How to build your golfer email list at the counter
Every golfer who walks up to your counter is a chance to start a relationship that outlasts the round. Ask for the address the right way, get a clear yes, and send a first email that earns the second one.
Ask for the email at the moment of payment, as a set line in the check-in script, and ask separately for permission to send marketing, because a tee time is not consent. Read the address back, record a clear yes or no in the customer record, and send a welcome email within a day that thanks the golfer, says what they will get and gives one useful thing.
- A tee time or a purchase is not permission to send marketing email, and NGCOA advises that a course's list include only people who have affirmatively opted in.
- The best moment to ask is at payment, in one plain sentence, with the address read back and a yes or no recorded in the customer record.
- A specific reason to sign up, such as a birthday round, loyalty points or frost delay notices, gives staff an easier ask than a newsletter.
- The first email should go out within a day and thank the golfer, confirm what they signed up for, deliver any promise, give one useful thing and keep the sell light.
- Every marketing email, starting with the first, should carry the course's postal address and a working unsubscribe link, and NGCOA advises removing golfers who opt out within ten business days.
Why build the list at the counter?
Golfers who book online usually leave an address with the booking. The counter is where everyone else shows up: walk-ups, singles added by the starter, the three guests in a foursome someone else booked, and the beginner buying a bucket of range balls. Many of them leave nothing behind. Each one is a golfer you have no way to invite back.
That group is large and keeps changing. The National Golf Foundation (NGF) reports that 29.1 million Americans played on a golf course in 2025, part of a record 48.1 million who played on or off course. NGF counts 3.3 million on-course beginners, with 3 million or more every year since 2020, and calls retention and conversion of newcomers an industry focus and an obstacle. NGF also reports that almost half of the 21.2 million Americans very interested in playing on a course are lapsed golfers.
Troon treats counter capture as routine. In a 2023 article in NGCOA's Golf Business magazine, Kris Strauss, Troon's executive vice president of global sales and marketing, named email marketing among the strategies with the best return and described the habit plainly: "Our associates capture data from visiting guests or golfers, then we communicate via email to keep the facility top of mind."
Is a tee time booking permission to send marketing email?
Treat it as no. A booking gives you an address so you can confirm and manage that booking. It does not tell you the golfer wants specials and course news. Keep the two apart, so a receipt never quietly turns into an ad.
Golf's own trade group sets a clear bar. The National Golf Course Owners Association's (NGCOA) privacy policy and email marketing best practices guide says the mailing list should include only persons who have affirmatively agreed, or opted in, to receive commercial email from the business. Google's sender guidelines say the same thing in different words: make sure recipients opt in, avoid opt-in forms that are checked by default, and confirm each address before subscribing it.
This guide summarizes what NGCOA, Google and the Florida Legislature publish. It is not legal advice. The federal CAN-SPAM Act governs commercial email, so confirm what it requires of your program with your attorney before you email anyone already sitting in your tee sheet or point of sale.
How do you ask for an email at check-in without slowing the line?
- Write the ask into the check-in script.
If it is optional for staff, it will not happen on a busy Saturday. Make it one fixed line, said at the same point in every transaction.
- Ask at payment, when the golfer is already giving a name.
Ask for permission separately and plainly: "Can we email you tee time specials and course news? You can unsubscribe anytime." A yes to the round is not a yes to marketing.
- Get the address right the first time.
Read it back, or let the golfer type it on a counter tablet or card reader screen. Google's sender guidelines tell senders to confirm each address before subscribing it, and typos at the counter are a common cause of bad addresses.
- Record a clear yes or no.
Mark consent in the customer record in the tee sheet or point of sale. Never pre-check the box. Tag the contact with where it came from: counter, website, outing, lesson or league.
- Collect only what you will use.
First name and email are enough to start. Ask for a birthday only if you will actually send a birthday offer.
- Keep a paper backup that holds up.
A sign-up sheet works on a crowded morning if it includes a consent line and someone enters it the same day. Paper left in a drawer goes stale fast.
- Give staff one sentence on how the email is used.
Golfers ask. NGCOA notes that most companies post their privacy policy on their website regardless of where they collect customer information, so make sure yours covers sign-ups taken in person at the counter.
- Make unsubscribes stick.
