A new investigative video series protecting golf course operators across North America
The Ohio Golf Course Owners Association is proud to introduce a new initiative designed to support, protect, and strengthen golf course operators: the OGCOA Watchdog Series.
The Watchdog Series is a video-based investigative resource created to help owners, operators, and managers stay informed about the practices, platforms, technologies, and hidden dynamics that influence golf operations today. While produced in Ohio and rooted in the real experiences of Ohio courses, the series is built for the entire North American golf industry.
Our role is simple:
When we find something important, we show it to you. Clearly, fairly, and with real examples.
Why We Launched the Watchdog Series
Golf operators are dealing with one of the fastest periods of change the industry has seen in decades. Technology, regulations, marketing platforms, AI systems, search engines, booking marketplaces, and vendor practices all impact your business — often in ways that aren’t visible to the operators they affect most.
The Watchdog Series exists to make those invisible issues visible.
We investigate areas that matter to golf courses, including:
- Technology platforms & digital infrastructure
- Website and domain practices
- Google visibility, schema, and AI discovery
- Vendor contracts and product behaviors
- Marketing tactics used for and against golf courses
- Third-party booking websites
- Legal and compliance concerns
- Data accuracy and consumer trust
- Emerging AI-driven booking and search experiences
Our tone will always be polite but firm.
Our goal is not to attack — it’s to reveal, clarify, and help operators make informed decisions.
Yes, We Will Call Out Vendors When Necessary
The Watchdog Series is not anonymous commentary.
When something specific affects golf courses, we will name the vendor, explain the issue, and show the evidence on screen.
This is not done to create controversy.
It is done to ensure operators know what is happening behind the scenes — especially when it affects your revenue, your customer data, or your online visibility.
How It Differs From the Tech Caddie Podcast
Because the host of the series, Mike Hendrix, also runs the Tech Caddie podcast, some episodes may sound familiar — especially when the same research uncovers issues worth reporting.
But the Watchdog Series is different in four important ways:
1. It is almost entirely investigative
Watchdog episodes revolve around screen shares, evidence, website examples, search results, and real operational impacts.
It rarely includes interviews.
2. It calls out specific practices when needed
While Tech Caddie educates broadly, Watchdog shows what’s actually happening.
3. It is produced for golf course operators, not vendors
The lens is always:
“What does the golf course operator need to know?”
4. It publishes only when issues arise
There is no schedule, no filler episodes.
We publish when something matters.
Episode 1: GolfNow Website Schema — What’s Really Happening Behind the Scenes?
The first episode in the series breaks down:
- How GolfNow structures its own website using advanced schema
- Why the websites they build for golf courses do not receive the same optimization
- Examples from actual GolfNow-built websites
- Why this matters for AI, Google Search, and modern customer discovery
- What courses using these websites should be aware of
Watch the first episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG9AhFyuqonDPwzy-vdi_D0Mu7hJOSCEG
Future episodes may be member-exclusive, but this first one is released publicly to help create awareness.
Who the Watchdog Is For
This series is designed for:
- Public courses
- Private clubs
- Municipal operations
- Multi-course operators
- Management companies
- PGA professionals
- Superintendents
- Owners & GMs
- Anyone responsible for the digital or operational health of a golf business
Even though we highlight issues through the Ohio lens, the lessons apply everywhere.
Help Us Watch the Industry
If you see something we should look into — an odd vendor practice, a misleading webpage, a pricing issue, a booking concern, or something happening with Google or AI — reach out to us.
📧 info@ohiogolfcourseowners.com
🌐 ohiogolfcourseowners.com
Together, we can make the business of golf more transparent, more resilient, and better prepared for the future.
More Watchdog episodes are coming — and we’ll release them whenever the industry gives us something that operators need to know.