and operational depth to help scale the brand without diluting it.

The deal adds Redan to an 8AM portfolio that already includes GOLF, Golf.com, True Spec Golf, Miura Golf, Club Conex, Fairway Jockey, T-Squared Social, PAYNTR Golf and McLaren Golf, as the group continues to expand across golf media, equipment, fitting, lifestyle and hospitality.

GOLFN ADDS “DAILY GRIND” FEATURE TO REWARD GOLFERS BEYOND THE COURSE

GolfN has added a new Daily Grind feature to its rewards platform and digital caddie app, allowing users to earn points not only for playing rounds but also for checking in at a wide range of golf-related venues, including driving ranges, simulator sites, par-three courses, fitting studios, and retail locations.

Founder and chief executive Jared Phillips said the addition reflects a broader view of how golfers engage with the sport, with users now able to collect points across more everyday golf activity and redeem them through GolfN’s Pro Shop, which offers more than 380 items from 28 vendors. The feature was quietly launched in May and is already being used by golfers around the world, with the app also letting users suggest new non-course locations to be added to the system. Phillips said Daily Grind rewards are intentionally strong during the early phase to encourage usage and feedback as the platform expands its attempt to reward golfers “for almost every way you engage with golf.”

PGA TOUR TARGETS 2028 FOR NEW TWO-TRACK COMPETITIVE MODEL

The PGA Tour and its Future Competition Committee are continuing work on a new competitive structure aimed at the 2028 season, with chief executive Brian Rolapp saying at Muirfield Village that the process has made “substantial progress” despite key details still being unresolved.

Rolapp said the emerging model remains centered on a two-track system, with Track 1 bringing the top players together more often and Track 2 offering meaningful competitive opportunities and a direct route upward, with movement between the two expected to be “substantial enough to matter.” He said the overhaul is intended to restore a stronger sense of meritocracy to the Tour after a period shaped by smaller fields and no-cut events, while also confirming that ideas for a redesigned postseason, including formats such as match play, remain under discussion. The committee has held 14 full meetings, alongside six player meetings and three PAC meetings, and Rolapp said the next key milestone will come at the board meeting on June 22, during Travelers Championship week.

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN RAISES PURSE TO RECORD $12.5M

The USGA has increased the purse for the 81st U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club by $500,000 to a record $12.5 million, extending a rapid rise that has seen the championship’s prize fund grow from $5.5 million just five years ago.

The winner on Sunday will receive $2.5 million, as the USGA continues a strategy launched with presenting sponsors first ProMedica and now Ally to invest more heavily in the event. “We’re proud to lead on that front as we lift up the women’s game,” said USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer, who said the governing body was focused not only on prize money but on treating the men’s and women’s championships equitably across the full player experience. The increase comes amid broader growth in women’s golf purses, with the LPGA offering a record $132 million this season, up from $88.9 million in 2022. Ryan Herrington, Golf Digest.

The Golf Club Of 2030 Will Be A Data Business, A Hospitality Business, And A Golf Course

The golf club of 2030 may still look reassuringly familiar: first tee, clubhouse, pro shop, teaching area, competition board, nervous beginners, visitors, roll-ups and members debating the greens.

But behind that familiar surface, the best-run clubs are likely to operate very differently.

By the end of the decade, the modern golf club may no longer be able to think of itself simply as a course with a clubhouse attached. It will need to operate as a data business, a hospitality business, and a golf course at the same time.

That does not mean the club of 2030 becomes cold, automated, or stripped of personality. Golf remains stubbornly human, built around service, trust, coaching, course care, social connection and the small rituals that make clubs feel like clubs.

The real change is more practical. Technology will sit underneath the experience, helping people make better decisions, remove friction, and understand members and visitors more clearly.

The best clubs will not automate the welcome. They will automate the friction around it.

That distinction matters because customer experience is already becoming a measurable commercial issue for golf venues. In another article in this week’s Golf Bizz Review newsletter, we looked at 59club’s analysis of the true cost of customer service, which uses mystery shopping data to show how service standards influence buying decisions, retail sales and profitability.

The lesson for the club of 2030 is not that people become less important. It is better information that should help staff make those moments count.

A Broader Customer, a Tougher Market

The pressure to change is not theoretical. More people are engaging with golf, and the audience is no longer as narrow or predictable as it once was.

In the United States, National Golf Foundation data shows that 48.1 million Americans aged six and over played golf either on-course or off-course in 2025, including 29.1 million on-course golfers and 19 million who only participated off-course. NGF also reports that more than 500 million rounds have been played at U.S. courses in each of the past six years.

Those figures point to sustained demand, not simply a short-lived post-pandemic bounce. But the more important detail for clubs is that growth is coming from a broader base.

Women and girls accounted for 52% of net participation gains in green-grass golf from 2020 to 2025, pushing female representation in the traditional golfer population to 28%, according to NGF data reported by The First Call. Junior participation is part of the same story, with recent Wall Street Journal reporting citing NGF data that youth participation on courses was 58% higher in 2025 than in 2019.

Those figures should not pull the argument into a separate article about women’s golf or junior golf. They simply show that the golf customer is changing.

The club of 2030 will need to serve full members, flexible members, juniors, women beginners, society golfers, corporate guests, tourists, casual visitors, lapsed golfers, and non-members who first encountered the game through a simulator, entertainment venue, or driving range.

Can clubs still manage those relationships with generic emails, outdated websites, disconnected systems, and a customer journey built mainly around the already-converted golfer? The answer is probably no.

Read more

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Hello GBR,

As a writer, I often see people writing about how AI is taking jobs in my line of work and replacing whole marketing departments. Is AI doing a better job?

For the moment, no.

How will it fare when it comes to helping professionals teach people how to play better golf? That’s what the Proponent Group’s October conference will focus on. Of course, it’s not just about AI tools; it’s how we interact with them that makes the big difference.

Could we be seeing the closure of some famous courses in Los Angeles in the near future? That could be the reality for some of them if a motion to look at taxing golf courses in the city is passed later this year. One of those courses that could be in the firing line is the host venue for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally.

In a busy newsletter, we’ll reflect on another successful Women’s Golf Day. We’ll also take a look at the findings of a new study, which indicate that golf travel isn’t just about the golf anymore; it’s about food, wellness, and culture.

To start with, we’ll look at the new Pine Royale golf entertainment venue, which mixes Power Tee technology with Trackman to bring a more immersive experience to the driving range segment.

Enjoy today’s GBR.

PINE ROYALE OPENS IN FLORIDA WITH POWER TEE AND TRACKMAN-LED RANGE OFFER

Pine Royale has opened in Callahan, Florida, as a new golf entertainment venue built around technology, hospitality, and community use, with 14 Power Tee automatic golf ball teeing systems among its core features.

The facility combines Power Tee and Trackman range technology with food and beverage, night golf, mini-golf, farmers’ markets and special events, positioning itself as a destination for golfers, families and local visitors. Pine Royale said the Power Tee installation has quickly become one of the site’s most talked-about attractions, with golf program director Cole Jones saying guest feedback had highlighted both the convenience and premium feel of the system, while also praising the technical support provided by Power Tee.

Power Tee founder and owner Martin Wyeth said Pine Royale had created a facility that blends golf, entertainment, and hospitality in a distinctive way. The venue is being presented as an example of how ranges are evolving into broader entertainment-led destinations, with automated teeing technology used to improve practice efficiency, raise customer satisfaction and encourage longer visits.

PROPONENT GROUP TO FOCUS 2026 SUMMIT ON AI AND THE FUTURE OF GOLF COACHING

Proponent Group will hold its annual instructor summit from October 26-28 at Heathrow Country Club in Lake Mary, Florida, with this year’s program built around the theme “The Future of Coaching: AI Tools + Human Skills.”

The three-day event will bring member coaches together for education and networking, with the agenda and speaker line-up now finalized and details being shared through the organization’s Members’ Minute video newsletter. Sessions will examine how leading instructors are already using artificial intelligence to run their businesses, coach students, create promotional content and reduce administrative workload, while the opening presentation will feature Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher Terry Rowles delivering a live lesson-tee demonstration on how he uses AI and other technologies to simplify complex swing concepts.

Vision54’s Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson will present “The Coaching Edge that Machines Can’t Match,” while Dr Jim Suttie, the 2000 PGA of America National Coach of the Year, will speak on balancing five decades of technological change with human coaching skills in “Teaching Golf: Build the Skills that Machines Can’t Replace.” Proponent said the summit is built on the view that AI will not replace golf instructors, but that coaches will need to sharpen both their technical and person-to-person skills to stay competitive.

A practical example of that business reality can be seen in new data on the cost structure facing golf coaches. Proponent Group said its latest 2026 Operations and Compensation Survey found that 70% of coaches paid either revenue share or rent/lease costs in the past year, underlining how facility access remains the largest expense in many coaching businesses. Among coaches paying revenue share, 60% reported doing so, with an average of 23% going back to the facility, down from 25% a year earlier; the average was 19% at private clubs and 26% at public facilities, with average annual payments of $32,166 and a median of $20,000. For the 10% of coaches paying rent or lease, average annual costs were $50,426, with a median of $30,000, while the most common amenities included student range balls, private teaching tee space, and wi-fi. Across the survey, revenue-share and rent or lease payments amounted to 9% of average gross revenue per coach, or $19,130 against average gross revenues of $210,139, up one percentage point from last year. Proponent said it would provide members with comparative benchmarking against similar coaching roles and has made the full survey summary available through its website.

L.A. COUNCILMEMBER PROPOSES PRIVATE COUNTRY CLUB TAX FOR NOVEMBER BALLOT

Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian is proposing a $4 per square foot parcel tax on private nonprofit membership clubs, including private golf courses, in a measure he says could raise up to $250 million a year for capital improvements, homelessness response, economic development and first-time homebuyer support.

The proposal would need approval from the full City Council before going to voters on the November 3 ballot, after which the city attorney would prepare the required resolution and ordinance. Nazarian said the measure would apply to six country clubs within city limits that currently pay a combined $811,000 a year in property taxes despite covering around 1,000 acres valued at more than $15 billion, arguing that long-held private clubs have benefited disproportionately from Proposition 13, which limits reassessment unless a property is sold.

The proposal has already drawn opposition, with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association warning that general fund revenue would not be legally tied to the advertised uses, while golf course manager Rick Stegall, speaking personally, said the move would damage the local golf business. Nazarian acknowledged resistance was likely, but said voters should decide “whether this is the right thing to do.” The full story by Melissa Gomez for the Los Angeles Times can be read here.

CURRY’S UNDERRATED GOLF EUROPEAN TOUR OPENS NEW SEASON AT THE BELFRY

The third season of Stephen Curry’s UNDERRATED Golf European Tour has opened at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, England, where leading junior players from across Europe competed in a two-day, 36-hole event built around competition, mentorship and career-development opportunities.

Created by the four-time NBA champion to widen access for young golfers from underrepresented backgrounds and female players, the program continues to combine tournament golf with broader exposure to the industry.

Andrew Rodriguez of Whittier, California, and Isabella Fernandez of Irvine, California, won the overall titles with totals of two under par and one under par, respectively, while Jenson Ringer, Mo Craig, Shania Breinhoelder and Sommer Chan earned the leading European places and qualified for the Curry Cup Championship at Bethpage Black later this year.

The week also featured support from ambassadors including broadcaster and former LET player Henni Züel, former footballer Gareth Bale and Ryder Cup player Tommy Fleetwood, as UNDERRATED Golf continued its model of pairing elite junior competition with networking, mentorship and personal development since its launch in 2022.

WOMEN’S GOLF DAY EVENT AT PGA FRISCO HIGHLIGHTS PARTNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION PUSH

Women’s Golf Day, in partnership with the PGA of America and Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa, staged its latest event at PGA Frisco on May 29, with organizers describing it as a leading example of how collaboration can widen access and build momentum for women’s golf.

The North Texas gathering brought together beginners, regular golfers, industry leaders and community partners for instruction at the PGA of America Coaching Center or play on The Swing, the resort’s 10-hole par-three course, followed by lunch and a panel discussion at the Home of the PGA of America.

Women’s Golf Day founder Elisa Gaudet said the event showed how organizations can work together to create lasting impact and inspire more women and girls into the game, while PGA of America chief administrative officer Vanessa Vogler said the day reinforced a commitment to making golf more accessible and inclusive. As Women’s Golf Day Week continues across thousands of venues worldwide, organizers said the PGA Frisco gathering has become a WGD Signature Series flagship event and a growing symbol of Frisco’s role in the future of the sport.

GOLF TRAVEL BOOKINGS SHIFT TOWARDS FOOD, WELLNESS AND CULTURE, SURVEY FINDS

A new survey by 18Players and International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) suggests golf travelers are increasingly choosing destinations for their wider lifestyle appeal as well as course quality.

The research found that 78.9% of golfers would be more likely to book a destination offering a strong mix of golf and lifestyle experiences rather than one focused only on golf, while 83.6% said local food and fine dining would do most to improve a golf holiday. More than half of respondents said non-golf factors such as wellness, scenery, and culture were very or extremely important when choosing a trip, and 79.2% said they would consider traveling with a larger group of friends or family. The findings underline how golf travel is becoming a broader hospitality proposition, with destinations increasingly required to appeal to both golfers and non-golfers within the same booking.

That shift is especially relevant as IGTM prepares to return to the Palais des Festivals in Cannes from October 19-22, 2026, at a time when North American demand for international golf travel continues to strengthen.

According to Future Market Insights, the global golf tourism market is forecast to reach $24.8 billion in 2026, with the United States remaining the world’s largest source of both inbound and outbound golf tourism. Each year, around 2.7 million Americans, roughly 25% of U.S. golf travelers, take international golf trips, reinforcing the value of the affluent, experience-led traveler for global destinations. IGTM said its ongoing partnership with the PGA Show, also organized by RX, is helping connect golf travel more closely with the wider business of equipment, retail, technology and facility management, while the launch of IGTM Discovery in 2026 will further expand that ecosystem. “North America represents one of the most significant sources of outbound golf tourism spend globally, and appetite from that market for distinctive and premium experiences continues to accelerate,” said Fiona Ashton, Event Manager for IGTM and IGTM Discovery.

R&A UPDATES GOLF COURSE 2030 WATER PORTAL WITH NEW CLIMATE AND COMPLIANCE TOOLS

The R&A has updated its Golf Course 2030 Water Portal to give golf course operators revised guidance, data and practical tools for sustainable water management, covering issues such as water sourcing, efficient use and resilience to extreme weather.

Originally launched in 2023, the portal has now been refreshed by environmental consultant Dr Tom Young to reflect the latest legislation, industry guidance and best practice, and includes an interactive mapping tool showing how climate change could affect individual courses over time through changes in rainfall and temperature. The site also provides indicative cost and disruption information for a range of water-management measures, including water-use monitoring, borehole abstraction and drainage solutions, alongside 22 case studies from mainly UK courses as well as examples from Europe. “It provides a practical insight into how climate change will affect golf courses year-round and suggestions for golf course managers, club managers, committees and owners to explore how to make their course more resilient,” said John Kemp, Assistant Director of Sustainable Golf Development at The R&A.

The updated portal also adds a dedicated legislation section, downloadable PDF reporting for offline planning, and further resources that will continue to be added, with courses encouraged to work with their national federation and bodies such as BIGGA for region-specific support.

CONCERT GOLF PARTNERS ADDS PEBBLE CREEK COUNTRY CLUB IN TEXAS TO GROWING PRIVATE-CLUB PORTFOLIO

Concert Golf Partners has added Pebble Creek Country Club in College Station, Texas, to its portfolio, giving the private-club operator a third property in the state and extending its national network to more than 40 upscale clubs.

Pebble Creek, previously owned by Triumph Golf, is located near Texas A&M University and joins Concert’s other Texas-area clubs, including Northgate Country Club and Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Club. Built in 1991, the club includes a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse and an 18-hole, par-72 championship course designed by Ken Dye, stretching to nearly 6,900 yards with a 73.4 rating and 131 slope, alongside practice facilities, tennis, aquatics, fitness and dining amenities. Concert said the acquisition reflects its long-term investment model and focus on preserving club culture, while Triumph Golf co-founder Billy Sitton said the handover was made with confidence that Concert would continue investing in the club and maintaining its character.

LEGACY HOTELS APPOINTS RTJ II TO REDEVELOP HISTORIC MENA HOUSE GOLF COURSE

Legacy Hotels has partnered with Robert Trent Jones II to redevelop the golf course at Mena House, Cairo, Egypt, in a project aimed at modernizing the century-old layout and adding luxury-standard facilities at one of Egypt’s best-known golf sites.

The agreement was signed by Omar Hisham Talaat, chief business development officer at Talaat Moustafa Group, and architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., with Talaat saying the course’s location directly in front of the Giza Pyramids gives it a distinctive heritage and tourism appeal beyond its sporting role. The redevelopment is intended to strengthen Egypt’s position in luxury and sports tourism, while extending TMG’s broader golf investment strategy, which already includes Madinaty Golf Club and courses under development at SouthMED on the North Coast and Sharm Bay overlooking the Red Sea.

Talaat said the deal builds on TMG’s previous work with RTJ II at Madinaty and SouthMED, while Trent Jones said the goal was to revive one of the region’s most significant golf courses and turn it into a world-class destination combining sport, heritage and history. Legacy Hotels, owner of Mena House, is 51% owned by ICON, the hospitality arm of TMG.

SENTRY TO BECOME TITLE SPONSOR OF PGA TOUR’S TORREY PINES EVENT

Sentry Insurance will become title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s long-running San Diego event at Torrey Pines, with the tournament to be renamed The Sentry from January 25-30, 2027, when it returns to the course for the 60th time and opens the Tour’s new network arrangement with CBS.

PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said the Tour was proud to build on 75 years of elite golf in San Diego, including the last 60 at Torrey Pines, while Sentry chief executive Pete McPartland said the company looked forward to continuing its investment in the game and working with the local community.

The announcement was made jointly by the PGA Tour, Sentry Insurance and the Century Club of San Diego, whose chief executive, Marty Gorsich, said the partnership would help build on the event’s reputation while showcasing San Diego internationally. Earlier this year, Justin Rose won at Torrey Pines with a record 23-under-par, finishing seven shots clear for his 13th PGA Tour title, his second victory at the venue, and the event’s first wire-to-wire win since Tommy Bolt in 1955.

LIV GOLF RESHUFFLES EXECUTIVE TEAM AS “LIV 2.0” FUNDRAISING PUSH BEGINS

LIV Golf has made a series of executive changes as it begins a new fundraising effort following the exit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, according to an internal memo seen by Sports Business Journal. which said the league was going to market this week with “LIV 2.0.”

The changes include the appointment of Richard Marsh as adviser to chief executive Scott O’Neil, with LIV saying his long involvement since the league’s launch and experience in player recruitment would now be used on high-priority projects and executive-level strategy. Ollie Banks, previously co-general manager of Majesticks GC, has been named EVP and Chief Championships Officer and will serve as the senior authority on player recruitment and the championship product, reporting to Katie O’Reilly, head of team business operations.

