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Tee Box opened its membership-based training facility in Granger with Trackman simulator bays, putting greens and a full gym, and it is capping membership at 200 so the bays stay bookable. Owner Russell Cramer has a PGA pro on staff and lets members bring three guests per visit.
New venues open for play
Spot CheckThe Bunker's eighth Upstate New York location takes over the former Recovery Room at 5270 Willow Place, right across from Turning Stone Resort Casino, close enough that the resort's guest shuttle will stop there. Bays run $60 to $100 an hour, and founder Troy Miller says the simulators are loaded with kids' games too.
Spot CheckGrounds and Greens pairs espresso and baked goods with golf simulator bays at 120 W. Highland Road in Howell's Crossroads Town Center, where co-owners Justin Czarnowski and Ali Abdallah held a soft opening October 7. There's a private room for events on the golf side too.
Spot CheckThe Back Nine opens October 19 at 2815 W. Lake Houston Parkway in Kingwood with 24/7 access to public and private simulator bays, and a grand opening to follow in November. Owner Rooter Chandler is still offering founding memberships that lock in a 20% discount for life.
Spot CheckThe Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon on Mulligans 19, an indoor golf simulator and entertainment lounge at 1109 Military Avenue. Cherokee County golfers finally have somewhere to swing when the Kansas wind turns mean.
Spot CheckSun Dog Downtown Clubhouse opened at 28 Main Street as downtown Cortland's first indoor golf simulator bar and restaurant, with three Trackman bays, live music and a grand opening weekend that ran October 15 through 17. Owner Chris Merkley is keeping it year-round with no membership required: walk in, book a bay, order dinner.
Announced, not yet open
Spot CheckGolfTRK's Houston-area expansion continues with a Clear Lake location at 2323 Clear Lake City Blvd. in the Bay Pointe Shopping Center, expected by early 2027. Franchisee Jose Rodriguez is betting on a neighborhood thick with golf: Bay Oaks Country Club sits inside the community and a half-dozen more courses are within seven miles.
Spot CheckThe Turn Indoor Golf Club is fitting out 3,000 square feet of the old Dodd Camera space at Austin Landing with four lounge-style Trackman iO bays, 24/7 member access and a PuttView projected putting mat slated for 2027. Owner Joshua Alexander plans a December 15 soft opening, with the public welcome by New Year's Day.
Spot CheckLinx Golf Bar is aiming for mid-November at 101 S Main St. in Wildwood, minutes from The Villages, with three simulator bays, a 9-hole mini golf course and a rooftop bar. Owner Bryan Caracciolo already has a second location in the works for Ocala, FL in the new year.
Spot CheckThe Town of Chenango Planning Board unanimously approved Apex Golf Foundry, a 25,000-square-foot buildout of the former Ames store at Northgate Plaza with eight simulator bays, an 80-by-50-foot chipping and putting area and a Crow's Nest bar pouring Beer Tree brews. Partner Grant Gulick will make golf equipment on site, hence the foundry, with opening targeted for January or February.
Spot CheckAnthony Knapton has asked Sheboygan's Plan Commission for a conditional use permit to turn the former Longhouse Axe Bar at 1133 Indiana Avenue into Radry's Golf & Social Club, a membership spot with two simulators, coworking space, a lounge and a small art gallery. About $85,000 is already in the project, and the Common Council still has to sign off.
Spot CheckA liquor license filing puts The Wayman at 1015 W Wayman St. in Chicago's Fulton Market, with simulators and a putting green on the first floor, a clubhouse lounge and coworking above, and a rooftop restaurant planned. No opening date yet; the owners are not talking, but the buildout is underway.
Spot CheckThe Golf Crypt will open its newest franchise at 33334 U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor, with a grand opening November 6 through 8 and Trackman simulators carrying more than 475 courses in a 24/7 members format. Co-owners Brenda and Matt Sandonato join a network that already covers Florida's Gold Coast and Treasure Coast.
