A well-prepared new golf course marketing checklist can help golf course owners, operators, and marketing teams identify the essential tasks that need to be completed before the official launch. From positioning and digital presence to content, advertising, and partnerships, here are 10 essential marketing tasks to complete before launching a new golf course.
1. Define Your Golf Course Positioning
Before promoting a new golf course, you need to clearly define what makes it different.
Your positioning should answer a simple question:
Why should golfers choose your golf course instead of another course? Consider the key characteristics of your course, such as:
- Location and accessibility
- Course design and architect
- Number of holes
- Course difficulty and playing experience
- Landscape and natural surroundings
- Clubhouse and facilities
- Accommodation and resort offerings
- Golf packages and membership options
- Target golfer segments
- Unique experiences or signature features
These points will become the foundation for your website, advertising campaigns, social media content, press materials, and other marketing activities. A new golf course should not simply communicate that it is “new.” It should communicate why its experience is worth discovering.
2. Build Your Golf Course Website Before Launch
Your website should be ready before the golf course officially opens. A website is not simply an online brochure. It can become one of the most important channels for generating enquiries, tee time bookings, package sales, and other conversions. So this is the reason why building and strengthen your website is listed in a new golf course marketing checklist.
At minimum, a new golf course website should provide information about:
- The golf course
- Course layout and holes
- Golf course designer
- Facilities
- Golf packages
- Membership
- Location and directions
- Opening information
- Contact details
- Booking options
Discover AGJ’s customized website design package here.
The website should also be structured with SEO in mind. Relevant pages can target searches such as:
- Golf course in [destination]
- Golf course near [destination]
- Golf resort in [destination]
- New golf course in [destination]
- Golf packages in [destination]
Launching with an SEO-ready website gives search engines more time to discover and index your content while potential golfers are researching where to play.
3. Set Up Your Google Business Profile
A new golf course should also prepare its Google Business Profile as part of its pre-launch marketing activities. This is particularly important for local search. Golfers may search for terms such as “golf course near me,” “golf course in [destination],” or the name of the golf course itself.
Before launch, make sure your business information is accurate and consistent, including:
- Official business name
- Address
- Phone number
- Website
- Opening information
- Business category
- Location on Google Maps
- Photos
- Description
The profile should also be monitored after launch to ensure that business information remains accurate and that reviews and user-generated changes are managed appropriately.
4. Create a Pre-Launch Content Strategy
Do not wait until opening day to start creating content. A new golf course has an opportunity to build anticipation months before golfers can actually play. Your pre-launch content can introduce the course through different stages of development.
For example:
Pre-Launch Content Strategy for New Golf Course
The goal is to gradually move your audience from awareness → interest → consideration → booking.
5. Prepare Professional Golf Photography and Video
Visual content is particularly important in a new golf course marketing checklist because golfers want to understand the experience before making a booking. Before launch, prepare a professional library of:
- Aerial photography
- Course photography
- Signature-hole photography
- Clubhouse photography
- Landscape photography
- Golf lifestyle photography
- Short-form videos
- Course flyover videos
- Social media videos
These assets can then be used across your website, social media, digital advertising, golf media, email marketing, and sales materials. Instead of producing content only for the launch campaign, consider building a long-term visual library that your marketing team can continue using throughout the year.
6. Prepare Your Golf Advertising Strategy
Paid advertising should be planned before the course opens rather than activated at the last minute. Your golf advertising strategy can include different channels depending on your target audience and objectives.
For example:
- Google Search Ads for high-intent searches
- Meta Ads for awareness and consideration
- YouTube Ads for video storytelling
- Remarketing campaigns for website visitors
- Golf media advertising
- Sponsored content
- Display advertising
Different stages of the launch may require different advertising objectives. For example:
Pre-launch:
Build awareness and audience interest.
Launch:
Drive traffic, enquiries, and bookings.
Post-launch:
Retarget interested audiences and promote specific packages or experiences.
The key is to connect advertising with a clear conversion path rather than simply generating impressions.
7. Develop Golf KOL and Influencer Partnerships
In the new golf course marketing checklist, golf influencers and content creators can help a new golf course reach an audience that already has an interest in golf.
Before launch, identify relevant golf KOLs, influencers, content creators based on:
- Target market
- Audience location
- Golfer profile
- Engagement
- Content quality
- Previous golf-related campaigns
- Brand fit
Potential activities can include:
- Pre-opening course visits
- Familiarisation trips
- Golf experience content
- Course reviews
- Social media collaborations
- Video content
- Tournament or event coverage
The objective should not simply be to work with the influencer with the largest following. The more important consideration is whether their audience matches the golfers you want to reach.
8. Prepare Your Launch Campaign and Measurement System
The final step is bringing all marketing activities together into one launch plan.
Your launch campaign should clearly define:
- Launch objectives
- Target audiences
- Key messages
- Marketing channels
- Content calendar
- Advertising budget
- Influencer activities
- PR and media outreach
- Partnership activities
- Booking mechanism
- Campaign timeline
- KPIs
You should also establish how performance will be measured. Depending on your objectives, relevant metrics may include:
- Website traffic
- Organic search traffic
- Social media reach
- Engagement
- Video views
- Advertising impressions
- Click-through rate
- Leads
- Enquiries
- Tee time bookings
- Package bookings
- Cost per lead
- Cost per booking
- Return on advertising spend
Without measurement, it becomes difficult to understand which marketing activities are generating actual business results.
New Golf Course Marketing Checklist
Before launch, your marketing team should be able to answer “yes” to the following:
New golf course marketing checklist
Asia Golf Journey – A Trusted Marketing Partner for New Golf Course
A successful golf course launch starts well before the opening day. Marketing should be treated as part of the golf course development process rather than an activity that begins after the course is ready to welcome its first golfers.
Asia Golf Journey (AGJ) provides marketing solutions for golf courses, resorts, and hospitality brands across Vietnam and Southeast Asia. With in-depth knowledge of the golf industry and regional market insights, AGJ brings together SEO, content, social media, advertising, golf media, strategic partnerships, and influencer marketing to build brand visibility and reach the right audiences. For a new golf course, having the right marketing strategy in place from the early stages can create market awareness, generate demand, and build a strong foundation for bookings from launch.
Planning the launch of a new golf course? Talk to Asia Golf Journey about your marketing strategy:
📧 Email: creative@asiagolfjourney.com
📞 Hotline: +84 982 117 466
The Leading Strategic Partner for Golf, Sports, Tourism & Hospitality in Vietnam