James Dunkley, who had co-managed the Majesticks alongside Banks, becomes the team’s sole general manager and also takes on the role of Regional Managing Director for the U.K., while Chris Bentley, previously regional managing director for South Africa, has been appointed Global Managing Director, overseeing the league’s regional managing directors.

USGA SETS OUT EXPANDED FAN EXPERIENCE FOR U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN AT RIVIERA

The USGA has outlined an expanded fan experience program for the 81st U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally, which starts on Thursday at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

The line-up includes GOLFZON simulators in Fan Central and the Champions Pavilion where fans can play Riviera’s par-three 14th hole, a USGA Experience featuring the championship’s history, the GHIN Putting Experience presented by Sentry, the USGA and Deloitte’s Rules AI demonstration, and a Junior Experience running daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Thursday through Sunday with LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, a nine-hole scavenger hunt, and an autograph and selfie zone.

Other activations include the U.S. Women’s Open Trophy Experience hosted by Lexus at hole 14, the T-Mobile Benefits Hub, SeatGeek’s ticket office mural, Sun Cruiser’s 19th Hole in Fan Central, mini print stations featuring Anastasia Inciardi’s artwork, and the Hero Pavilion for military members and first responders. "We’re grateful to our partners for helping us provide fans plenty to experience in addition to watching the world’s best compete on an iconic stage." said Jon Podany, the USGA’s chief commercial officer. The USGA added that fans aged 17 and under will be admitted free with a ticketed or credentialed adult, with up to four juniors per adult.

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SUMMIT GOLF BRANDS BECOMES EXCLUSIVE APPAREL PARTNER AT RODEO DUNES

Summit Golf Brands has signed a partnership with Rodeo Dunes that makes the parent company of B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene the resort’s exclusive on-site retail apparel partner, in what the company described as a first-of-its-kind arrangement in the U.S. golf industry.

Under the deal, Summit will manage all apparel in the Rodeo Dunes pro shop, supply staff clothing, outfit events and group experiences, and create curated digital activations for Rodeo Dunes Founders. Summit executive Matt McFarlane said the company saw the project as an opportunity to support “this incredible new Michael Keiser destination”, while Michael Keiser Jr. said the breadth of the Summit brand family and the merchandising team’s presentation made it a strong fit for the resort.

Rodeo Dunes opened its Coore & Crenshaw course to Founder play in May and is scheduled to open for public play in 2027. A second course, designed by longtime Coore & Crenshaw associate Jimmy Craig, is under construction and will host some preview play in 2027, marking Craig’s first solo 18-hole design.

The property will also include The Rockies, a 7.5-acre putting course designed by Clyde Johnson, with construction continuing ahead of the wider public opening in 2027. Summit said the site’s expansive terrain provides a backdrop for apparel collections spanning high-performance golfwear and more Western-inspired mountain lifestyle styles across its three core brands.

📄 Access the full press release here.

You can follow each brand on Instagram: @summitgolfbrands, @rodeodunes, @bdraddy, @zerorestriction,

GOLFZON AND PINEHURST PARTNER TO BRING RESORT’S COURSES TO GLOBAL SIMULATOR AUDIENCE

GOLFZON and Pinehurst Resort have agreed on a strategic partnership that will bring Pinehurst’s courses to the simulator company’s global user base, while also introducing TwoVisionNX systems at the North Carolina resort in the coming years.

As part of the deal, GOLFZON will use drone-mounted laser scanners to map every lie, bunker, and fairway before recreating Pinehurst’s layouts in high-definition 3D using tri-layer course mapping. The agreement also includes a new GOLFZON Road to Pinehurst tournament, expected to attract tens of thousands of players across Asia and North America, with competitors playing virtually across all 11 Pinehurst courses and eight finalists earning an all-expenses-paid trip to Pinehurst for a live final.

The companies also said they will explore adding Pinehurst to GOLFZON’s professional GTour, potentially as a premier or major-style virtual event. “Adding Pinehurst’s iconic courses to the GOLFZON course library is a massive win for all golfers who use our simulators,” said Sean Pyun, chief executive of GOLFZON America, while Pinehurst executive vice president of sales and marketing Eric Kuester said the partnership would allow more golfers worldwide to experience the history, challenge, and character of the resort. GOLFZON said its course library now includes more than 300 courses worldwide, including 51 in the United States.

SHOT SCOPE PUBLISHES DATA-LED EBOOK ON WOMEN’S AMATEUR GOLF

Shot Scope has released The Women’s Game, By The Numbers, a new eBook timed to coincide with Women’s Golf Week that examines female amateur performance.

Using data from 2,486 women golfers worldwide who have logged 2.5 million shots across 26,312 rounds, the study breaks performance into tee shots, approach play, short game, and putting, comparing results across seven handicap bands from scratch to 30, and is positioned as one of the most detailed data-led reviews of women’s amateur golf to date.

Among its findings, Shot Scope said fairway accuracy is almost the same across all handicap levels, the performance gap from 100 to 150 yards is much larger than many golfers assume, the area inside 100 yards remains more demanding than it appears even for better players, and one specific putting distance range creates quicker handicap separation than any other part of the course.

The eBook also includes case studies from three female users: an Epson Tour player, a recreational golfer who recently broke 80, and a golfer using Shot Scope technology to explore unfamiliar courses across Scotland. Chief executive David Hunter said the aim was to give women golfers the same quality of performance insight offered to the wider golfing community, adding that the findings challenge common assumptions about where scores are actually won and lost.

NGF DATA SHOWS WOMEN AND GIRLS LED GOLF’S POST-PANDEMIC PARTICIPATION GROWTH

National Golf Foundation data shows that women and girls have been the biggest drivers of golf’s post-pandemic participation gains, accounting for 52% of net growth in on-course play between 2020 and 2025.

Over that period, the number of female golfers rose 45%, increasing by 2.5 million to more than 8.1 million, the highest total on record, while male participation grew 12%, a net gain of 2.3 million. The shift has pushed female representation in traditional green-grass golf to 28%, up from 20% in 2012, and also a record high. NGF said the recent surge has more than reversed the decline that followed the Great Recession, when female participation fell 30% between 2007 and 2012, compared with an 11% drop among men.

The report said recovery began after 2012 but accelerated during and after the pandemic, helped by the rise of off-course formats that made the game more accessible and less intimidating. Women and girls now account for a larger share of beginners, returners, off-course-only participants, and non-golfers interested in taking up the game, underlining the importance of welcoming environments, targeted programming, instruction, equipment, and apparel if the industry is to convert recent gains into lasting participation.

USGA BEGINS PILOT ROLLOUT OF RULES AI THROUGH GHIN APP

The USGA has launched the pilot phase of Rules AI, a new tool designed to make the Rules of Golf easier for players to access and understand on the course through the GHIN app.

Developed with support from long-time professional services provider Deloitte, which helped build the backend technology, the system draws on more than 130 years of USGA rules expertise and proprietary data and has been trained on more than 25,000 specific rules queries previously handled by USGA staff and experts.

The governing body said the platform uses a “confidence-first” approach and, unlike generic AI systems, is powered only by verified and current USGA content to ensure responses are accurate and grounded in the official rules and their practical application. “Rules AI is designed to continue making the Rules of Golf easier to navigate and meet golfers where they are—on the course and on their mobile devices,” said USGA chief executive Mike Whan. The phased rollout has already started at selected golf clubs, with members of Allied Golf Associations due to gain access over the coming months, and a target of reaching all GHIN users by spring 2027, while the USGA also plans to expand access to third-party golf apps in the future.

CPG APPOINTS ION 54 TO BUILD NEW COMMERCIAL VENTURES PLATFORM

The Confederation of Professional Golf has signed a long-term partnership with ION 54 to lead the development of CPG Ventures, a new commercial arm designed to turn CPG’s international network into a scalable, revenue-generating platform.

Representing National PGAs and golf bodies across more than 90 countries, CPG said the agreement will cover a five-year business plan, a new global brand platform, a multi-channel marketing strategy, and near-term commercial activation. CPG Ventures will bring together the organization’s International Series tournaments, Learning Institute, travel, digital, and commercial products, while CPG also continues to oversee the Ryder Cup European Development Trust. “This partnership allows us to take that further,” said Ian Randell, Group CEO of CPG, while Ed Edwards, CEO of ION 54, said the aim was to create long-term value for member countries, professionals, partners, and the wider game.

CABOT REVELSTOKE SETS FALL 2026 PREVIEW FOR NEW MOUNTAIN COURSE

Cabot has outlined the next phase of Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia, including a new 155-room Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge, and a limited preview play of its 18-hole public golf course in fall 2026.

Set at the base of Revelstoke Mountain against the Monashee and Selkirk ranges, the development will be Cabot’s first mountain golf and ski destination. The newly renamed course, designed by Rod Whitman of Whitman, Axland & Cutten, sits above the Columbia River valley and will feature wide fairways, large greens, and bold bunkering shaped around the natural terrain.

Cabot said the project has been certified under Audubon International’s Platinum Signature Sanctuary program. The site will also include The Railyard, a par-three short course with a clubhouse, dining, bowling lanes, virtual golf, and shuffleboards, with construction starting this year. “The scale and beauty of the destination make this one of the most captivating projects we have ever undertaken,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, Cabot’s CEO and co-founder.

PGA TOUR RESHAPES FLORIDA SWING AS 2027 DATES TAKE SHAPE

The PGA Tour’s emerging 2027 schedule points to a significant reshaping of the traditional Florida Swing.

The Cognizant Classic retains its usual February 25-28 slot, but now followed by the Cadillac Championship at Doral, then The Players Championship, and only after that the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The change means Bay Hill will no longer lead directly into The Players and instead will now clash with the opening weekend of March Madness, while also creating a three-week stretch in Florida for many of the top players.

Doral, which returned this year for the first time since 2016 in an early-May window, is expected to benefit from the new position after drawing a modest crowd and seeing several leading players skip the event despite its signature status. The revised order will then be followed by the Houston Open and Valero Texas Open before the Masters, a sequence that should ease some of the scheduling pressure seen this year between Augusta and the PGA Championship, when players faced two majors and three signature events in quick succession.

The Valspar Championship, traditionally the closing event of the Florida Swing, is being moved to May 6-9, creating a return to Florida after the state’s main golf season and leaving questions over whether it can attract a strong field with the Truist Championship and PGA Championship immediately after. Rex Hoggard, Golf Channel.

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India Golf Market Analysis: Courses, Wealth Growth, And Industry Opportunity

India is not an obvious golf-growth story. It does not have Vietnam’s neat tourism corridor, Thailand’s mature resort network, or Japan and South Korea’s deep participation culture. What it does have is scale, rising wealth, corporate demand, luxury real estate, and a golf market that still feels only partially built.

That may be precisely why it is becoming increasingly difficult for the golf industry to ignore.

For decades, golf has occupied a relatively narrow position within India’s sporting landscape. Cricket dominates attention, sponsorship, and participation, while football, badminton, and kabaddi enjoy far greater visibility among the wider population. Yet beneath that reality, several of the economic trends most relevant to golf — rising professional incomes, premium residential development, luxury travel, and multinational corporate investment — are moving in the right direction.

India is not a golf-tourism success story. Nor is it a participation story.

At least not yet.

Instead, it is increasingly becoming an economic story that happens to have implications for golf.

The country is not starting from zero. India has a long golfing history, more than 230 golf courses, and over 230 Indian Golf Union-affiliated clubs spread across the country. It has hosted professional tournaments for decades and maintains an established domestic professional structure through the Professional Golf Tour of India.

Indian golfers have also made their mark internationally.

Read more

NEW YORK, NY — Summit Golf Brands, the parent company of B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene, is proud to announce its partnership with Rodeo Dunes as the resort’s exclusive on-site Retail Apparel Partner, a first-of-its-kind partnership within the U.S. golf industry.

Summit Golf Brands will oversee all apparel offerings in the Rodeo Dunes pro shop, support all staff apparel needs, outfit events and group experiences, and develop curated digital site activations for Rodeo Dunes Founders.

“Getting involved with this incredible new Michael Keiser destination was an easy decision,” said Matt McFarlane, SVP Sales and Co-Head of the Americas at Summit Golf Brands. “The vision for the future at Rodeo Dunes is exciting and something we wanted to be a part of. We are very proud of this partnership, but more importantly, it is a responsibility we take very seriously. Seeing the project come to life and partnering with the teams at both KemperSports and Rodeo Dunes has been a privilege.”

“The distinctive styles and presentations, the broad nature of the brand family, and the professionalism of the merchandising team combine to make Summit Golf Brands a valuable partner,” said Rodeo Dunes developer and owner Michael Keiser, Jr. “The shop looks great, and the range of apparel means that everyone can find something that fits their eye and their particular apparel needs.”

Rodeo Dunes opened its long-awaited Coore & Crenshaw course to Founder play in May and will open for public play in 2027. A second course, designed by longtime Coore & Crenshaw associate Jimmy Craig is under construction and will host some preview play in 2027. This is Craig’s debut solo 18-hole course design. The property will also include “The Rockies,” a 7.5-acre putting course designed by Clyde Johnson. Construction is ongoing, with public opening expected in 2027.

With its rugged, vast terrain, Rodeo Dunes provides a striking backdrop for Summit Golf Brands to showcase its apparel collections across B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene, ranging from high-performance golfwear to Western-inspired mountain lifestyle offerings.

About Summit Golf Brands

Summit Golf Brands is a leading provider of premium golf and lifestyle apparel, renowned for its commitment to quality, innovation, and style. With a portfolio of iconic brands including B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene, Summit Golf Brands continues to set the standard for performance-driven, fashion-forward golf apparel.

• Wholesale distribution network across 25 countries and over 3,500 premier clubs and resorts worldwide

• Vertically integrated with unparalleled fulfillment and product decoration capabilities

• Over 200 embroidery heads across facilities spanning more than 75,000 square feet in Madison and Barneveld, Wisconsin

For more information:

• bdraddy.com

• zerorestriction.com

• fairwayandgreene.com

Follow on Instagram:

• @bdraddy

• @bdraddywomen

• @zerorestriction

• @fairwayandgreene

HOW TO PARTNER WITH US: If you are interested in contributing to and strengthening our content offering as a partner, company, or institution, we would be pleased to hear from you at newsroom@golfbusinessreview.com.

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THE INFORMATION WAS ALWAYS THERE, THE PRO SHOP JUST COULDN’T SEE IT

Powered by GOLF.AI

The pro shop has always been the nerve centre of the golf course. Every question, call, booking enquiry, complaint, compliment and request passes through it. The problem is that almost none of that information is captured. It disappears into phone calls. It disappears into staff memory. It disappears into conversations that are never counted, never categorised, never measured. A member asks the same question every week. A visitor gets confused by the same policy every day. An after-hours caller hangs up and never calls back. A lesson enquiry arrives, gets lost in a busy morning, and is never followed up. The information was always there. The pro shop just had no way to see it.

AI Concierge changes that.

Every call answered by an AI Concierge agent is not just a service interaction. It is a data point. Every question, enquiry, booking attempt, after hours call and member message becomes part of a picture the golf course has never had before. That picture is Pro Shop AI Insights.

• What golfers are asking. The questions that repeat most often reveal what the website does not explain, what the booking engine does not make easy, and what members expect but do not find. A course might discover that most calls are about the same three topics and that answering them proactively would free up hours of staff time every week.

• When demand is highest. Not just when golfers play, when they call, message, search and enquire. The demand curve does not begin on the tee sheet. It begins in the calls and messages that create bookings. Knowing when enquiries arrive and when they go unanswered is as important as knowing when tee times are full.

• Which enquiries are being missed. If a course misses thirty calls in a week, that is not a phone problem. It is a revenue problem, a service problem, and a data problem. AI Concierge captures those calls. Pro Shop AI Insights shows how many, when, and what they were about.

• What members need most. Member questions are not noise. They are the clearest signal of what the club is doing well and where the experience has gaps. AI Insights turns those questions into patterns and those patterns into operational decisions.

• Where staff time is being lost. If the same question is answered fifteen times a day by the same person behind the same counter, that is not service. That is a system failure. AI Insights identifies which interactions consume the most staff time and which could be handled better and faster by an agent.

• Which services can be improved. When a visitor asks about club hire and gets a different answer depending on who picks up the phone, the problem is not the staff. The problem is that the knowledge is not structured. AI Insights reveals where service is inconsistent and where course-approved answers would raise the standard.

• What revenue opportunities are appearing. A lesson enquiry that is never followed up is lost revenue. A corporate golf day enquiry that arrives after hours and gets no response is lost revenue. A group booking that abandons mid-flow is lost revenue. AI Insights makes those opportunities visible for the first time.

The shift is structural

For decades, the pro shop has operated as a reactive service desk. Staff respond to whatever comes in, calls, walk ins, emails and messages in whatever order they arrive. The quality of the response depends on who is working, how busy the morning is, and whether someone remembers the answer.

Pro Shop AI Insights turns that reactive model into an intelligent operating centre. The course sees what is happening across all its interactions not in real time alone, but over time. Patterns emerge. Decisions improve. Staff focus shifts from answering everything to answering what matters most.

The first benefit of AI Concierge is answering the call. The larger benefit is understanding the operation.

A golf course that captures every interaction, sees every pattern, identifies every missed opportunity and measures every service moment has a fundamentally different relationship with its own business. It stops guessing. It starts seeing.

That is what Pro Shop AI Insights delivers and it starts the moment a golf course activates its AI Concierge.

GBR readers only: Sign up at GOLF.ai this week and enter our draw to win a free annual AI Concierge subscription — and let Sir Nick Faldo start answering your Pro Shop phone.

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR 2026 PGA BUYING SUMMIT AT FRISCO

Registration has opened for the 2026 PGA Buying Summit, which will take place from July 26-29 at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa, bringing together retail buyers, PGA of America Golf Professionals, golf lifestyle brands, and industry leaders.

The event is positioned as an early buying and planning opportunity for Spring 2027 apparel and accessories, with attendees able to meet nearly 200 established and emerging brands as golf retail continues to shift toward lifestyle-led collections, faster product cycles, and product ranges designed for use on and off the course. The program includes an invitation-only day of ONE2ONE Buying Appointments, followed by two days of open ballroom exhibits, while the new “Gwop Meet at the Summit — curated by Troy Aguila” will highlight next-generation lifestyle labels. Education sessions will focus on retail strategy, facility performance, operations, executive management, coaching, artificial intelligence and technology, alongside networking events including a Welcome Reception, Summer Jam in the PGA District, and an upscale Fashion Show.

Event director Lisa Langas said the summit comes “at an opportune moment before the next season’s styles and trends start to take shape,” while organizers said qualified buyers can register free through July 2, 2026, with PGA of America Golf Professionals, LPGA Professionals, and International PGA Members able to attend at no charge throughout the registration period.

