Partnering with Grain to Support Golf Course Management Decisions with AI
Integrating with the golf course core system "GRAIN CLOUD" to give on-site staff a way to work with data through conversation
We've begun a partnership with Grain, Inc., the company behind "GRAIN CLOUD," a comprehensive management system for golf course operations, to bring conversational AI–driven data utilization to golf course management.
This partnership marks the first in a series of industry-specific initiatives that combine Squadbase with the core systems of particular industries. In the golf industry, Grain will exclusively offer services built on this technology.
Background: "We have the data, but we can't put it to use"
At many companies, vast amounts of data accumulate through day-to-day operations, yet aggregating and analyzing that data requires specialized knowledge and tools. As a result, the insights that matter often can't be surfaced when they're needed.
The golf course industry is no exception. Data on visits, reservations, and sales piles up in core systems every day, but making use of it tends to depend on individual staff members working in Excel, leaving management decisions to personal experience and intuition. As the industry undergoes structural change—a shrinking golf population and players becoming more selective about which courses they play—the ability to turn data into the next move is increasingly what separates strong management from weak.
Squadbase has taken on this challenge as a platform that lets on-site staff analyze and visualize data themselves through natural-language conversation, without relying on specialists.
About the Partnership: Industry Expertise × Core Data × AI Agents
In this partnership, we combine Grain's operational expertise in running golf courses and the operational data accumulated in GRAIN CLOUD with Squadbase, delivering conversational data utilization optimized for the golf industry.
Ask, "What was behind last month's decline?" and a manager gets analysis and insight back on the spot. By replacing the hours once spent on Excel after closing with a conversation with AI, we aim to create an environment where every golf course—regardless of scale or staffing constraints—can make sophisticated decisions.
The two companies are currently co-developing new data utilization features through this partnership, with details to be shared in the near future.
What We're Aiming For: Data Utilization Led by the Front Line
Squadbase has been driving a shift that opens up data work—once confined to a handful of specialists—so that anyone on the front line can take it on.
Partnering with companies that hold both operational expertise and core data accelerates this shift at the level of an entire industry. Taking this partnership as a first step, we'll continue to work with leading companies across industries to bring AI-driven data utilization to society at large.
Comments from Leadership
Traditionally, BI meant specialists building dashboards that users had to go and look at. Squadbase aims for the opposite: executives and front-line staff simply ask the AI and get answers back—and beyond that, the AI proactively delivers "the numbers you should look at today and your next move." That said, for AI to produce truly useful insight, a deep understanding of the business and its data is essential. It's precisely because of the golf course operations expertise Grain has cultivated over many years, and the data accumulated in GRAIN CLOUD, that we can build a service that genuinely helps with golf course management. Through this partnership, we'll work through each step together with Grain to be of real use to those managing golf courses on the ground.
Naoto Shibata, CEO, Queue, Inc.
We developed GRAIN CLOUD from a perspective rooted in the practical realities of golf course operations, walking alongside people in the field. Throughout that journey, one thing struck us strongly: data accumulates day after day, yet the means to turn it into management decisions never reaches the front line. Our partnership with Queue is a major step toward tackling that problem head-on. Squadbase's philosophy—that front-line staff can engage with data themselves, without relying on specialists—felt aligned with the direction we're aiming for. By bringing together the strengths of both companies, we'll work to realize a future where every golf course can put the power of data to work in its management.
Norio Suetomi, CEO, Grain, Inc.
About GRAIN CLOUD
GRAIN CLOUD is a fully cloud-based core system that centrally manages everything golf course operations require—from reservation management and payment processing to integration with cart navigation and automated payment machines. Unlike conventional on-premises systems, it requires no on-site "core server" installation, and can be run with nothing more than an internet connection and a PC.
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