Lead the Way: Why Golf Courses Need Regular Digital Audits

The people who know a golf facility’s website best are the people least able to judge it. Staff know where the tee sheet link is, which page the membership form is on, and what the rates are supposed to say. A customer arriving from a Google search knows none of that, and what looks obvious from the inside can be the reason a round never gets booked.

In the latest Lead the Way, Murphy Klein, Digital Marketing Manager at Landscapes Golf Management, shares how digital audits help identify gaps in social media, uncover opportunities for improvement, and keep a golf facility’s marketing aligned with its goals.

Look at the Experience from the Outside In

A digital audit starts with understanding the customer experience from the outside looking in.

The questions are simple ones. When a customer visits the website, is it easy to book a tee time? Is it easy to book a golf outing? Is it easy to inquire about a membership?

If any of those takes searching to find, the audit has already turned up something worth fixing.

Inconsistency Is One of the Biggest Gaps

One of the biggest things that shows up in an audit is inconsistency, and it takes a few forms:

• Inconsistent posting
• Inconsistent branding
• A feed weighted toward promotional content—book your tee time for this coming weekend, become a member at our club

Promotional content is great, and it has a job to do. It is also important to showcase the personality of your club, and that is the part promotional posts cannot do on their own.

Consistency does something practical as well. It builds credibility. When someone visits your website and then moves on to your Facebook and Instagram pages, each touchpoint should be consistent and recognizable.

Make the Next Step Easy to Find

Navigation and calls to action deserve a close look.

If someone has to go searching for the book-a-tee-time button or the membership inquiry form, that is something a facility can fix right away to reduce friction.

Assume the Information Has Gone Stale

Digital platforms change constantly. More importantly, so does the golf course.

Pricing becomes outdated season after season, or year after year, and the website keeps showing whatever was true the last time someone bothered to check.

That is the case for reviewing all website information regularly and updating it accordingly, rather than waiting for a customer to find the error first.

Start with the Quick Wins

Not every finding deserves the same urgency. Prioritizing based on customer impact and business impact keeps the list manageable.

Some things are obvious, quick wins. If the phone number in the footer of your website is incorrect, or if you have a broken link, those can be fixed quickly and provide a quick win for the property.

Lead the Way

A digital audit is not a one-time project. It is the habit of regularly checking whether what a customer sees still matches what the operation actually offers, rather than only when something breaks.

Start by looking at your online presence from a customer point of view rather than an employee. Google your golf course, visit your website, and look at your social media channels. Whether you are running a municipal course, a daily-fee facility, or a private club, that outside perspective is usually where you start to discover opportunities.

At Landscapes Golf Management, we believe that a clear, current, and consistent digital presence is part of serving customers well.

Watch the latest Lead the Way video on YouTube.