GolfNow Alternative

OpenTeeSheet vs GolfNow.
This isn't close.

GolfNow built a marketplace that profits every time you take a booking — and owns your customers by contract. OpenTeeSheet is software that works for you, not against you.

GolfNow
$10k/mo bookings · ~20% barter rate
−$2,000
per month, forever
+ they own your customers
vs
OpenTeeSheet Pro
Same $10k/mo · flat subscription
$249
per month, everything included
+ your customers stay yours

That's $1,751 back in your pocket. Every month. $21,012/year. Plus your customer list.

The state of GolfNow
Effective take rate (est.)
~20%
Illustrated estimate via the barter model: 2 surrendered tee times per day resold at steep discount. Actual impact varies by venue volume and contract.
US market share (2019)
~90%
Post EZLinks/TeeOff acquisition per industry reporting. Antitrust complaints filed; no regulatory action taken.
Current parent company
Versant
Spun out of Comcast/NBCUniversal in 2026 per public reporting. Previously marketed heavily via Golf Channel.
Revenue model
Barter
Venues historically surrender tee times as payment. GolfNow resells them as discounted "Hot Deals" on their marketplace.
The clause nobody talks about

GolfNow controls access to your customers. Read their contract carefully.

GolfNow's Terms of Service restrict what you can do with customer data collected through their platform. Venue operators have reported being unable to export booking history, remarket to customers who booked through GolfNow, or take that data when switching platforms. Review their current ToS before signing.

With OpenTeeSheet, every customer who books is in your database — name, phone, email, booking history. Yours to keep, export, and market to, forever.

Feature by feature

Revenue Model
Feature
OpenTeeSheet
GolfNow
How they make money
Flat monthly subscription. You keep 100% of booking revenue.
Barter model: you surrender ~2 tee times per day. They resell them as "Hot Deals" at 80% off. Effective take rate: ~20% of your annual revenue.
Hot Deals / discounting
Never. You set every price. No markdowns, no race to the bottom.
Trains your customers to never pay rack rate. Golfers learn to wait for the discount. Your rate integrity is permanently damaged.
Customer data ownership
You own every customer — name, phone, email, visit history. Yours forever.
GolfNow Terms of Service restrict use of customer data collected through their platform. Venue operators report limited ability to export or remarket to these customers. Review their ToS carefully before signing.
Price parity clauses
None. Price however you want on any channel.
GolfNow contracts have historically included price parity clauses restricting venues from offering lower rates on their own sites. Terms vary by contract — review yours.
Simulator Support
Feature
OpenTeeSheet
GolfNow
Session-based booking (by hour)
Built-in. 30-min, 60-min, 90-min blocks. Core feature from day one.
Not supported. Tee time only — simulator venues are forced into janky workarounds.
Bay selection
Customers pick their specific simulator or bay at booking time.
Not available.
24/7 unmanned access (PIN codes)
Auto-sends PIN codes, Kisi unlock links, or RemoteLock credentials on confirmation. Zero staff needed.
Not available. Requires staff on-site.
Operations
Feature
OpenTeeSheet
GolfNow
Branded booking experience
Your logo, your colors, your domain. Customers never leave your brand.
Customers book on GolfNow's marketplace directly alongside your competitors.
Memberships & packs
Monthly unlimited, punch-card packs, corporate accounts — all built-in.
Very limited. Not designed for studio membership models.
Waitlists
Automatic waitlist with SMS notification on cancellation.
Not available.
Waiver collection
Digital waivers collected and signed before arrival. Stored per customer permanently.
Not available.
Analytics
Feature
OpenTeeSheet
GolfNow
Revenue reporting
Real-time revenue, bay utilization heat maps, peak hour analysis, no-show tracking.
Basic. Bay-level data not available. Your data lives on their servers.
Customer insights
Lifetime value, visit frequency, membership churn detection. Exportable.
Minimal. Data stays on their platform. You cannot export your own customer history.
Other options aren't much better

The competition has problems too.

Lightspeed / Chronogolf
From $325/mo
  • ✗Booking widget surfaces nearby competing courses
  • ✗Simulator support via third-party add-on only
  • ✗No phone support
  • ✗Tee sheet and POS are separate systems that require reconciliation
foreUP
Custom quote (~$120/mo+)
  • ✗No native dynamic pricing
  • ✗Email and chat support only — no phone
  • ✗Built primarily for traditional golf courses, not simulator studios
  • ✗Custom quote pricing with no published rates
EZLinks
Part of GolfNow
  • ✗Acquired by GolfNow/NBC in 2019 — same barter model, same data terms
  • ✗Outdated UI
  • ✗Same contractual terms as GolfNow
  • ✗No standalone product — bundled into GolfNow ecosystem

Switching takes less than a day.

Run OpenTeeSheet and GolfNow in parallel for 30 days while existing bookings wind down. Zero disruption. One migration call.

1
Start free trial
No card. 14 days free.
2
Set up your bays
Bays, hours, pricing, Stripe — you, in about an hour.
3
Go live on your site
Embed widget in minutes.
4
Kill GolfNow
Stop the drain.
Switch Today — Free Trial →