Originally published by the PGA of America.
Operating a golf facility means keeping track of a lot more than what’s happening on the course. Tee times, lesson schedules, payroll and vendor payments all depend on technology working as it should. Keeping those systems secure is easy to put off when everything is running smoothly, but it’s worth making time before a problem interrupts the day.
October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good opportunity to sit down with your team or technology provider and ask a few questions: Who has access to your accounts? How do employees flag a suspicious email? What’s the plan if your booking system goes down?
Helping PGA of America Golf Professionals address those questions is part of the Association’s partnership with LevelBlue, the Official Cybersecurity Advisor of the PGA of America, PGA Championship and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship through 2028. LevelBlue provides services to help protect the Association’s technology and flagship events, while also bringing cybersecurity education to the broader golf community.
“Our PGA of America Members have a lot on their plates, and cybersecurity may not be their area of expertise,” said Kevin Scott, Chief Technology Officer, PGA of America. “Working with LevelBlue helps us bring them practical information they can use when talking with their staff and technology providers.”
Five places to start
- Check your logins. Use a different password for each account and a password manager to keep track of them. Turn on multifactor authentication, which requires another verification step when you sign in. Start with email, financial systems and accounts with administrative access.
- Give staff permission to pause. An email asking for an urgent payment or new banking details should prompt a phone call to a number you already trust. Make sure employees know whom to ask when something seems off, even if the request appears to come from the boss.
- Ask who handles updates. Your reservation software, shop computers and other devices need regular security updates. Confirm with your providers who installs security updates and how quickly they’re applied. Don’t assume someone else has it covered.
- Remove access when people leave. When a seasonal employee finishes or a vendor relationship ends, removing their access should be part of the process. For current staff, check that each person has access only to what their job requires.
- Talk through an outage. Decide how staff members would handle check-in and other essential tasks without access to your usual systems. Keep your technology provider’s contact details handy, ask about backups and recovery, and practice the plan with your team.
You don’t need to tackle everything in one meeting. Pick a starting point, assign someone to follow up and put time on the calendar to check progress. Revisit the discussion when you bring on new staff, change providers or add a system.
Learn more about LevelBlue’s partnership with the PGA of America.
