Pay per hole played: an all-in-one box by Qondor


Golf is a long game to play! We must admit that playing 9 or 18 holes takes time. Moreover, most golf courses only offer these 2 options. No 6-hole green fees or any other alternative. Can we do even better?

What if we could pay per hole played? What if the solution is simple and already exists? Qondor, a startup from Lille (France), offers a turnkey solution for all golf courses who wish to attract new customers who can’t spend 4 hours to play and who wish to remain flexible without being committed to an archaic membership formula.

New golfers don’t have time

Attracting new golfers or other golfers is an issue widely discussed in the industry. Despite the many attempts which mostly consist of revisiting what already exists, solutions already exist. The yield management exists in the hotel and airline industries. In 2016, the Gaudet Luce in England succeeded in doubling its number of members through a system combining flexibility for the client and yield management for the structure. We almost dreamed that with each new season, a 6-hole green-fee would appear on the price list of our favorite course.
But Qondor goes further because golfers do not have the time but want to play. And their market research only validates this assumption.

Out of 600 players surveyed:

  • 73% of golfers say they don’t play as much as they would like,
  • 83% for lack of time
  • 35% for budgetary constraints.
  • 70% of them find that the 9 and 18 hole options alone do not satisfy all their desire to play

The sample is certainly not large enough to be representative, but in view of these trends, one wonders what the golf courses are doing that have not changed the structure of their price list for a very long time.

To meet this need, the French startup is launching a turnkey solution consisting of a box and software to manage the whole.

How does it work?

The first question when discussing such an idea is how a golf courses can check that the golfer is only going to play 2 or 12 holes?

To be billed by holes played, the golfer must register on Qondor Golf . Then, he needs to identify himself at the front desk which has the Qustom solution (ie the software and some boxes). The golf course gives him a box, and when he returns it, the golfer does not need to pay since the system charges him directly for what he played!

That’s simple as that

The number of holes played is determined by these sensors on the course which record the passage of the golfer.

A winning situation for both golf courses and players

For the player, the primary benefit is to pay only for what he plays. The second is to be able to play according to his available time.

Of course, he must be registered on the platform and the golf course has to have the device in place. Finally, for players who can’t afford to play 9 or 18 holes, they can still enjoy the course.

On the golf side, adopting such a device makes it possible to attract new customers and fill the course during downtime during the day. But the effort should not end with buying Qustom from Qondor alone. We must also think more broadly.

  • Have wider opening hours, to guarantee the availability of the offer.
  • An action plan to reach this new target of golfers who would be interested in this way of playing.

But there I digress. Surely a professional misrepresentation.

Only a few months and already several golf courses adopted it

Created only at the beginning of the year by Benoit Lesur and Antoine Durand, the Hauts-de-France startup, succeeded in convincing 4 golf courses to acquire the Qustom solution: Golf de Saint Omer (No Calais), Golf de Lille Métropole (Nord), Golf du Val de Sorne (Jura) and Golf de Rouen La Forêt Verte (Seine-Maritime) . Others are interested in the device.

The QUSTOM Pay As you Golf solution is an interesting innovation to reach a new type of golfer and offer a new service to our green-fee visitors. This solution is an additional tool to complete our courses.


Roger Mortier, Director of the AA Saint-Omer Golf Club.

The concept is appealing and to do without additional income would be indecent in these days. Moreover, Qondor already has prospects in Switzerland, Belgium, Morocco and Spain. And if demand were to explode, the infrastructure and production methods were planned to meet the demand.

So you just have to take the plunge and pay for what you play even if you don’t really have the time. More players could play on the course. More people could be interested by golf.

About Nicolas BYKOFF

Writing about golf? Why not? After having spent nearly 20 years in the game, I am granting myself the right to write about golf. Don't agree? Contact me.

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