What a golf course website needs

The facts here come from primary sources: Google Business Profile help on bookings and special hours, Google Search Central's event structured data documentation, the federal gift card rule at 12 CFR 1005.20, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act at 15 U.S.C. 8403 and schema.org's GolfCourse type, all checked on November 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Where we give our own view, we say so.

The short answer

A golf course website needs a "Book a tee time" button on the first screen of every page, green fees and cart fees written as text, a course status line that is updated on the day, a hole-by-hole course tour, a membership page with full terms, a page for outings and events with an inquiry form, lesson booking, the pro shop and gift cards, and contact details and hours that match your Google Business Profile.

Tee time booking

Tee time booking is the main job of the site, so it should take as few taps as possible. Put the button in the header and on the first screen, and send it straight to the booking calendar, not to a page that explains the booking page. Most courses use a tee sheet system that has its own online booking; link or embed that, and test the whole flow on a phone before you go live.

Next to the button, say in a few lines how far ahead the public and members can book, how many players a booking holds, whether you take a card to hold the time and what happens if a group cancels late or does not show up. Our guide to online booking for service businesses covers booking rules, reminders and deposits in more detail.

Google Business Profile can show a booking option too. Google's help explains that you can sign up a booking provider under Bookings, that "Your booking providers will show up on your Business Profile within a week," and that "You can also add your own link to your Business Profile." It also warns: "When you book through Google, your provider might charge you." Ask your tee sheet provider whether it works with Reserve with Google and what it charges; otherwise add your own booking link.

Rates and policies as text

Write green fees as a short text table, not a PDF or a photo of the rate board: weekday and weekend rates, twilight and nine-hole rates, cart fees, and any resident, senior, junior or military rates with what proof you ask for. If prices change by time of day or demand, say so and show the price in the booking flow before payment.

On the same page, list the course policies people ask about: dress code, walking or cart only, pace of play, soft spikes, coolers and outside food, range balls, and the rain check policy. Text like this answers the phone calls before they happen.

Course status, weather and hours

Golfers want to know today's conditions before they drive over. Our view: keep one short status line near the top of the home page, such as "Course open, carts on paths only" or "Frost delay, first tee time 9:30," with the time it was last updated. A stale status line is worse than none, so give one person the job of updating it every morning.

For closures and changed hours, update your Business Profile as well. Google lets you set special hours "When your hours of operation change for a brief period of time, like for a special event," so your regular hours don't change, and suggests confirming holiday hours "even if they're the same as your regular hours." Put the same hours on the website on the same day.

Course tour and photos

A hole-by-hole tour helps golfers decide and helps first-timers play. For each hole, give the par, the yardage from each set of tees, a photo or flyover and one or two lines on how to play it. Add the scorecard as text or a readable image with the same numbers in text nearby.

Use recent photos of your own course, not stock images of other courses. If you use flyover videos, our guide to video on websites covers hosting and how to keep pages fast; drone footage and photos you did not take yourself need permission, as our guide to website photos and image licensing explains.

Memberships

A membership page should list each membership type with what it includes (golf, cart, range, guest rounds, booking window), the dues and how they are billed, any initiation fee or minimum term, and how to cancel. If members can join and pay dues online on a recurring basis, federal law expects the material terms to be shown clearly before you take billing details, the member's express consent before charging and a simple way to stop the charges; our winery website guide quotes the law and lists what to show. State law may add more, as our gym website guide shows with one state's example.

If membership is by application only, say so and explain the steps instead of hiding the prices behind a form.

Outings, events and lessons

Tournaments, charity outings and corporate events are often a large part of a course's revenue, so give them their own page: the formats you host, group sizes, what packages include (golf, carts, food, prizes, signage) and an inquiry form that asks for the date, the number of players and contact details. Our wedding venue website guide covers event spaces, pricing pages and inquiry forms if you also host weddings or banquets.

Keep public events, such as member tournaments, clinics and league nights, on a calendar with dates and a sign-up link. If you mark them up with Event structured data and one is called off, Google says to "keep all values as the same as they were before the cancelation, and update the eventStatus to EventCancelled." For a rain date, Google says to "Update the startDate and endDate with the relevant new dates."

Lessons and clinics need a page per teaching professional, with what they teach and a booking link, set up the same way as tee times.

Pro shop and gift cards

If you sell clubs, balls and apparel online, treat it as an ordinary online shop with real stock and prices; our ecommerce launch checklist applies. If you only sell in the shop, say what brands you carry and that you offer club fitting or repairs, if you do.

Gift cards are popular for golf, and the federal rule on them is strict. Under 12 CFR 1005.20, a store gift card's underlying funds cannot expire before "Five years after the date the gift certificate was initially issued, or the date on which funds were last loaded," expiration terms must be disclosed before purchase, and dormancy or inactivity fees are only allowed under narrow conditions. Some states go further. Check your gift card terms and the text on the cards with your provider before you sell them online.

Business Profile and schema

Your name, address, phone and hours on the website should match your Google Business Profile exactly, and the profile should have recent photos of the course and clubhouse; our guide to Business Profile photos covers what to upload.

On the site, schema.org has a GolfCourse type, listed under "LocalBusiness > SportsActivityLocation > GolfCourse." Use it for the course with its address, phone, opening hours and website, as described in our guide to local business schema. A restaurant or event venue in the clubhouse can be described separately if it has its own page and hours.

Templates and design

Golf course templates usually lead with a large photo slider and push tee times, rates and today's status into menus. When you look at templates or other courses' sites, check on a phone how many taps it takes to book a tee time and find the green fee. Our view: a template works for a small public course if it handles a prominent booking link, text rate tables and an easy status update; a club with memberships, events and a shop usually benefits from a custom build.

A short checklist (our view)

• "Book a tee time" on the first screen of every page, tested on a phone.
• Booking window, group size and cancellation rules next to the button.
• Green fees, cart fees and special rates as text, plus course policies.
• A dated course status line and hours that match your Business Profile.
• A hole-by-hole tour with your own photos and the scorecard in text.
• Membership types with dues, billing, minimum terms and how to cancel.
• An outings page with an inquiry form, and an events calendar kept current.
• Gift card terms checked against the federal rule, and GolfCourse markup.

If you want help building or rebuilding a golf course website, see our website development service or the full list of services.

Frequently asked questions

What should a golf course website include?

A tee time booking button on every page, green fees and policies as text, a course status line, a hole-by-hole course tour, membership details with terms, an outings and events page, lesson booking, the pro shop and gift cards, and contact details that match your Google Business Profile.

Can golfers book tee times through Google?

If your booking provider works with Reserve with Google, you can sign it up under Bookings in your Business Profile, and it shows up within about a week. Otherwise you can add your own booking link. Google notes that your provider might charge you for bookings made through Google.

Should a golf course show prices on its website?

Yes. Our view is that green fees, cart fees and special rates should be written as text on a rates page, with the final price shown in the booking flow before payment. Membership dues can also be listed, or the application steps explained if membership is by invitation.

Can golf gift cards expire?

Under the federal rule in 12 CFR 1005.20, the funds on a store gift card cannot expire sooner than five years after the card was issued or last loaded, and the expiration terms must be disclosed. Some states have stricter rules.