How Modern Golf Marketing Actually Works: A Q&A with Grace Braithwaite, Marketing by Teesnap Operations Manager
Modern golf marketing isn’t about sending the occasional email blast or posting on social media when there’s time. Today, it requires strategy, automation, data, and consistency — all tied directly to revenue.
To talk about what that really looks like in practice, we sat down with Grace Braithwaite, Teesnap’s new Marketing Operations Manager. With experience as both a Marketing Advisor and agency leader, Grace shares what’s changing in golf marketing, what courses often get wrong, and how Marketing by Teesnap (also known as GMS or Golf Marketing Services) helps operators turn marketing into measurable growth.
1. Tell us about your background before joining Teesnap.
Before joining Teesnap, I helped run a small marketing agency where we worked with a variety of businesses, from local restaurants to small tech startups. I was involved in both strategy and execution, managing campaigns, overseeing client communications, and making sure marketing efforts were aligned with real business goals. Working across different business types taught me how to adapt quickly to creative campaign ideas and build systems that could scale, regardless of the business model.
Prior to that, I managed university email and brand communications, where I focused on maintaining a consistent voice while coordinating messaging across departments. That experience strengthened my foundation in structured communication and audience segmentation.
I’ve also managed individual social media accounts on the side, helping brands grow their presence and engage their audiences more intentionally.
My experience is grounded in building marketing processes that improve efficiency and drive growth.
2. You spent the last year as a Teesnap Client Marketing Advisor. What did that role involve?
As a Marketing Advisor, I worked directly with golf courses to evaluate their marketing efforts and identify opportunities for growth. I partnered with operators on email strategy, automation, segmentation, campaign planning, and performance reporting. The role required balancing strategy with execution while helping courses understand how marketing tied back to revenue.
That experience gave me insight into the challenges our clients face and what actually to drive revenue. I saw where processes break down, where advisors need better support, and how small operational improvements can significantly impact results.
Now, as Operations Manager overseeing our advisors and specialists, that firsthand experience is invaluable. I understand the day-to-day realities of the role because I’ve done it. It allows me to build better systems, set clearer expectations, and support the team in a way that’s practical so that they can better support our clients.
3. What challenges do most golf courses face with marketing?
Most golf courses face three main challenges:
- Time. Operators are focused on running the course day to day, so marketing often becomes reactive instead of strategic.
- Consistency. Campaigns may happen around big events or seasonal pushes, but there’s rarely a sustained, year-round plan.
- Measurement. Many courses aren’t sure which efforts are actually driving rounds, memberships, or event bookings. Without clear data, it’s hard to improve performance.
Marketing isn’t usually the problem. Bandwidth and structure are.
4. What does “good golf marketing” actually look like today?
Good golf marketing today is targeted, automated, and measurable.
It means sending the right message to the right golfer at the right time. That could be re-engaging lapsed players through automation, promoting off-peak tee times, or nurturing brand awareness through consistent social media and email content.
It’s also data-driven. Courses should know which campaigns drive bookings and how marketing and customer awareness of their brand contributes to revenue.
At its best, golf marketing feels personal to the golfer and predictable for the operator.
5. How does working inside Teesnap’s platform give you an advantage as a marketing team?
Because Teesnap’s core product is the SaaS platform that runs a course’s operations, from tee sheet and point of sale to food and beverage, our GMS team works directly with the system to gain insights for marketing opportunities.
That gives us a major advantage. We’re not relying on disconnected data or third-party reporting. We can see real booking behavior, spending patterns, visit frequency, and customer trends in one place.
That visibility allows us to segment more intelligently, automate based on actual activity, and measure performance against real revenue, not just clicks or opens.
Since marketing is an add-on service built on top of the operational platform, it becomes far more strategic. We’re not guessing what might work. We’re using live operational data to drive smarter decisions.
6. What excites you most about stepping into the Marketing Operations Manager role?
What excites me most is the opportunity to bring more structure and scalability to our team. The need for good marketing services and a team that understands the industry is growing! You can no longer get away with being a ‘word of mouth’ course when your competitors have a digital marketing strategy.
Marketing works best when there are clear systems behind it. In this role, I’m excited to refine processes, improve reporting, and ensure our team has the tools and workflows needed to execute a quality service.
It’s about building a foundation that supports growth for both Teesnap and our clients.
7. For a course considering outsourcing marketing, what would you tell them?
Do it! Our team understands golf. Outsourcing marketing isn’t about handing it off and hoping for the best. It’s about gaining a strategic partner that is aware of what success looks like in the golf industry.
Our advisors are marketing partners that bring expertise and measurable suggestions that are tailored to your course and needs.
For most courses, the question isn’t “Should we outsource?” It’s “Do we have the time and expertise internally to execute marketing at a high level?” If the answer is no, the right partner can significantly drive revenue.
As golf continues to evolve, so does the way courses attract and retain players. Marketing is no longer optional — and it’s no longer guesswork. With the right systems, the right data, and the right partner, marketing becomes a predictable driver of rounds, memberships, and long-term growth. Marketing by Teesnap is built to do exactly that — combining operational insight with industry expertise to help courses compete and win.
Ready to explore how Teesnap can help you run & grow your golf course?
Schedule a demo and talk with our team.
