New Age Golf

[Highdraw34]

I apoligize in advance for the lenght of this thread but I think some of you might be interested in this, especially those in the UK. I live in the DC area and an new age driving range\golfing experience has recently opened up called Top Golf. It is a high tech driving range with 11 targets setup ranging from 25 to 260 yards. Each ball has a micro chip inside it that knows your name and before you hit each ball you pass it through a machine that registers the ball as "Active" you then hit the ball at any of the green shaped targets. Each target is setup like a circular grid. The closer you get to the center of the target the more points you register. Each driving bay has a monitor in it that tells you where each ball went. To play a game you get 20 balls. After each ball is hit you get a score. The place is pretty cool. Some balls count double so it challenges you to hit different clubs on different shots. They also have wait staff that brings around drinks and food to your stall. It is kind of like a bowling alley in that respect.

Anyway, they are having a tournament on Saturday. I qualified for the tournament by getting one of the top 50 scores amongst registered entrants. On Saturday I will play a tournament style match against the other 49 competitors. The top prize wins a 7500 dollar complete golf makeover which includes new clubs, a bag, shirts, shoes and 16 rounds of golf at some great local courses. One of the drawbacks is that there is a very high reward for the 260 yard target, so it begs you to hit driver most of the time. Right now my driver is depressed and doesn't seem to function.

I bring this up because the corporation that created Top Golf has a really strong initiative to open facilities all across the country. They originally began in the UK where they have 4 locations. They plan on being in every major market within 10 years. If you see one of these places opening up in your area I suggest giving it a try. It will never replace the pure joy of real golf but it is pretty neat.

Here is the website. This isn't spam, I have no vested interest whatsoever in Top Golf I just think it is something a lot of you would find interesting. With all the latest advancement in equipment, it is kind of cool to see that the driving range has a new style.

http://www.topgolf.com/

[Pa Jayhawk]

That is pretty wild. It would be nice if they got something like that up here. I am hard pressed to even find a decent driving range. It didn't look to terribly expensive either.

[Highdraw34]

That is pretty wild. It would be nice if they got something like that up here. I am hard pressed to even find a decent driving range. It didn't look to terribly expensive either.

It really isn't very expensive. During peak hours one game is 4.75 but if you go off peak hours the games are 2 bucks. They are currently in construction in NY, NJ, Atlanta, Vegas, LA. Pretty much all over the place.

[Big Brother Dunk]

That looks very cool!

I doubt if one would ever show up around here, but I can hope.

[eclark53520]

Thought i would bring this one back from the grave(notice the posting date)

Whats the news on these things??? Have they not caught on or what? Anyone been to one? This sounds like fun...

[BigJim13]

Looks cool, actually really cool. To bad I live in a state that has nothing and wants nothing (Vermont).

[Mr Happy]

I would like to see one of these where I live, not many good ranges here in the Denver area.

[Hoggie Fan]

We have a Top Golf here in Dallas and it is a lot of fun to go out with a group of people and hit golf balls. I would say it's caught on because it's normally pretty close to full. I've had to wait for a bay to open up on a couple of occasions.

[David Hillman]

Thought i would bring this one back from the grave(notice the posting date)

Whats the news on these things??? Have they not caught on or what? Anyone been to one? This sounds like fun...

They don't seem to have caught on, still only six locations world-wide.

There's one right by office, and I went there frequently over the winter. I doubt I'll ever go back, though. The balls are absolutely horrendous, despite what they claim on the site. They knuckle and drop out of the sky like nothing else I've ever seen. There's no grass tees, and the mats are nearly non-existant, so expect to effectively hit your irons off concrete. From time-to-time, it'll be closed without notice, so if you have plans to hit one, you may be disappointed. The Range Servant machines that fill your bucket are always broken, and slower than molasses in January ( have fun waiting 5-10 minutes for your bucket to fill ). The service is abysmal, although admittedly, I didn't stop going because of that, I just stopped eating there.

The idea is great, the execution is terrible. I can see them hanging around bigger markets for a while, while they churn through golfers like me who take a couple months to sour on the place, but they aren't going to take over the world. I would only go there again out of severe desparation to hit a golf ball.

[Adam Pettman]

I've been to one here in the UK, I set the high score for under 18's (this was 2 years ago) I dont suspect it would have lasted very long because even I was disapointed with my score.

[Hackin_Away]

Man i wish they had these in michigan, thatd be awesome. I'd have to give it a try, not sure if I would score to well tho...do you get any bonus points for extreme slices...like style points? Jk, hahahahah