IGA TO LAUNCH OPERATOR-FOCUSED PODCAST AND WEBINAR SERIES FOR INDOOR GOLF

The Indoor Golf Alliance will launch Interview with an Operator on July 1, 2026, a new podcast and webinar series aimed at entrepreneurs, owners, and managers in the indoor golf sector.

The program will feature conversations with facility operators, industry executives, and business specialists who have built and scaled simulator-based businesses across the U.S., covering topics including start-up planning, simulator selection, membership growth, marketing, staffing, league management, food-and-beverage integration, and long-term profitability.

The series is targeted at existing indoor golf owners, prospective entrants, golf entertainment operators, simulator investors, PGA professionals, instructors, and hospitality leaders, with episodes and webinars set to include operator interviews, customer acquisition and retention strategies, revenue diversification ideas, simulator and technology trends, facility design advice, operational lessons, and live Q&A sessions. “Operators are looking for more than just equipment recommendations — they want real operational insight from people who have actually built successful facilities,” said Phil Immordino, President of IGA, adding that the series had been created to provide practical knowledge and tested strategies through regular releases across major podcast platforms and live webinar channels.

GTAA TO HOST GOLF TOURNAMENT MASTER CLASS WEBINAR FOR EVENT PLANNERS

The Golf Tournament Association of America will host its Golf Tournament Event Planner Master Classes on June 3 at 9:00 AM PST. The webinar series is aimed at meeting planners, event professionals, and tournament organizers looking to grow revenue and improve golf event delivery.

The online event will feature three sessions: From Prospecting to Partnerships, focused on attracting, converting and retaining tournament clients through prospecting, referral partnerships, consultative sales and outreach strategy; Beyond the Tournament, examining how planners can build more engaging and commercially effective events through sponsorship innovation, player engagement, branding, entertainment and data-led enhancements; and From Planner to Producer, centred on launching and monetising owned golf events through business models, sponsorship development, financial planning, recurring revenue and long-term brand growth.

GTAA said the program will also include hands-on workshops, collaborative brainstorming, case studies, and practical tools and templates for immediate use, with the series aimed at planners, organizers, nonprofit fundraising professionals, hospitality leaders, and others seeking to build their position in the golf events sector.

SELECT GROUP BUYS THREE UK MARRIOTT GOLF RESORTS IN LATEST EXPANSION MOVE

Dubai-based Select Group has acquired three UK Delta Hotels by Marriott golf and country club resorts in a deal that expands its presence in the British golf hospitality market.

The properties are Breadsall Priory in Derby, St Pierre in Chepstow, and Tudor Park in Maidstone, together covering more than 900 acres. Select Group, which bought Old Thorns Hotel & Resort in Hampshire last year and is relaunching Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere this year, said the resorts would continue to be operated by Marriott International while it undertakes a “considered program of operational enhancement” focused on guest experience, leisure facilities, golf operations, events, wellness, and long-term asset performance.

Chief executive Israr Liaqat said the acquisition reflected the company’s belief in the UK golf resort sector as a long-term asset class with scope for operational improvement, while Marriott’s vice president of development, Paul Thomas, said the hotel group looked forward to working with Select Group to strengthen the long-term success of the three country club resorts.

BUILDING LET TO TIGER WOODS’ ST ANDREWS VENUE LISTED FOR SALE

The building housing T-Squared Social in St Andrews, the sports bar and entertainment venue opened by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake in October 2025, has been placed on the market as an investment opportunity with offers over £650,000 ($876,000).

The venue occupies the former New Picture House Cinema on North Street, a redevelopment that drew criticism from some local residents when plans first emerged for a food-and-drink destination with golf simulators and virtual darts. The property is being marketed by Shepherd Chartered Surveyors, with the listing noting that the current tenant has first refusal on any purchase. TS SA Property Holdings, the company backed by Woods and Timberlake, holds a lease on the site until 2049 with an option to extend to 2079, and the current annual rent is £45,000 ($60,000). The sale comes after a difficult early period for the venue, which has received a series of poor reviews, although recently appointed managing director Mark Anand said earlier this month that he wanted to improve performance and address “teething issues”. Andrew Robson, Bunkered.

FIVE IRON GOLF OPENS SECOND DUBAI VENUE IN BUSINESS BAY

Five Iron Golf Dubai has opened its second venue in the emirate, launching a new 6,500 sq ft site in Business Bay at Damac Towers by Paramount, close to DIFC, Burj Khalifa, and Dubai Mall.

The new location is designed to serve professionals, residents, and visitors with a mix of technology-led golf, hospitality, and social entertainment, and includes five Trackman-powered simulators with multi-angle swing analysis and access to hundreds of courses, three multisport simulators for games including football and disc golf, a private simulator room for corporate events and group bookings, and Callaway club fitting experiences.

Five Iron said the venue is intended to meet growing demand in Dubai for indoor, experience-led entertainment that can operate year-round, particularly during the summer. “Business Bay stood out as a natural fit,” said David Zabinsky, Managing Partner of Five Iron Golf UAE, while co-founder and chief executive Jared Solomon said the success of the company’s first Dubai site in Dubai Marina had confirmed demand for a concept that blends “technology, sport, and social connection.”

PGA OF AMERICA REPLACES DON REA WITH NATHAN CHARNES FOR REMAINDER OF TERM

The PGA of America has replaced president Don Rea for the remainder of his term, with vice president Nathan Charnes stepping into the role until the end of the current cycle in November.

Rea, a PGA Master Professional and golf course operator from Mesa, Arizona, had been elected the organization’s 44th president in November 2024, but the association said the board acted after “a series of issues over time” that it judged to be detrimental.

Rea came under scrutiny during his presidency first at the 2025 PGA Championship, when he interrupted chief executive David Sprague during a press conference on the proposed golf ball rollback, and more significantly after the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where he was criticized for remarks to the BBC appearing to downplay abusive behavior from American fans towards European players, including Rory McIlroy. The backlash intensified after Matt Fitzpatrick publicly condemned the comments, prompting Rea to apologize in a letter to the organization’s 30,000-plus professionals and acknowledge that his remarks had reflected poorly on both himself and the PGA of America.

A separate video of Rea performing karaoke to Eminem’s Lose Yourself during the Ryder Cup weekend also drew attention. Since then, he had been removed from the PGA Tour Policy Board, made only limited public appearances, and was absent from last week’s PGA Championship leadership press conference, where new chief executive Terry Clark said Rea had been asked to focus on member matters. Tod Leonard, Golf Digest.

DETAILS MAKE FIRST MOVE OUTSIDE PORTUGAL WITH DONNAFUGATA MANAGEMENT DEAL

Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure, the largest golf course operator in Portugal, has taken over management of Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa in Sicily, in its first project outside Portugal.

The company will oversee the day-to-day running and redevelopment of the 36-hole venue, covering strategy, repositioning, marketing, sales, and communications, and the addition takes the total number of golf venues under its management to 13. Donnafugata, which opened in 2009, features two 18-hole championship courses, the Parkland and the Links, and previously hosted the 2011 Sicilian Open before closing in 2020.

Details said it is targeting a 2027 relaunch, with both courses to undergo a full renovation and redesign as part of plans to reposition the site as an upscale golf and hospitality destination. “Expanding beyond Portugal for the first time is not only a landmark moment for our company but also a reflection of the strength and ambition of our platform,” said co-chief executive Nuno Sepulveda. Located in Ragusa in south-east Sicily, Donnafugata sits alongside the new Costa Ragusa destination operated by Mangia’s, where two five-star properties — Costa Ragusa Borgo and Costa Ragusa Resort — are due to open in 2026, creating an integrated luxury base ahead of the golf relaunch.

PGA TOUR OUTLINES TWO-TRACK MODEL AS 2028 CHANGES TAKE SHAPE

The PGA Tour has begun briefing players on a proposed two-track competition structure that could come into effect around the 2028 season, with the outline presented during a meeting earlier this month at the Truist Championship in Charlotte.

According to sources familiar with the discussion, track one would feature 23 elevated events made up of 16 regular-season PGA Tour tournaments, the three FedExCup Playoff events, and the four majors, with the regular-season events expected to have 120-man fields. The plan also includes at least three new markets, with Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Nashville, San Francisco, and Seattle all linked to potential expansion, while the Tour is said to be seeking as much as $30 million annually in title sponsorship for the new events.

A second tier, or track two, would include 20 tournaments with 140-man fields, although the relationship between the two tracks and any knock-on effect for the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas remains unclear. The plans are not yet final and could still change, with more player consultations scheduled at last week’s CJ Cup, and this week’s Byron Nelson, and a board meeting due in the week of the Travelers Championship in late June, when chief executive Brian Rolapp is expected to provide a further update.

The Tour is also continuing work on its 2027 schedule, with 13 tournaments, including the majors, already dated through the PGA Championship in May, although the main unresolved area remains the Florida swing, where dates have not yet been confirmed for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Cadillac Championship, Cognizant Classic, or Valspar Championship. Josh Carpenter, Sports Business Journal.

LIV GOLF EXPLORES RESTRUCTURING OPTIONS AS INVESTMENT SEARCH CONTINUES

LIV Golf is laying the groundwork for a possible bankruptcy filing, according to Bloomberg, as the league looks for new capital after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ended its backing and shifted focus towards Saudi-based initiatives.

PIF is estimated to have invested between $5 billion and $8 billion in LIV since its 2021 launch, and the withdrawal was followed by the resignation of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, with Gene Davis and Jon Zinman appointed to a restructured board. Bloomberg reported that LIV is considering moving its headquarters to the United States to benefit from more favorable restructuring laws, with the league currently operating across the U.K., U.S., and Jersey while its ultimate control remains in Saudi Arabia. The report follows Axios saying LIV is seeking $250 million in new investment, with chief executive Scott O’Neil now projecting profitability within two years despite earlier remarks suggesting break-even could still be a decade away and that funding only ran through the end of 2026.

In response, a LIV spokesperson said the organization was focused on securing a transaction that would support a sustainable long-term future and that “multiple pathways” were under consideration, while Golf Digest reported that agents for several LIV players have already begun contacting the PGA Tour about possible routes back.

BUICK LPGA SHANGHAI TO RELAUNCH AT SHESHAN WITH RECORD $3.2M PURSE

The Buick LPGA Shanghai will relaunch at Sheshan Golf Club from October 15-18, 2026. The return of the tournament will be accompanied by a $3.2 million purse, the highest in Asian women’s professional golf.

The tournament is being staged with support from Chinese golf and Shanghai sports authorities, alongside local organizers in Songjiang and Sheshan.

Presented by Buick and SAIC General Motors, the event will bring LPGA winners, major champions, rising players, and Olympians to compete for the Buick Goddess trophy, while also strengthening the LPGA’s Asia Fall Swing and China’s domestic golf development. At the press conference, IMG Golf APAC executive Winnie Heng said the relaunch at Sheshan marked a return to a familiar venue with a new benchmark purse, while officials from the China Golf Association, LPGA, CLPGA, Songjiang, and Sheshan highlighted the tournament’s role in developing Chinese players, raising the city’s international event profile, and driving wider cultural, tourism, and economic activity.

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Hello GBR,

Today’s edition of GBR introduces two new regular slots over the coming weeks. We take a look at the rise of Vietnam as a golf destination and why it is being considered as one of the top five global emerging markets for the golf industry. We’re also excited to introduce a regular feature from 59club, who will be sharing some key insights in what shapes the strongest member and non-member experiences that golf clubs should be paying attention to survive and thrive going forward.

We start with news from another partner of GBR, Summit Golf Brands, who are venturing out into news pastures to grow their business.

Enjoy today’s GBR and have a good weekend.

SUMMIT GOLF BRANDS PARTNERS WITH COOLMORE IN MOVE INTO THOROUGHBRED RACING

Summit Golf Brands, the parent company of B. Draddy and Zero Restriction, has signed a new partnership with Coolmore that names both labels as Preferred Apparel Providers to one of the best-known organizations in thoroughbred racing and breeding. The agreement extends Summit’s reach into horse racing and will see B. Draddy and Zero Restriction outfit members of the Coolmore and Ballydoyle teams, while also supporting the launch of custom co-branded apparel, online capsule collections, and on-site activations at major events, including the Kentucky Derby. Coolmore, based in Tipperary, Ireland, operates major international bases, including Ashford Stud in Kentucky, and has significant operations in Australia. It is known for standing American Pharaoh and Justify, the only two living U.S. Triple Crown winners, while its Ballydoyle training center in Tipperary has produced a record 18 Epsom Derby winners and continues to operate under trainer Aidan O’Brien. Summit Golf Brands president Jack Lessing said the partnership formalized a relationship that had developed naturally over time, while Coolmore sales director David O’Loughlin said the brand’s combination of versatility and quality made it a natural fit.

The companies said the relationship is based on shared values of heritage, innovation, and quality, with both organizations family-owned and positioned around premium performance. Summit framed the collaboration as a meeting point between luxury design and practical comfort, describing the apparel offer as suitable “from the horse to the course, and everywhere in between”. Coolmore said the deal would strengthen both team outfitting and merchandise, while also widening the reach of the new collection to supporters globally.

📄 Access the full press release here.

You can follow each brand on Instagram: @bdraddy, @zerorestriction, @coolmorestud, @summitgolfbrands

INTRODUCING 59CLUB’S CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INSIGHT SERIES FOR GOLF BIZZ REVIEW

Golf Bizz Review is working with 59club to bring regular customer experience insight, practical education, and global benchmarking data to our readers, with a focus on the standards that shape how golf venues perform in the real world.

59club has become the leading specialist in golf customer service and sales analysis, helping clubs and resorts understand how their operations are experienced by members, guests, and prospective customers. Through mystery shopper feedback, global benchmarking data, and best-practice learning, 59club highlights where service standards are strongest, where opportunities are being missed, and how small improvements can make a measurable commercial difference.

This regular series will draw on 59club’s data and wider industry network to explore the details that influence the customer experience across golf and hospitality, from the entire golf visitor journey, including retail, food and beverage, and on-course engagement, to membership, event, and golf outing inquiry management.

This article focuses on the importance of first impressions, sensory experience, and the small details that influence customer loyalty.

The Senses And First Impressions

With the help of a range of industry experts, Matt Roberts, 59club Director, considers the role the senses play in customer service – and how powerful first impressions can be.

Reimagining golf clubs as health and business hubs

With changing lifestyles and working patterns, golf clubs now have the chance to play a much bigger role in people’s everyday lives, explain Gareth Beard and Dawn White, Senior Area Operations Managers at Bruntwood SciTech

Learning from hospitality

In our world, we’ve seen how spaces really come alive when they’re designed around people, not just function. That’s what the hospitality sector gets right. Golf clubs can build on this strength by creating destinations that are welcoming, social, and flexible with workspace, wellness facilities, quality food and drink, and a strong events program.

The power of experience

What sets places apart are the details that engage the senses, from music, lighting, biophilia, and scent, to service and design. At Bruntwood SciTech, this approach has helped us achieve a 70% customer retention rate – well above the industry average – and high customer usage of 71% across the week. For golf clubs, these small touches can create memorable experiences that encourage members to return and stay longer.

A good first impression is about making someone feel seen, respected, and valued right from the start. It’s a blend of subtle cues, actions, and attitudes that create an immediate positive impact. It will also include visual aspects within a workspace, social locations, and generally the place and space we interact with.

Research tells us that first impressions can be formulated in between seven and 27 seconds. They last long and are very hard to overturn, so it is important to focus on all areas that will influence and create the best first impressions.

During the inaugural 59club Global Awards, we were joined on stage by Gareth Beard and Dawn White, who are both Senior Operations Managers at Bruntwood SciTech, Ryan Woods, General Manager of Pinebrook Golf & Country Club, and Nic Middleton, Founder and Owner of Zen Putting Stage. They offered some insightful presentations from their own experience, and talked through various ways we can create better first impressions within all areas of hospitality.

59club data shows that venues that work on their first impressions – which include eye contact, smile, acknowledgment, welcome, and engaging conversation – will deliver a better experience over 13% more often than those that don’t, and the best in class deliver a nearly faultless first impression over 89% of the time.

Unlocking potential

Blending workspace with leisure and health offers golf clubs more than an additional service; it creates fresh reasons for midweek use, attracts broader audiences, and supports new revenue streams – all of which help secure long-term resilience. For the greatest impact, focus on the small details that engage the senses to create places people want to return to, and golf clubs can strengthen loyalty and their role as hubs for health, business, and community...

The senses in service

Ryan Woods, CEO of Pinebrook Golf & Country Club, explains that all five senses are crucial when it comes to making his members feel at home

In our service world, data tells one story, but experience tells the human side. I was fortunate to share some of what makes Pinebrook a special place in our recent presentation on The Power of Scent in Enhancing the Member Experience: A Journey Through the Five Senses. I view training and the service we offer as more than a checklist – it’s a framework for shaping how members feel the moment they arrive and how long that feeling lingers. Scent is one of several key focus areas we pursue to move beyond transactions into lasting connections.

First, the five senses aren’t just signals; they’re levers for emotional engagement. Sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste each contribute to a club’s identity, shaping memories of a visit long after the round is done

Second, the clock speed of modern service, speed, and efficiency matter, but it’s the anticipation, warmth, and care that convert visits into loyalty.

Third, the “Proust effect” – where small sensory cues trigger personal memories – drives repeat engagement when we get the details right.

At Pinebrook, we’re translating these insights into culture. We train staff to read rooms, respond with genuine care, and lean into a hospitality-forward mindset – not a rule-based checklist. It’s about creating a vibe where staff-led conversations feel meaningful, and where every touchpoint – from the pro shop to the grill – feels intentional. The power of scent marketing goes a long way toward making our members feel at home.

The short-term wins are real and notable: higher satisfaction scores, more repeat visits, and stronger word-of-mouth. The long-term payoff is a club that people leave wanting to return to, again and again.

Sensory design isn’t decoration; it’s a strategic tool to forge emotional resonance, drive loyalty, and elevate any club from a great club to a truly memorable experience. While we tend to focus on the key areas around the club – the sights and smells – we can go beyond that to curate an experience that continually evolves and engages our members in unconventional, impactful ways.

Unlocking the untapped potential of putting

Nic Middleton, Founder and Owner of Zen Putting Stage, explains how putting should be at the center of all golf leisure environments

At the inaugural 59club Awards, Zen Golf delivered a thought-provoking presentation exploring how the senses underpin skill acquisition in golf and how a deeper understanding of them can transform customer experience.

Using the striking image of a sensory homunculus, the presentation highlighted often-overlooked senses such as balance, proprioception, and kinaesthetic awareness, showing how they shape a golfer’s interaction with the course and its facilities.

Drawing on recent data, Zen proposed that golf venues are overlooking one of their most powerful assets: putting. Despite its central role in performance, putting remains underdeveloped as an engagement tool.

Zen argued that by focusing on this untapped resource, operators could deliver significant performance enhancement while opening new avenues for customer loyalty, dwell time, and incremental revenue.

The presentation showcased how Zen’s Green Stage Adaptive Terrain Technology (ATT) has been combined with ball-tracking systems and gamification strategies, underpinned by the latest scientific skill acquisition framework of ecological dynamics.

