History & Timeline

1990

• The Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association executive director George Hilliard sends an RFP to 65 computer companies to build what would become the Grand Strand Tee Time Network.

1991

• Gary Jonas launches Jonas Software.
• IBS-Integrated Business System launches its course management software.
• GAptech, a Pittsburgh, PA computer programming company, is selected by the Myrtle Beach GCOA to build an electronic tee sheet and connectivity to area hotels. Aptech key personnel included Jay Troutman, John Stafford, and Nancy DeSecco.

1992

• The Grand Strand Tee Time Network (GSTTN), headed by Mathew Brittain, goes live with 35 Myrtle Beach golf courses and 15 area hotels.

1993

• Tom and Rick Robshaw introduce Pro-ShopKeeper (now known as ClubProphet), course management software.
• Charleston, Hilton Head, Biloxi, Pinehurst, and Atlantic City join the Grand Strand Tee Time Network as regional golf destinations.

1994

• Harry Ipema launches Fore! Reservations.
• Kevin Cotton founds NetCaddy.

1995

• Golf Channel launched in January.
• EZLinks Golf is founded. Steve McKenna and Andy Weeks founded EZLinks Golf in Chicago, IL with financial backing from a local investor group. EZLinks starts as an online, electronic tee sheet.

1996

• Golf Digest contracts to purchase the Grand Strand Tee Time Network in January and make it part of a national network to be called Golf Digest Information Systems (GDIS). Troutman, Stafford, and DeSecco come over from Aptech. Alan Fisher is hired as national sales manager. GDIS business plan was to charge each golf course $30,000 annually for its tee time service. GSTTN smartly protects itself with contract provisions that return the technology to them in case GDIS fails.
• Michael Hsu starts Teemaster in Minneapolis, MN, as a call center service for golf courses.

1997

• NGCOA Industry Status Review on Electronic Tee Time Reservations in January.
• Estimated utilization of electronic tee time reservation systems range between 6%-10% of golf courses in U.S.
• Teemaster records the first browser-based, real time Internet tee time reservation in April.
• Golf Digest pulls the plug on GDIS in June. The GSTTN maintains the system and looks for a new partner.
• NGCOA hosts a national Tee Time Summit in Atlanta in June.

1998

• Last Minute Tee Times is started by Mike Last.
• In February, NGCOA has exploratory meetings with GSTTN to discuss starting a golf tee time electronic distribution association. NGCOA launches EDGE (Electronic Distribution Golf Enterprise) to create interfacing standards to accelerate the golf industry’s technology use and lower automation costs. It agrees to keep the GSTTN up and running, bringing in Nancy DeSecco to maintain the network. NGCOA secures support from the original six regions and renames the system T-Links.
• With five active courses, in April, EZlinks records its first real time online tee time reservation.
• In May, American Golf signs agreement with EZLinks. Believed to be the first management company to sign with an online tee time company.
• Also in May, EZLinks records 139 rounds of golf reserved online.
• Myrtle Beach Golf Holidays chooses Epani for online tee time reservations in June. Epani has a full suite of golf course management systems that includes point of sale, tee sheet and course maintenance software products.
• In September, EZLinks auctions tee times via onsale.com, the first time tee times were sold in this manner. $1500 in tee times were sold in the first four days. In Feb. 1999, EZLinks expands auctioning of tee times to uBid.com.
• Bill Hopke launches teetimes.com, and Larry Lippon and Tim Flynn founded GolfSwitch in Phoenix, AZ. GolfSwitch is a technology that enables tee times to be aggregated from disparate system electronic tee sheets. It was first deployed in the Phoenix market to connect hotels to golf course electronic tee sheets.
• Book4Golf, out of Canada, launches.

1999

• Brett Darrow founds GolfGateway.com. GolfGateway.com is an e-commerce and marketing solutions company that uses Internet technology to help golf courses with Internet tee time reservations, point-of-sale efficiencies and other golf industry solutions to the golfer.
• GolfSwitch files to patent its technology. GolfSwitch files for patent of its technology that aggregates tee times across disparate tee sheet systems.
• Larry Lippon introduces a new company, e2e Golf Solutions, that includes GolfSwitch’s technology. e2e offered an integrated suite of software solutions and services that seamlessly managed all aspects of course operations. The company's offering included a golf course management software duite and an online, wholesale golf marketplace utilizing IBM's "e-business solution" technology to bring together golf course operators, manufacturers and retailers.
• American Golf becomes the first management company to go live with online tee times.
• GolfGateway purchases Double Eagle systems in August, a tee sheet/PoS system with about 250 clients in California and the West Coast.
• In September, GolfGateway signs a letter of intent to purchase T-Links. The GolfGateway launch party is headlined by numerous celebrity and professional golf investors. Parties hard at the Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas during the western PGA show. Included are numerous celebrity and professional golf investors.
• 1999 ended with Teemaster selling to Book4Golf and Last Minute Tee Times booking its first online reservation.

