In Michigan, golf courses close mid-November and don't reopen until the end ofMarch. That's over four months of bills with zero revenue - the brutal reality for every northern golf course operator. But instead of accepting this cycle, Kyle Holmes and his business partner Tim asked a different question: What if we could keep people playing, and paying, all winter long?

The answer became The Nest - an eight-bay indoor/outdoor golf facility that Kyle believes is the first of its kind in Michigan, possibly the entire country. What makes it unique? "Dual-mode" bays that let you hit down the range on TrackMan 4 technology with the garage door open in July, or into an impact screen in January without ever moving from your spot.

In this episode, Colin sits down with Kyle Holmes, General Manager and Managing Partner of Quail Ridge Golf Course in Ada, Michigan. Kyle shares his journey from employee to owner, the power of a complementary business partnership, and how he's betting big on the explosive growth of indoor golf - where more rounds were played than outdoors for the first time in 2025.

Whether you're a golf course operator looking for new revenue streams, an entrepreneur curious about turning a vision into reality, or simply someone who loves hearing about innovation in unexpected places, this episode will inspire you to think differently about what's possible.

3 Key Takeaways you'll discover:

1. The Dual-Mode Bay: A Genuine Industry Differentiator
Most facilities force you to choose: hit outdoors at a range OR play indoors on a simulator. The Nest eliminates that choice entirely. With garage doors that open to a 375-yard range on one side and impact screens for virtual play on the other, golfers never have to move bays to switch between experiences. Kyle explains how this seemingly simple design decision creates a completely unique customer experience that competitors will be challenged to replicate.

2. Segmenting Your Customer Base to Maximize Revenue
Kyle reveals his strategic approach to filling The Nest's eight bays by identifying distinct customer segments that don't compete for the same time slots - early morning "grinders" who want to dial in their swing before work, college and high school teams on weekend mornings, league play during weekday evenings, and groups of friends gathering around big games on Friday and Saturday nights. It's the same segmentation philosophy that has kept Quail Ridge's tee sheet full for almost three decades.

3. Building a Year-Round Business Without Cannibalizing Your Core Product
The Nest wasn't designed to replace the golf course - it was built to complement it. Kyle explains how indoor golf becomes an onboarding tool for beginners who feel intimidated by the traditional course experience, a winter training facility for serious players, and a community gathering space that keeps Quail Ridge top-of-mind even when the course is covered in snow.

Are you more of a watcher than a listener? Then check out our extended bonus segment with Meghann on The ModGolf YouTube channel. Click on this link or the image below to watch.

💬 3 Inspiring Quotes from Kyle Holmes

"I don't pretend to be the smartest person in the room at every moment because if we're talking about something that's not 'how do you make this business grow faster?' or 'how do you fix somebody's slice?' - there's somebody else in the room that has a better answer. And I love to hear from them."

"We want people to feel like they're home when they come to Quail Ridge because everybody loves to come home. You can have a great golf course and a bad experience, and you're going to remember the bad experience, not the great golf course."

"Once people cross that threshold - where they whiff three or four times, then make contact, then the ball's airborne, then it's going 75 yards - are they ever not going to play golf again? Absolutely! It's such an empowering moment."

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Episode Chapters

00:00 Welcome to ModGolf: Meet Kyle Holmes, the "boots on the ground" entrepreneur
01:35 Kyle's first golf experience: Grandfather, father, and a club in hand at age two
03:38 The history of Quail Ridge: Built and opened during the Tiger Boom in 1998
05:45 From employee to owner: The journey of acquiring Quail Ridge with business partner Tim
08:09 The power of complementary partnerships: Kyle's business brain meets Tim's 30 years of turf expertise
10:33 "I'm a lifelong learner": How Kyle asks questions instead of pretending to know everything
12:30 Introducing The Nest: Eight dual-mode indoor/outdoor simulator bays
13:36 What makes dual-mode bays different: No need to move between indoor and outdoor experiences
15:52 The problem: Michigan golf courses close for four months and the bills don't stop
17:30 From idea to reality: Clearing trees, running internet to the maintenance barn, and betting on indoor golf
19:20 The customer mix: Grinders, leagues, date nights, college teams, and NFL Sundays
22:52 Quail Ridge's business model: Public course with just 35-40 members and 45,000 rounds in 2025
26:13 Location advantage: 1.5 million people in Metro Grand Rapids with only four high-tier public courses
28:25 Marketing The Nest: Why "simulator golf" isn't enough and explaining dual-mode to the masses
30:02 The women's clinic phenomenon: Sell-outs in hours and the power of a judgment-free environment
34:32 Breaking down barriers: Pace of play, etiquette, and making golf less intimidating
37:14 The "welcome home" philosophy: Why experience matters as much as course conditions
37:58 Scaling the vision: Kyle's plans to acquire more courses and apply the formula
39:45 What's next: The design and construction journey of The Nest on The ModGolf YouTube channel

We want to thank Big Swing Media for presenting this episode and supporting Season 20 of The ModGolf Podcast!

Anyone can tell you what happened in golf. The Big Swing Golf Business Intelligence Brief tells you why it matters, and what’s coming next. Twice a week, Big Swing delivers original reporting and expert analysis of the money, trends, technology and personalities reshaping the game. It’s essential reading for anyone who works in, invests in or cares about the future of golf. ModGolf listeners receive a special first-year rate with code MODGOLF26. Visit BigSwingMedia.news to subscribe.

About The ModGolf Podcast: Host Colin Weston speaks with entrepreneurs, innovators, disruptors, and influencers shaping the future of the game and business of golf. Now in Season 20 with nearly 300 episodes produced since 2017.

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🔗 Connect with Quail Ridge GC and The Nest:

quailridgegc.com
Location: Ada, Michigan (12 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids)

Special Guest: Kyle Holmes, GM & Managing Partner of Quail Ridge GC.