This approach turns putting into an interactive, game-like experience that is both entertaining and educational. Visiting parties, members, and guests can be drawn into experiences that feel fun yet purposeful, fostering skill improvement while strengthening emotional ties to the venue.

Zen’s message was clear: re-imagining putting as an immersive, sensory-rich experience offers operators a powerful way to differentiate, delight customers, and build repeat business. For a sector seeking fresh ways to engage today’s golfer, the future of participation and loyalty may start on the green.

59club helps clubs see their operation through the eyes of members, guests, and prospective customers, and turn that insight into measurable improvement.

For golf venues looking to better understand their customer journey, improve service standards, and identify the small details that drive loyalty, 59club’s data-led approach offers a practical starting point.

To learn how 59club can support your venue, contact the 59club team here: https://www.59club.com/

News In Brief

• Troon International has launched Troon International Travel, a curated global golf travel platform developed with golfscape to give golfers direct access to premium destinations and tailored stay-and-play experiences across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

  Powered by golfscape booking technology, the platform allows golfers to select destinations, tee times and accommodation through a three-step booking process with real-time availability, instant confirmation and mobile-first functionality.

• Five Iron Golf has announced the return of its annual Women’s Golf Month initiative, a June campaign now in its third consecutive year, presented with Golf Digest and focused on making golf more welcoming, social and accessible for women of all experience levels.

  Participating locations nationwide will offer up to 90 minutes of free golf for women every Wednesday, $5 first-month memberships, free swing evaluation lessons, beginner-friendly instruction, community nights and networking opportunities, with Five Iron also partnering with women-led golf groups including Ladies Who Golf, Cherry Golf Club, She Golfs ATL, Girls on the Green Golf Network and Fore the Ladies.

VIETNAM’S GOLF ECONOMY IS STARTING TO LOOK SERIOUS

For years, Vietnam sat in the same category as many emerging golf destinations: attractive climate, ambitious resort projects, a handful of good courses, and periodic predictions that it would become “the next big thing.” Golf has heard that story before.

What feels different now is that Vietnam is beginning to develop the characteristics of a genuine golf economy rather than simply a golf tourism market.

That distinction matters.

Golf tourism alone can create short bursts of attention. A golf economy is broader and more durable. It begins to pull together hospitality, infrastructure, real estate, international branding, manufacturing, aviation, technology, and investment into a connected commercial ecosystem. The most important thing about Vietnam today is not that it has some impressive golf courses. It is that multiple parts of the global golf industry are quietly starting to position themselves around the country at the same time.

The momentum is no longer theoretical.

Vietnam welcomed nearly 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, a record figure and more than 17% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism. The wider tourism sector has become one of the country’s major economic growth engines, with domestic travel also surging and international arrivals now heavily concentrated around Asian source markets such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and India.

That matters because those markets already underpin much of Asia’s premium golf-travel economy.

Vietnam itself does not appear to publish a definitive national figure for inbound golf tourists, but the broader travel numbers help explain why golf developers and operators are increasingly focused on the market. Golf tourism has become valuable not because it delivers mass participation, but because it attracts higher-spending visitors into luxury hospitality ecosystems. Several estimates now place golf tourism at roughly 8–10% of Vietnam’s total tourism revenue despite accounting for a far smaller share of total visitor numbers.

That imbalance is commercially significant.

Golf tourists tend to stay longer, spend more, and travel through premium hospitality channels. For developers and operators, golf is often less important as a standalone business than as a mechanism for supporting hotel occupancy, resort positioning, and real-estate value.

That model is becoming increasingly visible across Vietnam.

The country now has close to 100 18-hole golf courses either operating or under development, according to industry estimates, with a growing number built to international championship standards. Central Vietnam, particularly the Danang–Hoi An corridor, has emerged as the clearest symbol of that growth. In many ways, the region now resembles the type of destination clustering that helped transform parts of Portugal or Spain into internationally recognized golf hubs.

The difference is that Vietnam still feels early in the cycle.

Fifteen years ago, Vietnam barely registered within mainstream golf-travel discussions outside specialist circles. Today, it increasingly appears in conversations around Asia’s fastest-growing golf destinations, long-haul premium tourism, and emerging hospitality investment.

Part of the attraction lies in geography.

Vietnam sits inside one of the most commercially important tourism corridors in global golf. South Korean outbound golf travel remains one of the strongest segments in Asia, while Japanese, Taiwanese, and broader Southeast Asian tourism continues to expand. Vietnam increasingly benefits from all three simultaneously. It is accessible, comparatively affordable at the premium end of the market, and still carries a degree of novelty for international golfers looking beyond more established destinations.

That “newness” has value.

Golf tourism, particularly at the higher end of the market, relies heavily on differentiation. Scotland and Ireland continue to dominate the traditional bucket-list market globally, while Spain and Portugal remain established European winter destinations. But affluent golfers increasingly look for locations that feel less saturated without sacrificing course quality or hospitality standards. Vietnam is beginning to occupy that space.

Danang demonstrates this especially well.

The region now offers a concentration of high-quality golf courses, beach resorts, and integrated hospitality infrastructure capable of supporting multi-course destination trips in a relatively compact area. Courses such as Hoiana Shores, Ba Na Hills Golf Club, Laguna Golf Lang Co, and Montgomerie Links have all contributed to changing external perceptions of Vietnam from an emerging golf destination into a serious one.

The quality of the architecture is also important.

Vietnam has spent the past decade aggressively pursuing internationally recognizable course designers, including Greg Norman, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, and Luke Donald. That matters commercially because destination golf is ultimately a branding exercise as much as a sporting one. Recognizable names help legitimize projects internationally, attract affluent traveling golfers, and create visibility within global golf media.

The hospitality side of the equation may be even more revealing.

Groups such as Hyatt, InterContinental, Accor, and Banyan Tree are already integrated into Vietnam’s luxury tourism infrastructure, particularly across central Vietnam. Golf increasingly sits alongside those hospitality ecosystems rather than operating separately from them. In practical terms, that changes the economics of golf development entirely.

The scale of international interest is also becoming more visible.

One of the clearest examples came through the Trump Organization’s reported $1.5bn golf, hotel, and real-estate project in Hung Yen province in northern Vietnam, alongside local developer Kinhbac City. Reuters reported that the project received approval in 2025, with the first golf courses expected to open by mid-2027.

Regardless of political views attached to the Trump brand, the project matters because it underlines how Vietnam is increasingly being viewed as a platform for branded golf, hospitality, and real-estate development rather than simply a tourism destination.

It also serves as a reminder that rapid golf expansion rarely arrives without complications. Reporting around land-use concerns and local opposition linked to the development illustrates some of the tensions that can accompany large-scale resort projects in emerging markets.

Read more

NEW YORK, NY - Summit Golf Brands, home to B. Draddy and Zero Restriction, is proud to announce a new partnership with Coolmore, naming both brands Preferred Apparel Providers of one of the most prestigious organizations in thoroughbred racing and breeding. The agreement marks an exciting expansion for Summit Golf Brands into the world of horseracing.

Headquartered in Tipperary, Ireland, Coolmore is widely regarded as the world’s preeminent thoroughbred breeding operation, with major international bases including Ashford Stud in Kentucky and significant operations in Australia. Renowned for producing global champions and standing elite stallions, Coolmore holds the unique distinction of standing American Pharoah and Justify, the only two living US Triple Crown winners.

Central to the operation is Ballydoyle, Coolmore’s world-class training center in Tipperary. Long regarded as the global benchmark for thoroughbred preparation, Ballydoyle has produced a record 18 Epsom Derby winners. Today, under the mastery of legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien, the facility continues to set the standard for elite performance, blending traditional horsemanship with modern innovation.

Through the partnership, B. Draddy and Zero Restriction will outfit members of the Coolmore and Ballydoyle teams. The collaboration will also come to life through custom co-branded apparel, online capsule collections, and on-site activations at marquee events including the Kentucky Derby.

The relationship, which has developed organically over time, is grounded in shared values of heritage, innovation, and a commitment to uncompromised quality. As two family-owned businesses, the partnership is a natural alignment of cultures dedicated to being the best in their respective fields. “From the horse to the course, and everywhere in between” - the apparel sits at an intersection where luxury design meets comfortable performance, offering a uniquely versatile wardrobe suited to any setting.

“Coolmore is a defining name in thoroughbred racing and breeding, known globally for its standards of excellence,” said Jack Lessing, President of Summit Golf Brands. “We’re proud to formalize a relationship that developed naturally over time, rooted in our shared identity as family-led organizations that value performance and tradition.”

“Partnering with Summit Golf Brands is an exciting step for our team outfitting and merchandise offering,” said David O’Loughlin, Director of Sales at Coolmore. “The combination of versatility and exceptional quality makes it a natural fit for us. In SGB, we have found a partner that mirrors our own pursuit of excellence, and we are looking forward to bringing this premium collection to our supporters worldwide.”

Discover the Coolmore Collection at bdraddy.com.

About Summit Golf Brands

Summit Golf Brands is a leading provider of premium golf and lifestyle apparel, renowned for its commitment to quality, innovation, and style. With a portfolio of iconic brands including B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene, Summit Golf Brands continues to set the standard for performance-driven, fashion-forward golf apparel. Their wholesale distribution network extends across 25 countries and encompasses over 3,500 premier clubs and resorts worldwide. Summit Golf Brands stands out for its vertical integration, ensuring unparalleled fulfillment and product decoration capabilities. This is made possible through the utilization of over 200 embroidery heads, housed within their expansive facilities spanning more than 75,000 square feet, located in both Madison and Barneveld, Wisconsin. For more information, visit bdraddy.com, zerorestriction.com, and fairwayandgreene.com , and follow their brands on Instagram: @bdraddy, @bdraddywomen, @zerorestriction, and @fairwayandgreene.

About Coolmore

Coolmore is the world’s preeminent thoroughbred breeding and racing operation, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence across every facet of the industry. Founded and led by the Magnier family, whose history in the business dates back to the 1850s, the organisation is headquartered in Fethard, County Tipperary, with major international operations at Ashford Stud in Kentucky and significant operations in Australia. In conjunction with its world-renowned Ballydoyle training facility, the operation has produced an unparalleled roster of champions and Triple Crown winners. Today, the family-owned business remains a central force in the global bloodstock industry, standing many of the world’s most successful and influential stallions and continuing to define the standards of modern thoroughbred performance and heritage on a global scale.

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Hello GBR,

Who would have had Aaron Rai down as the winner of the PGA Championship? Congratulations are in order for a player who bucks many trends of tour players and finds his own way to get the job done.

Rai spent much of his childhood honing his game on the driving range, a reminder that ranges have always had the power to shape golfers. What is changing now is what those spaces can become. The 2026 Solheim Cup is not waiting until next September to reach golfers: Inrange Golf and the Dutch Golf Federation are taking Bernardus Golf into bays worldwide, using the tournament’s host venue as the centerpiece for a global activation built around competition, entertainment, and commercial value for off-course operators.

Our lead story from GOLF.AI. looks at how AI in golf is no longer just about better websites, booking systems, or chatbots. The next shift may be more practical: course teams building their own AI agents to answer questions, capture inquiries, reduce staff pressure, and turn everyday operational knowledge into faster service for members, visitors, and golfers.

Enjoy today’s GBR.

GOLF’S NEXT BIG SHIFT: COURSE TEAMS WILL BUILD THEIR OWN AI AGENTS

Powered by GOLF.AI.

For twenty-five years, golf’s digital infrastructure was built by outside providers. Websites by web developers. Apps by software companies. Booking engines by tee-sheet vendors. A technology firm built it; a golf course bought it.

The AI era breaks that pattern. Building an agent is now prompt-driven, no-code, and accessible — you need workflow knowledge, context, and a clear problem to solve, not a software developer. That changes who builds, what gets built, and how fast the industry moves.

The best agents will be built by the people closest to the work.

Golf course operators already know where the pressure points sit. They know which questions members ask every day. They know where booking inquiries get stuck. They know which policies cause confusion. They know how much time repetitive calls consume. They know how many lesson inquiries go unanswered. They know email is losing effectiveness with members. They know how much operational knowledge lives in heads rather than systems.

That proximity is an advantage. A software provider understands the broad category; golf course staff understand the workflow — the difference between a Saturday competition call and a visitor inquiry, or why a lesson booking needs handling differently from a corporate golf day. The most powerful agents will be built from that knowledge: questions staff answer daily, policies members misunderstand, booking journeys that create friction, missed sales opportunities, and expertise that lives in experienced heads.

An AI agent is not a chatbot.

It is not a better FAQ page. It is a trained digital worker that understands a specific job, follows course-approved instructions, and helps create an outcome. It can answer, explain, recommend, book, update, guide, remind, capture, qualify, and support. No code, no complex software build, no six-month project — just knowledge, instructions, and outcomes.

The agent map is already forming.

A General Manager builds a pricing policy agent — green fees, member guest rates, visitor access, peak and twilight pricing. A Head Professional builds a coaching inquiry agent — lesson questions, packages, student goals, and bookings. A Pro Shop team builds a course information agent — tee times, dress code, cart availability, range access, weather policy, and competition schedules. A membership team builds a new member onboarding agent — club introduction, key contacts, common questions, and faster settling. An F&B team builds a restaurant booking agent for member dining, events, menus, and functions. An events team builds a corporate golf day agent — qualifying inquiries, packages, requirements, and sales follow-up. A committee builds a club policy agent — local rules, dress standards, guest policies, competition formats.

Examples are already emerging.

Golf courses are building AI Concierge agents via GOLF.AI’s platform — a dedicated AI phone number answered by Sir Nick Faldo’s digital twin, with a first agent live in under five minutes at courses.golf.ai. PGA Professionals are building lesson booking agents personalized to their coaching style, schedule, and student journey. Rules experts are building plain-language agents for complex situations, including course-specific local rules. Club captains are building member communication agents to reduce volunteer pressure as email effectiveness declines. Golf association employees are building competition agents that update players, explain formats, and give golfers conversational access to tournament information. Fans are building agents that track players, rounds, schedules, and performance trends.

The new operating layer.

The website gave golfers information. The app gave golfers access. The agent gives golfers action.

An agent does not display information — it helps something happen: answering a question, capturing an inquiry, triggering a booking, explaining a policy, supporting a transaction. It sits between golfers and courses, between members and operations, between staff knowledge and customer service, between inquiries and revenue, between friction and outcomes.

Why this matters for operators.

AI agents remove repetitive work from staff, freeing time for members, visitors, and revenue. They reduce pro shop phone pressure, improve after-hours response times, and capture inquiries that would otherwise be missed. They give younger staff instant access to course-approved knowledge and help experienced staff turn expertise into scalable systems.

For golfers, the shift is direct. They do not want to navigate pages, menus, PDFs, and booking engines. Increasingly, they will just ask about tee times, lessons, competitions, membership, rules, and events. AI agents allow courses to answer instantly, accurately, and in the voice of the club.

The golf industry has always been powered by people who love the game. What changes is what those people can now build — intelligent tools created by the people closest to the work, supporting their role, their team, their members, and their golfers. The courses that move first will answer more inquiries, capture more opportunities, and deliver a more intelligent golfer experience.

The future of golf will be built by the people who understand the game best. Many of them already work inside your golf course.

• Start building your first AI agent at the GOLF.AI Concierge platform.

INRANGE BRINGS THE SOLHEIM CUP TO THE DRIVING RANGE — WITH BERNARDUS GOLF AS THE STAGE

The 2026 Solheim Cup host venue is coming to bays worldwide. In partnership with the Dutch Golf Federation, Inrange Golf will deliver a special Solheim Cup activation across its global network, allowing players at 85+ venues to virtually experience Bernardus Golf — the Kyle Phillips-designed championship course in Cromvoirt, Netherlands, that has hosted three editions of the KLM Dutch Open on the DP World Tour.

The activation is integrated into Season 3 of the Inrange World Tour, which saw over 30 million visitors to partner venues across 16 countries in 2025. Starting in June, players will declare allegiance to Team Europe or the U.S. Team. The format spans three rounds of competition, combining individual precision challenges, social scramble formats, and a Par 3 challenge on the virtual Bernardus Golf course.

“The transition of Range Golf from isolated practice to structured, competitive golf and entertainment is accelerating,” Inrange Golf said. “High-profile global campaigns of this calibre deliver tangible commercial value for operators while redefining how players engage with off-course golf worldwide.”

The 2026 Solheim Cup takes place September 11–13 at Bernardus Golf, Cromvoirt, Netherlands. It will be the 20th edition of the biennial match-play contest between the best players from the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

For operators running Inrange-powered venues, the activation runs automatically — no additional programming or staffing required.

• For more information on Inrange Golf, visit their website.

You can also follow them on LinkedIn for the latest news and product innovations from their team.

👉 You can read the full press release on Golf Business Review here.

POWER TEE EXPANDS TRAFFORD GOLF CENTRE INSTALLATION AS REFURBISHED VENUE REOPENS

Power Tee has announced a major expansion with Trafford Golf Centre, Manchester, England, following the reopening of the venue after a major refurbishment.

With 46 new automated teeing systems already installed and a further 31 units scheduled for October 2026, the site will have 77 Power Tee bays in total. The first phase of the redevelopment was unveiled when the center reopened on Saturday, 18 April, with the upgraded range now offering 50 redesigned heated bays, Power Tee auto-tee technology, upgraded seating, premium golf balls, a redesigned outfield with eight target greens, more left-handed and dual bays, improved lighting and sound, longer opening hours, and new hospitality features.

“Power Tee helps facilities improve customer comfort, increase repeat visits and modernise the range experience,” said Power Tee UK managing director Tony Eccleston, while Trafford Golf Centre director of golf Pete Styles said the next phase was about improving the experience for regular users after strong demand in recent years. The reopening also forms part of continued investment in The Academy, described as the UK’s largest golf coaching facility, alongside a new website and planned additions later this year, including premium lounge bays and EV charging stations at the site next to the Trafford Centre, which also includes Dino Falls Adventure Golf and American Golf’s flagship retail store.

SKYGOLF AND THE GOLF LAB FORM PARTNERSHIP AROUND CONNECTED COACHING AND FITTING DATA

SkyGolf has announced a strategic collaboration with The Golf Lab and performance specialist Liam Mucklow, aimed at expanding the use of connected golf intelligence across coaching, fitting, and player development.

The partnership brings together SkyGolf’s growing SuperTag ecosystem with The Golf Lab’s work in biomechanics, coaching science, advanced fitting, and technology-led player improvement, and will initially cover SDK integration, technology collaboration, SuperTag licensing and reseller initiatives, strategic advisory work, coaching and fitting workflow development, product development cooperation, and the exploration of future education and certification programs.

SkyGolf said the relationship could later broaden into areas such as connected fitting intelligence, AI-assisted coaching systems, player-equipment interaction modeling, and future OEM initiatives. Unlike traditional shot-tracking products, SuperTags are designed to capture swing and club-performance data automatically on every shot or putt across the course, practice ground, studio, and simulator, linking performance outcomes with underlying movement and club-delivery data.

