The ClubCorp property in Farmers Branch, Texas, is ramping up the driving-range experience with the interactive amenity that debuted the week of June 18 and features putting greens, an outdoor lounge, and a full-service menu, and will be open to the public and available for event rentals. “Alternative entertainment like the Drive Zone involves golf,…
Iron Oaks GC to Reopen Under New Ownership
The owner of the Brentwood Entertainment Complex Golf Course in Beaumont, Texas is acquiring Iron Oaks, which has been closed for several months, so its 18-hole course can serve as supplemental facility to Brentwood, which has seen increased activity after other area courses closed or were damaged by Tropical Storm Harvey. While many golf courses…
Bonnie Brae GC to Shut Down After 57 Years
The club outside Greenville, S.C. posted a sign on its clubhouse door announcing that “with sadness and deep regret, we will cease operation on July 1.” The club’s ownership secured zoning for high-density residential zoning for a neighboring 67-acre parcel last year, which it then sold to a developer. After 57 years in business, the…
Topgolf-Like ‘Golf Entertainment Facility’ to Open in Sioux Falls, S.D. Next Year
The Sanford Sports Complex’s 54,000-sq. ft. Great Shots attraction, scheduled to debut in late 2019, will include a restaurant, video game-filled children’s area, meeting space, the Sanford POWER Golf Academy and an interactive driving range. The facility will be indoors and heated, and season passes will be sold. Troon will operate Great Shots’ full-service restaurant…
Renamed Gateway G&CC Expanding Amenities Under New Ownership
The formerly golf-centric property in Fort Myers, Fla., which was bought from the members for $5 million by Donald Garrett in March and is being renamed The Club at Gateway, is adding a wellness center, resort-style pool, bocce and pickleball courts and expanded dining and banquet space to complement its Tom Fazio course. “We thought…
1757 GC Introduces Launchbox Golf Hybrid Driving Range
The Dulles, Va., property is the first course in the area to overhaul part of its driving range with Toptracer technology, which was developed by Topgolf as a compliment to existing Topgolf facilities. Golfers can have food and drinks delivered from the restaurant and have more privacy in hitting bays, a potential benefit for those…
Billy Casper Golf Partners with Topgolf
Under the alliance, the golf operator will install Topgolf’s Toptracer Range platform, branded as Launchbox Golf, at select BCG facilities nationwide. The technology uses 21-inch monitors mounted in each hitting bay to display the shape of each shot, distance, ball speed, launch angle, height and more, all saved to a user’s profile. Billy Casper Golf…
Honolulu Course May Get $50M Facelift from Topgolf
Subject to approval from the Hawaii capital’s City Council as well the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources, the deal would upgrade the traditional driving range at the Ala Wai Golf Course with a high-tech facility that would offer a variety of golf-related activities. A city official estimates the update would quadruple the range’s existing annual revenues, to $2 million.
Keeping It Real
More properties are finding that by providing players with golf simulators that offer the next best thing to actually being elsewhere, they can generate tangible new revenue streams and member/guest benefits for their own locations.
Swingers Bringing “Crazy Golf” to New York Hotel
The London-based entertainment venue, which has applied the Topgolf concept to blend elaborate indoor mini-golf courses with street-food offerings and original cocktails, will open its first U.S. location in Manhattan’s new Virgin Hotel.
$29M Drive Shack Facility to be Built in New Orleans
The golf entertainment complex will be housed in the former Times-Picayune building, and is expected to open by the end of 2019. The 62,000-sq. ft. facility will include three levels with 90 driving bays facing a netted range outfitted with targets and ball tracking, a gaming lounge, corporate and group event space, a roof terrace…
Report: South Florida Golf Courses a “Risky Proposition”
With several golf courses in the process of being redeveloped as housing, including The Carolina Club in Margate, Fla., developers are looking at other options for golf course properties. Pulte Group is building 645 homes at the former Hillcrest Golf & Country Club in Hollywood, Fla., while soccer superstar David Beckham is considering transforming the Melreese Country Club…
Dairy Creek GC Plans “Topgolf-Like” Facility
As a result of drought conditions, the San Luis Obispo, Calif., property will soon transform holes 10-18 into a separate nine-hole course, and will construct a facility in which visitors can hit range balls and have table service that will be complete by September 1. Within the next 12 months, the property also plans to…
West Palm Beach (Fla.) GC to Undergo $86M Revival
Developer American Links plans to rejuvenate the municipal golf course by keeping the Dick Wilson-designed golf course largely intact, adding a Topgolf facility, and building an 80-100-room hotel or clubhouse. The developer is leasing the land for 29 years, and will cover the entire cost of the project. Developer American Links will orchestrate an $86…
Arizona Golf Facilities Focus on Fun to Broaden Appeal
Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz., and the Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Ariz., are among the golf properties attempting to attract children, families, women and friends of regular golfers through activities such as croquet tournaments, craft-beer tasting events, and free equipment rentals for children. With fewer people playing the game than…