The Golf Algorithm That Could Revolutionise the Way This Most Traditional Game is Played
London, July 8, 2025 — Golf is one of the world’s most traditional and oldest sports, but a new UK-based startup says it’s time the game embraced smarter, more human-centred technology to grow the game worldwide. Enter Alba: a lean, bootstrapped golf-tech app designed around one bold premise: that choosing who you play with matters just as much as where you play.
Alba’s team has created an AI-powered matchmaking algorithm that goes beyond the standard location-based filtering used by existing sports apps. Instead, it focuses on personality, play style, and compatibility, turning golf from a lonely or awkward experience into one built on chemistry, comfort, and connection.
“Most golf courses and societies focus on proximity. But proximity doesn’t equal compatibility,” says Cameron MacInnes, co-founder of Alba. “Alba is designed to help you find your people, your crew, your tribe, those like-minded golfers, not just the nearest stranger with a spare tee time. Access barriers in golf are legendary but we are betting that Alba’s curated digital pathway to the tee box will benefit all golfers and could help bring new enthusiasts into this sport we love.”
A Smarter Way to Match: Alba’s “Golf Graph™”
At the heart of Alba’s platform is a system its team internally calls the Golf Graph™ — an algorithm that considers:
Golfer type (competitive, casual, or new to the game)
Playing style and group preferences
Preferred formats and course types
Personality signals gathered via onboarding (coming Summer 2025)
Safety and comfort preferences (e.g. women-only games, coming Summer 2025)
The result is a product that behaves more like a social network than a booking engine, using a web of soft signals to build genuinely enjoyable rounds.
Why This Matters
Early user interviews and third-party research consistently point to the same problem: golfers want to play more often, but struggle to find the right people to play with.
The R&A’s Golf Participation Report (2023) lists “difficulty finding playing partners” as a leading barrier to increased play.
Syngenta’s “The Opportunity to Grow Golf” (2018) found that 54% of non-golfers and lapsed players would be motivated to return if they “had someone to play with.”
England Golf’s recent campaigns highlight access, inclusion, and safety as key focus areas, particularly for younger and female players.
Alba tackles these problems at their core: not by reinventing golf, but by rethinking how people access it.
Built by Golfers, Evolving With Golfers
Rather than over-engineer on day one, Alba is launching this summer with its core experience: fast, friendly onboarding, smart matchmaking, and immediate access to compatible rounds. New features like verified profiles, visibility controls, and social tools will be added with direct user feedback as the team expands.
“We’re not trying to scale overnight, but the potential for growth is obvious,” adds MacInnes. “We’re testing in real-time, learning from our users, and building slowly with purpose, like any good golfer would.”
Launching This July (First in the UK)
Alba’s official launch kicks off in July 2025, with a phased rollout across London and then the West Midlands, before moving out toward all other major UK cities. The app is free to join, with optional organiser tools powered by Stripe Connect.
For tech journalists, industry observers, and sports innovation enthusiasts, Alba represents a quiet but powerful shift in how sport, community, and algorithms can work together.
This isn’t just another social network. It’s a platform for shared tee times, better golf stories, and more rounds that leave you saying, “I’m glad I played today.”
MEDIA ENQUIRIES / INTERVIEWS / EARLY ACCESS
Contact:
Cam MacInnes
cam@golfalba.co
Press kit available on request. Includes screenshots, bios, and brand assets.
