Whoosh’s Expansion into Public Golf

Whoosh, Inc. emerged as the first cloud-based reservation system for private golf facilities in 2021, a sector previously untouched for nearly two decades and in desperate need of a modern, intuitive upgrade. Using legacy solutions with clunky on-premise servers, staff workflows were inefficient, systems were siloed and fractured data could not paint an accurate picture of a member’s experience. For Whoosh, our focus was simple: modernize clubs’ tech stacks, streamline their processes, enhance on-premise hospitality and improve club communications. Since then, our tee-sheet solution for private facilities has evolved to become best-in-class, and we have earned the business of some of the most premier clubs and “Top 100” golf courses in the country.?

To achieve this success we focused on listening to our customers, interviewing key stakeholders, and working directly with operators at golf facilities. This allowed us to build solutions that actually addressed every-day problems and improved their day-to-day workflows. Creating this feedback loop also led us to build operations and reservations tools for more than just golf, and we now support other on-premise activities like racquets, simulators, fitness, events, lessons and more. In fact, 96% of our customers utilize multiple offerings from Whoosh, solidifying our position as the best operations solutions for clubs of all sizes by supporting a diverse set of activities.?

However, as our reputation in the private space grew, we were bombarded by public golf courses and recreation facilities that were also in need of a better solution. They were eager for a new tool to manage all of their reservation needs and accommodate more advanced loyalty programs. It became clear there were tons of workflow inefficiencies at these types of establishments, much like we had seen early on at private facilities: from manual and duplicative data entry, to hours of wasted staff time and workflows, some of which required 20+ clicks! It was hard to believe these clubs were seeing a positive return on their software investments. Then, these outdated tools were stretched to their limits during the post-pandemic surge in public and daily-fee golf. With no better solutions on the market, many public clubs were forced to create a “Frankenstein” infrastructure patched together with various legacy technology solutions. With an increase in play upwards of 30% there was a desperate need for a comprehensive tool that could handle this and future demands.?

So we decided to build it.

However, public courses needed a seamless integration between the tee sheet and the point-of-sale (POS) since tens of thousands of rounds have to be rung up each year. And because we believe in partnering with the best when we’re not building ourselves, it was a no brainer to enlist Square as our preferred payments partner, with their robust POS and back office solutions. By integrating, we knew we were creating an opportunity for omnichannel data, eliminating the need for multiple applications to power operations. Square would provide an equally best-in-class payment solution, and they share our vision for enhancing the overall experience for both operators and customers.

Now, public courses and alternative golf venues using Whoosh and Square can receive data generated from every customer interaction, uncovering important customer behaviors, loyalty, preferences, attitudes and values. We mitigate all the previous pain-points and empower operators with granular insights they never had before, thereby enabling smoother operations, targeted marketing efforts and enhancing the overall customer experience.?

Over the next year, Whoosh will continue to refine our public product and introduce modules already available to our private facilities, including court reservations for racquet sports, lessons, events and clinics, fitness, dining and more. The solution will also support online and in-store retail, beverage cart and cafe transactions, punch passes, loyalty, house accounts and much more through this unified platform.?

This innovation signals a new era of efficiency in the golf and hospitality industries. From course to clubhouse—and beyond— Whoosh is committed to empowering operators and enhancing player experiences worldwide–in private club facilities and now in public, too.