Abstract
In the Technical Capstone Report, employs a systems analysis frameowk to refine performance indicators and enhance system efficiency for GolfCask's ,a online golf and whiskey startups. An objective tree, which organizes the initial strategic objectives, prioritizes a sustainable and profitable business model, strong community engagement, and member attraction and retention. The key objective then choosen to focus on was user engagement. Data analytics of user trends from the first quarter of 2025 revealed intermittent signups but low sustained engagement, validating the need to focus on strategies promoting user engagement and participation. To achieve this, the project involved designing, validating, and deploying an innovative whiskey recommendation system. This system uses a dataset of whiskeys, combining word similarity, flavor similarity (mapped to profiles from "Whiskey Classified" by David Wishart), and user ratings scraped from Reddit to provide personalized suggestions through item-based collaborative filtering. The system updates recommendations based on new user ratings, refining its understanding of flavor preferences over time. Validation using real GolfCask user data showed average Mean Absolute Error of 0.431 and Root Mean Squared Error of 0.545 across 15 trials. A case study then demonstrated the system's ability to cluster highly rated whiskeys and suggest a new whiskey closer to preferred flavor profiles, which then shifted upon adding another highly-rated whiskey, illustrating responsiveness to new data. Additional technical tactics included implementing marketing strategies guided by data analytics, such as using UTM codes to track the effectiveness of different platforms (such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, email, website ads) in driving membership and engagement. Analysis of user interactions through this phased marketing approach concluded that short video content and concise email formatting were most successful in converting clicks to engaged website use.
Data-driven solutions like the "19th Hole" forum and a digital magazine were introduced to promote interaction and drive traffic in preparation for the recommender system rollout.
The STS project delves into the origins and societal perceptions of golf and whiskey, seeking to explain why the two pastimes are historically and culturally intertwined beyond mere coincidence. It argues that their pairing is not just legacy of folktales but a cultural evolution shaped by social interactions and motivations. The research questions guiding the study include how golf and whiskey are perceived in modern leisure spaces and the cultural values defining this perception, as well as the role of historical social forces in shaping their enduring connection. Examining contemporary demographics reveals that both golf and whiskey are often associated with a predominantly white, affluent, middle-aged male population, sharing values of social influence, high status, and exclusivity. The study applied the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) framework to analyze how different social groups, including Scottish royalty who initially banned golf but later embraced it, monastery dissolutions impacting whiskey distillation, and 19th-century merchants branding whiskey, have shaped the meanings and perceptions of both activities over time. The historical influence of relevant social groups, ranging from their interpretations, negotiations, and power dynamics, leads to a cultural closure where golf and whiskey became symbolically linked as components of an elite leisure lifestyle a perception that persists today. The study notes that while this perception is established, new social groups and movements are introducing variations, suggesting meanings are not fixed.
The synthesis of these projects reveals the entagnled relationship between technical system design and the socio-historical context of user communities. The technical project's focus on fostering user engagement and building a community around golf and whiskey is directly informed by the STS project's findings regarding the shared identity and values (affluence, status, exclusivity) historically associated with enthusiasts of these pastimes. Understanding why golf and whiskey are intertwined culturally provides crucial context for how to design effective technical systems and marketing strategies for a community based on these shared interests. The recommender system and targeted marketing efforts are tools deployed within a specific socio- cultural landscape, and their success depends on aligning with the existing (or evolving) values and preferences of the target demographic. The technical work provides methods for operationalizing engagement and growth, while the STS analysis provides insights into the underlying cultural fabric and potential future shifts in the community's identity and perceptions. Limitations in the technical project, such as the difficulty collecting data for a golf course recommender system, can even be viewed through a sociotechnical lens – perhaps the data structures or accessibility of this future system is influenced by the historical development and social organization of golf as explored in the STS paper. Ultimately, this sociotechnical synthesis highlights that optimizing GolfCask requires not only robust technical solutions and data analytics but also a deep understanding of the historical, cultural, and social forces that define the very passions the community is built upon.
