By: Fred Altvater
I recently visited TOPGOLF for the first time. Having read and marveled at this rapidly growing phenomenon in the golf world, it was time to see what the fuss was all about.
The National Golf Foundation has reported that Topgolf facilities around the country are bringing 10 million new golfers to the game every year. For the golf industry, that is music to the ears. Since the decline in participation, after the recession of 2008-2010, thousands of golf courses have closed, rounds played have decreased drastically and golf equipment sales have followed the downward trend.
Mass mergers have consolidated the golf industry. Large golf retail businesses have closed or sought protection through bankruptcy. New golf course construction, once a booming sector of the economy, has slowed to a crawl.
Anything that resembles an upward tick in the golf world, would be welcomed with open arms.
Thus enters, Topgolf, three stories of hitting bays, foosball and pool tables, flashy chrome everywhere, smiling waitresses carrying trays full of adult beverages and tasty treats from the grill. Don’t forget a fully stocked bar and merchandise area, just in case you need a new hat, glove or t-shirt.
From a simple concept of wanting to garner digital information from a golf ball after it was struck, the Topgolf idea was born. According to the Topgolf website, it requires between $15-$18 million to open a new Topgolf facility.
That’s a lot of golf balls!
Investors in Las Vegas are spending nearly $50 million to get that facility open. Are they going to have LIVE Shows with scantily-clad Dancing Girls and slot machines?
When you enter a Topgolf facility, you are greeted at the door and must choose which counter to visit, left or right.
The first order of business is to sign up for a Topgolf Membership Card. This card is the only way to access the ball machine, once inside your assigned hitting bay. Once you load money, from your credit card onto your membership card, you are kept in the system to log scores, or earn various perks.
There are four membership levels, Lifetime, 3-Month, 6-Month and Platinum, which range from $5.00 to $250.00/month, with a small initiation fee.
It is a bit confusing at first, but there are several young smiling employees standing about, to help guide you through the process.
The first complaint lodged against Topgolf is the fact that you must use the membership card to pay for time in the hitting bay. This is the 21st Century, with mobile credit card acceptance everywhere, this seems a bit burdensome. Especially, when trying to leave as small a balance as possible on your Topgolf card.
However, Once, you are in the hitting bay or in the bar area, personal credit cards can be used for purchases of food and beverages.
The hitting bays are all automatic. Touching a computer screen allows you to choose what game you want and how many golf balls you require.
Simply by waving your golf club over a sensor on the ball machine, each golf ball rolls onto the hitting mat for you to hack, chop, slice and hook.
The field of play, surrounded by a 75-foot high net, consists of several large holes resembling missile silos, that give you something at which to aim. These targets are set strategically at 50-100-125-150-175 and 200 yards, each golfer can earn points and compete against one another or others on the system, by accurately dumping their shot into the appropriate hole.
We were on the third floor of the hitting area, which I found a bit disconcerting at first, with just a thin net to prevent falling off and onto the field, about 30 feet below.
It was enjoyable chipping balls into the 50 and 100-yard pits, but being 30-feet in the air, I’m not sure it helped my short game.
We did chat up other groups on both sides of our hitting bay. Most people it seemed were there for a party or event. Topgolf is a social happening!
A bachelorette party was consuming about an equal number of adult beverages as golf balls, they were attempting to hit.
At another hitting bay, the father was banging out balls, while the kids reclined on the comfortable couches exercising their thumbs on their mobile devices. The modern equivalent of, forced family fun!
Plus, while all of this was going on, the helpful waiters and waitresses kept their trays, loaded with goodies moving.
Bottom-Line
I am for anything that will bring more golfers to the sport, but I am not too sure very many of Topgolf’s 10 million visitors will ever slip on a Foot-Joy, step onto a green-grass golf course, or play an 18-hole round.
Topgolf is a great place for a party, social gathering or to hang with the family, but it does not meet my criteria as a golf facility. Reminds one more of a bowling alley, than anything resembling golf.
That being said, if Topgolf can entice a junior player or a family to take the leap to visit a real golf course, then get me one of those T-Shirts, I am a TOPGOLF FAN!!
