By byCarvalho · · All guides
The short answer
AI assistants recommend golf courses using what they can find and trust on the web: the course’s own website, its Google Business Profile, directories, reviews and articles that mention it. To show up, a course needs a fast website with clear, factual information that AI crawlers are allowed to read, structured data that spells out what the course is and offers, the same details everywhere it’s listed, and mentions on other sites golfers and AI trust.
Where do AI assistants get their answers about golf courses?
When a golfer asks “where should I play near me this weekend?”, assistants like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity search the web and summarize what they find. Google’s AI features draw on Google’s own search index; ChatGPT’s search draws on other indexes, including Bing’s. So the basics of being found in regular search, on both Google and Bing, are the foundation.
On top of that, assistants favour sources that are clear, consistent and backed up by other sites. A course that describes itself plainly, in the same way everywhere, is easier to recommend.
What can a golf course do to be recommended?
- Say the facts plainly on your website: where the course is, how many holes, what kind of course it is, rates, how to book, memberships and events.
- Let AI crawlers in: check that your robots.txt doesn’t block them.
- Add structured data (schema.org) so search engines and AI can read your details directly, not guess them.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current, with photos, hours and a booking link.
- Make your name, address, phone and website match everywhere: directories, associations and marketplaces.
- Earn mentions: local news, golf publications, tourism sites and reviews all count.
How do you know if it’s working?
Ask the assistants the questions your golfers would ask, such as “best public golf courses near [your town]”, and note whether your course comes up and what is said about it. Then watch your analytics for visits from AI tools and from Google, and repeat the check every few months.
For FireRock Golf Club near London, Ontario, this work means FireRock comes up when golfers look for courses near London, on Google and in AI answers.
How we can help
- Search & AI visibility
- Show up on Google and in AI answers when golfers look for somewhere to play.
- Websites
- Built to show off the course, not hide it.
- Analytics & reporting
- See where every visitor comes from and what they do on the site.
