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An image representing AI- and data-driven golf booking. / Show Golf

The competitive landscape for golf booking platforms is shifting. While securing as many golf courses and diverse tee times as possible used to be the key differentiator, the spread of generative AI is making the volume and accuracy of accumulated real user experience data the new competitive edge.

The way golfers make reservations is changing too. In the past, golfers typically chose their preferred region and date, then compared prices and tee times before selecting a course. Now, user reviews have become a major factor in that decision — golfers check other players' evaluations of green conditions, course maintenance, pace of play, and staff service before booking.

In this context, the user reviews accumulated on golf platforms carry more weight than simple reference information. As actual rounds of play get converted into data, they become a core asset that helps golfers choose courses and make bookings.

Golf booking platform XGOLF has accumulated 1.12 million members and more than 300,000 user reviews, with more than 100 new reviews added daily on average. As real user experiences continue to build up, the data available for understanding each course's characteristics and satisfaction levels keeps growing.

The rise of generative AI is further expanding how this data can be used. Where users once had to read through countless reviews themselves to compare courses, services may increasingly evolve so that AI analyzes vast amounts of review data and proactively surfaces the options best suited to each user.

For example, combining a user's past booking history, preferred regions and time slots, average spending, and typical group size with review data enables personalized recommendations. AI can also surface information that's difficult to find through conventional search — like courses with high satisfaction for maintenance quality, courses well-suited for two-player rounds, or courses appropriate for beginner golfers.

The scope of data use extends beyond course recommendations. Combining booking and cancellation patterns with seasonal usage volume and weather data makes it possible to forecast demand and suggest suitable tee times to users. For golf courses themselves, this also means being able to more accurately gauge demand and improve operational efficiency.

In particular, reviews from actual users can become key data for boosting the reliability of AI-based recommendation services. As experiences from customers who have actually completed a round continue to accumulate — as opposed to promotional or advertising-driven content — a more well-rounded evaluation of each course becomes possible.

Ultimately, the basis for competition among golf booking platforms is expected to shift from "how many courses does it offer" to "how much reliable data has it gathered, and how well does it use that data." This means platforms that go beyond simply listing bookable options — analyzing user preferences and past behavior to surface the optimal choice — could gain an edge in the competition.

An industry official said, "Going forward, a golf platform's competitiveness will hinge less on how many courses it has listed and more on how much real usage data it has accumulated and how accurately it can analyze that data to deliver personalized information to users," adding, "In the AI era, reliable data will matter more than sheer volume of data."

An XGOLF official said, "Based on more than 100 real user reviews and booking data points accumulated daily on average, it will become increasingly important to create an environment where golfers can quickly and easily find the course best suited to them," adding, "We plan to continue developing our services in a direction that improves the user experience by leveraging the data the platform holds."

                                                                                                        Cheon Hyun-bin