Cybersecurity for Golf Courses and Country Clubs

Golf courses and country clubs rely on digital systems for tee sheets, point-of sale (POS) terminals, employee management & HR, membership billing, event management and facility Wi-Fi. As these systems become more interconnected, clubs are increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals. A single breach can disrupt operations, compromise member information, cause significant financial harm and damage long-term trust.

Below are some of the top cyber risks golf clubs are facing today, with real-life examples of how clubs are impacted, as well as the most effective risk mitigation strategies.

POS Breaches in Pro Shops and Restaurants

Clubs operate multiple POS terminals across the property, including in pro shops, restaurants, halfway houses, beverage carts and poolside bars. Outdated software or missed patches create security gaps and give attackers the opportunity to install malware that skims credit card data.

Example: Several private clubs in the Southeast discovered POS malware that was capturing member credit card data as it passed through their POS systems for weeks before detection.

Risk Management:
Segment POS systems on a dedicated, secure network and require automatic updates on all terminals. Implement point-to-point encryption and perform quarterly vulnerability scans on every payment endpoint.

Ransomware Freezing Tee Sheets

Tee sheet platforms keep golf operations running efficiently. When ransomware encrypts these systems, clubs cannot manage tee times, register guests or process events, bringing their operations to a standstill.

Example: A Midwestern club discovered they were under a ransomware attack which locked their systems making its tee sheet inaccessible for three days, forcing staff to manage schedules manually and refund deposits.

Risk Management:
Maintain daily offline backups of tee sheet data, enforce multifactor authentication for all vendor platforms and require vendors to provide SOC 2 or comparable security documentation. Conduct annual tabletop exercises to test operational recovery speed.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Targeting Club Accounting

Accounting teams manage vendor payments, tournament sponsorship revenue and billing, making them prime targets for wire fraud.

Example: Attackers impersonated a turf supplier and convinced a club to send a five-figure payment to a fraudulent account after compromising an employee email login.

Risk Management:
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all email accounts, implement a mandatory call-back verification process for any wire or ACH change, and restrict access to financial systems through role-based permissions.

Membership Database Exposures

Member directories store home addresses, minors’ names, birthdays, billing information and photos. These records are highly valuable to cybercriminals.

Example: A West Coast club suffered a data breach, requiring legal guidance, member notifications, identity-theft monitoring support and communication management for hundreds of families.

Risk Management:
Encrypt all membership records at rest and in transit, restrict directory access to only essential staff and configure automatic alerts for unusual download or export activity.

Wi-Fi & IoT Vulnerabilities

Simulators, GPS screens, cameras, irrigation controls, pool systems and facility Wi-Fi all operate through networked devices. Unsecured or outdated hardware makes it easy for attackers to access internal systems.

Example: A hacker penetrated a club’s network through an outdated Wi-Fi access point at the tennis pavilion, resulting in a full network shutdown and rebuild.

Risk Management:
Deploy separate networks for guest Wi-Fi and operations, replace outdated access points, require strong WPA3 encryption and run quarterly scans on IoT devices for outdated firmware.

Phishing: Where Golf Clubs Are Most Vulnerable

Phishing is the most common attack entry point, often disguised as tee sheet updates, tournament changes or vendor invoices. Shared logins, unpatched devices and guest Wi-Fi without network segmentation widen the attack surface. Because clubs rely on digital platforms for golf, dining, accounting, events and access control, one compromised credential can cascade across multiple departments.

Practical Steps to Strengthen Cybersecurity

A few focused improvements can provide the greatest impact:

• Prepare for cyber attacks through incident response planning, tabletops, and review of cyber insurance coverage.
• Conduct a thorough baseline cyber risk assessment, in order to identify and mitigate any security vulnerabilities.
• Train staff using real phishing examples targeting clubs.
• Enforce MFA for email, accounting and reservation systems.
• Update POS systems and separate them from guest Wi-Fi.
• Back up tee sheets, billing data and event schedules offline.
• Replace outdated Wi-Fi hardware and disable unused staff accounts.

Why Cyber Liability Coverage Is Essential

Traditional liability policies do not cover cyber attacks. Cyber liability insurance helps clubs recover by covering costly business interruption losses, breach notification services, digital forensics, ransomware response and data restoration. When key systems such as tee sheets or POS platforms go offline, this coverage ensures operations resume quickly with minimal disruption.

Cyber risk is now one of the fastest-growing challenges in the golf industry. With attackers increasingly targeting hospitality environments, clubs need stronger cybersecurity controls and the right insurance coverage in place. To assess your cyber exposure and explore cyber liability insurance built for golf and country clubs, contact Alliant’s golf industry specialists.