Golf Simulator Management

Case Studies Golf Simulator Management

Golf Simulator Management

When the client came to us, they weren’t looking for just another booking tool — they needed a system that could keep up with the growing membership of their virtual golf venues. With two high-energy locations combining immersive golf simulators, food, drinks, and constant foot traffic, their team was juggling too many moving parts without the right support behind the scenes.

Reservations were tracked with SpotOn, but staff managed memberships through phone calls, emails, and guesswork. Walk-ins and no-shows created daily headaches, and nothing felt truly connected.

The main goal was to create a membership application that could use API’s to connect to SpotOn and manage member data.

Scenario

Before working with us, the client was relying on SpotOn to manage bookings across their virtual golf facilities. While the system worked well enough for handling standard reservations, it quickly became clear that it wasn’t built with membership-based businesses in mind.

For a business where a growing base of loyal members expected seamless access to tee times and a frictionless booking experience, this was a major limitation. SpotOn didn’t offer native support for memberships, meaning there was no way to differentiate members from one-time guests or apply special access rules and perks automatically.

As a result, to manage all of their member records separately, outside of the system. staff maintained their own list of members manually and were forced to intervene in the booking process any time a member wanted to schedule time. That meant double-checking eligibility, manually creating the reservation in SpotOn, and making sure the member wasn’t charged incorrectly — all while keeping the calendar balanced across two busy locations.

This process was very inefficient. Members couldn’t enjoy the self-service convenience that non-members had, and staff were stuck in a cycle of workarounds that consumed valuable time and increased the risk of errors or double bookings.

It was clear that the booking system was working against the business model. Memberships were growing, but the tools in place couldn’t scale with them.

That’s where we came in. By designing a custom platform tailored to the realities of how it operates — including membership management baked directly into the booking flow — we helped them eliminate manual tracking, reduce operational overhead, and deliver a more professional, user-friendly experience to their core customers. What used to be a bottleneck is now a strength.

Decision Time

The exciting part of taking on a project like this is that it challenged us to rethink the intersection of hospitality, sports tech, and member-first booking experiences. At Coretechs, when we kick off a build, we don’t start by choosing tools — we start by asking the right questions.

Who are we building this for, and what are the pain points we’re solving?
What kind of product are we creating, and how will it fit into daily operations?
Which team members should lead this effort, and what technologies make the most sense for this use case?
Is this a fast-build minimally viable product (MVP) or a long-term investment?
What third-party services do we need to integrate or replace?

In the end, the result was a streamlined, custom solution that gave the client’s staff their time back and gave members the seamless user experience experience they’d been asking for.

This is what we decided on and why for this project:

Backend: Python / Django

We rely on Django to provide a solid and scalable backend foundation. Its comprehensive features, security best practices, and mature ecosystem help us develop efficiently without duplicating common functionality. It’s well-suited for products that need to grow and adapt over time.

Vue offers the flexibility and performance needed to create responsive admin interfaces. It excels at rendering complex data tables with advanced filters — perfect for managing jobs, clients, and invoices.

Database: PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is known for its rock-solid reliability and performance at scale—ideal for the client as it grows to support multiple venues, players, and booking systems. Its ACID compliance ensures every transaction is accurate and consistent, even under heavy load.

For handling payments securely and seamlessly, we used Stripe Connect to automate revenue sharing between locations.

Messaging: Twilio + SendGrid

To maintain real-time communication, we use SendGrid for email and Twilio for SMS messaging. This setup ensured timely notifications for location staff and management throughout the user journey.

It is a strong fit for the client, because it not only streamlines secure payments but also allows you to create and manage memberships through customizable recurring plans. This makes it easy for golfers to subscribe to exclusive benefits, while giving the client a simple way to organize member billing and engagement.

Where does the stack live?

Once we defined the tech stack for the client, the next step was making sure it had a solid, scalable home. This isn’t just about spinning up servers — it’s about creating a platform that stays fast, reliable, and secure no matter how busy the booking calendar gets.

We selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host the entire system. It’s flexible, battle-tested, and built for the kind of consistent performance that a high-traffic virtual golf venue demands — especially during peak hours and weekend rushes.

Here’s how the infrastructure is set up:

EC2: Django runs on EC2 instances, powering the backend logic for invoicing and managing user access and permissions.
RDS (Relational Database Service) securely hosts member records, customer information, and pricing configurations, with built-in redundancy and automated daily backups for data protection.
CloudWatch: System performance and errors are tracked through CloudWatch, with proactive alerts set up to flag server issues and application errors early.

This setup gives a future-proof foundation — one that supports not just today’s booking needs, but tomorrow’s potential expansions, features, and new locations. Whether it’s managing dozens of simultaneous bookings or scaling for events, the stack is built to deliver smooth performance without added complexity.

Implementing strategies with our development:

At Coretechs, we believe great software starts with understanding how a business actually runs. It’s not enough to just gather requirements — we dig into day-to-day workflows, team dynamics, and customer expectations so we can build something that fits naturally into the client’s operations.

That was especially true with this client. With two high-traffic venues combining virtual golf, food, and bar service, they needed more than just a booking tool — they needed a system that worked in sync with how their staff and customers moved through the space. Their existing platform, SpotOn, covered basic reservations, but lacked support for memberships — a huge part of business. This gap forced their team to maintain separate records and step in manually to manage bookings for members.

We kicked off the project by sitting down with the team to understand their workflow in detail. How were memberships tracked? What happened when a member wanted to book a bay? Where did things break down on a busy Saturday night? These insights helped shape the foundation of what we needed to build — a smarter, streamlined system that put members at the center and gave staff tools they could rely on.

With the priorities clear, we moved into design and development. Our goal was to create a clean, intuitive user experience for both guests and returning members. At the same time, we were building backend functionality to automate what had previously required manual effort — member validation, bay availability, time restrictions, and more.

New features were rolled out to a staging environment for hands-on testing and feedback. This allowed their team to see progress in real time, fine-tune workflows, and get ahead of staff training well before launch.

By aligning our development process with the operational realities of the client, we delivered a custom platform that not only solves today’s challenges but positions them for future growth. If you’d like us to do the same thing for you please reach out to the Coretechs team
at 202-540-0002 or drop us a line on our Contact Page.

Talk to Gil

Gil has over 40 years of experience in software development, project management, and business development. He’ll provide an on-the-spot assessment, critical feedback, and determine the level of effort required for your project.

202-540-0002

Gil Austin

President of Coretechs

Talk to Gil

202-540-0002

Golf Simulator Management

Golf Simulator Management

Scenario