Golf Course Ratings & Reviews Resources

Ratings & Reviews

Golf course operators can also take advantage of the power of ratings and reviews to help grow their business. We are home to over 1.5 million course reviews from around the world. We're here to help you get started.

Why Reviews Matter

Did you know that 70% of Americans read reviews* before making any purchase decision? Today's customers are looking for reviews of a product before they buy. And, customers - especially golfers - love to talk. By providing ratings and reviews about your course on GolfPass, the potential exists to help you drive additional traffic and sales - while also collecting key insights from golfers to help you improve your operations.

Rating Badge

Promote your course's rating and encourage customers to submit reviews by adding a Rating Badge to your website. Go to your course page and click on "Get Widget" at the bottom of the page for further instructions.

All About Reviews

Have questions about ratings and reviews and what they mean to your course? Here are some frequently asked questions and some answers to help get you started.

How do ratings and reviews benefit my course?

  • - Authentic conversations that spark dialogues to drive sales and foster golfer loyalty
  • - Increased golfer engagement and community participation with courses
  • - Allow golfers to share their reviews on social media platforms, driving additional buzz for courses
  • - Help courses understand what golfers want, what they value most and how to better meet their needs

Are other companies utilizing ratings & reviews?

  • Yes, there are currently more than 2,000 of the world's leading brands - including 100 of the top consumer brands and manufacturers - utilizing the same ratings and reviews system that we use *. In addition, some other industries heavily depend on ratings and reviews - such as the travel & tourism industry via TripAdvisor, which features more than 170 million reviews and sees an average of more than 100 contributions to its site from consumers EVERY minute*.

Are golfers using reviews on GolfPass?

  • You bet! To date, we have garnered more than 1,500,000 reviews for over 15,000 courses written by over 500,000 golfers, making it the largest single source of golf course reviews. The average course rating is currently 3.9 out of 5 stars.

How does my course earn reviews?

  • Golf courses can earn reviews by encouraging their customers to rate and review their experience following their round. Remember, you cannot submit a review for a golfer or offer incentives or compensation of any kind in exchange for a review, but you can ask your customers to write an honest review of their experience at your course. For more information on tools that we can provide to courses to encourage reviews, contact us.

Are the reviews moderated?

Yes, there are three levels of moderation that each review passes through before it is published:

1.) Automated profanity filtering - A review is not even allowed to be submitted by the golfer if it contains any profanity

2.) Auto watch-word filtering - We filter for additional inappropriate and potentially inappropriate terms that we've identified. If found, the review is flagged and our team is notified. We can then reject or approve once it's reviewed. If a golfer continues to post inappropriate or profane content, we have the ability to black list them, so their reviews are always rejected, should that be needed.

3.) Human moderation - All reviews that make it to the final phase are then reviewed by human moderators that look to catch any additional inappropriate and/or fake reviews.

Community and Review Guidelines

We’d like to thank our community for their continued efforts to make our website a great place for golfers to share fair and constructive feedback about their experience to the course and fellow golfers. When writing your review and submitting media, we request you abide by the following Review Guidelines:

  • Relevant.  Your review is intended for other golfers and should focus on the golf course you played and your individual experience there. For example, provide details about why you liked or disliked the course, such as the condition of the greens or the pace of play. Reviews should reflect the entire booking experience, and reviews focused exclusively on customer service are subject to removal - those issues should be brought to golf course management directly. Your review should not include any commentary or personal rants about politics, religion, social issues or any other topics not relevant to the core experience of a golfer at the course being reviewed. All reviews must be submitted in English.
  • Recent.  Conditions at golf courses may constantly change based on weather, maintenance, or a variety of other factors. In order to make sure your review is as valuable as possible, please submit your review within seven (7) days of the date you played and ensure you select the correct “Played on” date.
  • First-Hand. Your review should be limited to your personal experience at the golf course. Do not include any second-hand information from other sources such as friends or other websites.
  • Accurate. Please ensure that your review is factually accurate based on your genuine experience and does not include any exaggeration or speculation or any fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading information. We do not take sides in factual disputes between reviewers and golf courses. Reviews may not be posted for the purpose of manipulating a golf course’s rating. Do not submit fake reviews, the same or similar review multiple times, reviews for the incorrect golf course, or reviews for the same course from multiple accounts.
  • Inappropriate Content.  Reviews must be appropriate to the forum and may not contain any obscene, profane, offensive, or discriminatory language or any threats, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or hate speech. Do not threaten to post, or offer to remove, a negative review as an attempt receive payment or compensation from a golf course. All reviews containing links or URL’s are subject to removal.
  • Illegal.  Reviews may not contain any content that is illegal or depicts illegal activity.
  • Intellectual Property. Do not include any content or materials in your reviews that infringe on any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right of another, such as copyrighted videos or images. All written content, uploaded images, and videos included in your review become the property of NBCUniversal and its affiliates, and by submitting a review you consent to its use in any medium, including the social media outlets, marketing materials and websites of NBCUniversal and its affiliates. When we use something you’ve posted, we may or may not, at our sole discretion, include your username and location or other identifying information you provide. Please see our Terms of Use for details.
  • Unbiased/Conflicts of Interest.  Your review should be unbiased. Do not submit reviews of golf courses you own, represent, or are otherwise affiliated with (current or former), or the golf courses of any friends, relatives, peers, or competitors.