2000

• In January, GolfGateway changes its name to Greens.com and Book4golf’s stock price reaches $22/share.
• Also in January, GolfSwitch partners with PGA.com, a joint venture of the PGA of America and IBM, to create the first company to offer a fully integrated end-to-end package of services to streamline and automate all golf course operations. PGA.com says e2e Golf Solutions will increase golf facility profits by offering an integrated suite of software solutions and services to seamlessly manage all aspects of course operations. The offering also includes a golf course management software suite and a multimedia communications package that will, according to PGA.com, help course operators effectively promote their facilities.
• Four tee time reservation companies announced an alliance to provide access to golf courses. Teetimes.com, TeeMaster.com, Select Tee Times.com, and LinksTime.com will share respective inventory of available golf tee times and establish the first open Internet golf reservation network, called OTTO (Open Tee Times Online). The new network, according to the quartet, will have access to over 425 golf courses throughout the U.S. and abroad. Access will be available through each tee time companies web sites. Read More
• Greens.com expands into Europe in February; Greens.com partners with Steven Schwartz’s Palo Alto Golf, En France, and Euro Systems and expands into Europe. Read More
• Also in February, e2e Golf Solutions partners with Epani in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, e2e Golf Solutions will provide tee time connectivity to Epani's extensive network of over 1,000 golf courses – the largest software installation base in Europe. These courses will have the ability to broadcast their tee times to over 185 high-trafficked web sites and some of the world's largest travel providers, including Galileo International, with more than 41,000 locations in 104 countries. In addition, e2e has agreed to purchase the assets of OnTee.com, and will integrate golf course software products currently in use at Epani's network of courses into the e2e software suite.
• e2e Golf Solutions partners with Galileo International in March. Read More The company signs a letter of intent to acquire NetCaddy. It then partners with Worldspan to bring online tee time reservations to over 20,000 global travel agencies. Read More
• In March, Greens.com is no more, reportedly losing $35 million.
• In July, e2e Golf Solutions launches On Request, a tee time fulfillment service designed to streamline the tee time booking process for both golfers and golf course operators. Golfers can now book or request tee times and view comprehensive course information at over 13,000 golf courses on e2e Golf's Tee Time Reservation Network. In addition to real-time booking access to e2e Golf's 475 online member golf courses, golfers can access offline courses through the reservation network at over 200 Internet sites such as AOL; MindSpring; CNN/SI.com; USAToday.com; and through e2e Golf's travel partners.
• ONX, a Canadian consulting firm, purchases Book4golf in September.

2001

• Cypress Golf Solutions is founded by Brett Darrow and Frank Halpin, formerly of the failed Greens.com. Cypress Golf Solutions franchised around the country based upon area codes, such as golf916.com. Mike Loustalot was one of the original franchisees. It later created the brand, GolfNow. Darrow introduces the barter for service payment system, taking golf course tee times in lieu of cash for courses to list on the site.
• Spectrum Golf, owned by Mike Loustalot, acquires the assets of GolfSwitch from Larry Lippon’s e2e Golf Solutions in February.
• Also in February, EZLinks acquires Minneapolis-based Ready Golf Reservations from Newman Golf Investors. At that time the EZLinks Tee Time Network had processed over 35 million tee time reservations. Read More
• Clubessential acquires NetCaddy. Clubessential was formed by La Quinta, Calif.-based resort developer KSL Recreation Corp. with funding in part from New York equity investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &s; Co. In negotiating with NetCaddy, Clubessential brought to the table a recent $7.7 million cash infusion from KSL and KKR. Read More
• Chris Mulvihill launches Tee Time King. Using Tee Time King’s course management desktop software, golf courses could manage tee sheets, online and touch tone reservations, point-of-sale, inventory, loyalty programs, member billing, accounts receivable, event and catering contract management, and other daily administration. Tee Time King also enabled golfers to find and book tee times online for daily fee, resort, semi-private, private, and multi-property golf facilities.
• Matt Krause launches GoGoGolf, which was rebranded as TeeTimeWatch.com. By Oct. 2012, the company is no longer in operation.
• In May, GolfGopher launches, and Michael Hsu, founder of Teemaster, gets his company back in a purchase settlement with Book4Golf.
• Book4golf becomes “the official tee time provider for the State of Michigan” in July.
• By the end of the year, EZLinks expands, offering a point-of-sale system.