Check that opt-outs flow back to the customer record, so a golfer who unsubscribed is not added again at the next check-in.
What should you offer golfers for signing up?
"Join our newsletter" is a weak ask. A reason the golfer cares about works better, and it gives staff something easy to say. Courses that do this well tell golfers exactly what they will get.
| Reason to sign up | How a course uses it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Birthday round | Pickaway Golf Course in Ohio asks for only name and email and offers a free green fee good from a week before to a week after the golfer's birthday. | Only ask for a birthday if the offer really goes out on time. |
| Email club with clear contents | Unicorn Golf Course in Massachusetts lists what subscribers get: special offers, merchandise sales, a monthly newsletter and a Birthday Club, plus a promise that information is not shared. | Keep every promise you print. NGCOA warns that a privacy policy obligates you to whatever duties you give yourself. |
| Loyalty program at the point of sale | Everett Golf in Washington runs a free Frequent Players Program honored at 11 Premier-managed courses. Golfers join with a name and phone number or email at the register, and give it again each time they pay to earn points. | Ask about marketing email separately and record the answer. Joining for points is not the same as a yes to promotions. |
| Rewards card on the spot | Old South Golf Links in South Carolina has golfers complete a quick form in the pro shop and hands over a rewards card, with a point per dollar on green fees and range balls. | Enter the form the same day so the welcome email goes out on time. |
| Rewards tied to online booking | Wigwam Golf Club in Arizona registers golfers for Wigwam Rewards at the golf shop counter, and rewards rates are available only when booking online. | Keep a separate, clearly labeled sign-up for specials, as Wigwam does. |
| Useful notices | Rain check reminders, frost delay updates, league openings and clinic dates. | Send what you said you would send, and nothing that reads like a bait and switch. |
Loyalty programs are worth a look. In the same 2023 Golf Business article, Troon's Strauss called a loyalty program the primary mechanism for data collection and said it encourages spending. If you already run leagues, an opening on a league night is also a strong reason to sign up; see how to grow your golf leagues with a free agent list.
What should the first email say?
Send it within a day, while the round is fresh. The welcome email sets the tone for every email after it, so it should feel like a thank-you from the course, not a coupon blast.
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| From line | The course name, so the golfer recognizes it in the inbox. |
| Subject line | Short and true to the content. An older NGF direct marketing guide advises keeping subject lines under 50 characters. |
| Opening | Thank them for the round or the visit. Put the benefit to the reader at the top, as the same NGF guide recommends. |
| What they signed up for | Say what you will send and roughly how often. |
| Any promise | Explain exactly how the birthday round, points or other perk works. |
| One useful thing | The online booking link, range hours, the frost delay policy, or the next clinic or league night. |
| The sell | Light, or none. Strauss said in 2023 that not all emails need an offer; some can just share what is going on at the club. |
| Footer | The course's postal address and a working unsubscribe link, from the very first send. |
Write a different first email for new and lapsed golfers
A regular mostly wants deals and events. A beginner or a golfer coming back after years away may need how to book, what to expect on the first tee and when the next beginner clinic runs. Given NGF's finding that keeping newcomers remains an obstacle, a counter tag for "new or returning golfer" is worth adding.
Start small
Do not load your whole historical database and send to everyone at once. Google advises starting with a low sending volume to engaged users and increasing it slowly. Begin with the golfers who clearly said yes at the counter, then grow.
What does every marketing email from the course need?
| Requirement | Who says so | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Opt-in list only | NGCOA best practices; Google sender guidelines | Send marketing only to golfers who said yes, with no pre-checked boxes. |
| Prompt opt-out removal | NGCOA best practices | Remove every golfer who opts out within ten business days, everywhere their record lives. |
| Honest subject lines | NGCOA best practices | Match the subject to the content. NGCOA's example of deceptive: a subject announcing a new head professional on an email that advertises apparel. |
| Authentication and low complaints | Since February 1, 2024, senders to Gmail must meet baseline requirements, including SPF or DKIM authentication and a spam rate below 0.3% in Postmaster Tools. | |
| One-click unsubscribe | Required for senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail, along with a clearly visible unsubscribe link. |
Two habits round it out. Put the course's postal address and a working unsubscribe link in every marketing email from the first send, and confirm the federal requirements with your attorney. Keep tee time confirmations and receipts separate from promotions, and keep a confirmation's subject line about the booking, so a golfer never mistakes one for the other.