“The future belongs to connected intelligence platforms capable of linking performance, coaching, fitting, equipment, simulation, and long-term player development together in meaningful ways,” said SkyGolf chief executive Richard Edmonson, while Mucklow said the long-term opportunity lay in helping coaches, fitters, OEMs, and golfers better understand how equipment, movement, and performance interact over time.

AZALEA AND BUFFALO GROUPE FORM GLOBAL GOLF AND LIFESTYLE MARKETING ALLIANCE

Azalea and Buffalo Groupe have announced a strategic partnership designed to give golf, tourism, hospitality, real estate, product, and apparel brands a single international agency solution across Europe, North America, and beyond.

The alliance links Azalea’s European PR and marketing network with Buffalo Groupe’s U.S.-based marketing, research, events, and media platform in response to growing demand for coordinated campaigns that work across the UK, continental Europe, the United States, and Asia. The agencies said the partnership is aimed at brands seeking consistent global storytelling as international golf travel grows, with stronger inbound U.S. traffic to destinations in Spain and Portugal alongside continued demand for Great Britain and Ireland and rising Asian interest in premium golf experiences.

Azalea, founded in 2006 and based in Hampshire, works across PR, media relations, content, influencer activity, events and social strategy for clients including Costa Navarino, Apes Hill Barbados, Troon International, Tourism Ireland, Quinta do Lago and OGIO, while Charleston-based Buffalo Groupe, formed after Buffalo Agency spun out of Billy Casper Golf in 2019, serves sectors including golf, travel, hospitality and real estate for clients such as Casa de Campo, Cleveland/Srixon, ECCO, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Play Golf Myrtle Beach and Youth on Course.

“Together we are one truly global solution,” said Azalea founder Andy Barwell, while Buffalo Groupe president Emily Clark said the partnership would create “a powerful, one-stop solution” for brands targeting the global golf lifestyle audience, with day-to-day delivery handled by aligned UK and U.S. account teams using shared planning, common metrics, and regular cross-agency collaboration.

TOPGOLF RECASTS LEADERSHIP TEAM AS IT PUSHES NEXT PHASE OF OPERATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGY GROWTH

Topgolf has announced a broad set of leadership appointments and promotions as it looks to strengthen operational performance and support long-term growth across the business, drawing executives from entertainment, hospitality, gaming, and technology.

New arrivals include Jay Spears, who joined on April 6 as chief information officer to lead the global technology organization across areas including cybersecurity, data and games, and Jason Weatherford, who also joined on April 6 as vice president of in-venue services in a newly created role overseeing food and beverage, retail, procurement, security, safety, facilities, and golf instruction.

Topgolf has also expanded the responsibilities of several existing executives, with Erin Chamberlin becoming president and chief operating officer, Susana Arevalo promoted to chief financial officer, Jon Olsen to general counsel, Scott Blevins named president and general manager of Toptracer with added oversight of Topgolf Swing Suites, and Amanda Lily Lam appointed vice president of golf marketing for Topgolf and Toptracer to lead golf partnerships.

The company has also shifted from a two-region to a three-region operating model, with Cheli Breaux and Chris O’Neil elevated to regional vice presidents and Northscott Grounsell joining on May 11 as the third regional vice president. Chief executive David McKillips said the company was building a leadership team with the expertise to guide Topgolf through its “next chapter”.

TRUE SPEC GOLF OPENS SECOND ORLANDO FITTING SITE WITH TRACKMAN-BASED BAY

True Spec Golf has opened bookings for True Spec Orlando West, with the new facility set to open to the public on June 1, giving the company a second Orlando location alongside its Grande Vista site, which opened in 2022.

Based at Athletic Motion Golf Club in Winter Garden, the new site features an indoor fitting bay equipped with Trackman launch monitor technology and access to True Spec’s brand-agnostic fitting matrix of more than 70,000 clubhead and shaft combinations from all major equipment brands. Clubs fitted at the site will be built at True Spec’s Scottsdale headquarters to the exact specifications identified during the fitting process. Athletic Motion Golf Club, which has eight bays powered by Trackman, is positioned as a high-end indoor golf venue in Central Florida, with True Spec Golf president Scott Anderson noting, “With their advanced technology and smart setup, Athletic Motion Golf Club is an ideal partner for us in the area.”

AMGC owner Shaun Webb said the partnership would allow the venue to offer “Tour-level club fittings” on site.

GOLF LEAGUES BECOME A BIGGER PART OF HOW AMERICANS PLAY

Golf leagues are becoming a more important part of the U.S. golf economy, with the number of golfers taking part in leagues rising 68% since 2019, compared with a 20% increase in on-course golfers over the same period, from 24.3 million to 29.1 million.

The stats come from a new report from the National Golf Foundation, which pinpoints that the growth reflects demand for golf’s social and competitive qualities, while also giving players more dependable access to the game at a time when nearly two-thirds of public facilities say they are at or near capacity.

Leagues, often built around evening nine-hole blocks, are helping turn golf into more regular “appointment golf”, making it easier for players to fit rounds into busy schedules. The data also suggests league golfers are disproportionately valuable: they play more than twice as many annual rounds as non-participants, spend more, and are more likely to keep playing. League participation has also become more diverse, with higher representation from women, younger golfers, and People of Color, while occasional golfers playing fewer than eight rounds a year are also joining in greater numbers.

For operators, the trend points to leagues becoming more than a programming extra, instead serving as a tool to manage demand, deepen customer habits, and build longer-term retention in a capacity-constrained market.

LIV GOLF PREPARES TO SEEK UP TO $250M FROM NEW INVESTORS AFTER PIF EXIT

LIV Golf is preparing to raise up to $250 million from new investors after losing the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, according to Axios, with the league planning to present the fundraising strategy to players, including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, before going to market.

The process will be managed by Ducera Partners, with the plan reviewed by LIV’s two new board members and restructuring firm Alix Partners. Prospective investors are expected to be told that a full $250 million raise could take the league to profitability in roughly 20 months, although LIV could also raise closer to $150 million and then rely on rising team valuations and a new media-rights deal.

LIV Golf is still operating with remaining Saudi capital, but is said to need new investment in place by the start of October, or it may have to pursue bridge financing. The current ownership structure leaves PIF controlling almost all of LIV itself and about 75% of each team, and the league’s pitch to investors is expected to argue that while Saudi funding reportedly totaled $5 billion, that same involvement deterred some sponsors, golfers, and audiences, meaning LIV’s next phase will depend on whether it can prove the business works on its own.

TAYLORMADE TO PAUSE ANNUAL DRIVER LAUNCHES WITH TWO-YEAR WOODS CYCLE

TaylorMade will not introduce a new driver in 2027, marking a significant change in product strategy for a company long associated with frequent driver launches.

The move to a two-year launch cadence for its woods lineup means TaylorMade is likely to go a year without a new driver for the first time since 2001, bringing it into line with the approach used by Titleist and Ping, while Callaway and Cobra remain among those still releasing new wood lines annually. The longer cycle will apply to the Qi4D family and reflects a broader pattern already in place across TaylorMade’s irons, wedges, and golf balls.

Brian Bazzel, the company’s vice president of product creation, said the annual driver cycle belonged to a different era, when performance gains were easier to achieve, and innovation moved at a faster pace. He added that golfers’ expectations for year-on-year distance gains have become harder to meet as the category becomes more technically demanding.

TaylorMade also believes the modern buying cycle supports a slower release pattern. With fitting now central to driver purchases and prices in some cases 40% higher than five years ago, Bazzel said asking golfers to replace the most expensive club in the bag too often no longer makes sense.

Golf Datatech research shows the average driver replacement cycle among avid golfers is now close to five years, compared with 3.4 years in 2012. Bazzel also said fitters need more time to understand the nuances of a new woods family and communicate them effectively, while TaylorMade’s research and development team needs longer to produce meaningful gains, noting that innovation timelines are now closer to two-and-a-half years per model. The change comes as signs emerge of softer demand in the woods market: Golf Datatech said wood sales in March 2026 were down 15% in units year on year and down 12% for the year, with March unit sales, excluding the pandemic-hit 2020, at their lowest level for that month since 2002.

With the 2026 Solheim Cup taking place at Bernardus Golf, 11 -13 September, fans can take part in the world’s biggest driving range-golf competition, the Inrange World Tour (IWT), virtually experiencing the host venue, Bernardus Golf. It has been appointed the final regular-season tour stop on this global virtual tour which saw over 30 million visitors to partner venues across 16 countries in 2025.

A promotion of this scale and scope required the right platform, with Inrange, a global leader in range technology, the perfect fit to showcase Bernardus Golf to its global audience. Situated in Cromvoirt, near the historic city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bernardus Golf is considered the perfect stage to host the 20^th edition of the famous biennial match play contest, featuring the best U.S. players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and the best European players from the Ladies European Tour (LET).

Designed by renowned American golf course architect Kyle Phillips the highly regarded heathland layout with challenging water hazards and a compact design, has already hosted three editions of the KLM Dutch Open on the DP World Tour (2021-2023) and is ready and well positioned to provide a spectacular stage for the Solheim Cup 2026.

Integrated into IWT Season 3

In partnership with the Dutch Golf Federation this campaign will tee off in June as Tour players worldwide declare their allegiance to Team Europe or the U.S. Team and earn points for their side, and the opportunity to win VIP prizes—including tickets to attend the live tournament in the Netherlands.

The format includes:

• Round One – Nearest to the Pin: A precision-driven singles challenge.

• Round Two – Social Scramble: A team format encouraging players to compete collectively with friends.

• Round Three – Par 3 Challenge: Played on the newly updated virtual Bernardus course, offering an immersive preview of the 2026 host venue.

Advancing Range Golf as a Sport

The transition of Range Golf from isolated practice to structured, competitive golf and entertainment is accelerating. High-profile global campaigns of this calibre deliver tangible commercial value for operators while redefining how players engage with off-course golf worldwide.

• For more information on Inrange® Golf visit their website

• You can also follow them on LinkedIn for the latest news and product innovations from their team.

About Bernardus

Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt is situated near the historic city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The course is easily accessible, just over an hour by train (65 miles) from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam Central Station, and only 20 miles from Eindhoven Airport.

Designed by renowned American golf course architect Kyle Phillips—who also created iconic courses like Kingsbarns, The Grove, and Yas Links—the championship course at Bernardus is a highly regarded heathland layout with challenging water hazards and a compact design. Open to all via Day Memberships, Bernardus focuses on providing an exceptional and enjoyable experience. Embracing the motto “there are no rules,” it offers a relaxed environment where visitors can play a world-class course, enjoy top-tier practice facilities, and indulge in off-course amenities such as an architecturally stunning clubhouse, a Michelin-starred restaurant, a spa, and luxurious lodge accommodations.

Since its opening in 2018, Bernardus has already hosted three editions of the KLM Dutch Open on the DP World Tour (2021-2023) and is ready and well positioned to provide a spectacular stage for the Solheim Cup 2026.

• For more information, please visit bernardusgolf.com.

• You can also follow them on…
  Instagram: @bernardusgolfandwine
  Facebook: @bernardusgolfandwine
  Linkedin: @bernardusgolfandwine

• Questions and press applications can be sent to info@bernardusgolf.com.

• Brand assets can be downloaded at bernardusgolf.com/press.

About Royal Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) and GOLF.NL

NGF
About the Dutch Golf Federation and GOLF.NL. The Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) has about 270 affiliated associations with 430,000 registered golfers, making it the fourth sports association in the Netherlands after football, tennis and fishing.

The NGF focuses primarily on the health of golf in the medium to long term. Important here are a good age structure and a balanced influx and outflow of golfers. It is also emphasized that financially sound golf courses are needed with sufficient capacity and with a (membership) offer that meets the needs of different golfers. The NGF has set itself the goal of attracting more women and young people between 25 and 50 years old to the game and thus increasing the percentage from 32% to 40% women and young people who play golf.

GOLF.NL
GOLF.NL is the online platform for golfing Netherlands, for anyone interested in golf, from beginners to experienced golfers. The platform has 236.000 visitors every month and the weekly newsletter is send to 170.000 subscribers. On www.golf.nl they can find all the golf news, information about golf rules, equipment, travel and for inspiring stories about all the beauty that golf has to offer. They also find numerous instructional videos. GOLF.NL aims to be an appealing communication platform for all golfers, with a special eye for the young and female golfer, in alignment with the NGF strategy to get more young people and women to play golf.

The aim of hosting the 2026 Solheim Cup is to leave a long-term positive legacy by empowering women in sports and golf, and inspiring youth.

The aim of hosting the 2026 Solheim Cup is to leave a long-term positive legacy by empowering women in sports and golf, and inspiring youth.

Queries for the NGF should be directed to niki.wijnen@ngf.nl

About Solheim Cup

The Solheim Cup combines the tradition and prestige of the game of golf with passion for one’s country and continent. This biennial international match-play competition features the best U.S. players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and the best European players from the Ladies European Tour (LET).

The Solheim Cup is named in honor of Karsten and Louise Solheim and family, the founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, which makes PING golf equipment. In 1990, the Solheim family, in conjunction with the LPGA and the LET, developed the concept and became the title sponsor for the Solheim Cup. Today, the Global Partners of the Solheim Cup are PING, Skyscanner and Rolex.

Held every two years, the event has grown into the most prestigious international women’s professional golf team event. The 2026 Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 11-13 at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands, while the 2028 Solheim Cup will be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. The U.S. Team leads Team Europe, 11-7-1, all-time in Solheim Cup competition.

• For more information, visit www.solheimcup.com.

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Hello GBR,

What a difference a year makes.

The Topgolf Callaway group was under severe strain this time last year. Regardless of the success of Callaway’s equipment lineup, the shine was taken off by the ongoing struggles of the Topgolf business, especially from their existing venues.

Topgolf was sold to Leonard Green & Partners in November last year (majority sale), so would the sale payoff? Would Callaway’s figures improve or decline? Going by the first quarter of 2026, the decision looks to have paid dividends (a poor pun), as Callaway has posted some healthy numbers driven by the new Quantum range, and storong international success.

Paid subscribers have full access to our indepth analysis of what the figures tell us, if you haven’t subscribed to GBR yet, please do so to get the full picture and have a say in how we develop the publication going forward.

Enjoy today’s GBR and if you’re watching, the PGA Championship this weekend.

NEWTON GOLF Q1 REVENUE FALLS AS MANUFACTURING TRANSITION DELAYS SHIPMENTS

Newton Golf reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.0 million, down 18% from $1.2 million a year earlier, after temporarily reduced manufacturing capacity and delayed order fulfillment affected shipments during operational initiatives intended to support future growth. Gross profit fell to $628,000, or 63% of net sales, from $852,000, or 70%, while operating expenses rose 15% to $3.2 million and net loss widened to $2.7 million, or 58 cents a share, from $0.5 million, or 5 cents a share. At quarter end, Newton said it held $0.9 million in direct-to-consumer customer deposits and $0.3 million in open wholesale sales orders, representing $1.2 million of expected future revenue as delayed orders begin to ship.

Interim chief executive and chief technology officer Akinobu Yorihiro said the quarter’s disruption reflected investment in long-term production scalability, product consistency, and broader channel growth, with a new head of manufacturing hired in April to strengthen operational execution. The company also used the period to expand the Newton Motion platform, having introduced Fast Motion fairway wood and hybrid shafts at the 2026 PGA Show, with commercial launch expected in the third quarter of 2026. Newton said the products extend its DOT fitting system across more of the bag, while more than 60 professional golfers now use Newton Motion and Fast Motion shafts across the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, LPGA, and Korn Ferry Tour. The company also signed an exclusive South Korea distribution agreement with VC Inc. (VOICE CADDIE) and received a $136,000 order in the quarter, which it expects to recognize as revenue in the second quarter.

PGA AND 59CLUB RENEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AN ADDITIONAL THREE YEARS

The PGA of GB&I has renewed its long-standing partnership with 59club for a further three years, extending a relationship that began in 2010 and now spans 15 years.

Founded in 2008 by PGA Master Manager Simon Wordsworth, 59club has grown into a global performance-management business working with more than 1,200 golf and leisure venues, spas, hotels, retail operations and food-and-beverage outlets, using tools such as satisfaction surveys, mystery shopper audits, financial comparison data and employee training to improve service, sales and staff development.

Under the renewed deal, PGA Members will continue to have access to surveys, mystery shopper audits, masterclasses, PGA Monthly content, PGA Learn resources, and the Annual Service Excellence Awards, while PGA Branded Properties will receive up to four mystery shop visits a year, tailored analysis, bespoke staff training, and access to 59club Mentor, its online training and asset-management platform.

Duncan Rougvie, Head of Commercial at The PGA, said the partnership remained “progressive and aligned”, while Wordsworth said it would continue to support PGA Professionals as their roles become “broader” and “more commercially focused”.

SWAG GOLF JOINS TROON PARTNERS NETWORK AS PREFERRED PARTNER

Troon Partners Network has named SWAG Golf and its family of brands as its newest Preferred Partner under a multi-year agreement that will bring SWAG events and products to Troon golfers across the U.S.

The deal will see SWAG headcovers and other merchandise stocked in Troon pro shops, while the company and its related brands will also receive feature placement through Troon’s Shopify Collective to reach high-value consumers across the operator’s network. SWAG’s brand portfolio includes SWAG, which produces bespoke headcovers, bags and coolers for clubs and events; EP, which focuses on fully customisable shop items; Hometown Brands, which offers officially licensed accessories across the NFL, NHL, MLB and NCAA; and Rewind Golf, which makes officially licensed accessories tied to titles including Happy Gilmore, Ace Ventura, The Big Lebowski, Tommy Boy and Caddyshack.

“We are thrilled to welcome SWAG Golf to the Troon Partners Network,” said Ryan Pensy, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Troon Partners Network, while Griffin Glatt, Chief Revenue Officer of SWAG Golf, said the partnership would help deliver the brand’s distinctive styling and product line-up to a wider golf audience.

THE REVENUE CLUB ADDS 65 NEW COURSES IN EARLY 2026 AS DIGITAL GOLF DEMAND GROWS

The Revenue Club said it added 65 new golf courses to its partner network in the first four months of 2026, taking its client base to more than 300 courses across the UK and Ireland.

More venues are looking to strengthen their online visitor operations through revenue management and digital marketing. The business, which describes itself as the UK’s leading growth agency for golf, said the latest intake includes both private members’ clubs and higher-volume proprietary venues, with demand centered on its dynamic pricing strategies, CRM-led customer lifecycle management, and wider digital sales support. Its recent growth was accompanied by inclusion in the 2026 Martech 50, BusinessCloud’s annual ranking of the UK’s most innovative marketing technology creators. “Golf clubs are realising they need to go beyond a simple booking engine; with intelligent pricing structures and creative online marketing to realise a healthy ROI from their digital channels,” said co-director Chris Knight, while fellow co-director Rob Corcoran said the early-2026 growth had exceeded expectations and reflected a wider shift toward a “more modern, commercial approach” as clubs seek to diversify income and protect themselves against changing economic conditions.

