Topgolf Opens Golf Course, Driving Range in El Segundo, California

Topgolf Entertainment Group has opened a new 10-hole par 3 golf course and 102-bay driving range in El Segundo, Calif. It is Topgolf’s second facility in the Southern California area. “People are going to be coming from everywhere to partake in this,” says Darrell George, El Segundo’s interim City Manager.

Topgolf now has a new golf course and driving range in El Segundo, Calif., the Daily Breeze reported.

Topgolf Entertainment Group, which operates more than 70 locations worldwide, has opened its second Southern California spot on 26.5 acres formerly operated by the Lakes at El Segundo golf course, the Daily Breeze reported. The revamped grounds has a redesigned lighted, 10-hole, par 3 golf course, a bar and restaurant, 102 all-weather hitting bays over three floors and community event and meeting spaces.

Topgolf El Segundo opened to the public on April 15.

Topgolf is “revitalizing an older amenity with all the latest and greatest technology,” interim City Manager Darrell George told the Daily Breeze, “creating a whole new energetic atmosphere” compared to a traditional golf course.

“People are going to be coming from everywhere to partake in this,” George added. The venue is “attracting a much broader base of persons looking for entertainment and sports outings” to El Segundo.

El Segundo entered into exclusive negotiations with Topgolf in 2018 as the city sought to redevelop the Lakes at El Segundo, which it owns, the Daily Breeze reported.

The City Council officially approved plans for the facility in fall 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed work on the facility until early last year, the Daily Breeze reported. Demolition of the former facility finished in early 2021 and officials held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony in April of that year.

To allow for the project, El Segundo leased the space to retail development company CenterCal Properties, which then subleased it to Topgolf, the Daily Breeze reported. CenterCal also loaned the company around $35 million for the redevelopment; it had cost Topgolf at least $40 million for construction and improvements.

While some members of the community initially pushed back on bringing in Topgolf — concerned with how it would alter the golf course’s and community’s character — city officials touted the benefits to El Segundo, the Daily Breeze reported.

The new venue will bring the city several million dollars per year, Mayor Drew Boyles told the Daily Breeze, and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the town annually.

The community, officials have said, could see more than 500 new permanent jobs, most of which would be full-time positions with benefits.

“Topgolf will provide a needed amenity in the business and hospitality sectors,” Pimentel said, “be a significant source of revenue to our recreation and parks, as well as anchor our pension funding strategy.”

El Segundo, according to officials, will make $100 million over the 50-year lease, the Daily Breeze reported.

The El Segundo course will mark the second Topgolf facility in the region. Last month, the company opened Topgolf Ontario, in San Bernardino County, the Daily Breeze reported. The Ontario location is Topgolf’s 75th overall and third in California, after ones in San Jose and Roseville, according to a March press release from the company.

Balls at the Topgolf facility will be microchipped with tracking technology to be hit toward arcade-like targets that incorporate games like “Angry Birds,” the Daily Breeze reported.
Each hole on the redone course has a quirky name, with hidden gems throughout the course.

The 10th hole also has the tracking technology, allowing players to follow their shots in a similar fashion to what they’d see while watching professional golf on television, the Daily Breeze reported.

The facility will also boast “seasonal chef-driven menu items, top-shelf drinks, music and year-round programming for all ages,” according to a previous Topgolf press release.

“It’s really more family fun than just the serious golfers coming out,” George said. “It’s a total entertainment experience.”