GolfNow is an online booking service for tee times at

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

s. Originally established in 2001 by Cypress Golf Solutions in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, USA, it was acquired by Comcast via its

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

unit in March 2008. Since Comcast's purchase of

NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

, the website operates as part of the NBC Sports Digital unit.

History

The GolfNow.com domain name was initially used by Chris Ryan and Dr. Tom Giannulli, in Houston, Texas, in 1999, with the intent to build the first online golf reservation system. Under Ryan's leadership, the company went on to develop and operate the initial Golfnow.com website until 2001. Funding issues and sluggish adoption of their reservation platform in the era of dial-up modems, forced the company to pivot to a more content driven transaction model. Cypress Golf Solutions, which was founded in Scottsdale by Brett Darrow and Frank Halpin in 2001, purchased the GolfNow.com domain name. The company expanded its GolfNow brand and operations to a larger regional area over the years, and by 2006 it was operating in 17 states at over 600 golf courses. In March 2008, Comcast, owner of

, purchased GolfNow. The company's operations were re-located to Golf Channel's headquarters in Orlando, Florida. In the same year, the company facilitated the booking of 2.4 million rounds. GolfNow extended its services outside the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2011 to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

through GolfNow.ie. In 2013, GolfNow purchased BRS, a booking service in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, along with Fore! Reservations, one of the largest tee time companies in the US. In 2011, GolfNow offered to acquire EZLinks, a competing company backed by the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. GolfNow hired a former EZLinks employee. In 2012, EZLinks filed a lawsuit over software theft through the former employee. In October 2014, GolfNow acquired Active Network's golf division. The acquisition added 1,100 courses to GolfNow's service. In 2015, GolfNow facilitated the booking of nearly 15 million rounds. This was GolfNow's fourth acquisition in 18 months. It acquired BRS Golf, a British tee-sheet service with 750 courses and FORE! Reservations, an American counterpart with more than 2,000 golf courses. More recently, it acquired Crescent Systems, which had 300 to 400 clients. In November 2019, GolfNow acquired EZLinks.

Features

GolfNow offers access to online booking services for over 9,000 golf courses. Users can compare prices of tee times across multiple courses, read user reviews, and book their reservation. GolfNow also offers a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

; the free version offers the service's core search and booking functionality, while a subscription-based premium version adds additional features for use while playing, including a scorecard, personal statistics and an "on-course GPS" function allowing access to overhead satellite maps of holes with distance measurements.

Impact

The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' reported that GolfNow has had a positive impact on the business of golf courses in Orlando, noting that the service helped to encourage business during previously "off-peak" parts of the day such as the early afternoon. The general manager of Orlando's Dubsdread Golf Club felt that GolfNow had helped customers discover the course among other options in the region, crediting the service for "getting our name and our prices to those golfers who normally would not drive past 15, 20 golf courses to come play golf here". The service was also credited with having attracted existing golfers to new courses, such as the Four Seasons Resort Orlando's Tranquilo, and new clientele to existing courses. Orlando was GolfNow's fifth-largest market in 2015, having generated $14.5 million in revenue from partner courses. There are articles and reviews to the contrary: The Oaks golf course in Kentucky posted a rebuttal to GolfNow's claims of helping the sport, but more directly, the golf courses. The Hot Deals, it claims, are chased by players only wanting to pay the least no matter what, and none of that money ever gets to the golf course. It also claims that very few, if any, customers return unless they again find a Hot Deal, which in no way helps with daily operating expenses. The Oaks has ceased to do business with GolfNow.

References

{{NBCUniversal 2001 establishments in Florida Golf Channel