2002

• EClick4teetimes launches in Southern California and is subsequently sold to GolfNow in 2014. Read More
• All Book4golf directors resign except CEO Philip DeLeon. It cannot afford its liability insurance and has burned its $1.25 million line of credit. DeLeon injects $75K of his own money. Book4golf has 50 clients. Book4golf and its security company Yorkton Securities are sued for failing to disclose conflicts of interest. Book4Golf directors quit, CEO stays Book4golf, EcomPark ruled by insiders
• In November, GolfGopher purchases teetimes.com, and Cypress Golf Solutions launches in Portland, OR after previously launching in Phoenix and Tucson, AZ. A quote about their revenue model masks the barter arrangement with courses. “The Cypress revenue model is performance based. ‘We only make money if we can sell rounds for our courses,’ says Darrow. Cypress does not charge any upfront or flat fees for their services. ‘This keeps us focused on our primary objective, selling more rounds of Golf and increasing the course's bottom line,’ Darrow says. Brett Darrow is now considered the godfather of tee time barter.

2003

• NGCOA &s; Open Travel Alliance (OTA) create standards for xml messaging so that booking sources can search for golf courses, request available tee times, and make reservations.

2004

• In March, Roy Staten partners with IBS to launch GolfHero. GolfHero is a division of TravelHero. The GolfHero technology provides users a way to bundle golf starting times with travel products in a single itinerary. Read More
• Google allows advertisers to bid on trademarked keywords in April.
• EZLinks crosses the 100 million mark in rounds booked using the EZLinks electronic tee sheet.
• In October, GolfHero signs Marriott Golf as a client. Read More
• Coursetrends, a golf website service provider, launches Golf18 Network as a disposal site for tee times it was taking in trade in lieu of cash. The barter phenomenon grows.

2005

• As the year begins, NGCOA publishes a supplement to Golf Business Magazine: Management Information Systems Guide and Directory. Included is a commentary on third party tee time providers.
• In March, TeeConnect goes live.
• Tee Time King purchases Jim Keegan’s Fairway Systems in April, serving more than 200 municipal courses.
• In September, Active Network purchases Tee Time King serving more than 350 courses and forms Active Golf Solutions. Also, GolfHero partners with Rosen Hotels and Resorts. Read More
• Golf Galaxy chooses TeeTimeWatch.com as its tee time provider in October.
• Cypress Golf Solutions books over 800,000 rounds of golf in 2005.

2006

• Cypress Golf Solutions rolls out its new GolfNow.com brand in Southern California, replacing the area code web URLs (i.e. golf619.com).
• The GolfSwitch patent is granted in March. Read More
• The first published debate regarding barter takes place between Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid, and Cypress Golf Solutions in April. Read More, and GolfSwitch/Spectrum Golf sues Incuborn Solutions Inc. (Cypress Golf Solutions/GolfNow), TeeConnect, Mike Loustalot, Heritage Golf Group, and OpenCourse Solutions for patent infringement in Arizona federal court. Read More
• By September, Andy Weeks, formerly with EZLinks, launches W5 Golf providing a website booking engine and call center.

2007

• Active Network acquires Jencess, a Canadian PoS system.
• By August, 800,000 rounds of golf have been booked.
• W5 launches BirdieBug.com as a tee time portal.

2008

• In March, Comcast, owner of Golf Channel, purchases Cypress Golf Solutions and its GolfNow brand from Brett Darrow and his franchisees for a reported $41.3 million. The company's operations were relocated to Golf Channel's Orlando, Florida headquarters.[That same year, the company facilitated the booking of 2.4 million rounds. Read More
• Patent lawsuit between GolfSwitch and multiple defendants including GolfNow is heard in August. Here is the court decision: Read More
• GolfSwitch settles its patent suit against GolfNow. GolfSwitch receives a $2.1 million settlement, however it incurred $2.4 million in attorney fees. GolfNow received a GolfSwitch license in perpetuity.
• GolfNow acquires Mike Last’s Last Minute Golfer for reportedly more than $15 million.

2009

• Brian Wroblewski and partners founded Golf Pipeline, a third-party tee time provider with a commission-only business model.

