The Problem:
Planning an authentic Scottish golf trip is fragmented and overwhelming. Tee times, accommodation, transfers, and local knowledge all live in different places. Spreadsheets multiply. Emails go unanswered. Details slip through the cracks. The experience golfers are trying to build deserves to feel premium -- but the process of planning it is anything but.
Existing options fall into two buckets: generic tour operators who offer cookie-cutter packages with no local soul, or the DIY approach where travellers spend weeks stitching together bookings across a dozen websites. Neither delivers the authentic, transparent, and exclusive experience that serious golfers expect when travelling to the home of golf.
The Solution:
Monarch Links is a digital concierge platform for premium Scottish golf travel. It brings together course discovery, AI-powered itinerary generation, and personal expert guidance into a single, beautifully crafted experience.
Key Features
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Explore Scotland's Golf Regions An interactive regional directory covering six Scottish golf regions (Fife & St Andrews, Edinburgh & East Lothian, Royal Aberdeenshire, Scottish Highlands, Ayrshire & Western Isles, Angus & Perthshire). Users browse by region, drill into individual courses, and discover the character and history of each location.
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Personality-Based Example Itineraries Pre-built itineraries mapped to golfer "personalities" -- Heritage (the romantic traditionalist), The Golfing Purist (all the classics), Corporate Trail (luxury and access), The Explorer (highlands and islands), Ultimate Golfer's Retreat (go long, see it all), and Family Fun. Each includes a full day-by-day breakdown with accommodation, travel, meals, and estimated costs.
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AI-Powered Itinerary Generator A 10-step guided wizard that captures group size, trip length, dates, budget, ability level, travel preferences, regions, golfing personality, must-play courses, and special requests. The system generates a tailored day-by-day itinerary with weather, activities, accommodation, transport, meals, and cost estimates -- all from a single flow.
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"Ask Jock" -- AI Concierge
A conversational AI assistant built on an LLM, persona-tuned as "Jock" -- a warm, knowledgeable Scottish guide with Billy Connolly-esque charm. Users can ask free-form questions about courses, logistics, dining, whisky, weather, or anything Scotland. The chat uses the Base44 SDK's invokeFunction for real-time AI responses.
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Trip Planner (Chat-Based) A structured conversational planner with quick-response options that walks users through preferences, then generates a complete itinerary rendered with an interactive day-by-day display.
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Booking & Group Coordination Generated itineraries offer three paths forward: Secure Booking (10% deposit via Stripe integration), Hold Itinerary (create a shareable group poll with a unique link for group decision-making), or Refine Itinerary (iterate further with Ask Jock).
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Branded Apparel
A product catalogue for Monarch Links premium golf wear (jackets, midlayers, gloves), reinforcing the brand as a lifestyle, not just a booking tool.