Whether it's at the local bar, any golf megastore in your area or an upscale hotel suite, indoor golf simulators are thriving at the moment. And it’s not just in cold-weather climates, as locations are popping up all over sunbelt cities, as well – featuring simulators and launch monitors from the likes of Full Swing, Foresight Sports, Golfzon, FlightScope, Uneekor and others.
Obviously, they’re great for hitting balls at night, when the weather is not cooperating and when golfers just want to play a quick virtual round without having to walk 18 holes. But some PGA of America Golf Professionals have been embracing them, as well, installing them in their facility’s clubhouse for lessons and fitting sessions. Others have become staples at indoor golf chain locations, such as X-Golf, or have greatly benefited teaching and fitting professionals at boutique locations.
Is this a trend that’s permanently here to stay? That may depend on how sustainable these places are after a few years.
Stephanie Jennings, PGA Director of Instruction at Whole Golf in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, recently opened a 5,000-square-foot indoor lesson and training studio that includes Foresight Falcons for the five hitting bays and a 1,000-plus square-foot putting and chipping area. The former Eastern Michigan University women’s golf coach and her business partner – a local commercial real estate expert – knew of a multi-sports building that had available space. Golf was one of the only sports missing from the suburban Detroit complex. So, they cleared a spot for Jennings.
“They knew they wanted to bring golf in there,” says Jennings, President of the Michigan PGA Section. “They just didn't know when, or how to do it. As an indoor facility, the unfortunate side is we’re not attached to an outdoor facility, so we don’t have the option to go outdoors with lessons.
“However, indoor allows us to have a year-round option. You can still come inside, even in the summertime if it gets too hot or if the weather gets bad.”
Jennings adds that being indoors brings more awareness to the golfer, and it helps the PGA of America Professional to articulate more specifics about somebody’s golf swing and the data points that you can pinpoint in that swing.
“So, if you’re not selling clubs or not doing fittings – like us – you can at least articulate to that player swing speed, club path, ball speed and launch angles,” explains Jennings. “And we tell them here’s some data you can take when you go get a fitting at a place like Carl’s Golfland around the corner. I'm going to encourage people to go” to Carl’s, because that’s not a realm I’m wanting to get into. Maybe eventually, but right now, Carl’s is a facility that knocks it out of the park right down the road. So, I might as well send them my students with their data that’ll then help them and the fitter have a better experience.”
Jennings’ building has a TPI certified sports medicine professional who she can work with to create golf fitness programming for students and integrate it with individual lessons, and group training.
“All under the same roof,” she says. “We have a different perspective for golf training – it's not just come and take lessons.”
Jennings says the overall trajectory for indoor golf facilities looks promising. “Money is still the barrier,” she says. “You’ve got to find the real estate space to have however many simulators or just a launch monitor. Some people I know are finding open warehouse spaces to build things out because it’s a little cheaper.
“There are a couple places around us that are 24-hour one-simulator spaces, and they give a code to get in. So, I think we’ll see more of these pop up. Where it could be challenging is the golf entertainment side, as that’s a golfer and non-golfer scenario, whereas a golf training space is dedicated to practicing with more benefit.
“We’re not reliant on alcohol or food sales – we just want to get more people playing and practicing golf.”
Joe Rathburn, Director of Sales at Full Swing, says PGA of America Professionals are acquiring sims for all of the usual clubfitting and teaching reasons, as well as “utilizing games and sports to attract families and new members, and creating tournaments and leagues with our competition software. The largest growth in the market is with a membership model where sims are accessible 24/7.”
Rathburn believes the future for PGA of America Professionals lies in attracting youthful engagement through technology, growing the game with teaching and training AI software.
“The value of any sim is in the quality of its tracking technology,” Rathburn adds. “As a leader in our category, the future would be adding additional experiences with more sports, games and utilizing AI.”
Rathburn cites two current customers thinking outside of the box with sims right now. The high-end Los Altos (California) Golf and Country Club has an 11-sim virtual driving range it built due to limited land for a proper range. The facility is outfitted with a teaching bay and video analysis capabilities, as well. And The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego installed a widescreen sim performance center with a retractable screen that opens to the range, replete with video analysis and Full Swing’s Virtual Green. That space is used for teaching, fitting and special social events.
Ethan Ganot, Marketing Director at Foresight Sports, adds that his company sees simulator growth mostly in areas where courses aren’t playable year-round, and also in indoor/outdoor spaces with roll-up doors.
“More and more we are seeing them used as social settings,” Ganot says. “One Midwest-based club put our ‘Sim In A Box’ in their clubhouse ballroom during winter weekday nights, hosting things like Monday Night Football viewing parties and sim golf leagues, which drove food & beverage revenue and camaraderie. On weekends, that club moved the pre-fabricated setup out of the way for weddings and other functions.”
Ganot has also seen PGA Professionals putting simulators in non-traditional spaces during extended course renovations or course improvements, so members can stay sharp, improve and still get their fix while the course is closed.
“We’ve assisted with multi-bay sim setups in cart barns and maintenance sheds,” he adds.
Still, using simulators for game improve- ment remains the bottom line.
“Data is the 15th club in a golfer’s bag, and simulators provide as much data as a golfer is willing to engage with,” says Ganot.
According to launch monitor brand Flightscope, because PGA of America Professionals have limited time with students, using a launch monitor in lessons can be extremely valuable if the data is accurate, consistent, reliable and trustworthy. Thus, tech needs to be easy to set up and navigate.
“More and more golf clubs and PGA Professionals are using launch monitors as a secondary income source by either setting up a sim indoors and renting space, or allowing students and members to rent the technology on the driving range,” says Tyler Burnett, Global Marketing Manager at FlightScope.
“Launch monitor integration with simulation software is key, so customers get something without having to pay subscriptions on top of the launch monitor price. Launch monitor companies have a unique opportunity to connect PGA Professionals with students outside of the lesson tee via homework sessions, tracking practice sessions and reviewing video and data outside of lessons.”
Burnett adds that the largest growth area right now in launch monitors lies with at-home simulators, driving range tech, and indoor sim businesses for entertainment, practice, lessons and fittings.
So many companies now entering this space may well affect the market, with respect to prices, saturation and even real outdoor golf at courses. Experts say product value will be a key to success, as well as giving customers product options that fit their needs and budget, limiting subscriptions and annual fees, and, of course, providing accurate data both indoors and outdoors.
