TopGolf.....at Private Clubs

[Tom Bacsanyi]

In practice, it looks closer to this.


One douchey guy hitting topped balls and everyone else knocking back a few and figuring out who they're gonna hook up with later..

How are you supposed to hit golf shots while eating chicken wings?  Are caddies available?

[Chris Hughes]

At my parent's club a consultant from the McMahon group is pitching them on the idea of a Top Golf-like facility as part of a master plan, the goal being to make country club membership more attractive to millennials. Anyone know of a club that's done this, and its reception?

Aside from the astounding cost, I don't see the crossover. As a Gen X'er I see myself trying Top Golf a few times and that's it - like bowling. As a real golfer I'd rather be on the course.

What say you?

The people at McMahon Group are complete morons.

MCMAHON WILL BREAK A PLACE VIA CLUBHOUSE ADDITIONS AND ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF GOLF....they advertise mucho with club managers and if not mistaken they own the magazine....

You are not mistaken... 🫵

[Steve Pozaric]

It isn’t Topgolf, but my club put in 2 trackman simulator bays as part of our clubhouse renovation this year.  There is soft seating, tvs, and F&B available. 


I wasn’t a huge proponent, but have used them a number of times, including several times with the family and had dinner while we played a round.  Also, with it being trackman, you can get a lot of good data in the practice mode.  The thought is to use it for leagues in winter when the weather turns bad and also for teaching.  Also I have used it to warm up when our range hasn’t been available due to weather.


So far, it seems like it is working well.

[Tim_Weiman]

This is Topgolf.  Yea shouldn't be too expensive to build with the annual assessment!!   





Kalen,


Just this past Friday a long time friend invited me to join a couple guys at the TopGolf in Independence, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. That picture looks a lot like it.


I’ve never been a fan of TopGolf, but it does appear to have a market for non traditional golfers, almost like it is a bowling league where most people aren’t that good yet enjoy some beers and the company of friends.


Two other things: First, the IT aspect of these facilities is pretty amazing and I think it does appeal to partying non golfers. Second, this facility near Cleveland does offer weekday unlimited balls between 10 AM and Noon for $15. Especially in a Northern market like Cleveland, that’s not a bad deal during the winter months and apparently even year round.


As a private club - no way!

[Kalen Braley]

Tim,

Agreed with that whole-heartedly.  With more than 70 locations across the US, its certainly here to stay...for awhile.

I've also observed it seems to appeal most to the part-time, wanna be golfer and that's great.

P.S.  My biggest beef is the IT part, which has happened every time.  Glitchy results, balls not counting, extra balls being dispensed, etc..

[Wayne_Kozun]

Interesting factoid - TopGolf is an English export.  The first location was in Watford.

[Andre Masse]

This is an interesting topic - I'd be curious to see what the actual master plan entails.

My club is one of 2 in Canada that built those Toptracer (owned by Top Golf) Range facilities. In short, they installed three camera towers (about 10 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter) at the back of the range. You can then get set up anywhere on the grass area, which is ~50 yards deep and ~50 yards wide and the cameras will pick up your ball flight. Every morning, club staff moves the little camera tripods next to the ball pyramids so you can set up your phone to see your stats (ball speed, spin, carry, total, side spin, apex height, etc.) if you want to connect your phone/tablet.

I'll admit I was extremely skeptical of the concept at first. I'd much rather be out on the course than hitting balls on the range and barely warm up before rounds. That said, I found myself using it a few times. The feedback from the data made it more interesting to do things like distance control drills. You can even set targets based on your range's flags and do closest to the pin and beat your high score, which I found more interesting than mindlessly hitting balls forward, which is my tendency otherwise.

Not sure if this is comparable to what is being discussed here though, as it very much doesn't have a bar-like atmosphere like Topgolf would have. I consider this more as a training aid than an entertainment tool, but I could see it being used to organize fun competitions or long drive contests with a drink in hand.

[SB]

At the range I own, we have Toptracer Range and everyone loves it.  BUUUUT, we are on mats 100% of the time and we have the video monitors so people can get their data.  At a private club, 100% mats are a non-starter which makes the system try to figure out where you are on the grass range.  This is where it can get glitchy and confusing and people tend to ignore it.  It's a great training aid, but I haven't seen a private club that's quite figured it out. 


Indoor simulators, though, are becoming pretty common in private clubs, as teaching aids, a winter option, night entertainment, and something to do with the family.  I think that part of the business will continue to grow, and based on the number of systems at the PGA show, they are certainly selling a lot of them.