Social media for golf clubs: a practical guide

A golf club is several businesses in one: a members' club, a pay-and-play course, a coaching academy, a bar and restaurant and often a function venue. Members want course news and results. Visitors want availability, prices and photos of the course. Beginners want to know they will be welcome.

Show the course as it really is today. A drone shot from last June will not help someone deciding whether to play in February, and an honest update about temporary greens builds more trust than silence.

Three to five posts a week is plenty. Course updates are the posts members check most, so make them quick and consistent.

• Monday: weekend competition results and a photo of the winners, with their agreement.
• Tuesday: a course update from the greenkeeping team, such as aeration or a new tee.
• Wednesday: a coaching tip or beginner session from your professional.
• Thursday: visitor availability, green fees or a twilight rate.
• Friday: clubhouse food, events or a function room feature.

If you post green fees, memberships or society packages, show the full price. The CMA's price guidance says the headline price should normally include unavoidable charges, such as a compulsory booking fee, and that hiding them until later is illegal drip pricing. If a membership has a joining fee or a compulsory bar levy, say so in the same post.

Google's guidelines say your business name on Google must not include marketing taglines or unnecessary information, so do not add phrases like "best course in the county" to it. Ask every visitor and member for a review the same way, for example in a booking confirmation email. Google's policy bans incentives for reviews, selectively asking happy customers and reviews from people with a conflict of interest, such as current or former staff.

Sources: GOV.UK (CMA): Providing clear and accurate information about prices, summary, checked 15 October 2026; Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google, checked 15 October 2026; Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026

Many golf clubs have junior sections. The NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit says organisations that use images of children must have a photography and filming policy, that parent or carer consent is needed for under-16s, that the child should be asked too and that names alongside images should be removed unless necessary. For live streaming, it says to gather consent, use wide-angle views and make sure the stream is not recorded.

Adult members also deserve a say. Not everyone wants their swing, their score or their afternoon in the bar on the club's public page.

This is general information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by country and change, so check with your regulator, professional body or a lawyer before you post claims, prices or photos of the people you serve.

1. Collect photo consent for juniors at registration and keep one current list.
2. Ask adult members before posting photos of them, especially results with scores.
3. Use first names only, or no names, for juniors, and never tag them.
4. Keep car number plates, locker codes and membership cards out of shot.
5. Remove a photo promptly when anyone asks.

Source: NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit: Photography and filming in sports and activities, checked 15 October 2026

Charity days and club raffles are popular. In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission says a small society lottery must be registered with your local licensing authority, with limits of £20,000 of tickets in a single lottery and £250,000 a year, at least 20% of proceeds for the society's purposes and tickets sold only to people aged 16 and over. The Commission has a separate guide for raffles held at events.

If you run a prize draw on social media, such as a free round for a share, the ASA's advice says to put significant conditions and the closing date in the post, pick winners at random by a computer process or an independent person and make sure you can track every entry.

Sources: Gambling Commission: Licences for small society lotteries, checked 15 October 2026; ASA Advice Online: Prize draws in social media, checked 15 October 2026

Golf follows the seasons: winter course work and indoor coaching, spring membership drives, summer opens and society days, and autumn presentations and Christmas functions.

Disclosure: Zolyp, which publishes this guide, makes an AI social media manager. It plans a balanced week across your content pillars, writes the captions and designs the visuals in your brand voice, and schedules them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You can add your own photos to any post, and you start by approving every post. Zolyp does not see your consent list or course conditions, so whoever approves the week should check every photo and update before it goes live. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: check Google hours, green fees and photos.
• Week 2: course update and one coaching video.
• Week 3: competition results and one clubhouse or function post.
• Week 4: membership or beginner post and next month's plan.