FIVE IRON GOLF LAUNCHES REAL-MONEY TOURNAMENT PLATFORM ACROSS U.S. NETWORK

Five Iron Golf has launched Five Iron Tournaments, a real-money indoor golf competition platform rolling out across 15 markets in 11 states plus Washington, D.C., with further expansion planned by late summer 2026.

The new platform allows players to enter tournaments on demand from any participating bay, compete on live leaderboards for prize money, and choose formats including stroke play, scramble, and closest to the pin, with many events free to enter and hundreds of thousands of dollars in guaranteed prize pools scheduled through 2026. Five Iron said the launch builds on its growth from a four-simulator concept in New York’s Flatiron district into a business with more than 50 locations across seven countries, over 500 Trackman simulators, more than 800 employees, and backing from investors including Callaway and Enlightened Hospitality Investments.

Since the beta launch in October 2025, more than 1,000 players have recorded nearly 20,000 tournament entries, with 65% returning within the same month to play again. “We’ve built a platform that makes competition continuous, flexible, and accessible, while still rooted in real skill and real play,” said chief executive Jared Solomon. Markets in the first phase include New York City, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Seattle, and venues across Florida, Kentucky, and Ohio, with Baltimore, Minneapolis, and Oklahoma to follow; a closest-to-the-pin series will run from June 1 to June 30 across 20 tournaments on well-known courses with $20,000 in guaranteed prize pools.

OLD PETTY OPENS AT CABOT HIGHLANDS AS SITE EYES MAJOR TOURISM LIFT

Cabot Highlands has officially opened the new Old Petty course, the Tom Doak-designed layout, situated near Inverness, has gone straight into Scotland’s latest Top 20 rankings at No. 20.

The Old Petty is designed to encourage strategic and creative links golf, with the routing drawing in Highland landmarks including Castle Stuart and Auld Petty Church, and using the site’s natural terrain to shape play. Among its distinctive features are sweeping coastal views and an uncommon design detail in which the 1st and 8th holes criss-cross, a rare feature in modern course architecture.

The addition of Old Petty alongside Castle Stuart is expected to strengthen both Cabot Highlands and golf tourism in the wider region, with general manager Mark Wright previously saying the development should benefit not only the resort but also Inverness and the Highlands more broadly as visiting golfers use the site as a base to play courses such as Nairn, Royal Dornoch, Brora, and Tain. Cabot Highlands currently sells between 20,000 and 25,000 rounds a year at Castle Stuart, with the total now expected to move towards 50,000 rounds annually with Old Petty in operation.

PGA TOUR ASSURES DP WORLD TOUR OF CONTINUED FINANCIAL SUPPORT THROUGH 2032

The PGA Tour has sought to reassure Rory McIlroy and other European players that it will continue backing the DP World Tour financially.

Chief executive Brian Rolapp is understood to have given verbal assurances that support will remain in place until 2032 as the tours renegotiate their strategic alliance.

The existing deal, struck in 2021, has already seen the PGA Tour invest $85 million (£63 million) for an initial 15% stake in European Tour Productions, later increased to 40%, while also underwriting DP World Tour prize funds so that no individual event falls below $3 million, a commitment that has reportedly cost the Americans tens of millions of dollars each season. The arrangement is expected to be rewritten on terms more favorable to the PGA Tour, which originally entered the partnership partly to prevent Saudi-backed involvement with the European circuit.

Concerns over the DP World Tour’s future have intensified amid uncertainty around LIV Golf’s long-term funding, with Ian Poulter warning that the European tour could be vulnerable if LIV collapses after the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s planned withdrawal. McIlroy, a long-time supporter of the DP World Tour, was present when Rolapp gave the assurances at Quail Hollow, and his influence is seen as significant as the PGA Tour weighs the value of a partnership that has also provided a route for the top 10 non-exempt DP World Tour players to earn PGA Tour cards each year. James Corrigan’s full article for the British Telegraph can be read here.

THE TITLEIST GTS DRIVER RANGE REVEALED

Titleist has confirmed that its new GTS2, GTS3, and GTS4 drivers will go on sale on June 11.

Following social media activity generated from an early tour release that has already seen more than 50 PGA Tour players put one of the heads into play since the lineup debuted at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, including Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, the anticipation of what the new lineup will offer has been strong.

GTS fairway woods also form part of the launch, but for today, we’ll concentrate on the drivers. At the center of the new range is a Split Mass Frame combined with a full thermoform body made from Titleist’s Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), with PMP content increasing from 13 grams to 26 grams compared with the previous GT generation to free up more discretionary mass. Titleist says that allows weight to be moved both rearward for more stability and forgiveness and low-forward for speed, launch, and spin control, while an updated aerodynamic shape, including raised tail sections on the GTS2 and GTS3, is designed to reduce drag and increase clubhead speed.

The drivers also feature a new Speed Sync Face, engineered to retain ball speed across a wider impact area through a reinforced perimeter, an opened-up upper support ring to help on high-face strikes, and variable face thickness. All three models include expanded adjustability, with GTS2 using interchangeable forward and rear weights and GTS3 and GTS4 combining a rear weight with a forward track system, while new high-contrast face graphics are intended to improve alignment at address. In the range, GTS2 is the most forgiving, higher-launching head with mid spin and a larger profile; GTS3 is a more compact, deeper-faced option built for players seeking lower launch, lower spin, and more shot-shaping control; and GTS4, still the lowest-spinning model, now moves to a full 460cc profile to add more forgiveness while retaining its low-spin design.

The drivers are available for fittings and pre-sale now, priced at $699 standard and $899 premium for customized shaft options outside the Titleist range.

CALLAWAY Q1 2026: STRONG CLUB SALES, HIGHER MARGINS, AND A BETTER START TO THE YEAR

Callaway’s first-quarter figures point to a business that has opened 2026 well. Sales were up, clubs led the growth, margins improved, and management raised its expectations for the full year. On the face of it, that is the story. Revenue from continuing operations rose 9.2 percent to $687.5mn, while gross margin improved to 47.5 percent from 45.0 percent a year earlier. Callaway also lifted its full-year net sales outlook to $2.015bn-$2.07bn.

Chip Brewer, Callaway’s president and chief executive, described it as “a strong start to the year”, saying the result reflected “strong demand for our new products” and progress on gross margin and cost-saving initiatives. He also added a note of caution, saying some of the first-quarter results benefited from timing between quarters.

That matters because it stops the quarter from being overstated. The message is not that every question around the year has been answered in April. It is that the opening months have gone well enough for management to raise guidance, and that is usually worth taking seriously.

The quarter was shaped primarily by clubs, where Callaway’s new Quantum launch appears to have given the business its clearest push. Golf club sales rose 11.9 percent year on year to $380.6mn, helping drive a 9.5 percent increase in Golf Equipment revenue to $486.2mn. Elsewhere, growth was more measured: golf balls rose 1.6 percent, apparel 4.8 percent, and gear, accessories, and other products 12.4 percent.

That distinction matters because it shows where the quarter genuinely improved. This was not a case of every category moving sharply higher at once. The strongest momentum came from the area of the business most closely tied to Callaway’s latest equipment cycle.

That is relevant because it keeps the piece anchored in what the business really is. Callaway’s quarter was, above all, a product story. Its latest technology cycle in the Quantum range appears to have helped produce a stronger opening to the year, at least in clubs, and management explicitly pointed to demand for new products in explaining the result.

There is no need to push that into a broader claim than the evidence allows.

The filings do not prove that one launch has beaten every rival launch in the market, and they do not need to. What they do show is that Callaway’s new-product cycle supported a stronger quarter in equipment than the company managed in the same period last year. In Q1 2025, the equipment business grew less impressively inside the wider group, with golf equipment revenue down 1.4 percent.

The contrast with Q1 2026 is clear enough.

The regional picture makes the same point in a different way. The US remains the main engine of the business, with sales up 7.9 percent to $448.8mn. Europe was stronger, with revenue up 29.4 percent to $83.2mn, or 18.2 percent in constant currency. Asia was softer, down 3.0 percent on a reported basis and 0.7 percent in constant currency. The rest of the world rose 22.4 percent, though from a smaller base.

Read more

We are in the week of the second Major of 2026 — the PGA Championship, May 14–17, at Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. And this week we have decided to do something different. Instead of the regular newsletter, we are publishing a monographic special edition on the most important operating shift the industry is going through right now: the arrival of AI as a category in golf operations.

This deep-dive work is distributed free to all our readers courtesy of GOLF.AI, who have made it possible for us to take the time, the research and the editorial space this story deserves.

Let’s get into it.

There are years when technology arrives in golf as a talking point. Then there are years when it begins to change the operating model.

2026 is the second kind.

At the centre of the shift is GOLF.AI, the world’s #1 AI golf company and the leader in the AI Concierge space. Its significance is not that it has built another product for golf. The significance is that it is helping define a new operating layer — AI that answers, understands, routes, supports, captures demand, generates insight, and improves the service model across the course.

The question for 2026 is no longer whether AI will enter golf operations. It already has. The question is which part of the operation it enters first, which vendor operators trust, which data gets connected, which workflows are automated, and which systems become the long-term intelligence layer between golfers and golf courses.

THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER

• The National Golf Foundation reports that 48.1 million Americans aged six and over played golf in 2025 across on-course and off-course formats.

• That total includes 29.1 million on-course golfers — the eighth consecutive year of growth — and 19 million who participated only in off-course formats such as driving ranges, simulators and entertainment venues.

• More than 500 million rounds have been played at U.S. courses in each of the last six years.

• Peak 18-hole public playing fees up roughly 29% between 2019 and 2025, broadly in line with inflation.

• Resort green fees have risen further — about 37% over the same period.

Globally, the same pressure is visible:

• The R&A’s 2024 Global Participation Report counts 108 million adult and junior golfers across all formats in its affiliated markets, excluding the United States and Mexico.

• 64.1 million adults. 43.9 million juniors.

• Europe alone represents 20.3 million adult golfers and 18.5 million junior golfers.

• Industry analysis estimates that no-shows and short-shows can create more than one billion dollars in lost revenue opportunity for U.S. operators annually.

• Tee times that require pre-payment are honoured roughly 95% of the time.

• Reservations without pre-payment land at around 80%.

This is why AI Concierge matters.

The broader market context is consistent. The AI agents market is projected to grow from billions of dollars in 2025 into the tens of billions by 2030, with voice AI as one of the fastest-growing layers. CB Insights reports equity funding for voice AI startups reached $2.1 billion in 2024, up sharply from 2022.

The category will be won by vertical AI. That is why GOLF.AI matters.

MAPPING THE AI GOLF OPERATIONS STACK

1. The front door: AI Concierge. This is where GOLF.AI leads. The GOLF.AI Concierge Agent answers calls, supports booking enquiries, responds to course-approved questions, captures intent, reduces missed calls, assists after hours, and creates a better interface between golfers and golf courses.

The thesis is simple: the pro shop phone should become intelligent. Not replaced by a menu. Not buried behind voicemail. Not treated as an unavoidable interruption. Made intelligent.

That is not a chatbot. That is an operating layer.

2. Demand recovery. Waitlist intelligence. Cancellation recovery. No-show prevention. Abandoned-booking recovery. Reminder systems. Tools that turn latent demand into booked rounds. In the old model, demand was mostly passive. In the AI model, demand becomes active. Intent is captured even when the exact tee time is unavailable. Cancellations trigger outreach. Groups that abandon a flow are re-engaged. The shift is from inventory display to intent management.

3. Pricing and yield intelligence. Golf is starting to think more seriously about revenue management. That does not mean every course should operate like an airline. It means operators will increasingly use data to understand demand curves, shoulder periods, cancellation patterns, weather effects, lead times, channel mix, member displacement, visitor value and total revenue per tee time. Golf has a relationship economy. Member trust matters. The phrase dynamic pricing can sound efficient in a boardroom and dangerous in a grill room. The winning model will not be crude price automation. It will be operator-controlled yield intelligence.

4. On-course optimization. Pace of play. Course flow. Marshal intelligence. Weather response. Bottleneck detection. Cart movement. Maintenance coordination. Real-time operational visibility. AI and data make the course more visible. The best operators will use AI not to remove human judgment but to sharpen it.

5. Business intelligence. This is where the stack moves from the front desk to the boardroom. For GOLF.AI, this is where Pro Shop AI Insights becomes strategic. Every call, message, enquiry and question contains information. A course can begin to see what golfers ask about most often, which questions create staff load, which booking enquiries arrive after hours, which policies confuse visitors, which revenue opportunities sit inside everyday service conversations.

The first benefit of AI Concierge is answering the call. The larger benefit is understanding the operation.

THE LIVE DEPLOYMENT SIGNAL

A category does not come of age when vendors announce features. It comes of age when live deployments begin to show what the category looks like in the field.

That is why deployments like the GOLF.AI × Proshop Tee Times partnership in the US and the La Cala rollout on the Costa del Sol matter.

• Calvert City Golf & Country Club (Kentucky) and Elk Run Golf Club (Indiana). On April 30, 2026, GOLF.AI and Proshop Tee Times announced a partnership to personalize golf pro shops across the United States using the GOLF.AI Concierge Agent. Calvert City and Elk Run are the first two deployments. Adam Webb, PGA Director of Golf at Calvert City, has described the Concierge Agent as an absolute game-changer for the club. The point is not the announcement. The point is the operating model behind it. The pro shop is a hybrid — reception desk, retail shop, booking office, rules desk, member service counter, starter hut, sales channel, hospitality front door. In peak periods, the phone is a tax on service. Every call answered is a golfer helped, but also a golfer in front of the counter made to wait. AI Concierge changes that equation.

• La Cala Resort (Mijas, Costa del Sol, Spain). La Cala brings the European anchor to the deployment story. Three championship courses — Asia, América, Europa — designed by Cabell B. Robinson. A 4* GL hotel. International guests in multiple languages, year-round. The kind of operating environment where the front door is the hardest part to scale: a caller from Sweden, a member from the UK, a corporate group from Germany, a visitor from Spain — all routed through the same pro shop, in the same hour, with the same staffing.

“We are excited to be leading the industry using AI to connect golfers to the La Cala golf course. Our AI Concierge agent developed in partnership with GOLF.AI allows golfers to connect using WhatsApp to Prepay for tee times across our three courses.”
Robert Mitchell, Director of Golf La Cala.

🎬 VIDEO — La Cala Resort, Costa del Sol
Three championship courses (Asia, América, Europa) designed by Cabell B. Robinson, 4* GL hotel, year-round international play. Supplied by GOLF.AI.

Beyond the named cases, the category is scaling fast.

GOLF.AI is now trailing with over 100 golf courses worldwide. Deployments span Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Ireland, Portugal, across the UK, and more than 80 courses in the United States. Any course can start building its own AI Concierge by going to courses.golf.ai and configuring its agent. It is free for thirty days.

The deployments share a thesis: AI Concierge is not about removing the pro shop from the golfer relationship. It is about protecting the pro shop from low-value interruption while improving the golfer’s access to service.

The best use of AI in golf is not to make the club feel less human. It is to give the humans more time to be human.

This is where the AI Concierge role becomes larger than answering phones. It helps redefine the pro shop as a revenue function.

For too long, the front desk has been treated as an operating cost. AI makes the front desk measurable. If a call becomes a booking, it can be measured. If an after-hours enquiry becomes a tee time, it can be measured. If a missed call is recovered, it can be measured. The pro shop becomes not only a service point, but a data-rich commercial function.

SIR NICK’S SECOND ACT

Sir Nick Faldo — three-time Open champion, three-time Masters champion, 97 weeks at world number one, 30 European Tour victories, 41 total professional wins — is Global Ambassador and shareholder of GOLF.AI. His role is not promotional. His likeness and digitalized voice power the caller experience of the Concierge Agent. When a golfer picks up the phone, Faldo’s digital twin can be the voice on the other side.

It also signals something about the category. AI Concierge is not a back-office tool that golfers will never see. It is the first touch. The phone call. The message. The booking enquiry. The after-hours question. If that first touch matters enough that a player of Faldo’s stature lends his voice to it, the front door matters more than the industry has admitted.

For European operators, the partnership carries an additional signal. Faldo is, by record and by reputation, the most successful European player of the modern era. His association with GOLF.AI tells European clubs, resorts and federations that this category is not only an American development.

For GOLF.AI, the Faldo dimension is not celebrity endorsement. It is editorial conviction made operational. The thesis — that golf’s front door deserves the same investment as its playing experience — is harder to dismiss when the voice on the line is the voice that won three Opens.

WHAT AUGUST 2 MEANS FOR YOUR TEE SHEET

The EU AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024 and becomes fully applicable on August 2, 2026, with phased exceptions. Different obligations apply at different stages, with earlier application for prohibited practices and AI literacy obligations, and later timing for certain high-risk systems.

For golf operators, the immediate point is not that every AI tool in golf will be high-risk. Most will not be. The point is that AI is moving from novelty to governance. Voice AI raises especially practical questions:

• Is the caller told they are speaking with AI?

• Is the call recorded? Where is the recording stored?

• Who owns the transcript? How long is it retained?

• Can the golfer request access or deletion? Is the data used to train models?

• Can the course audit what the AI said?

• Can staff override responses?

• How is consent managed across jurisdictions?

The AI Act’s penalty regime can reach €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover for certain prohibited-practice violations. GDPR remains central. Voice recordings, transcripts, booking histories, caller profiles and member data are personal data issues, not just software issues.

Trust is the category.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Capital follows category formation. The broader AI market has shifted from general-purpose fascination to workflow-specific deployment. Voice AI is one of the clearest examples. Businesses with high call volumes, repetitive enquiries, staffing pressure and measurable conversion value are natural targets for AI agents. That describes golf.

The capital signals are clear:

• Old Tom Capital, the golf-only venture firm founded by Matthew Erley and Evan Roosevelt, has built a portfolio across the operating layer of the game and launched The Club in 2025, a private investment network for accredited golf investors at $500 per year.

• Phoenix Capital Ventures has co-invested in golf-tech rounds alongside TRT Holdings, the Keiser family, the Bitove family and Perot Jain.

• In the generalist voice AI market, Vapi raised a $20 million Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners in December 2024 at a $130 million post-money valuation.

• CB Insights reports voice AI startups raised approximately $2.1 billion across 2024, with strong continued activity through Q1 2025.

Large horizontal platforms will keep attracting capital. They will serve banks, insurers, healthcare providers, restaurants, retailers, travel companies and enterprise contact centres. They will improve quickly. But golf is not a generic contact centre. Golf has context.

A golfer asking Can I get out early Saturday? is not asking a generic availability question. The request has tee sheet, group size, member access, visitor rules, cart availability, competition schedule, daylight, pricing and cancellation implications. A member asking What’s the format tomorrow? may require competition data, handicap rules, member category and club-specific language. A visitor asking Can I wear this? may require dress code interpretation, not a policy quote.

This is why vertical AI matters. The golf operator does not need a voice model. The operator needs a golf-aware agent.

