Client
Client
Open Links Golf
Open Links Golf
Category
Category
AI Golf Trip Planner (Web App)
AI Golf Trip Planner (Web App)
Duration
Duration
3 Months
3 Months
Launch Birdie
Launch Birdie
3,000+ trips planned through Birdie; revenue on every Expedia booking
3,000+ trips planned through Birdie; revenue on every Expedia booking
3K+
3K+
Itineraries created
Itineraries created
85%
85%
Time saved
Time saved
6.2K
6.2K
Monthly active user
Monthly active user
Snapshot
Snapshot
Everyone loves travelling, except the planner. Imagine juggling spreadsheets, logistics, stays, flights, budgets, and booking sites. Now add a golf to it: course preferences, tee times, availability, weather, and proximity.
For the love of the sport, we made Birdie. A professional planner that understands the details, thinks through the trade-offs, gets the group to agree, and handles the bookings. You show up, play well, and take all the credit.
Everyone loves travelling, except the planner. Imagine juggling spreadsheets, logistics, stays, flights, budgets, and booking sites. Now add a golf to it: course preferences, tee times, availability, weather, and proximity.
For the love of the sport, we made Birdie. A professional planner that understands the details, thinks through the trade-offs, gets the group to agree, and handles the bookings. You show up, play well, and take all the credit.
Problem
Problem
Modern golf trips don't fail at booking, they fail at decision-making. Great courses, perfect tee times, and ideal stays all collapse when daylight, travel fatigue, weather, and group trade-offs aren't visible together.
Modern golf trips don't fail at booking, they fail at decision-making. Great courses, perfect tee times, and ideal stays all collapse when daylight, travel fatigue, weather, and group trade-offs aren't visible together.
When a tee time shifts by an hour, everything else shifts with it. Accommodation, transport, the next booking, all of it breaks. Most platforms are built for transactions and not coordination. Golfers do what they always do when software fails them: spreadsheets, tabs, group chats that never end.
The real problem wasn’t search. It was decision orchestration.
And that reframing shaped everything that followed.
When a tee time shifts by an hour, everything else shifts with it. Accommodation, transport, the next booking, all of it breaks. Most platforms are built for transactions and not coordination. Golfers do what they always do when software fails them: spreadsheets, tabs, group chats that never end.
The real problem wasn’t search. It was decision orchestration.
And that reframing shaped everything that followed.
Phase 1
Phase 1
Discovery / Insights
Discovery / Insights
Rather than focusing on specific tools, we focused on the behaviors of a focus group of 50 golfers across different age groups: how decisions are made, where friction appears, and why planning often feels overwhelming.
We spoke with golfers who regularly organize trips with friends, analyzed existing travel platforms, and observed how users coordinate bookings across different tools.
The pattern was clear.
Rather than focusing on specific tools, we focused on the behaviors of a focus group of 50 golfers across different age groups: how decisions are made, where friction appears, and why planning often feels overwhelming.
We spoke with golfers who regularly organize trips with friends, analyzed existing travel platforms, and observed how users coordinate bookings across different tools.
The pattern was clear.
Golfers can find flights, stays, and courses easily but across different tools. Planning usually starts vague, and quickly turns into long comparisons and back-and-forth.
Golfers can find flights, stays, and courses easily but across different tools. Planning usually starts vague, and quickly turns into long comparisons and back-and-forth.
More options create friction, and stitching everything into one plan is where things break.
More options create friction, and stitching everything into one plan is where things break.
Shift from search to coordination and guided decisions, reduce overwhelm, and help groups turn loose ideas into clear, workable trips.
Shift from search to coordination and guided decisions, reduce overwhelm, and help groups turn loose ideas into clear, workable trips.
Phase 2
Phase 2
Experience Strategy
Experience Strategy
Our focus group changed how we saw the problem.
It wasn’t just about building a better booking interface. It was about helping people make decisions together across many moving: Travel dates, group size, logistics, stays, golf courses, tee times, budget, weather, availability etc.
We designed a system that coordinates constraints, guides clear choices, and uses AI to make it all scale.This led to three key principles for the journey:
Our focus group changed how we saw the problem.
It wasn’t just about building a better booking interface. It was about helping people make decisions together across many moving: Travel dates, group size, logistics, stays, golf courses, tee times, budget, weather, availability etc.
We designed a system that coordinates constraints, guides clear choices, and uses AI to make it all scale.This led to three key principles for the journey:
1
1
Conversational Planning
Users should be able to describe their ideal trip naturally instead of filling out rigid forms.
Conversational Planning
Users should be able to describe their ideal trip naturally instead of filling out rigid forms.
2
2
Guided Decision Making
The system should recommend the best options while still allowing exploration.
Guided Decision Making
The system should recommend the best options while still allowing exploration.
3
3
Flexible Itineraries
Users should always be able to modify recommendations and personalize their plans.
Flexible Itineraries
Users should always be able to modify recommendations and personalize their plans.
An AI-powered planning system that turns a trip idea into a fully coordinated, editable, and shareable golf itinerary in minutes.
An AI-powered planning system that turns a trip idea into a fully coordinated, editable, and shareable golf itinerary in minutes.
[A] Conversation AI
[A] Conversation AI
Users start planning directly from the homepage through a chat with Birdie, who then asks contextual questions to gather trip information. The system adapts based on constraints such as weather, availability, and budget.
