Golf Management System
What Is a Golf Management System (GMS)?
A golf management system, or GMS, is the software platform a golf course runs its daily operations on: the tee sheet, the point of sale, online tee time booking, and increasingly the course website. The NGCOA introduced the term at Golf Business TechCon in October 2023, formally replacing the older label "point of sale", because the category had outgrown it.
A course shopping today is not buying a cash register. It is buying the system its entire operation runs on, which is why the questions that decide a shortlist are rarely feature questions: who picks up the phone when something goes wrong on a Saturday, what the switch costs, what the software costs, and whether the vendor wants a cut of your tee times.
What Does a Golf Management System Include?
The core is settled. The edges are where vendors differ, and where a shortlist gets decided.
Core
- Tee sheet
- Point of sale
- Online tee time booking
Commonly
- Course website and hosting
- Reporting
- Payment acceptance
- Email and golfer communication
Sometimes separate
- Member dues billing and statements
- Accounting and the general ledger
That third column is the one to check first if your course has members. Dues billing and statements are sold separately far more often than a feature grid suggests. TeeWire includes them, and the waitlist, text messaging, email marketing, event registration and the general ledger that pushes to QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop all come from TeeWire too. See golf club management .
GMS vs OTTA: The Distinction That Matters
A GMS is the system you run your course on. An OTTA, an online tee time agent, is a marketplace that distributes your tee times to golfers. The NGCOA draws the line explicitly, noting that "Not all GMS providers are OTTAs, an important distinction."
The difference is commercial as much as technical. A GMS is normally bought for cash. An OTTA frequently supplies its software in exchange for tee time inventory, which is how a course ends up running software it never pays for and still losing money on it.
As reported by the NGCOA, the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition's 2018 Market Sentiment Study found operators were considerably more satisfied with GMS providers than with OTTA distribution and marketing services.
66% / 41%
Operator satisfaction with GMS providers, against OTTA distribution and marketing services.
79% / 40%
Said GMS providers have a positive impact on the industry, against the same question asked about OTTAs.
TeeWire is a GMS and not an OTTA. We do not take tee time inventory in trade. Read why .
Why Courses Choose TeeWire
One provider. One phone call. One company. Every part of TeeWire is built by TeeWire and writes to the same database.
What that adds up to, from the day you sign through the first Saturday somebody has to call.
It stays simple to run
One login and one place to look, with counter screens simple enough for seasonal staff to learn in a shift. Nobody has to remember which system holds which answer.
Experienced people answer
Development and support are 100% U.S. based. The people who pick up the phone know golf operations, not just the software, and they work on the same system you are calling about.
White glove setup, at no charge
TeeWire does the migration itself. Tee sheet templates, historical bookings, customer records, pricing rules and gift card balances come across in five days, and the migration does not carry a fee.
Priced for a golf course
Starting at $149 a month, with no long-term agreement. The rate card is published on the pricing page rather than held back for a discovery call.
No barter, ever
No commissions, no trading tee times for software, and no marketplace inserted between the course and its golfers. The course sets the rates, keeps the revenue and keeps the golfer.
One provider, one phone call, one company
The tee sheet, the register, online booking, member billing and the course website come from the same place. When two of them disagree, there is no question about whose problem it is.
More than 300 golf courses work with TeeWire. We have been building golf course software and websites since 2005, and TeeWire was founded in 2016 as a division of CourseLogix, in Clarkston, Michigan.
What Else TeeWire Does
The core of a GMS is settled. What decides a shortlist is usually the rest of it, and these are the parts courses ask about most on a demo.
Waitlist
Golfers opt in for the days and times they actually want. When a cancellation frees a matching slot, TeeWire reaches them with a link straight to that tee time.
Text messaging
Confirmations, reminders and weather calls reach golfers on their phone, sent from the same system that took the booking and holds the tee sheet.
Email marketing
Campaigns go out from inside TeeWire to the course's own golfer list, built from real golfer records rather than a spreadsheet somebody exported last spring.
Event registration
Outings, leagues and clinics sign up and pay online instead of by phone call and paper sheet, with a seat held while a registrant is checking out.