2011

• In February, Comcast completes NBC Universal merger. Golf Channel/GolfNow are subsidiaries of NBC Universal. NBC Sports Group was formed when Comcast transferred the operations of the properties in its existing Comcast Sports Group unit included the Golf Channel, after the company's acquisition of a majority share in NBCUniversal in February 2011. This led GolfNow to be transferred to NBC Sports Digital.
• Brett Darrow, the godfather of barter…launches Quick 18.
• ForeUp launches.
• Jonathan Wride and Ryan Ewers launch SupremeGolf.com, with hopes of becoming the Kayak of golf. Read More, Read More

2012

• At its annual January meeting at the PGA Merchandise show, the PGA announces a partnership with GolfNow. The next day, it is put on hold pending further review.
• Then in February, the PGA cancels its partnership deal with GolfNow. Read More
• Golf Pipeline website and booking engine is unveiled to the public in April.
• In May, EZLinks sues GolfNow and former employee Mike Brown, including charges of computer fraud and abuse, violations of trade secret laws, disparagement, conspiracy, and more. It comes on the heels of what the suit alleges were repeated attempts by GolfNow to purchase EZLinks, which were rebuffed. Read More

2013

• TeeSnap, funded by Allegiant Air, becomes a new player in the software space.
• Fore! Reservations founder Harry Ipema sells Fore! Reservations to GolfNow for a reported $15-$20 million. Ipema had discovered that 57% of his clients were on GolfNow despite his frequent and reasoned appeals of why they should not be. Upon purchasing Fore! Reservations GolfNow renames it GolfNow Reservations. This is now the most common and most robust of GolfNow’s software offerings. Read More
• John Fechter founds OpenTee.
• In June, GolfNow buys British Tee Time Company, BRS Golf.

2014

• GolfNow Connect is launched in January. The foundation of GolfNow Connect is BRS Golf's technology. GolfNow Connect is easy to implement, requiring no installation of software. Connect is geared towards individual course operators, not in need of POS and this is a non-interfacing product.
• GolfNow acquires Click4teetimes.com.
• EZlinks rebrands its consumer-facing tee time site to TeeOff.com.
• In May, OpenTee acquires GolfSwitch.
• GolfNow acquires Active Network in September. The deal adds another 1,100 golf courses to the company’s software client base.This is GolfNow’s fourth acquisition in the last 18 months, including FORE Reservations (2000 courses), Crescent Systems (300-400 courses), and BRS Golf from the U.K. (750 courses). Read More

2015

• Club Prophet disconnects (cuts off API) to third parties like GolfNow and EZLinks in April. This move was done for competitive reasons as GolfNow’s acquisitions meant it would now become a major player in the software space- a direct threat to Club Prophet.
• In June, PGA Tour becomes Equity Partner in EZLinks, forging new company to compete with GolfNow. EZLinks rebrands its consumer website as TeeOff.com by PGA Tour.
• By September. EZLinks acquires GolfSwitch and OpenTee. Read More And OpenTee portal redirects to EZLinks’ TeeOff.com.
• In November, NGCOA and PGA of America partner to form the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition.

2016

• In April, EZLinks acquires IBS. The combined EZLinks Golf and IBS product portfolio features EZLinks Golf’s tee sheet, EZLinks Golf’s 24/7 reservation center, TeeOff.com by PGA TOUR’s web portal, IBS’ club management software, including traditional and cloud-based point of sale, business intelligence software and private course functionality.
• W5 enters into an exclusive service-provider relationship with GolfNow, providing call center services, in May.
• In July, an internal video from GolfNow leaks, alarming the industry, as company representatives boast about making a “boatload” of money selling barter tee time inventory. Read More
• Golf Pipeline announces hiring of Gene Pizzolato, formerly with GolfNow, as its new President and CEO.

2017

• Golf Pipeline rebrands as Golfbook in January. Announces strategic partnership with CBS Sports Digital as its media partner.
• Golf.com launches a tee time booking app powered by Supreme Golf. Read More
• W5 Golf becomes GolfNow’s call center. W5 is able to maintain its current clients but cannot pursue new ones.
• EZLinks acquires Distinct Software Solutions, also known as Coursetrends and the operators of Golf18 Network. EZLinks assumes control of Golf18 Network.
• In April, Open Travel Alliance Publishes New Golf 2.0 Distribution Standard, Enhancing the Golfers Digital Experience. Read More And GolfBook launches its app including tee time booking.