How to read this
The framework (Golf Genius, developed with Players 1st, GCMA, CMAE Scotland, CMAI, UK Golf Federation and Golf Club Secretary, October 2025) names four steps (Investigation, Tender, Decision, Implementation) and four tools (Software Audit Tool, TCO Calculator, RFP Template, Supplier Evaluation Matrix).
The templates themselves sit behind a sign-up form, so we answer the categories the framework names in public, in its order. Paste any answer into the club's own copy of the RFP template.
This is Links Meridian's own response, not a document from the framework's authors. Every answer is true today, or says not yet.
Where an answer says Ask us, the commitment is being settled and we will give it to you in writing for your club.
1.Investigation: the modules the audit scores
The audit scores membership, tee sheet, competition management and payments on importance against satisfaction.
- Membership
- Member records, households and family linking, membership categories, applications, waiting lists and offers, a members' portal with statements and payments.
- Tee sheet
- Live tee sheet across courses, shotgun and two-tee starts, release rules, ballots (lottery), waitlist, group and society bookings, starter sheet.
- Competition management
- Competitions and tournaments with hole-by-hole score entry, live leaderboards, divisions and flights, countback, singles, foursomes and fourball match play with WHS allowances, side games, and Order of Merit series. Modified Stableford and custom scoring formats: not yet.
- Handicaps (WHS)
- Not yet live. The WHS transport is built and waits on a federation licence; the Golf Ireland ISV application was sent on 10 August 2026. Until then the club's official index is recorded and imported, never calculated by us.
- Payments
- Cards online and at the till through the club's own Stripe account, paid out to the club's bank. Member accounts, statements and online payment of balances.
- Direct Debit for dues
- Not yet live. The last setup step is on the founder list.
- Pro shop and F&B
- Pro shop POS with gift cards and stock, F&B POS with floor plans and kitchen display, on Professional and above.
- Functions and visitors
- Weddings and private events from enquiry to invoice; group and society bookings with an organiser portal.
2.Tender: the RFP template's categories
- Who we are
- Links Meridian Limited, registered in Northern Ireland (NI741768), incorporated 26 June 2026. Self-funded. Connor Johnson is founder, CEO and sole director.
- Clubs live today
- None yet. We are pre-launch and say so plainly; see References in step 3.
- Accounting
- Built-in general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, period close, and P&L, balance sheet and trial balance. QuickBooks Online sync is built; production keys are pending. Xero: not yet (the connector shows "Coming soon"). Sage: not yet.
- Integrations and API
- Per-club API keys with seven read scopes and one write scope, and signed outbound webhooks for seven events.
- Members' app
- Club-branded iOS and Android apps over the members' portal (a web app inside a native shell, not native code).
- Data protection
- The club owns its data. Every query is scoped to the club. Members can request export or deletion; consent records and a record of processing.
- Hosting
- Today the platform runs in the EU, on Hetzner servers in Germany.
- Card security
- Card numbers never touch our servers; Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1. The club validates with SAQ A online and SAQ C for readers. Our own SAQ D is in progress; the attestation: Ask us.
- Access security
- Argon2id passwords, authenticator app or passkey, two-factor the club can require for all staff, an admin IP allowlist, and a staff audit log the club can read.
- Encryption and backups
- TLS 1.2 or later in transit, AES-256-GCM for sensitive fields at rest, a nightly encrypted backup kept 14 days; the last restore drill ran on 3 August 2026.
- Certifications
- No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or external penetration test report yet. Testing is internal; an external test is commissioned where a club's contract requires one.
- Uptime
- Ask us
- Support
- The founder is the direct contact through setup and go-live. Hours, channels and response times: Ask us.
- Not built yet
- A public status page, BEO and run sheets, scheduled emailed reports, a bulk booking and POS transaction export, multi-language screens, AGM and ballot tooling.
3.Decision: the TCO Calculator and the Supplier Evaluation Matrix
The TCO Calculator's lines are in the three-year cost example at the end of this response. The commercial terms the Supplier Evaluation Matrix weighs are below.
- Minimum term
- None. Cancel any time; access runs to the end of the paid period.
- Exit fee
- None.
- Data on exit
- Staff export members and reports to CSV; a full JSON export on request at no charge; data stays available 90 days after the subscription ends, then is deleted.
- Payments on exit
- Payments sit in the club's own Stripe account and bank.
- Continuity
- Not yet: no escrow or continuity clause exists in our contract pack today.
- References
- None yet: no club is live. A sample of the club's own data, loaded into the copy of Links Meridian we set up for the club, before any decision.
4.Implementation
- Timeline
- Most clubs live in 2 to 4 weeks; private clubs 4 to 8. The framework's report puts a typical implementation at 7 to 8 months.
- What we import
- Members (with households, dues fields and handicap index), opening balances, prepaid access balances, course records, awards, event results, future bookings and the POS product catalogue. Gift-card history and past booking history are not imported.
- How an import runs
- Analyse the file, review the proposed mapping, dry run, commit, reconcile row counts, and roll back if needed.
- Parallel running
- The current system stays in use during migration; nothing is switched off until the club confirms in writing.
- Training and staff adoption
- Onboarding is included on every tier; an in-app help centre and setup checklists; the assistant answers staff and members at any hour.
Three-year cost example: an 18-hole members' club on Professional
The lines the TCO Calculator asks for, for one 18-hole members' club on the published Professional tier, in pounds and, for the same club in Ireland, euros.
- Prices are the published Professional tier at the fixed UK and Ireland prices: GBP 549 or EUR 659 a month billed monthly, GBP 449 or EUR 529 a month billed annually (0.8 of monthly).
- Arithmetic: 449 x 12 = 5,388; 549 x 12 = 6,588; 529 x 12 = 6,348; 659 x 12 = 7,908; each times 3.
- Each further course is a published USD 499 a month; one Par 3 course is free.
- Migration and onboarding are included on every tier.
| Line | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription, billed annually (GBP 449 a month) | 5,388 | 5,388 | 5,388 | 16,164 |
| Subscription, billed monthly (GBP 549 a month) | 6,588 | 6,588 | 6,588 | 19,764 |
| Same club in Ireland, billed annually (EUR 529 a month) | 6,348 | 6,348 | 6,348 | 19,044 |
| Same club in Ireland, billed monthly (EUR 659 a month) | 7,908 | 7,908 | 7,908 | 23,724 |
| Migration, setup and training | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Links Meridian fee on payments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Prices assume the published price holds for three years. Published prices carry no written price lock today; only Charter Clubs have one (24 months, then rises capped at 20 percent a year on 90 days' notice).
- Card processing is Stripe's, from 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, paid to Stripe. We add no fee today: the platform fee is dormant at 0.
- Tax: Ask us. The terms put applicable taxes on the customer.
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