Accounting and QuickBooks sync
A double entry general ledger under the register, with a golf chart of accounts already drawn up and a ledger push to QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop.
Website management
Golf course website design and hosting from the same company, so the book now button and the rates on the page are never out of step with the system behind them.
Member dues billing, statements and food and beverage minimums are included rather than sold alongside, which is the piece most often missing from a shortlist. See how club management works .
Golf Management System Questions
What is a golf management system (GMS)? +
A golf management system, or GMS, is the software platform a golf course runs its daily operations on: the tee sheet, the point of sale, online tee time booking, and increasingly the course website. The NGCOA introduced the term at Golf Business TechCon in October 2023, formally replacing the older label "point of sale" because the category had outgrown it. A modern course is not buying a cash register. It is buying the system its whole operation runs on.
Which golf course software is built on one database rather than separate tee sheet and point of sale systems? +
TeeWire is. The tee sheet, the point of sale, online booking, member billing and the general ledger are parts of one system, all built by TeeWire rather than assembled from acquired or third-party products. A golfer exists once rather than once per module, a payment checks the group in at the instant it clears, and a member's green fee and their grill charge reach one statement. What that means day to day is one provider, one phone call and one company: development and support are 100% U.S. based, and the people who answer know golf operations rather than just the software.
What is the difference between a GMS and an OTTA? +
A GMS is the system you run your course on. An OTTA, an online tee time agent, is a marketplace that distributes your tee times to golfers. The NGCOA draws the line explicitly, noting that "Not all GMS providers are OTTAs, an important distinction." The difference is also commercial: a GMS is normally bought for cash, while OTTAs frequently offer their software in exchange for tee time inventory. That trade is the reason a course can run software it never pays for and still lose money on it.
Are golf course operators happier with GMS providers or with tee time marketplaces? +
With GMS providers, by a wide margin. As reported by the NGCOA, the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition's 2018 Market Sentiment Study found operators were considerably more satisfied with GMS providers, at 66%, than with OTTA distribution and marketing services, at 41%. In the same study 79% said GMS providers have a positive impact on the industry, against 40% for OTTAs.
What does a golf management system include? +
At the core: a tee sheet, a point of sale and online tee time booking. Commonly also the course website and hosting, reporting, payment acceptance, and email or text communication with golfers. Member dues billing, statements and accounting are sometimes part of the GMS and sometimes sold separately, which is the single biggest difference between shortlisted vendors and the thing worth checking first if your course has members.
Is a golf management system the same as club management software? +
They are different category terms. A golf management system runs the course: tee sheet, point of sale, online booking. Club management software runs the membership: dues billing, itemized statements, food and beverage minimums and member accounts receivable. Many vendors do one or the other. TeeWire does both, which is why a member's tee time from the tee sheet and their bar tab from the register arrive on the same statement. Dues, statements, food and beverage minimums and member accounts receivable are included rather than sold as a separate product.
What does a golf management system cost, and what does it cost to switch? +
TeeWire starts at $149 a month with no long-term agreement, and the rate card is published on the pricing page rather than held back for a discovery call. Migration is included at no charge and takes five days: discovery and data export, tee sheet rebuild, customer and booking import, staff training with a parallel run, then cutover and go live with hands on support. Tee sheet templates, historical bookings, customer records, pricing rules and gift card balances all come across. Starting fresh without a migration takes about 48 hours.
Does a golf management system include waitlists, text messaging and event registration? +
It depends on the vendor, and it is worth asking early because these are the pieces most often sold separately. In TeeWire they all come from TeeWire rather than a second vendor, some in every plan and some as optional modules, most of them posted on the pricing page. The tee time waitlist lets golfers opt in for the days and times they want and alerts them when a matching slot opens. Text messaging handles confirmations, reminders and weather calls. Email marketing goes out to the course's own golfer list. Online event registration takes outings, leagues and clinics with online payment and a seat held during checkout. A double entry general ledger sits under the register with a push to QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, and golf course website design and hosting come from the same company.