How CourseIQ Started

In February, 2023, Jack and I had the opportunity to play several courses in the Palm Springs area. We splurged on a few, and overall, had a great time. But the experience at one course was subpar due to a lack of communication, a stretched-thin staff, and a bevy of outdated processes and systems. It was there that CourseIQ was born.

We had an afternoon tee time that fine day, and decided to spend a leisurely lunch and some range time at the course prior to. First, we didn’t receive directions to the course, and ended up at one of their other locations. As we attempted to unload our clubs, the host quickly scurried us back into our car while trying to give us the best directions possible to the correct course (“when you see the fork in the road, take it”). Before we left, however, we did inquire to confirm that the course we were headed to had a good restaurant; he assured us that it did.

We arrived at the course about 3 hours prior to our scheduled tee time, leaving plenty of time for lunch., only to find out that the restaurant on-site had been closed for renovations for two months! A hot dog stand and cans of beer were available, but certainly not the enjoyable experience we hoped for.

We then checked in for our tee time, and were told for the first time that there had been a frost delay, that our tee time had been pushed back almost two hours, and that we would not be able to finish our round before darkness. No other options had been provided. No partial refunds had been offered. No solutions or empathy at all were available. Which was shocking considering this course had 8 other sister courses that might have been able to take us.

We hit balls on a limited range (irons only), pushed as quickly as we could (pace was still very slow even knowing that the groups ahead of us weren’t going to finish either), and made due. It didn’t ruin our trip, but certainly we won’t be back anytime soon.

That time on the patio drinking canned beer, however, allowed us to ask the question of why? Why did all of this happen? Why did we not get directions beforehand from the course? Why did we not know the restaurant was closed? Most importantly, why did we not get informed earlier in the day of the delay, and presented with potential other solutions?

What we found was that golf now has a high-class problem. Like the Yankees in some regard, when asked what they could do to help fans get in the building better, they were told to “get here earlier”. With golf participation at a all-time high, the impetus to continue to improve the customer experience, along with creating systems that actually retain staff while capturing all potential revenue streams, has been left behind.

This is where CourseIQ comes in. Today, there are GMs burning out, systems that provide good solutions but only for a portion of the operations of a venue, and a reactive mentality when things go awry. CourseIQ is NOT a replacement for today’s systems - it SUPPLEMENTS all of the systems, allowing them to integrate with each other, provide a one-stop viewpoint to the GM of the entire operations, improving the customer experience, reducing burnout and churn, and capturing the incremental revenue that’s been lost before.

GMs, we are here for you. We see your pain every day, and know your “dream job” is burning you out. Let us help.