NGCOA also tells operators to map every method used to collect customer data, naming the website, tee sheet, point of sale and sign-up sheets, and to limit vendor access to customer data to what they need to know.
A note for municipal courses
NGF counts about 2,600 municipal golf facilities in the US. Public records laws can apply to the addresses they collect. Florida's statutes, for example, say that under Florida law email addresses are public records, and require agencies with a website that use email to post a notice saying so. If you run a municipal course in any state, check your state's public records law with the city or county attorney before you promise golfers their address stays private.
What mistakes shrink a counter list?
- Buying a list of local golfers. Google's sender guidelines say not to purchase email addresses from other companies. Golfers who never asked to hear from you are the ones who mark you as spam.
- Treating email consent as text consent. Texting has its own federal consent rules. Ask separately and confirm the rules with your attorney before you text golfers.
- Letting the welcome email wait a week. By then the visit is old news, and the thank-you no longer lands.
- Emailing only offers. In 2023, Strauss urged a benefits orientation in every email: what is in it for the person opening it? Course news, aeration dates and league openings count.
- Keeping golfers who never open. Google suggests considering unsubscribing recipients who do not open or read your messages, and says letting people opt out can improve open and click-through rates.
- Forgetting the source tag. Without it you cannot tell whether the counter, the website or outings bring the golfers who actually open and book.
Once the counter is collecting yeses, TeeWire, the golf course management platform, sends email, text messages and automated reminders to the course's own golfer list.
Frequently asked questions
Can I email everyone in my tee sheet and point of sale?
Not safely. A booking or purchase gives you an address for that transaction, not marketing consent. NGCOA advises that a course's mailing list include only people who affirmatively opted in. Start with golfers who said yes, and confirm any plan to email older contacts with your attorney.
How fast do I have to remove someone who unsubscribes?
NGCOA advises removing every golfer who opts out of your mailing list within ten business days. Confirm the federal requirement with your attorney, and make sure the opt-out also reaches your tee sheet or point of sale record so the golfer is not added again at the next check-in.
Can I buy a list of local golfers to grow faster?
Google's sender guidelines tell senders not to purchase email addresses from other companies. A smaller list of golfers who said yes at your counter is worth more, and it keeps complaints low.
Why are my course emails landing in Gmail spam?
Common causes are missing authentication and too many spam complaints. Google requires all senders to Gmail to meet baseline rules, including SPF or DKIM authentication and a spam rate below 0.3%. Sending only to opted-in golfers and removing people who never open both help.
How often should a golf course email its list?
Say how often in the welcome email and stick to it. In a 2023 Golf Business article, Troon's Kris Strauss recommended communicating frequently, as much as weekly, and noted that not every email needs an offer.
Does a yes to email cover text messages too?
Do not assume it does. Text marketing has its own federal consent rules. Ask for texting permission separately at the counter and confirm the requirements with your attorney before sending.
We run a municipal course. Are there special rules for the addresses we collect?
Possibly. Public records laws can reach addresses a government agency collects. Florida's statutes, for example, say email addresses are public records under Florida law and require agencies with a website that use email to post a notice. Check your state's law with your city or county attorney before promising golfers their address stays private.
Sources
- Privacy Policy and Email Marketing Best PracticesNational Golf Course Owners Association
- Email sender guidelinesGoogle (Gmail Help)
- The Top Five Marketing Strategies With the Best ROINational Golf Course Owners Association (Golf Business) · March/April 2023
- A Focus on Direct Marketing in Golf: Cost-Effective Not as Important as Revenue-EffectiveNational Golf Foundation (via PGA of Canada)
- Golf Industry FactsNational Golf Foundation
- The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 668.6076, Public records status of e-mail addresses; agency website noticeThe Florida Legislature · 2026
- Frequent Players ProgramEverett Golf
- Golf Rewards ProgramOld South Golf Links
- Wigwam RewardsWigwam Golf Club
- Join Our Email ClubUnicorn Golf Course
- Email ClubPickaway Golf Course
Published November 2, 2026 by CourseLogix, the website and marketing side of TeeWire. CourseLogix has advised golf courses on operations, marketing and technology since 2005. Free to quote with a link to this page.