Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Two avid golfers have opened Greenseekers, a golf simulator facility in Fairlawn.
Mark LaCaria and Clay Remington love to play golf, but they realized there was some limitation during the winter months. Thus, they decided to open the new indoor simulator as an alternative not only for but also year-round then.
“Yes, we wanted to do something for our community, and the idea of a golf simulator is perfect. We (Mark and Clay) both love to play golf, and this indoor range give us and others an alternative,” LaCaria said.
The local simulator is open to the public but must be rented ahead of time. “We will give the rental a code and they can come in and play one of over 1,800 courses. It will be accessible seven days a week.”
LaCaria is hopeful they can set up membership with golfers using the simulator on a regular basis and hope to setup leagues in the future for both beginners and experts.
So far, the response has been great.
“We don’t to replace the regular outdoor courses. We just want to complement them,” LaCaria said.
The popularity of simulated golf has surged dramatically with usage up 73 percent to pre-pandemic levels and millions of Americans using simulators in the past year.
According to the National Golf Foundation, this growth is fueled by technological advancements, making the game more accessible for year-round play and has been driven by new business models like simulator bars and professional leagues TGL golf (launched by professionals Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy), are attracting new and younger demographics to the sports.
The number of dedicated indoor golf simulator businesses like Greenseekers have grown significantly from around 200 in 2016 to nearly 1,600 by 2024.
The lower operating costs for simulators compared to traditional golf courses also makes it an attractive business model.
Of course, there are several advantages to playing inside with a simulator with the biggest being year-round play.
The Pulaski County Recreation Department has announced plans for a new 200,000 sq. ft. sports facility with its own golf simulator room.
The National Golf Federation says more than half of those individuals using the indoor facilities don’t even play traditional greens.
The golf simulator market, according to Straits Research, is expected to reach $3.38 billion by the end of 2030.
Greenseekers is located in the Radford shopping center and is only available by pre-rental via the business’ website at www.greenseekersgolfsim.com.
