Upper Arlington, OH. – smbGOLF, a digital hospitality agency, today introduced the Review Advocacy Index (RAI), a custom review-based measure that shows golf operators the balance between their five-star reviews and their one- to three-star reviews. Operators can request a free one-page RAI Snapshot of their course’s Google reviews at smbgolf.com/rai.
Star averages summarize ratings. They don’t show how those ratings are spread. Consider two hypothetical courses, each with 100 Google reviews and a 4.2-star average:
- Course A (hypothetical): 60 five-star, 20 four-star and 20 two-star reviews. RAI: +40.
- Course B (hypothetical): 40 five-star, 40 four-star and 20 three-star reviews. RAI: +20.
The averages match. The reviews don’t. Course A has more five-star reviews relative to lower-rated ones, but it also has more severe low ratings. That is why smbGOLF reports RAI alongside the star average, the rating mix and the review text, not in place of them.
How RAI works
RAI is the percentage of five-star reviews minus the percentage of one-, two- and three-star reviews in a defined period. Five-star reviews count positively. Four-star reviews are passive: they stay in the total but don’t move the score. One- to three-star reviews count negatively. Scores run from −100 to +100, and changes are reported in index points. A review needs no written text to count, because RAI uses the star rating, not AI interpretation.
The formula comes from smbGOLF but it is not a secret. smbGOLF’s value is in consistent, transparent scoring, golf-specific interpretation and reporting an operator can act on. Every score shows its platform, dates and review count. Courses with one to four reviews in the window are not scored, and samples of five to 29 reviews are flagged as small.
A real example
Druid’s Glen, smbGOLF’s approved public sample, shows a Google RAI of +30.3 for Sept. 25, 2025 to Sept. 24, 2026, based on 33 Google reviews.
“Every Tuesday morning we send our golf course clients a detailed email, and part of it is a trend read on their last 20 reviews. The patterns in that data jumped out at me, and I realized we could help courses more by going deeper. RAI lets an operator see what their reviews add up to, whether recent golfers are happy, and how golfers feel about the courses they compete with. It also shows that one bad review is not a crisis. It’s one rating in a much bigger picture,” said Mike Hendrix, founder of smbGOLF.
RAI measures review advocacy in public reviews. It is not a golfer survey.
Availability
The free RAI Snapshot is a one-page report covering a course’s Google reviews over the last 12 months, including its RAI, average stars and rating mix. For operators who want more, the full Golfer Sentiment Report runs 15 pages, includes multiple review platforms, and compares a course with up to six peer courses using the same platform, formula and dates. It adds matched-period comparisons and a review of what golfers praise and criticize across themes such as value and pricing, greens and bunkers, pace of play, staff and service, and scenery and layout.
Golf operators can request a free RAI Snapshot at smbgolf.com/rai or book a conversation with Mike Hendrix at web.smbgolf.com/meetings/mike-hendrix/digital-hospitality.
About smbGOLF
smbGOLF is a digital hospitality agency that helps golf courses improve every digital touchpoint of the golfer experience, from websites and booking to reviews and communication. Founder Mike Hendrix also hosts The Tech Caddie podcast and runs Golf Course Technology Reviews. Learn more at smbgolf.com.
smbGOLF contact: agency@smbgolf.com | Mike Hendrix: 614-296-6845
