Distribution Reality

The market as it exists, not as we wish it existed.

Current Distribution (2025)

Majority of golf bookings in Thailand handled by agents via manual workflows:

Phone calls to courses
LINE chat confirmations
Email back-and-forth
Spreadsheets for tracking
Manual payment collection

Only a minority of courses have modern API-ready systems:

POS systems with booking APIs (Golfmanager, Lightspeed)
Online booking widgets
Real-time inventory management
Automated confirmation emails

Many courses are fully manual:

Accept reservations only via phone or LINE
No booking software (paper logbooks or basic Excel)
No website or booking widget
Staff manually checks availability and confirms

Fragmented, inefficient processes dominate the market.

Why This Reality Exists

Course Economics

Small/medium courses can’t justify ฿50-100K/year for booking software
Low tech literacy among older course managers
“Phone works fine” mentality (if it ain’t broke…)
Revenue doesn’t justify investment

Agent Incentives

Agents profit from information asymmetry (opaque pricing)
Manual process creates switching costs (relationship-based)
No incentive to push courses toward self-service tech
Commission model rewards volume, not efficiency

Infrastructure Lag

Thailand golf industry hasn’t digitized like hotels/flights
No dominant platform emerged (unlike OpenTable for restaurants)
International platforms (GolfNow) weak local penetration
Each course operates independently (no chain standardization)

Implications for GolfOkay

Can’t Force Digitization

Rejected approach: “We’ll only work with API-ready courses”

Loses 50% of inventory
Misses high-demand legacy courses
Limits package variety

Rejected approach: “We’ll force courses to integrate APIs”

Takes years to convince
Many will never adopt
We don’t have leverage as new player

Must Accept Hybrid Reality

The hybrid approach:

Use aggregator APIs for instant inventory (200-500 courses)
Build direct APIs where volume justifies (top 10-15 courses)
Staff manual desk for the 50% that’s manual-only

Not a temporary solution. Manual desk will exist for years.

Competitive Advantage Through Acceptance

While competitors resist reality:

GolfNow tries to force API adoption (slow growth)
Golfasian stays 100% manual (doesn’t scale)
Club Thailand Card ignores courses without tech (limited inventory)

GolfOkay embraces reality:

API where available (speed + automation)
Manual where necessary (access + inventory)
Best of both worlds (tech + relationships)

Result: Broader inventory, faster launch, better customer experience.

Distribution by Course Tier

Note: These are working estimates for operational planning, not verified market data.

Premium International Courses (~15-20% est.)

Modern POS systems (Golfmanager, Lightspeed)
APIs available
Online booking widgets
High green fees (฿3,000-6,000+)
GolfOkay approach: Direct API integration or aggregators

Mid-Tier Local Favorites (~30-35% est.)

Basic booking software or Excel
Some on aggregator platforms (Golfsavers, GolfThai)
Mix of API and manual
Medium green fees (฿1,500-3,000)
GolfOkay approach: Aggregators + selective manual desk

Budget/Local Courses (~45-50% est.)

Phone/LINE only
Paper logbooks or simple Excel
Not on aggregators
Low green fees (฿500-1,500)
GolfOkay approach: Manual desk (relationship-based)

Customer Impact

Current Experience (via traditional agents)

Customer messages agent on LINE
Agent manually checks notes for course contacts
Agent calls/LINE messages multiple courses
Waits hours/days for confirmations
Agent manually calculates pricing
Customer receives email quote
Payment via bank transfer or cash
Agent emails booking confirmation

Time: 1-3 days Friction: High (multiple back-and-forths) Transparency: Low (opaque pricing, manual quotes)

GolfOkay Experience (hybrid approach)

Customer messages GolfOkay LINE bot
Bot shows available courses (API + aggregator data)
Manual courses routed to desk operator
Operator confirms within <48hr (vs 1-3 days)
Customer receives instant quote
Payment via PromptPay QR (instant)
E-voucher sent immediately after confirmation

Time: <48hr (vs 1-3 days) Friction: Low (mostly automated) Transparency: High (upfront pricing, instant quotes for API courses)

Evolution Over Time

Short-term (Months 0-9)

50% manual, 50% automated (via aggregators + direct APIs)
Manual desk handles ~30-40 bookings/month
Focus: Scale volume, validate unit economics

Medium-term (Months 9-18)

40% manual, 60% automated (more direct course relationships)
Some manual courses add APIs as partnership deepens
Focus: Improve efficiency, reduce manual desk load

Long-term (18+ months)

30% manual, 70% automated (market slowly digitizes)
GolfOkay becomes incentive for courses to adopt tech
Focus: Premium courses, complex packages, high-margin segments

Reality: Manual desk never goes to zero. Always 20-30% of market stays manual-only.

GolfNow (API-only strategy)

Only lists courses with APIs
Misses 50% of market
Strong in US/Europe, weak in Thailand

Golfasian (manual-only strategy)

192K customers, but email/phone only
Doesn’t scale (needs more staff for more volume)
No self-service platform

Club Thailand Card (legacy courses ignored)

15K members, 200+ courses
Skews toward premium courses with tech
Budget/local courses not covered

GolfOkay opportunity: Be the ONLY platform that serves the entire market (premium + budget, API + manual).

Data We Need

To validate distribution assumptions:

Which specific courses have APIs? (get list from aggregators)
Which top 20 courses (by volume) are manual? (prioritize for direct relationships)
What % of Tan’s current bookings are manual vs API? (baseline)
Average time to confirm manual booking currently? (benchmark to beat)

To optimize hybrid approach:

Which aggregators have best course coverage?
What are aggregator commission rates?
Which manual courses would add API for volume commitment?
What’s cost per manual booking hour (ops manager time)?

GolfOkay Knowledge Vault

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