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If you walk into almost any UK golf club today, you’ll see something that wasn’t true even ten years ago: the entire club now quietly depends on technology. From the touchscreen till in the bar, to online tee bookings, competition software, membership databases and cloud emails — everything has a digital connection somewhere. And while it’s easy to take all of that for granted, there’s a side of it that golf clubs often overlook.
In 2025, golf clubs have become genuine targets for cybercriminals. Not because they’re wealthy organisations with huge budgets, but because they sit in that awkward middle ground — valuable enough to be attractive, but not always secure enough to keep criminals out.
I’m Phil Millward from LinksGuard, and I help clubs across the UK understand their risks and strengthen their cyber resilience. One thing I hear over and over again is: “We didn’t think anyone would bother with a club like ours.” Sadly, attackers think very differently.
This guide is designed to give you a clear, friendly, non-technical understanding of what’s really happening out there, how criminals are targeting golf clubs, and the essential steps every club should be taking to protect its operations, its members, and its reputation.
Why Golf Clubs Are Now on the Radar
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from committees is that golf clubs are “too small” to be singled out. The truth is that cybercriminals don’t care how big you are — they care how vulnerable you are. And golf clubs often have just the right mix of valuable data, cloud systems, financial processes and busy staff for attackers to see an opportunity.
Clubs hold member information, regular payment details, competition data, emails from suppliers, booking systems, payroll details and historic documents that matter. Combine that with part-time roles, volunteer committee members and ageing IT setups, and you suddenly have a very attractive target for anyone looking to exploit weaknesses.
The Types of Attacks Golf Clubs Are Experiencing
Most of the attacks we see start with something incredibly simple: an email. It might pretend to be from your treasurer, asking someone to pay an urgent invoice. It might look like a message from your manager requesting login details. It may even appear to come from a supplier you’ve worked with for years. These emails are crafted to fool smart, sensible people — and they do.
Ransomware is another major problem. Once inside your systems, attackers can lock your files, shut down your bookings, freeze your tills or hold your data hostage. I’ve spoken with clubs who have been unable to operate for days because everything they relied on was suddenly unavailable.
And then there are the hidden risks inside the clubhouse itself — older Wi-Fi systems, unprotected CCTV cameras, staff devices that aren’t secured properly, or software that hasn’t been updated for years. Attackers love these overlooked entry points because they often provide the easiest way in.
How Criminals Actually Get In
If you imagine a cyber attack as something sophisticated and technical, you might be surprised by what causes most breaches. In reality, it’s human behaviour. Someone clicks a link. Someone enters their password into a fake login page. Someone forwards sensitive information without thinking.
Clubs also underestimate how easy it is for criminals to impersonate their email domain. Without proper protections like SPF, DKIM and DMARC — which I promise aren’t as complicated as they sound — it’s frighteningly simple for someone to send an email that looks exactly like it came from your club.
Sometimes the problem is as simple as outdated IT. If a laptop hasn’t been updated, or a system has reached end-of-support, attackers can break in using widely known vulnerabilities. They don’t need to “hack” you — they just walk through the front door.
The Foundations Every Golf Club Needs in Place
Every club, regardless of size or budget, should start with the basics. Cyber Essentials is a perfect example — a straightforward, UK-recognised framework that checks you have the essential protections in place. Most clubs pass with some support, but almost all discover gaps they didn’t know existed.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is another non-negotiable. If your staff, managers or committee members can log into email or cloud systems with only a password, you’re taking a risk that’s entirely avoidable.
Email security is crucial too. Modern filtering tools can spot spoofing, detect impersonation attempts, and block malicious links before they reach your team.
And then there’s 24/7 MDR — Managed Detection and Response. This is the safety net that catches attackers when your IT team is off-duty. If someone breaks in at 3am, MDR is the difference between a contained incident and a complete operational meltdown.
Finally, don’t forget the physical side of IT. Your Wi-Fi networks, tills, tablets, and clubhouse equipment all need to be part of the security conversation.
A Quick Thought Experiment
Imagine turning up on a Saturday morning to find your booking system offline, your tills frozen, your staff unable to access their emails, and your membership data locked behind a ransom note on every screen.
This isn’t a hypothetical — it’s exactly what’s happened to several clubs in the last two years.
And every time, the response is the same:
“We didn’t think this would ever happen to us.”
Don’t wait until your club is in the headlines
Almost every club that suffers a cyber incident says afterwards that the warning signs were there — they just didn’t feel urgent at the time.
If you want to make sure your club is protected, LinksGuard can help with:
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Cyber Essentials certification
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Email security and phishing protection
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24/7 Managed Detection & Response
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IT security reviews
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Clubhouse network and Wi-Fi audits
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Policy creation and committee guidance
You can explore the services we offer here:
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Cyber Security Services
Together, we can make sure your club’s name stays where it belongs — on the leaderboard, not in a cyber incident report.