AI is transforming golf clubs, from marketing and communications to operations and revenue. Discover how industry leaders are already using it to save time, improve service, and drive profitability.
Artificial Intelligence has quickly moved from a novelty to a serious business tool, and golf clubs are no exception. From improving marketing communications to enhancing customer service and streamlining operations, AI is being used by clubs and service providers alike to boost efficiency, reduce costs and improve the member and guest experience. As the technology evolves, so too does its potential to impact revenue generation and decision-making across the industry.
In a recent special episode of Golf Club Talk UK, podcast host Leighton Walker brought together a panel of five industry experts to discuss AI’s practical applications in golf and what the future might hold. The round-table featured James Wilkinson, Managing Director of Albatross Digital Golf; Nick Eden, Director at The Revenue Club; Alastair Sinclair, CEO and Founder of PlayMore Golf; Matt Roberts, Director of Sales and Business Development at 59club; and club consultant Eddie Bullock.
Each guest offered a different perspective, shaped by their work with clubs of varying sizes and business models. From Wilkinson’s focus on digital marketing and Eden’s data-led revenue solutions to Sinclair’s development of AI-driven membership platforms, Roberts’ performance analytics and Bullock’s advisory experience, the panel offered a broad and practical look at how AI is already changing the game, and what’s next.
While some still see AI as a futuristic concept, its impact is already tangible in areas like marketing, communications, customer service and admin. “We use it for things like copywriting and for advertising copy,” said Wilkinson. “You can train it to say things in a certain way… with everything from pricing to knowledge about the club that is on your website.” Eden echoed this, saying: “We’ve developed a bespoke system that allows us to manage all of our outbound content in one hub. It has AI plugged into it, which will actually do all of our copywriting for us… everything we put out is bespoke to the club.”
Operationally, AI is helping clubs better understand and respond to their members’ needs. “If you’ve got a free-type response from 700 members… AI is helping clubs to work out themes and trends,” said Roberts. “It’s about making it simple so you can dissect it quicker and come up with answers faster.”
Bullock highlighted the benefits from a leadership perspective: “It’s doing more with less. Labour is getting more expensive, and clubs need to focus more on making a surplus. If AI can take you away from reception or admin work, then it’s got to be for the good.”
Sinclair outlined how PlayMore Golf is building its own large language model to further enhance service delivery: “It’s always learning. We’re training it on our data so that it becomes more knowledgeable than any of our team. I think the existing way of searching for requirements is going to change. You won’t need to type into Google anymore, you’ll probably just speak into it.” He added: “You could look at it as now having a cast of 100 accountants… Once you can actually have that depth of conversation, because the data can now be analysed, that’s where you can really start to optimise revenue.”
As AI tools grow more advanced, their revenue impact is likely to increase. “For some of our clients, around 75% of their green fee revenue is driven through ad revenue,” said Eden. “The better the AI gets, and the more data we feed into it, we get better results.” Wilkinson encouraged clubs to embrace the technology in manageable steps: “Start really small… choose one item that you can do to free up time, like email copywriting or member comms. Just incremental changes, that’s what works.”
Listen to the full podcast:
