Players 1st
Players 1st is a Denmark-based SaaS company that provides an AI-powered customer experience management platform designed specifically for golf course operators, serving 3,000+ facilities globally through survey templates, benchmarking, and integrations with leading golf technology systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersAarhus, Denmark
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Players 1st does
Players 1st is a Denmark-headquartered SaaS company that provides an AI-powered customer experience management (CXM) platform purpose-built for the golf industry. Its platform enables golf course operators to collect structured feedback from golfers, members, employees, and tournament participants through survey templates tailored to the golf customer journey, then analyze that feedback using NLP-based text analysis, NPS scoring, priority-mapping algorithms, and benchmarking against a national/international dataset of 3,000+ golf facilities built on 250M+ golfer data points. The core product is augmented by a Business Intelligence Suite, a GolfersVoice module developed with the National Golf Foundation, an AI Assistant (beta) for open-ended comment analysis, and tee-sheet integrations with 15+ golf technology platforms (foreUP, Tournament Master, ClubOS, Lightspeed, WiseGolf, GolfManager, Tee-On, etc.).
Players 1st firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Players 1st
- Legal name
- Players 1st ApS
- Website
- https://players1st.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Players 1st is a Denmark-based SaaS company that provides an AI-powered customer experience management platform designed specifically for golf course operators, serving 3,000+ facilities globally through survey templates, benchmarking, and integrations with leading golf technology systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Players 1st industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Golf Customer Experience Management Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Golf Clubs & Tournament-Host Clubs (Professional/Elite Golf Clubs) (MPAKABAE)
Keywords
Where Players 1st is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aarhus
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Players 1st business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription Software (SaaS): Players 1st generates revenue primarily through tiered subscription plans (Core Insights, Advanced Intelligence, Performance Plus) billed monthly or annually. The subscription model provides access to survey templates, analytics dashboards, benchmarking, and AI-powered features. Annual billing offers 20% discount, encouraging longer-term commitments.
- Enterprise Licensing: Large multi-course operators (like Troon Golf with 700+ facilities) require customized enterprise arrangements with multi-course management capabilities, strategic advisory services, and dedicated customer success managers included in Performance Plus tier.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Core Insights - Essential experience management for individual golf courses |
| Subscription | Annual | Advanced Intelligence - Deeper analytics for growing golf businesses |
| Subscription | Annual | Performance Plus - Strategic support for best-in-class execution |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Players 1st product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Players 1st provides an AI-powered customer experience management (CXM) SaaS platform purpose-built for golf course operators. The platform automates golfer and member feedback collection, applies AI text analysis to open-ended responses, delivers real-time alerts and benchmarking against a national/international dataset of 3,000+ facilities, and integrates with leading tee-sheet, POS, and club management systems. Customers subscribe to tiered plans (Core Insights, Advanced Intelligence, Performance Plus) covering surveys, analytics, employee engagement, and strategic advisory.
Product overview
Players 1st is a customer experience management platform for the golf industry, operating as a unified platform with modular add-ons and survey templates. The core Customer Experience Management platform collects golfer feedback via surveys and delivers real-time insights, AI-powered analytics, and benchmarking. This core is augmented by the Business Intelligence Suite for advanced data analysis, GolfersVoice by NGF for federation-level benchmarking, and AI-Powered Text Analysis (AI Assistant beta) for processing open-ended survey comments. The platform also offers four specialized survey templates: Guest Survey, Member Survey, Tournament Survey, and Employee Survey. Pricing tiers include Core Insights, Advanced Intelligence (adding AI features, automations, and employee module), and Performance Plus (adding strategic advisory and branded experiences).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GolfersVoice by NGF: Survey product in partnership with National Golf Foundation
- AI-Powered Text Analysis
- Business Intelligence Suite
Products and services
- Customer Experience Management Platform Core SaaS platform that enables golf course operators to collect golfer feedback via surveys, track satisfaction and NPS, receive real-time alerts, and benchmark performance against 3,000+ facilities globally.
- Business Intelligence Suite Advanced analytics and data handling solution for managing and analyzing member, rounds, and financial data for golf businesses.
- GolfersVoice by NGF Survey and data intelligence product developed in partnership with the National Golf Foundation (NGF), providing golf-specific benchmarking and golfer insights for the U.S. market.
- AI-Powered Text Analysis (AI Assistant) AI-driven feedback tool that analyzes and structures open-ended comments from surveys, organizing free-text responses into actionable themes. Available in beta.
- Guest Experience Survey Survey template designed for gathering feedback from visiting golfers and guests at golf courses, covering pre-booking, arrival, the course, and overall experience.
