GolfNow Compete is a standalone mobile app designed to bring a competitive edge to the game of golf. Built for players looking to elevate their experience, the app includes real-time GPS scoring, live leaderboards, peer-to-peer matchups, and post-round performance analytics. Whether you’re playing a local round with friends or joining a virtual tournament, Compete makes golf more interactive, social, and data-driven.
Following the 2018 legalization of sports betting in the U.S., GolfNow saw an opportunity to enhance the golf experience through casual wagering and friendly competition. However, the onset of Covid-19 disrupted how golfers traditionally played together. Social distancing limited in-person interaction and highlighted the need for new ways to connect and compete safely. Integrating these features into the existing GolfNow app risked overcomplicating its core tee-time booking experience. To avoid feature bloat and address evolving user needs, we needed to design a dedicated companion app focused on gamification, scoring, and socially distanced competition, while maintaining a seamless connection to the GolfNow brand.
As the design lead, I was responsible for bringing this new experience to life. After presenting initial concepts to Rory McIlroy’s team and securing alignment, I began shaping the app using familiar patterns from the GolfNow ecosystem to maintain consistency across platforms. I collaborated with the marketing team to define the visual identity of GolfNow Compete, including brand colors, app icon, and co-branding considerations. My approach was grounded in simplicity, designing for a user base that wanted an engaging, lightweight experience without losing credibility or function. On the UX side, I led the design of core user flows such as competition invites, scorekeeping, in-app awards, and live course maps. I focused on elevating the sense of friendly competition through visual feedback, progressive interactions, and game-like incentives that kept players returning for more.
Following its release, GolfNow Compete gained strong early traction, particularly among younger and more digitally engaged players. In the first six months, the app drove a 22 percent increase in rounds played per user compared to those using the core GolfNow app alone. Users who invited friends to compete showed engagement rates three times higher than average, and those who completed their first in-app challenge saw a 25 percent lift in 30-day retention. By the end of its first year, the app had logged over 100,000 competition rounds. GolfNow Compete not only expanded the company’s footprint onto the course itself, but also demonstrated how thoughtful gamification could meaningfully increase repeat play, strengthen social engagement, and build lasting user loyalty in a traditionally offline sport.
