AI is quietly deciding which clubs golfers find and a 100-year-old proves golf’s staying power

A new study shows the same golf club can be recommended by one AI assistant and invisible on another, a Greater Manchester club’s ordeal with an illegal encampment makes the case for a simple physical deterrent, and a Cornish centenarian’s weekly round is a reminder of what the game does for a long life. Here’s three stories concerning the UK golf industry we learnt during July.

A 100th birthday makes a strong case for golf

Derek Kingsbury, a longstanding member at St Enodoc Golf Club in Cornwall, has celebrated turning 100 with a golf day.

General manager George Tunbridge said the energy of Kingsbury, who still plays two or three times a week, left him assuming he was decades younger, calling him “a living example of how golf is good for you and quite clearly extends your life.” It’s an easy line to write off as a nice anecdote, but paired with the growing body of research linking golf to healthy ageing, stories like Kingsbury’s are exactly the kind of evidence clubs can point to when making the case for the game’s role in a long, active life.

Could a height barrier protect your club?

Hart Common Golf Club in Greater Manchester spent several days closed at the height of this season after around a dozen caravans occupied the course and damaged the turf. The club has now been advised to install a height barrier at its entrance before reopening, following the same route taken by other clubs in the borough after similar incidents.

It’s a blunt, low-tech solution to a problem that can otherwise shut a club down for days and rack up clean-up and security costs at the busiest time of year. For clubs that haven’t experienced an encampment yet, it’s a cheap insurance policy worth considering before they do.

Golfers are asking AI, not just Google, where to play

A new study has found that golfers are increasingly turning to AI assistants rather than Google for course recommendations – and that the answer they get depends heavily on which platform they happen to open, with results sometimes being negative.

The uncomfortable finding for operators is that none of them had any visibility into this before being tested. “Most clubs are testing nothing and assuming AI treats them the way Google does. It doesn’t,” said the study’s author, David Mullins. For clubs relying on search to bring in new members and visitors, that’s a blind spot worth checking rather than assuming away.