Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only 20% of tee times in the United States were booked online. 

Now, with new health and safety standards, golf course operators have aggressively adopted online tee times to ensure players remain as safe as possible and to streamline their operations. 

Since Forelinx launched in 2015, our focus has been on building a seamless online-to-offline customer experience. With the click of a button on your smartphone or desktop computer, you can show up at a golf course ready to play and everything is taken care of. 

The best comparison is Uber versus Yellow Cab. Before Uber, if you needed ground transportation you had to call the dispatch center or hail a cab, then provide direction and pay via cash or credit card. When Uber entered the market they reimagined the online-to-offline experience. When a passenger opens the Uber app it knows their exact location. The rider simply needs to add their destination and minutes later a car shows up. Everything is tracked digitally, and the payment is processed in the background.

Forelinx has done the same for online tee times by reimagining how a customer books and pays for golf. Golfers can earn or purchase "Forelinx Points" and use them to pay for tee times, fantasy golf entry fees or items in the marketplace. With hundreds of golf courses to choose from, customers pick when and where they would like to play, click a button and show up. Forelinx Points are debited from a customer's account and no payments are ever needed at the golf course. All tee times, payments and account balances are tracked and managed digitally through a centralized portal.

In the COVID-19 era, the importance of a touchless check-in experience is at an all-time high. Forelinx expects the percentage of online tee times to rise dramatically in the coming months as consumer behavior shifts and golfers recognize that touchless check-in is the safest and easiest way to book tee times.

It’s a new world that we’re living in today and Forelinx is proud to be at the forefront of innovation by providing customers and golf course operators the kind of check-in experience and digital tools we need in times like these.