Users start planning directly from the homepage through a chat with Birdie, who then asks contextual questions to gather trip information. The system adapts based on constraints such as weather, availability, and budget.
Usability feedback / Rollback
This concept allowed users to describe their trip in natural language, but conversations often became lengthy and unstructured, exhausting the context window.
Longer conversations not only affected the experience but also increased production costs drastically.
Important details got buried in back-and-forth as context limits broke continuity and hurt reliability
Usability feedback / Rollback
This concept allowed users to describe their trip in natural language, but conversations often became lengthy and unstructured, exhausting the context window.
Longer conversations not only affected the experience but also
increased production costs drastically.
Important details got buried in back-and-forth as context limits broke
continuity and hurt reliability
Phase 3
Phase 3
Exploring A2UI
Exploring A2UI
A design approach where AI doesn’t just respond with text, but directly generates or updates the interface based on user intent.
With A2UI, we adopted a hybrid conversational model. Conversational inputs were buckling under uncertainty, and while we wanted the experience to feel organic, pure conversation wasn't enough.
A design approach where AI doesn’t just respond with text, but directly generates or updates the interface based on user intent.
With A2UI, we adopted a hybrid conversational model. Conversational inputs were buckling under uncertainty, and while we wanted the experience to feel organic, pure conversation wasn't enough.
Structured UI inputs now handled the key parameters, keeping the tone natural without sacrificing efficiency and so we never had to trade off brand experience.
Structured UI inputs now handled the key parameters, keeping the tone natural without sacrificing efficiency and so we never had to trade off brand experience.
[B] AI Generated Itineraries
[B] AI Generated Itineraries
Once trip details are finalized, the AI generates a full itinerary within minutes with flights, accommodation, golf courses, dining recommendations and activity details.
Each itinerary section features a selected card alongside the option to browse alternatives. Users can switch selections and budget buckets without disrupting the overall plan. Exploration remains easy without overwhelming users.
Once trip details are finalized, the AI generates a full itinerary within minutes with flights, accommodation, golf courses, dining recommendations and activity details.
Each itinerary section features a selected card alongside the option to browse alternatives. Users can switch selections and budget buckets without disrupting the overall plan. Exploration remains easy without overwhelming users.
[C] Modify Mode
[C] Modify Mode
A modify toggle transforms the itinerary into an editable workspace. Users can add, remove, or replace itinerary elements. The system remains flexible while preserving AI recommendations. Birdie recalculates and accounts for each update without punishing exploration.
Planning is not linear. Birdie aligns with it.
A modify toggle transforms the itinerary into an editable workspace. Users can add, remove, or replace itinerary elements. The system remains flexible while preserving AI recommendations. Birdie recalculates and accounts for each update without punishing exploration.
Planning is not linear. Birdie aligns with it.
[D] Spacial Cognition / Map View
[D] Spacial Cognition / Map View
A modify toggle transforms the itinerary into an editable workspace. Users can add, remove, or replace itinerary elements. The system remains flexible while preserving AI recommendations. Birdie recalculates and accounts for each update without punishing exploration.
Planning is not linear. Birdie aligns with it.
A modify toggle transforms the itinerary into an editable workspace. Users can add, remove, or replace itinerary elements. The system remains flexible while preserving AI recommendations. Birdie recalculates and accounts for each update without punishing exploration.
Planning is not linear. Birdie aligns with it.
12 mins
12 mins
Time to itinerary generation
Time to itinerary generation
68 %
68 %
Itinerary completion rate
Itinerary completion rate
42 %
42 %
Booking conversion
Booking conversion
54%
54%
Repeat usage rate
Repeat usage rate
Birdie changed what we are as a business. We used to publish articles about golf destinations and hope someone would book a trip. Now we plan the trip for them, and we earn revenue when they go. That is an entirely different company.
CEO, Open Links Golf
Birdie changed what we are as a business. We used to publish articles about golf destinations and hope someone would book a trip. Now we plan the trip for them, and we earn revenue when they go. That is an entirely different company.
CEO, Open Links Golf
Reflection
Reflection
The most important lesson from this project was that AI experiences
succeed or fail based on user trust. Users must believe that the system
understands their intent and that they remain in control of the outcome.
In hindsight, I would invest more deeply in explainability, making the system’s
reasoning more visible to users.
The most important lesson from this project was that AI
experiences succeed or fail based on user trust.
Users must believe that the system understands their
intent and that they remain in control of the outcome.
In hindsight, I would invest more deeply in explainability,
making the system’s reasoning more visible to users.
What could be
What could be
I believe the future of online travel platforms is going to be collaborative planning. Golf trips are inherently social, and enabling groups to discuss and edit itineraries together would significantly improve the planning experience.
And then, the learning systems. Over time, AI could learn from past trips and user preferences to generate increasingly personalized recommendations. This would shift Birdie from a one-time planning tool into a long-term travel intelligence platform.
I believe the future of online travel platforms is going to be collaborative planning. Golf trips are inherently social, and enabling groups to discuss and edit itineraries together would significantly improve the planning experience.
And then, the learning systems. Over time, AI could learn from past trips and user preferences to generate increasingly personalized recommendations. This would shift Birdie from a one-time planning tool into a long-term travel intelligence platform.
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