GOLF.AI‘s position as the world’s #1 AI golf company and the leader in AI Concierge is built on that vertical thesis. The internet era gave golf websites. The mobile era gave golf apps. The AI era will give golf agents. Those agents will not only sit on websites. They will answer phones, support bookings, explain policies, guide golfers, capture demand, generate insights, assist staff and connect workflows that were previously separate.

SIX QUESTIONS A GM SHOULD ASK BEFORE SIGNING

1. Integration depth. Does the AI connect to the systems that matter? Can it work with the tee sheet, booking engine, payments, CRM, member database, messaging channels, F&B systems or retail workflows? If not today, what is the roadmap?

2. Containment versus handoff. What can the AI safely handle? What must be escalated? Can the course define escalation rules? Are there published containment rates?

3. Compliance posture. Is the vendor GDPR-ready? Is it preparing for the EU AI Act? Are callers told they are speaking with AI? Are recordings and transcripts controlled?

4. Pricing. Is the model per minute, per call, per location, per feature, flat fee or outcome-based? Are there hidden charges for setup, integrations, call volume, support, reporting or premium voices?

5. Data ownership. Who owns the transcripts, caller profiles, booking data, agent configuration, course knowledge base and interaction history? Can the vendor use that data to train broader models?

6. Exit. What happens in 18 months if the course changes vendor? What gets exported, in what format, and what happens to the trained agent?

The best GMs will not ask, Can the AI answer the phone? They will ask, Can this AI safely become part of how our course operates? That is the correct question.

THE CATEGORY COMES OF AGE

Every category has a moment when the language changes. First, people ask what it is. Then they ask whether it works. Then they ask who is using it. Then they ask what it costs. Then they ask which vendor to choose. Then they ask what happens if they do nothing.

AI in golf operations is moving through that sequence quickly. The demo phase was necessary. Golf needed to see what AI could do — to hear the voice, test the chatbot, watch the agent, ask the rules question, imagine the booking flow.

2026 is different. This is now about operations.

• Can the phone be answered every time?

• Can the golfer get the right information?

• Can the booking enquiry be captured?

• Can after-hours demand be converted?

• Can staff time be protected?

• Can the course learn from every interaction?

• Can data be handled responsibly?

• Can the AI be trusted with the brand?

That is the category. And GOLF.AI is leading the most important layer of it: AI Concierge.

The reason is simple. The front door matters. Before a golfer reaches the tee sheet, they often have a question. Before they arrive at the course, they often need help. That first interaction shapes the relationship.

For years, golf has invested heavily in the playing experience while underinvesting in the access experience. But the first interaction still too often depends on whether someone can answer the phone.

AI changes that. Not by making golf less personal — by making the first response more reliable. Not by replacing staff — by giving staff more time for the work only humans can do. Not by removing the pro shop — by making the pro shop more intelligent.

In the old model, golfers navigated. They searched the website. They opened the app. They called the shop. They waited. They asked. They repeated themselves. They adapted to the system.

This is the shift from interface to intent. In the AI model, golfers express intent:

• I want to play Saturday morning.

• Can I bring a guest?

• What’s the dress code?

• Is the range open?

• Can I book a lesson?

• Can I host a corporate day?

• Can I pay now?

The system should understand and act. That is the future GOLF.AI is building.

2026 is the year AI in golf operations becomes a category. Not a demo. Not a novelty. Not a chatbot on a website. A category. It has a market. It has buyers. It has regulation. It has capital. It has measurable operational impact. It has vendor selection risk. And it has a clear leader in the AI Concierge space.

GOLF.AI is the world’s #1 AI golf company, and its Concierge Agent is defining the new front door for golf operations.

It is already there.

Any course can start building its own AI Concierge today, free for thirty days, at courses.golf.ai.

Just before the weekend gets underway, it’s time to have a look around to capture the leading golf stories.

Our focus before we get into today’s paid story looks at initiatives designed to develop golf and bring more people into the sport. Two stories standout.

Australian Golf has announced a new five year plan build around three pillars, which are not only promotes golf but helps protect existing facilities and enhancing them to support projected growth.

In the UK, the PGA of GB&I, reports on its PGA Play initiative, which helps beginners reach golf professionals for tuition through the PGA Play online portal. What’s impressive is the conversion rate of players who have one lesson following up and booking further lessons signposting their intent to play more golf and improve.

Our paid story today takes a look under the hood of Acushnet’s Q1 figures and compares them against the same period for last year.

Steady progress is being made, and the big question will be whether or not Acushnet can post strong H1 figures boosted by the impending launch of the GTS Series.

Enjoy, today’s GBR, and have a great weekend.

AUSTRALIAN GOLF SETS OUT FIVE-YEAR PLAN TO MODERNISE THE GAME

Australian golf has launched BIG SWINGS 2026–2030: The Next Evolution of Golf in Australia, a five-year national strategy designed to grow participation, strengthen facilities and make the game more accessible to a wider audience.

Launched at Golf Park Adelaide, the plan brings together Golf Australia, the PGA of Australia, the WPGA Tour of Australasia, clubs, PGA Professionals, venue operators and industry leaders behind a shared agenda. More than four million Australians now participate in golf across courses, driving ranges, simulator venues and social entertainment formats, with off-course venues doubling since the industry’s first strategy was launched. Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said: “What started as a belief that all golf is golf is now how Australians actually play.”

The strategy is built around three pillars: EVOLVE, supporting more than 1,800 golf courses and facilities to adapt to modern customer expectations; BELONG, aiming for everyone in the golf community to feel welcome, with a focus on women, families and under-represented groups; and CONNECT, linking one million more golfers to the sport over the next five years. Sutherland said the aim was “more Australians experiencing the benefits of golf more often,” while PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman called it “a strategy for the whole of golf.”

WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO Karen Lunn said rising engagement from women, families and diverse communities made inclusion central to the plan. The strategy was shaped by more than 12,000 public survey responses and nationwide industry consultation, with implementation now focused on practical changes across clubs, facilities and participation programmes.

GOLF TRAVEL BECOMES A LARGER FORCE IN THE U.S. GOLF ECONOMY

The latest study from the National Golf Foundation highlights that golf travel is becoming one of the strongest growth areas in the U.S. golf economy, with more than 12 million Americans taking golf-related trips each year from 2022 to 2025.

That is 49% above recent pre-COVID levels and about 10% higher than the comparable period in the mid-2000s before the Great Recession. Golf travel is now the second-largest segment of the U.S. golf economy behind facility operations, generating more than $30bn annually in off-course tourism spending on travel, lodging, meals and incidentals, with a further $10bn linked to green fees, merchandise and food-and-beverage spending by travelling golfers.

The rise in demand is also influencing golf course development. Over the past five years, almost one-third of new U.S. course openings have had a resort connection, compared with just over 10% of the country’s roughly 16,000 existing courses being tied to a resort or resort-real-estate property. Recent examples include new resort courses at Arcadia Bluffs, Big Cedar, Gamble Sands and McLemore, while Rodeo Dunes, Sand Valley and Wild Spring Dunes have held soft openings before official debuts this year. Private destination clubs such as Broomsedge, Old Barnwell and The Tree Farm are also drawing travelling golfers. Nearly half of golfers, 47%, say they expect to play while travelling in the coming year, underlining how golf trips are becoming a more social, experience-led part of the game rather than a niche travel category.

UNEEKOR LAUNCHES AI STUDIO TRAINING PACKAGE WITH REAL-TIME SWING ANALYSIS

Uneekor has launched AI Studio, its most complete training package to date, built around AI Trainer, an intelligent coaching engine that analyses more than 60 swing checkpoints in real time and gives golfers an instant personalised swing score after every shot. The system uses machine learning to capture each swing, identify what is happening at impact and turn the data into clear recommendations for players and coaches. Paired with two high-speed global-shutter Swing Optix cameras, the package combines slow-motion video with club-path, hand-path and setup-line analysis, helping golfers compare what they feel in the swing with what the data shows.

AI Trainer is available within the Uneekor AI Studio bundle across the company’s overhead launch monitor range, including EYE XR, EYE XO and EYE XO2. Each AI Studio package includes a Uneekor overhead launch monitor, Swing Optix cameras and tripods, a full year of AI Trainer software, and a three-month trial of the Ultimate Package, which unlocks GAME DAY, Uneekor’s 4K golf simulation software. Uneekor said the system is already being used by coaches and facilities to create baseline assessments, track movement improvements and measure progress over time. “Golfers can have every metric in front of them and still not know what to work on,” said Tarick Walton, Uneekor’s Head of Product Management. “AI Trainer takes what the system sees at impact and turns it into something they can actually act on.”

PGA PLAY TURNS ONLINE LESSON SEARCHES INTO NEW GOLF PARTICIPATION

PGA Play, the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland’s consumer-facing coaching platform, is now in its fourth year and hosts more than 1,800 PGA Member profiles, giving professionals a free online presence while connecting beginners directly with qualified coaches. The platform is responding to clear search demand, with more than 1.5 million annual UK searches for terms such as “golf lessons near me” and “golf coach”. Over the past 12 months, PGA Play has generated 11,000 lesson enquiries, engaged 192,000 users, recorded 263,000 profile views and driven 36,000 clicks to PGA Member booking platforms and websites. “It’s just showing what’s available to the consumer,” said Scott Garrett, Head Professional at Gailes Golf & Leisure in Scotland. “It’s easy even for a non-golfer to go on there and understand it pretty quickly.”

The PGA’s survey data suggests the platform is converting interest into action, with 74% of respondents booking a golf lesson after using PGA Play, 73% identified as beginners, and 70% booking a one-to-one lesson, while 25% booked a series of one-to-one sessions. A follow-up survey three months later found 72% had taken coaching, 78% rated the impact as excellent or good, and 66% were highly likely to continue coaching and recommend lessons. PGA Play is also reaching strategically important audiences: more than 40% of users are under 35, more than a quarter are women, and 72% of non-club golfers using the platform said they were considering joining a club. The platform also supports beginners through website, social media and newsletter content, positioning it as a pathway from initial search to lesson booking, ongoing play and potential club membership.

PGA TOUR TO EXPAND PLAYER SOCIAL MEDIA RIGHTS AS YOUTUBE GOLF GROWS

The PGA Tour is preparing to introduce an updated player social media policy that will expand what players can film and publish from tournament sites, as content creation becomes a more prominent part of the professional game.

The revised rules, presented to the Player Advisory Council fans subcommittee at the Truist Championship and expected to be rolled out later this month, are designed to align on-site content permissions with existing off-site guidelines that already allow players to share non-live, post-produced material.

The move comes as players such as Bryson DeChambeau continue to build large digital audiences, with DeChambeau stating this week that prioritising YouTube content alongside major championships in 2027 was “an incredibly viable option,” while also noting that previous Tour rules restricted filming during event weeks.

Revised PGA Tour social media rules:

• Players can post three minutes of on-site content during competition days, up from two minutes

• There is no limit on player-created content from non-competition days, including practice rounds and pro-ams

• After TV coverage ends, players can post broadcast footage of up to six shots per round, capped at one minute, up from one shot previously

• Archive footage use after an event ends rises to eight minutes per video, up from five

• Players can now use up to 120 minutes of archive footage in total on a YouTube channel, up from 60

• Players can earn Google AdSense revenue from practice and pro-am content filmed on-site

• The PGA Tour will claim revenue through YouTube Content ID for videos containing competition-round footage

• Players no longer need to transfer ownership of their YouTube channel to the Tour to use archive footage

The policy update reflects a broader shift within the PGA Tour as it responds to growing demand for player-led content, with several members already building audiences online, including Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood.

Players involved in the PAC fans subcommittee include Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Max Homa, as the Tour looks to balance media rights with the commercial and engagement opportunities created by social and digital platforms. David Rumsey’s full article in Front Office Sports can be read here.

ACUSHNET DELIVERS Q1 GROWTH, NEXT PHASE HINGES ON NEW EQUIPMENT CYCLE

Acushnet’s first-quarter 2026 figures offer a useful reading of where the premium golf equipment market stands at the start of the year. The company is growing, its core Titleist equipment business remains strong, and demand appears broadly healthy across most major regions. But the results also show how much Acushnet’s performance continues to depend on product timing, regional execution and the resilience of its most established categories.

For the three months to March 31, Acushnet reported net sales of $753.0 million, up 7.1% on the same period last year, or 4.8% on a constant currency basis. That compares with Q1 2025, when net sales were $703.4 million and effectively flat year-on-year, down 0.6% as reported but up 1.2% in constant currency.

The comparison matters because Q1 2026 looks less like a rebound from weakness and more like a return to steadier expansion. Acushnet’s results were not driven by one isolated product line. Growth came through golf balls, golf clubs and golf gear, while regional performance improved in the United States, EMEA, Japan and Rest of World. Korea was the notable exception.

Read more

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition, and we have a bumper lineup for you to enjoy.

We start with an interesting insight report from our friends at 59club US. Membership sales are often discussed and executed; the importance is obvious. More members offer the potential to bring in more revenue, but is purely doing a hard sell on the club and course the right way to tug at the heartstrings of potential members?

59club US’s research suggests otherwise, and their findings make for an interesting read.

Old Tom Capital has released a fantastic new report, 2026 Golf Industry Outlook. There’s some fantastic insight delivered in the full report, and it’s well worth downloading.

Our two headline stories are joined by stories from Five Iron Golf, Indoor Golf Alliance, Persistence Market Research, and 8AM Golf, to name a few more.

Enjoy today’s newsletter, speak Friday.

59club US Insight: Why Most Golf Clubs Lose Prospective Members Before The Sale Even Begins

Membership sales remain one of the most important, and often misunderstood, drivers of a golf club’s commercial performance, underpinning not just subscription income but long-term engagement and secondary spend. Yet despite this, many clubs continue to lose prospective members through inconsistent or poorly executed sales inquiry management.

59club has become the leading brand across golf, helping clubs understand how their service and sales standards perform in the real world, using mystery shopper feedback and global benchmarking data to highlight where membership inquiry processes can be improved.

Drawing on that insight, a clear pattern emerges: the gap between average venues and top-performing “Podium” clubs is not defined by facilities or price, but by the consistency of core sales behaviours. Understanding what those behaviours look like, and how they are applied in practice, is where the real opportunity lies.

59club explores this in the article below, showing why effective membership sales depend as much on understanding people as they do on promoting the club itself.

What members of your club really want is to feel a sense of belonging. 59club data can help you to understand how to create it...

That desire to feel connected and accepted is a fundamental part of human nature. In fact, it’s one of our most important psychological needs.

Every day around the world, golf clubs receive enquiries from prospective members attracted to the club with the desire to fulfil the same three needs: meet new people, participate in a sport, and join a community.

Membership sales is as much about helping prospects to identify what network they will align with, and what opportunities exist for them to integrate into club life, as much as it is about promoting the golf course and other attributes.

Global data collected from mystery shopping the membership sales process in 2024 throws up some very interesting insights around the industry’s ability to understand a prospective member’s needs to ‘sell’ the idea of belonging within the club community.

Membership is not a one-size-fits-all proposition; each member comes with a unique set of circumstances and will feel fulfilled by different experiences. Ultimately, it’s the task of the Membership Sales Advisor to remain focused when liaising with prospective members, actively listening to identify the individual needs of the person in front of them.

Once those needs are established, you are in a strong position to relate the club and its community to exceed the prospects’ expectations. This process will enhance new member conversion rates and breed loyalty within your club – and its community.

If you are a club manager or committee member looking to understand where your golf club’s opportunities lie, reach out to 59club for tailored expert support.

OLD TOM CAPITAL REPORT SAYS GOLF’S INVESTMENT CASE IS BROADENING

Old Tom Capital has released its 2026 Golf Industry Outlook, arguing that golf is entering a new phase of institutional interest as participation, technology, media, hospitality and real-asset ownership converge around a broader sports investment market. The report says the global sports economy is worth $2.5 trillion and could reach $3.7 trillion by 2030, while sports assets have compounded at 13.1% annually over six decades.

For golf specifically, it points to 549.5 million U.S. rounds played in 2025, the fourth all-time record in five years, with every year since 2020 above 500 million rounds despite around 2,000 fewer facilities than during the previous boom. It also says total U.S. participation has reached 48.1 million, with 29.1 million on-course golfers, 37.9 million off-course participants, 14.9 million core golfers and private club membership up 50% since 2019 to 2.1 million golfers.

The report identifies six investment categories it believes will shape golf’s next cycle: off-course and “Golf Lite” formats, infrastructure and technology, media and content, performance and equipment, sustainability and agronomy technology, and hospitality and travel. Among the standout data points, it says screen golf grew 13% in 2025 to 9.2 million players, 81% of facilities have still not adopted simulator technology, and the golf simulator market is approaching $2 billion globally.

It also highlights golf tourism as a major growth area, estimating the market at about $28 billion in 2025 and projecting it to exceed $60 billion by 2034, while St Andrews is cited as generating £317 million in annual economic value for Scotland. Old Tom Capital says the central opportunity is not simply adding more golfers, but converting interest into long-term engagement through better formats, technology, hospitality and operating infrastructure.

GOLF EQUIPMENT MARKET FORECAST TO RISE FROM $8.9BN TO $12.9BN BY 2033

The global golf equipment market is forecast to grow from US$8.9 billion in 2026 to US$12.9 billion by 2033, a 5.4% CAGR, supported by sustained post-pandemic participation growth, faster adoption of advanced equipment and expanding golf infrastructure in emerging economies.

The findings form part of a new report from Persistence Market Research, which also highlights North America remaining the largest region, with a 42% market share in 2025, helped by more than 41 million golfers in the U.S., higher disposable income and established retail and golf course networks.

Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region, led by infrastructure investment in China, South Korea and Southeast Asia, while golf clubs remain the dominant product category with a 45% share in 2025, driven by higher prices, frequent upgrades, AI-led design and demand for custom-fitted equipment. Online distribution is the fastest-growing sales channel, helped by e-commerce, direct-to-consumer strategies and younger golfers’ buying habits.

The report says growth is being driven by a broader player base, including 66.6 million golfers across 208 countries globally, alongside rising demand for adjustable drivers, multi-material irons, smart-sensor embedded balls, AI-optimised clubfaces, high-speed ball technologies and fitting systems using platforms such as TrackMan and Foresight Sports.

Cost remains a barrier, with entry-level club sets from established brands typically priced between US$300 and US$700, while premium sets can exceed US$3,000, before course fees, apparel, footwear and accessories are added. Infrastructure is also unevenly distributed, with more than 75% of the world’s 38,864 golf facilities located in just 10 countries. The strongest opportunities are expected to come from indoor golf and entertainment venues such as Topgolf, Drive Shack and PopStroke, home simulators from brands including SkyTrak and Full Swing, and the women’s and junior markets, with women accounting for around 25% of U.S. golfers in 2023 and juniors exceeding 3.4 million on-course participants.

