Comparison
Birdie vs Chronogolf: A Straight Comparison for Simulator Owners
Chronogolf was a golf course platform acquired by Lightspeed in 2019 — now Lightspeed Golf, enterprise software built for courses, not simulators. Birdie is what simulator operators were actually looking for.
| Feature | Birdie | Chronogolf |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Simulator management platform | Discontinued — now Lightspeed Golf |
| Target customer | Simulator business owners | Full-size golf courses |
| Still available? | ✓ | — |
| Bay-by-bay scheduling | ✓ | — |
| Membership tools | ✓ | — |
| Revenue analytics | ✓ | — |
| Pricing | Month-to-month | Enterprise pricing only |
Birdie at a glance
- Best for
- Simulator venues focused on weekday utilization and revenue growth — Birdie pairs bay booking with a revenue layer that surfaces underused hours and lapsed customers.
- Works with
- Any simulator hardware or game software. Birdie is the booking layer that sits above TrackMan, GSPro, Foresight, Uneekor, E6 Connect and TruGolf — it does not replace them and does not require a specific brand.
- Integrations
- Square, Stripe and Clover for payments; Kisi, PDK, UniFi Access, Avigilon Alta and RemoteLock for 24/7 smart-lock door access; Telnyx and Resend for automated SMS and email.
- Pricing
- From $197/month flat for the booking system. No per-booking fees, no percentage of revenue, month-to-month with no long-term contract.
- Setup
- White-glove onboarding, live in about 24 hours, no developers required.
What Birdie offers that Chronogolf never did
Built for bays
Bay-by-bay scheduling with real-time availability, plus membership management and recurring billing.
Know your numbers
Utilization analytics show which hours and bays underperform — revenue dashboards, not just a booking calendar.
Sell more than bay time
Point of sale for retail, food, and add-ons, plus an embeddable booking widget for your own website.
Most operators are live and taking bookings within 24 hours of signup.
Compare Birdie to other platforms
Birdie vs Chronogolf: common questions
How much does Birdie cost compared to Chronogolf?
Birdie is flat-rate from $197 per month for the booking system, published openly at birdiegrow.com/pricing. There are no per-booking fees, no per-bay charges, no percentage of revenue, and no long-term contract, so you can compare the real total cost before you talk to anyone.
Is Birdie a good Chronogolf alternative for a golf simulator venue?
Chronogolf was a golf course platform acquired by Lightspeed in 2019 — now Lightspeed Golf, enterprise software built for courses, not simulators. Birdie is what simulator operators were actually looking for. Birdie is purpose-built for simulator venues specifically — hourly bays rather than tee times, hour-bank memberships, automated SMS, 24/7 smart-lock door access, and a revenue layer that surfaces underused weekday hours and lapsed customers.
What simulator hardware does Birdie work with?
Any simulator hardware or game software. Birdie is the booking layer that sits above TrackMan, GSPro, Foresight, Uneekor, E6 Connect and TruGolf — it does not replace them and does not require a specific brand.
How long does it take to switch from Chronogolf to Birdie?
Most venues are live and taking bookings within about 24 hours of signing. Birdie configures your bays, pricing, memberships, and add-ons for you, and migration from an existing booking tool is handled as part of onboarding — no developers and no downtime.
Verdict: Birdie vs Chronogolf
Birdie is built specifically for golf simulator businesses — small-to-mid-sized indoor venues with anywhere from one to twelve bays that need bay-by-bay scheduling, hour-bank memberships, automated SMS, and an owner dashboard that surfaces utilization and revenue per bay.
Chronogolf was built for full-size outdoor golf courses — tee sheets, green fees, retail POS, and pro shop inventory. After the 2019 Lightspeed acquisition, it was rolled into Lightspeed Golf, enterprise software with enterprise pricing aimed at course operators. Neither version was designed for a 4-bay simulator studio.
If you searched for Chronogolf because you needed simulator-specific tooling, the honest answer is that you were never the target customer. Birdie is. Book a live demo and judge it against your real bay setup, pricing, and customer base.
If you're running a simulator business, Birdie is what you need
See the platform live. No commitment required.