- Member Experience Survey Survey template for collecting feedback from golf club members, tracking their overall experience, satisfaction, and likelihood to recommend the club.
- Tournament Experience Survey Survey template for gathering feedback from participants in golf tournaments and events.
- Employee Engagement Survey Survey template that enables golf businesses to gather employee feedback on job satisfaction, track staff satisfaction over time, and benchmark against national competitors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Clubs achieve 70%+ survey response rates (vs. industry average of 10-20%)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Players 1st
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Players 1st technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability6 records
Feature8 records
Players 1st partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Wales GolfminorStrategic partnership launched January 2026 to support Welsh golf clubs with customer experience management tools and resources.
- Golf AustraliacoreAfter successful pilot with 15 clubs achieving 70%+ response rates and 4,000+ responses, Players 1st partnered with Golf Australia to offer the platform to all affiliated clubs. The partnership commenced in September 2023.
- England GolfcoreLong-standing partnership since 2018 where England Golf recommends Players 1st to affiliated clubs. Players 1st sponsors awards and participates in annual England Golf Awards.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Players 1st competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Qualtrics: Enterprise customer experience management platform owned by SAP. Comparable as a horizontal CXM/VoC vendor that golf operators could in theory adopt, though it lacks golf-specific templates, federation benchmarking, and tee-sheet integrations that Players 1st provides.
- Medallia: Enterprise experience management platform used across hospitality and leisure verticals. Comparable as a broader CXM competitor that could be deployed by large multi-course operators like Troon, though it is not golf-specialized.
- SurveyMonkey: Mainstream survey and feedback platform. Touchstone Golf's testimonial explicitly notes 'We have used other survey tools over the years' before choosing Players 1st, positioning SurveyMonkey as the generic incumbent alternative Players 1st displaces.
- Trustpilot: Consumer review and reputation platform used by hospitality and leisure businesses. Comparable as a general-purpose feedback/review solution that golf operators might consider, though it lacks golf-specific benchmarking and tee-sheet workflows.
Direct peers
- Lightspeed Golf: Golf course point-of-sale and management software used by many of the same operators Players 1st serves (including joint customers). Comparable because it competes for the same golf-club software wallet and is a listed integration partner of Players 1st.
- Clubessential: Club management software platform for golf and country clubs, offering tee sheets, member management, and communications. Comparable because it is sold to the same golf-club buyer and bundles adjacent member-engagement functionality.
- Jonas Club Software: Club management software for private and semi-private golf clubs, providing member accounting, tee sheets, and POS. Comparable as a competing software suite sold to the same golf-club customer base.
- foreUP: Golf course management software with tee sheets, POS, and online booking used by public and private courses. Comparable because it serves the same buyer and is currently a Players 1st integration partner that could potentially add native CXM features.
- Gallus Golf: Golf course technology provider offering tee sheets, marketing, and member communication tools. Comparable as a tee-sheet/management vendor sold into the same golf-operator customer base.
- EZLinks Golf: Tee-sheet and online booking platform serving thousands of golf courses globally, owned by Lightspeed. Comparable as a tee-sheet provider with adjacent course-management capabilities sold to the same customer segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Players 1st social profiles
Digital presencePlayers 1st financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Players 1st leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Players 1st funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Players 1st M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Players 1st
What does Players 1st do?
Players 1st provides an AI-powered customer experience management (CXM) SaaS platform purpose-built for golf course operators. The platform automates golfer and member feedback collection, applies AI text analysis to open-ended responses, delivers real-time alerts and benchmarking against a national/international dataset of 3,000+ facilities, and integrates with leading tee-sheet, POS, and club management systems. Customers subscribe to tiered plans (Core Insights, Advanced Intelligence, Performance Plus) covering surveys, analytics, employee engagement, and strategic advisory.
Is Players 1st a public or private company?
Players 1st is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Players 1st founded?
Players 1st was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Players 1st based?
Players 1st is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Players 1st make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription Software (SaaS) is the primary driver. The others are enterprise Licensing.
Who are Players 1st's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Qualtrics, Medallia, SurveyMonkey and Trustpilot. Direct peers are Lightspeed Golf, Clubessential, Jonas Club Software, foreUP, Gallus Golf and EZLinks Golf.
Does Players 1st have an API?
No public API is recorded for Players 1st.
What industry is Players 1st in?
Players 1st's product category is Golf Customer Experience Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKABAE, Golf Clubs & Tournament-Host Clubs (Professional/Elite Golf Clubs). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7370.