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In this episode of ModGolf LIVE, recorded on the show floor at the 2026 PGA Show in Orlando, host Colin Weston sits down with the leadership team behind CourseRev.ai and PITCHcrm. This isn't just a conversation about technology; it's a deep dive into the real-world challenges of getting a tradition-rich industry to adopt modern solutions.

Colin is joined by Del Ratcliffe (President of CourseRev.ai & COO of Pinnacle Golf Properties), Matt Wade (VP of Product, PITCHcrm), and Chris Hill (CTO, CourseRev.ai). Together, they discuss the "secret sauce" of their tech stack - from an AI voice concierge that answers the phone to a CRM that automates marketing - and how they balance cutting-edge AI with the human touch required to train course operators.

Del, bringing his 30+ years of course ownership experience, shares why he’s the "main guinea pig" for the products, how they handle the complexity of different golf course business models, and why getting a course to use the tech is harder than selling it. The team also teases the future of dynamic pricing using unstructured data and explains why AI isn't about replacing staff, but about freeing them up to create better face-to-face experiences.

Are you more of a watcher than a listener? Then enjoy our video with Del, Chris and Matt on The ModGolf YouTube channel live from The 2026 PGA Show. Click on this link or the image below as we extend our podcast conversation with key takeaways and lessons learned.

Key Topics & Discussion Points
Live from the PGA Show: Colin introduces a "3x" interview with three guests representing two integrated companies.

What is CourseRev AI? An AI-powered voice and chat concierge designed to handle tee time bookings, modifications, and general questions, taking the pressure off pro shop staff.

The "Main Guinea Pig": How Del Ratcliffe’s role as a multi-course operator (Pinnacle Golf Properties) allows the tech team to build solutions that solve real, painful problems.

Introducing PITCHcrm: The "oldest product" in the family (since 2012) that automates email and SMS marketing based on customer reservation history, no-shows, and behavior.

The Adoption Hurdle: Why selling the software is easy, but onboarding and training staff on how to use it is the real challenge in a non-early-adopter industry.

Customization vs. Scaling: How the team handles the fact that no two golf courses are alike. Chris Hill explains how they now use natural language programming to quickly customize AI rules for specific course restrictions (e.g., "no seniors after 2 PM on Saturday").

Dynamic Pricing Deep Dive: The debate among owners about surge pricing, and how CourseRev.ai integrates instantly with tee sheets to reflect pricing changes.

The Tease: Chris Hill hints at new dynamic pricing strategies that use unstructured data (like weather and demand factors) in ways humans never could.

Serving Different Course Types: How the technology adapts to MCOs (Multi-Course Operators) with one clubhouse vs. multiple locations spread across states.

The "Robocall" Fear: Addressing the misconception that AI phone answering is like the frustrating automated systems of 10 years ago.

AI & Employment: The team confirms that AI isn't eliminating jobs; it’s allowing staff to focus on high-value, face-to-face interactions in the pro shop.

Measuring Success: Using AI to track KPIs, identify frequently asked questions, and help course operators improve their websites and customer service.

Notable Quotes
Del on the Industry: "We're still largely an industry of mom-and-pop operations out there. Change is not real easy for us to overcome, and it can be scary, too."

Chris on Tech Debt: "With AI, we can actually implement that much easier rather than trying to build something really rigid and structured in code. We can just write that now in natural language."

Matt on Staffing: "Everyone listening to this has probably been in a situation where you've been in the pro shop and the guy's on two phones. It's definitely not eliminating staff because then you can even get more face-to-face quality interactions."

Colin on Entrepreneurship: "If you don't have challenges as a startup you need to challenge yourself more. Like me with snowboarding, if you're not falling down you're not going fast enough."

Resources & Links
Learn more about CourseRev.ai: https://www.courserev.ai
Email CourseRev: hello@courserev.ai
Learn more about PITCHcrm: https://www.pitchcrm.com

Want to connect with Del? Check out his bio page to make that happen! >> https://modgolf.fireside.fm/guests/del-ratcliffe

Timestamps
[00:00] - Cold Open: Colin introduces the "3x" interview at the 2026 PGA Show
[01:30] - Guest Introductions: Del Ratcliffe, Matt Wade, and Chris Hill
[03:00] - What is CourseRev.ai? Solving the pro shop phone pressure with an AI concierge
[04:45] - Del's Dual Role: The President of CourseRev.ai as the client (COO of Pinnacle Golf Properties)
[07:15] - The Tech Stack Explained: How PITCHcrm integrates with CourseRev.ai for marketing automation
[09:00] - The Education Gap: Why golf course owners are laggards in tech adoption and how to warm them up to AI
[12:00] - Customer Success Story: *The journey from reluctance to evangelism
*[15:30] - Balancing Customization & Scale: How the team handles the "mom-and-pop" nature of different courses using natural language AI
[19:15] - The Human Element: Onboarding staff and using the "Notice Board" for real-time course conditions
[21:45] - Dynamic Pricing: Agonizing over surge pricing and how AI uses unstructured data to predict demand
[24:30] - One Size Doesn't Fit All: Differentiating tech needs for MCOs, daily fee, municipal, and private clubs
[28:00] - Overcoming Misconceptions: Why this isn't the frustrating automated attendant of the past
[30:00] - AI & Jobs: How automation creates more valuable face-to-face roles in the pro shop
[31:15] - How to Connect: Finding CourseRev.ai and PITCHcrm online
[32:00] - Wrap Up: Colin teases the "Innovators Spotlight" mini-segments coming up next

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We want to thank Golf Genius Software for presenting this episode of The ModGolf Podcast!
Are you a golf course owner, manager or operator looking to increase both your profit margins and on-course experience?

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

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