  • Non-Promotional.  Reviews may not contain any advertisements, “spam” content, or references to products, brands, offers, websites, or companies other than the golf course being reviewed. For questions, comments, or customer service relating to NBCUniversal, GolfPass, or GolfNow, please visit our Contact Us page.
  • Privacy. Do not include any full names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, or other personally identifiable or private information in your reviews. Any photos or videos including others should not be posted without their permission.
  • Verifiable. In order to ensure the authenticity of our reviews, we may ask you to provide documentation to confirm you played the golf course for which you submitted your review.

We reserve the right to remove or not to post any reviews or materials submitted by you that violate the Review Guidelines above or for any reason at our sole discretion. Violation of the Review Guidelines or Terms of Use may also result in your account being suspended or terminated. If you feel one of your reviews was rejected or removed in error, please contact us here and include your username, email address, and name of the golf course you reviewed.

By submitting a review, you acknowledge you have read and accept the Review Guidelines above and the GolfPass Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Enjoy writing your review!

How can I avoid getting a negative review?

  • While negative reviews are bound to happen - here are a few pointers to help try to avoid them:

  • - Focus on Customer Service. Encourage your course staff to make customer service a top priority - any and all golfers could write a review of their experience.
  • - Keep Your Course Conditions Up-to-Date Online. Make sure golfers are aware of any issues before they book and arrive at the course so there aren't any surprises.
  • - Manage Expectations. Ensure your course is openly communicating any potential issues with golfers once they arrive, such as delays in start times, so they're not taken off guard.
  • - Constantly monitor your course reviews. If anything is extremely negative, but valid, respond to the golfer to make sure they know you value their opinion, and try to amend the issue.

Remember negative reviews happen to everyone - even major brands such as Best Buy, Samsung and Dell receive negative reviews of their products that are then displayed on their websites. Why do they allow this? It reinforces authenticity - if every single review was completely positive, would anyone believe it? Also keep in mind the following:

  • - Only 11% of all reviews to-date have an overall rating of just 1-2 stars
  • - Shoppers who read helpful brand responses to reviews are 186% more likely to make a purchase decision and show 157% higher average product sentiment*

How are course ratings determined?

  • Our "Rating Index" is a formula that gives recent reviews more importance and a higher value than older ones, which will better reflect your continued efforts to provide golfers with a truly memorable playing experience.

    Our index gives golf course operators like you more credit for your efforts, as well as ratings that genuinely reflect the work you do every day. And it opens up more opportunity for new golfers to help your course climb the rankings and be discovered by players from around the world.

Can I ask for a reviewer to remove a review?
In general, unless we find the review to be false or fabricated, we do not remove reviews from the website. Instead, we encourage course management to craft a response to a review, using the guidelines above.


However, if you feel a review is fraudulent or improper, you can report it by hitting the "Report" button beneath the review. Include as much information as possible as to why the review is inappropriate or fraudulent, and a member from our team will review the case.


Grow Your Reviews
Interested in growing your number of ratings and reviews but not sure how to get started? Here's your step-by-step guide to the basics.


1. Sign Up – First, you’ll need to create a user account, username and password, which is easy, fast and free. Be sure when you create the account the username includes your course name. Create your account here.

2. Encourage Customers to Review their experience – As your customers come through the pro shop after their round, ask them if they enjoyed their round and encourage them to visit GolfPass to write a review about your course. The ratings you receive will help be compiled into your overall rating. We currently showcase the 10 top-rated courses in each destination, so the higher your overall rating, the better chance your course has of being featured. Plus, we’re currently compiling reviews into a series of Golfers' Choice lists that will feature top golfer-recommended courses to play.

3. Monitor and Respond to Reviews – Responding to reviews – both positive and negative – shows golfers that you genuinely care about their experience and are interested in their feedback. Be sure to regularly monitor what golfers are writing and respond.

  • If your course receives a positive review, respond by:
  • Thanking the reviewer for taking the time to share their experience
  • Personalizing your response to their review
  • - If your course receives a negative review, stick to the following steps:
  • - Respond with a sense of time urgency. A speedy response shows golfers that you care about customer service. A prompt response also allows you to add your perspective.
  • - Be professional and courteous. Keep in mind that many golfers - current or prospective - will see the response, which could alter the way they view your course. Always be polite, demonstrating that you appreciate positive and negative feedback.
  • - Address key issues. If the review brings up a special complaint, explain how you have worked to resolve the issue.
  • - Focus on the positives. Highlight any positive comments made in the review and share any planned upgrades or additional services that could benefit the reviewer.

    4. Utilize the Outstanding Reviews - We completely encourage courses to use the positive ratings and reviews posted about your course in emails, marketing and other various mediums. These testimonials from real golfers represent authentic, viable word of mouth endorsements. We are working to soon be able to offer print and digital tools to help you tell others about your overall rating in a number of places, including in-store displays, emails, on your website, social media channels and more, so stay tuned. To learn more, contact GolfNow Business.

Connect
Have a question or interested in learning more? Contact us.