8AM GOLF JOINS MCLAREN GOLF AS NEW IRON LINE LAUNCHES IN MIAMI

8AM Golf has become an “investor, partner and advisor” to McLaren Golf, which launched last Wednesday ahead of the Miami Grand Prix and the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral.

8AM Golf, based in Scottsdale, owns or backs golf businesses, including Golf Magazine, Golf.com, Miura Golf, True Spec Golf, Payntr Golf, Club-Conex, Fairway Jockey, 3’s and Bounty Club, the Nashville course project created with Justin Timberlake. “It’s been two years in the making,” said 8AM Golf CEO and president Hoyt McGarity, while McLaren Golf CEO Neil Howie, formerly president and managing director of Callaway Golf Europe, said the company had challenged “every part of the process – from materials to construction” before bringing the irons to market.

McLaren Golf’s first products, the Series 1 and Series 3 irons, have been developed with Justin Rose, the company’s headline golf ambassador, who put a mixed set of Series 3 long irons and Series 1 mid and short irons in play at last weekend’s Cadillac Championship. McLaren has also announced that Michelle Wie West and Ian Poulter will also be brand ambassadors going forward. More details were released about the construction process, which is highlighted by Metal Injection Molding, a complex process rarely used at scale in golf and forms part of the reason for the eye-catching pricing ($375 per iron for both models), which McLaren Golf says allows tighter control over material composition, internal geometry and mass distribution than traditional forging or casting.

NGCOA LAUNCHES 2026 MEMBER GOLF STUDY TO BENCHMARK COURSE PERFORMANCE

The National Golf Course Owners Association has launched the 2026 NGCOA Member Golf Study, a new financial and operational benchmark report available at no cost to participating NGCOA members.

Developed with Greenlight Advisors and powered by the GolfClubBenchmarks.com platform, the study is designed to help golf course owners and operators compare their performance against aggregated peer data across areas including operational efficiency, labour costs, revenue per customer, food-and-beverage margins and capital expenditure.

Participating courses will receive two deliverables: a Best-in-Class Report Card™, using a top, median and bottom quartile framework, and the NGCOA Golf Study Benchmark Report, featuring member averages and wider industry comparisons.

The platform is built around four performance pillars: Financial Performance, covering revenue, costs, profitability and efficiency; Operational Performance, including rounds played, utilisation and staffing efficiency; Capital Asset Stewardship, assessing investment, maintenance and long-term infrastructure sustainability; and Player Experience, measuring satisfaction, loyalty, recommendation strength and engagement.

NGCOA members will receive confidential data aggregation, comparisons by state, region, nation and segment, including municipal, public-daily fee and resort courses, as well as early positioning for the wider 2026 U.S. Golf Study rollout later this year. “It gives members a dashboard with warning lights for their own operation,” said Rachel Carter, NGCOA Senior Director of Membership.

FIVE IRON GOLF OPENS FIRST CONTINENTAL EUROPE VENUE IN VALENCIA

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Five Iron Golf. Last week, they launched their first venue in Saudi Arabia in the PIF Tower, Riyadh, followed by the launch this week of Five Iron Golf’s first location in continental Europe in Spain.

Five Iron Golf Valencia, operating at Calle Antiga Senda de Senent, had a soft opening on April 23, followed by the public opening on Tuesday (May 4), with the grand opening event on May 27. The approximately 10,700-square-foot venue combines golf, hospitality and entertainment, featuring eight Trackman-powered simulators, F1 racing simulators, VR darts and multisport games, alongside a full-service bar and kitchen.

The site can host up to 200 guests and is targeting casual players, experienced golfers, corporate events, networking groups, birthdays, children’s parties and private bookings. “As our first location in continental Europe, this opening is an important milestone for us,” said Jared Solomon, Five Iron Golf CEO and Co-Founder. Victor Amarnani, CEO of Five Iron Golf Iberia, said early demand for events, group bookings and memberships had been strong, particularly from Valencia’s corporate and expat communities. The opening forms part of Five Iron’s wider expansion across Spain and Portugal, with Madrid among the additional locations planned.

INDOOR GOLF ALLIANCE WEBINAR TO FOCUS ON FILLING EMPTY SIMULATOR BAYS

The Indoor Golf Alliance will host a free webinar on Wednesday, May 13, at 12 pm ET titled “Fill Empty Bays and Stay Connected with Your Golfers,” aimed at helping simulator facilities increase usage during slow hours and off-season periods.

The session will cover strategies for keeping bays occupied, maintaining customer engagement between visits, and using collaboration tools to create recurring revenue through coaching programmes. The webinar will be hosted by Phil Immordino, President of the IGA, with panellists Alex Berlin, Vice President of Operations at CoachNow, and Noah Hortsman, Owner and CEO of The Golf Garage in Medford, Oregon. Berlin will discuss how coaches and facilities can use technology to improve operations, revenue and player experience, while Hortsman will share examples from an indoor training and simulator business built around structured, data-driven instruction, year-round coaching and measurable player development.

If you are interested in registering to attend the webinar, you can contact Phil Immordino directly at phili@indoorgolfalliance.org.

KESWICK HALL TO HOST 2026 U.S. OPEN LOCAL QUALIFIER AT FULL CRY

Keswick Hall’s Pete Dye-designed Full Cry at Keswick Club will serve as a local qualifying site for the 2026 U.S. Open Championship on May 12, continuing the Virginia Wine Country resort’s run as a U.S. Open qualifying venue after hosting in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The 18-hole qualifier will feature 84 players competing for five places in final qualifying for the 126th U.S. Open, which will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club from June 18-21. Full Cry was enhanced in 2025 by Love Golf Design architect Scot Sherman, a longtime Pete Dye disciple, with updates designed to modernise the course while preserving Dye’s original strategy. “The routing forces you to think strategically on every single shot,” said Keswick Hall touring professional Lauren Coughlin. Full Cry will also host the Southern Amateur Qualifier, Middle Atlantic PGA Senior Championship, Senior Open of Virginia and University of Virginia Women’s Collegiate Event in 2026, and is ranked No. 94 on GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S., No. 4 in Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Virginia and No. 58 in Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses.

JON RAHM REACHES DP WORLD TOUR AGREEMENT OVER LIV GOLF FINES

Jon Rahm has reached an agreement with the DP World Tour to pay all outstanding fines linked to his LIV Golf appearances, clearing the way for him to return to the circuit and remain eligible to qualify for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

The fines were believed to total about $3m (£2.21m), and Rahm had announced in March that he had withdrawn his appeal against the sanctions. The DP World Tour said the agreement covers conditional releases for Rahm to play in conflicting LIV Golf events for the rest of the 2026 season, alongside payment of all fines accrued from 2024 to date and participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments outside the majors later this year.

“There were some concessions on both sides,” Rahm said ahead of LIV Golf Virginia. “That will not be a stress anymore.” The 11-time DP World Tour winner had previously criticised the process, accusing the Tour of “extorting” LIV players, but his arrangement is understood to match the terms already accepted by eight others, including Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin.

O’NEIL SAYS LIV GOLF TEAM VALUE WILL DRIVE NEXT PHASE AFTER PIF FUNDING EXIT

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has said the league’s future value lies in its 13 teams, in his first public comments since Saudi Arabia’s PIF confirmed it will stop funding the league after the 2026 season.

Speaking ahead of LIV Golf Virginia at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., O’Neil said LIV believes its franchises can become highly valuable once the business has the right revenue base, cost structure and direction. LIV executives previously outlined a target of building each team toward a potential $1bn valuation, while the league had already been exploring minority investment in some teams at around $300m valuations, with Citi’s sports advisory group involved.

LIV currently owns 75% of each franchise, while team captains hold the remaining 25%, including Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, although no team investment deals have yet been completed. The league said Monday it had appointed Ducera Partners as investment banking adviser, following the creation of a new independent board led by two restructuring specialists. O’Neil said it had been clear “18 months ago” that LIV needed “significant and substantive changes” to become a going concern, but added: “I have a lot of confidence that this is a place players want to be.”

David Rumsey’s article featuring the interview with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil can be read here.

ODYSSEY LAUNCHES DAMASCUS MILLED SEVEN PUTTER IN ULTRA-PREMIUM RANGE

Odyssey has moved further into the ultra-premium category with the limited-edition Damascus Milled Seven DB, priced at $699 and available from yesterday (May 5th), alongside the Damascus Milled Seven CH variant.

The putter combines Odyssey’s established Seven mallet shape with a forged, layered Damascus steel insert, where each face features a unique pattern and is engineered using AI-designed back contours to help maintain consistent ball speed across the hitting area. The head is fully milled from stainless steel, a construction aimed at delivering tighter manufacturing tolerances, cleaner shaping and a more refined feel compared with cast alternatives, while a blasted silver finish gives the putter a muted, high-end aesthetic.

The Seven DB model uses a double-bend shaft with ¾ shaft offset and a face-balanced profile, making it suited to players with a straighter, minimal-arc putting stroke, while the Seven CH offers an alternative hosel configuration for different stroke types.

Odyssey has paired the head with a Rubber Tour Pistol grip developed with Golf Pride and an SL90 shaft featuring a 20g counterbalance weight, designed to improve tempo and stability through the stroke. The use of Damascus steel, rarely seen in putter inserts at scale, reflects a blend of traditional forging craftsmanship with modern performance engineering, positioning the model at the top end of Odyssey’s lineup for players prioritising precision milling, premium materials and consistent feel.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has confirmed it will fund LIV Golf only through the end of the 2026 season, saying the level of longer-term investment required by the league is no longer consistent with the current phase of its strategy. The decision is the clearest sign yet that PIF’s new five-year plan — built around value creation, efficiency, and returns — is beginning to shape concrete outcomes in sport. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has acknowledged the league must now “work like crazy” to build the business plan that keeps it going, and new board appointments have been announced as part of the search for long-term financial partners. We break down what this means for the professional game in today’s paid subscriber section.

But first, let’s catch up on this week’s top stories from across the golf industry.

1. INDUSTRY

SUMMIT GOLF BRANDS HOSTS THE SUMMIT AT PEBBLE BEACH, NAMES EVAN IVES 2025 SALESPERSON OF THE YEAR

Summit Golf Brands, parent company of B. Draddy, Zero Restriction, and Fairway & Greene, has completed its annual signature event, The Summit at Pebble Beach — a 54-hole pro-member tournament played across Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach that brings together key members of the company, valued advisors, and distinguished club partners.

Hosted each April at Pebble Beach Resorts, The Summit has become one of the most cherished traditions in the premium golf apparel space. This year’s field included seven new participating teams and three international teams, with 22 elite clubs represented — from Seminole Golf Club and Winged Foot to Royal Dornoch, Sunningdale, and Grove XXIII.

The event also served as the backdrop for recognizing Evan Ives as Summit Golf Brands’ 2025 Salesperson of the Year. In just his second full year with the company, Ives became the fastest representative in company history to earn the honor, following a standout performance across strategic partnerships including Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, and events such as the Walker Cup and the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club.

Competition throughout the week produced several standout performances. Ekwanok won the top prize of one best ball net and one best ball gross, Seminole won the two best ball gross, Low Pro was taken by Matt Cahill from Seminole, and John Daly from The Creek made a hole-in-one at The Hay.

“Each year, The Summit at Pebble Beach is an opportunity to bring together the people who help drive our wholesale business forward at a world-renowned destination,” said Jack Lessing, President of Summit Golf Brands. “Recognizing our Salesperson of the Year, Evan Ives, in this setting made the week even more special.”

• Summit Golf Brands’ wholesale distribution network extends across 25 countries and encompasses over 3,500 premier clubs and resorts worldwide.

• For more information, visit bdraddy.com, zerorestriction.com, and fairwayandgreene.com.

• Full press release available at Golf Business Review.

B. DRADDY AND SWEETENS COVE GOLF CLUB LAUNCH CAMP DRADDY, A PERMANENT ON-PROPERTY BRAND EXPERIENCE

B. Draddy has unveiled a new partnership with Sweetens Cove Golf Club, installing a permanent on-property activation that will be known as Camp Draddy at Sweetens Cove. The collaboration brings B. Draddy’s laid-back sophistication to one of golf’s most beloved destinations in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and represents a natural progression of a long-standing relationship — the brand has been part of Sweetens Cove’s story since the early days through its involvement in events like The Ringer.

Anchoring Camp Draddy is the original Draddy Camper — recently retired following the launch of B. Draddy’s new camper experience — now given a second life as a permanent fixture showcasing the brand’s signature screen print program. Alongside the camper, guests will find a dedicated tent featuring a full range of apparel and accessories, as well as exclusive product decoration created specifically for Sweetens Cove. Completing the environment is a firepit and hospitality elements that capture the relaxed spirit both brands are known for.

The partnership also deepens B. Draddy’s relationship with Reef Capital Partners, the real estate firm leading Sweetens Cove’s ongoing development, by introducing an additional retail presence on the property.

“Sweetens Cove has always represented an authentic spirit within the game of golf, and B. Draddy’s longstanding connection to the property makes this partnership especially meaningful,” said Jack Lessing, President of Summit Golf Brands, parent company of B. Draddy.

“Camp Draddy fits right into that atmosphere,” added Matt Adamski, General Manager of Sweetens Cove Golf Club. “It gives our guests another cool spot to spend time, check out great gear, and be part of the experience.”

• B. Draddy is the Official Uniform and Apparel Provider of the 2026 Presidents Cup and an Official Uniform Supplier of the 2026 and 2028 U.S. Solheim Cup Teams.

• For more information, visit bdraddy.com and sweetenscovegolfclub.com.

• Full press release available at Golf Business Review.

IN BRIEF

GOLF.AI AND PROSHOP TEE TIMES PARTNER TO DEPLOY AI CONCIERGE ACROSS U.S. COURSES. GOLF.AI and Proshop Tee Times have announced a partnership to integrate the GOLF.AI Concierge Agent — a 24/7 AI-driven service that answers pro shop calls and messages, supports tee time bookings, and provides course-approved answers — with Proshop Tee Times’ customized course-management platform, which currently supports close to 100 courses and clubs across the United States. The system uses an AI-generated voice of Sir Nick Faldo, the company’s recently announced Global Ambassador, to greet returning golfers by name and confirm upcoming tee times. The first two courses to roll out the integrated system are Calvert City Golf and Country Club in Kentucky and Elk Run Golf Club in Indiana. GOLF.AI CEO Clive Mayhew said courses are increasingly seeking technology that improves the golfer experience at the point of contact while helping staff operate more efficiently. More at GOLF.AI.

FAIRWAYIQ AND GOLF GENIUS INTEGRATE TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT INTO CART SCREENS. The on-course operations platform, has launched an integration with Golf Genius Tournament Management that brings real-time scoring and live leaderboards directly to cart displays. Every cart in the field becomes a live tournament hub, eliminating the need for players to enter scores on personal devices. The integration is available to customers with Golf Genius Tournament Management Premium and FAIRWAYiQ Enterprise subscriptions. More at FAIRWAYiQ.

McLAREN GOLF LAUNCHES WITH DEBUT SERIES 1 AND SERIES 3 IRONS. McLaren has officially entered the golf equipment market with the launch of McLaren Golf and the introduction of its first irons, the Series 1 and Series 3. Both lines are built around Metal Injection Molding (MIM), an advanced manufacturing process that gives engineers complete control over material chemistry, internal geometry, and mass distribution. The Series 1 is a Tour blade engineered with input from Justin Rose, who will put the irons in play this week in Miami. Michelle Wie West and Ian Poulter — both investors in McLaren Golf as well as ambassadors — complete the initial roster. Both iron models are priced at $375 per club and will be available from April 30 through select custom fitting retailers in North America, Europe, and South Korea, and online at mclarengolf.com. McLaren Golf is supported by 8AM Golf as a key partner.

PERFORMANCE GOLF TARGETS SEVEN MILLION POTENTIAL FEMALE PLAYERS WITH INCLUSIVITY-FIRST STRATEGY. Performance Golf, the coaching and gear brand, has developed a beginner’s program — launched in January — focused on golf etiquette, terminology, and basic techniques, designed to lower the barrier for new players, particularly women. According to National Golf Foundation research, roughly seven million women have never played traditional golf but have expressed strong interest in trying it, with many citing an intimidation factor. Rather than creating separate messaging for women, the brand is producing beginner-friendly content for all genders, featuring coach and internet personality Erika Larkin. The brand is also framing golf as an activity couples can enjoy together. Chief Marketer’s Joanna Gerber has the full story.

TROON KICKS OFF 2026 COMMUNITY SWING SERIES WITH 23 FREE EVENTS NATIONWIDE. Troon has launched its 2026 Community Swing series — a nationwide programme of 23 free, community-focused events at municipal golf courses from Seattle to Sarasota and Cleveland to Kauai. The first event, held at Jackson Park Golf Course in Seattle on April 28, drew more than 120 participants who enjoyed complimentary Toptracer range play, golf instruction, contests, and food and beverage. With more than 150 municipal courses under management, Troon is the largest operator of municipal golf facilities in the U.S. Events run from May through November. Full schedule and registration at Troon.com.

PIF’S RESET NOW HAS A CLEAR CONSEQUENCE FOR LIV GOLF

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has set out a new five-year strategy built around value creation, efficiency, and returns. In sport, one of the clearest implications is that LIV Golf will lose its PIF funding after the 2026 season, forcing the league into a new phase just as the PGA Tour continues its own post-LIV restructuring through private capital, player equity, and product reform.

When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund set out its 2026–2030 strategy in mid-April, the language was broad, but the direction was clear. PIF said it was moving from a phase of rapid growth and acceleration into one focused on sustained value creation. It emphasized investment efficiency, governance, transparency, institutional excellence, and financial returns. On one level, that looked like a typical strategic update from a sovereign fund reaching a more mature stage of development. On another, it pointed to something more practical: a higher bar for how major investments are judged and how long they remain supported in their existing form.

For sport, that shift is no longer theoretical. PIF has confirmed that it will fund LIV Golf only through the end of the 2026 season, saying the level of longer-term investment required by the league is no longer consistent with the current phase of its strategy. That statement matters because it gives the industry a direct example of how PIF’s new priorities are starting to shape outcomes. The fund has not simply described a more disciplined phase in abstract terms. It has attached that change to one of the most expensive and visible projects in its portfolio.

That makes this more than a story about LIV Golf alone. The bigger issue is how PIF now wants to allocate capital, and what kinds of assets fit the next stage of its development. The fund is not presenting itself as stepping back from ambition. It still sees itself as central to Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation, still wants a significant domestic and international investment role, and still intends to shape sectors tied to Vision 2030. But the emphasis has changed. PIF is now putting more stress on fit, efficiency, value creation, and long-term returns than it did in the earlier expansion phase.

That distinction is important. For much of LIV Golf’s existence, the dominant view was that its funding was effectively open-ended. The discussion centered on whether the league could force change in men’s professional golf, how quickly it might grow, and how disruptive it could become. Less attention was paid to whether the backer behind it would eventually decide that the scale of funding no longer suited its broader priorities. PIF has now answered that question. LIV is funded through the current cycle, but it no longer has indefinite sovereign backing beyond that point.

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