Spot CheckA 15,000-square-foot commercial development going vertical at Bees Ferry Road and Glenn McConnell Parkway in Charleston's West Ashley area has a golf simulator group signed for one of its five spaces, alongside a biergarten, a Mexican grill and a dental office. Developer SL Shaw expects tenants to be operating in the second half of 2027.
Brand and franchise moves
Spot CheckFive Iron Golf will plant its first Qatar flag at the InterContinental Doha Beach & Spa in early 2027: eight Trackman bays, a sports bar and an outdoor terrace in roughly 800 square meters. It's the brand's fifth Middle East location, with Abu Dhabi opening October 23 and more than 50 venues now running across seven countries.
Spot CheckUneekor and GSPro rolled their products into one membership starting at $299, pairing GSPro's course library with Uneekor's AI Trainer for real-time swing feedback mid-round, up to $250 a year cheaper than buying separately. A deeper integration that launches GSPro straight from the Uneekor Launcher is coming next.
Spot CheckX-Golf America bought its Hilton Head Island franchise back from the previous owner and reopens it as a corporate store at Tanger Outlets 2, with upgraded simulators, a refreshed menu and access to the national X-League. The grand reopening party on October 23 runs free hourly closest-to-the-pin and long-drive contests, each paying a $100 gift card.
Rapsodo launches MLM2XPRO and Rapsodo Studios simulation software
Spot CheckRapsodo's new $899.99 MLM2XPRO launch monitor pairs Doppler radar with dual cameras for 15 metrics a swing, and the new Rapsodo Studios software finally lets you putt out in simulation, a first for the brand. Studios opens with 25 courses in 4K, and the unit also plays with GSPro, E6 and Awesome Golf.
Pellucid October Perspective analyzes simulator golf sector economics
Spot CheckPellucid's October Perspective says the simulator sector's math generally pencils out, with Stuart Lindsay's Part II arguing the utilization rate a sim venue needs to survive is lower than most operators assume. Packed outdoor tee sheets are pushing overflow golfers indoors in some markets, which doesn't hurt either.
Briefly noted
Spot CheckU.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar came by to recognize Pinseeker Golf Lounge after the new golf simulator venue opened in Laredo. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the neighborhood.
Spot CheckDick's Sporting Goods opened a Golf Galaxy Performance Center in the Christiana Town Center on October 16, with TrackMan hitting bays, a putting green, PGA-pro lessons and full club fitting and repair. It replaces the old Golf Galaxy a few miles away in Stanton, DE.
Spot CheckThe Minot Junior Golf Association added three simulator bays and 2,500 square feet of putting space to The Bunker, its indoor facility, after junior rounds nearly tripled in two and a half years. Programming director Parker Bartels says 160 kids are signed up for two nights a week this winter, up from 104 last year.
Spot Check2nd Swing is growing its Columbia store by 8,802 square feet, about 60%, to fit six TrackMan-powered Tour Van fitting bays, with the new space working by the end of October and 10 hires bringing staff to about 55. Seven years in, it's still the retailer's only Maryland location.
Spot CheckTapped Social opened at 2900 Grand Avenue in downtown Everett with scratch-made Italian comfort food, sixteen taps, pool, darts and a golf simulator that books from $30 an hour. It's the latest spot from The Way Group Hospitality, which also runs Tapped Public House and the Net Shed on the waterfront.
Spot CheckPutts N Pints has revived Albuquerque's 50-year-old Putt-Putt site after roughly half a million dollars of renovation, keeping the classic putting courses and adding a bar, a full kitchen and a reservable golf simulator in the back. A grand opening is expected by the end of October.
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The Wire is produced with AI assistance under a human editor. Each week, stories about the U.S. indoor golf industry are gathered from public news sources. Before an edition publishes, every story is read in full and checked against the outlet that reported it, sponsored content and stories we cannot verify are cut, and the editor reviews and approves the finished issue. The original source is linked on every story so you can check our work.
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