The Indoor Golf Advantage

By Andrew Penner

It’s Saturday, January 8th, 2022 at the Wainwright Golf Club. A rather chilly morning; Minus 32 Celsius with a brain-numbing wind whipping out of the north. But it’s a hardy bunch in Wainwright. The “tee sheet” is booked solid. The place is packed. The crack of golf balls on metal and cold beers being cracked is reverberating around the club. It’s game on. The indoor game, that is.

Yes, thanks to a brand new indoor Virtual Golf Centre - complete with a spacious hitting bay, two Foresight simulators, a putting green, and food & beverage service - the game of golf in Wainwright has suddenly become a year-round sport.

Not surprisingly - especially when you consider all of the factors in play (more on those later) - brand new state-of-the-art indoor golf facilities are popping up all over the province. Private golf clubs, stand-alone driving ranges, bars, recreation centres, and, yes, even under-the-radar rural courses like the Wainwright Golf Club are getting in on the action.

“Having an indoor golf facility has definitely added a new dimension to our club,” says Josh Copeland, the head golf professional at the popular course located approximately 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. “All of the sudden our quiet ‘off season’ doesn’t exist anymore. The popularity of the centre has definitely exceeded our expectations.”

Obviously, the opening of an indoor facility at a traditionally closed-forwinter facility opens the door for additional revenue on a number of fronts. So, from purely a business standpoint, it can be a huge win.

“Besides the simulator bookings [the club is charging $45 per hour per simulator, regardless of how many golfers are playing], we’re now offering food and beverage service during a time of year when that revenue source was negligible. It also opens the door for lessons, golf club fittings, golf club sales, corporate events, league play, additional advertising revenue, offseason junior clinics, and so on. Having this facility certainly adds extra value to being a member as well. It’s an exciting, multi-faceted opportunity and we’re trying to take full advantage of it. Given all of the possibilities, I’m not surprised we’re seeing many indoor golf facilities opening their doors in Alberta.”

While not many rural courses in Alberta have constructed a brand new building specifically purposed for indoor golf as Wainwright did, year round facilities are popping up at many other courses. In the Calgary area, for example, Earl Grey, Mickelson National, and Heritage Pointe are just a few examples of courses that are capitalizing on the trend.

The idea of building a comprehensive indoor golf facility was certainly the vision at a brand new Calgary facility called, fittingly, Total Golf, a spacious 11,000 square-foot golf oasis that has it all covered. Five cutting-edge Foresight simulators with the most accurate launch monitors available on the market, a short game area, and multiple putting greens equipped with Puttview technology are just a few of the highlights.

Unquestionably, while the phenomenal technology that’s out there has certainly played a pivotal role in terms of the success of indoor golf centres, there are other key factors at play as well.

The main one, surprise surprise, would be COVID-19. “COVID has been double-edged for our business,” says Total Golf's owner Garrett Jenkinson. “The energy in the golf industry is unprecedented right now. However, the fear of COVID has also deterred many people from venturing out and about.”

Finally, the pandemic has definitely kiboshed the winter getaway plans of thousands of avid golfers throughout the province. But, thankfully, when it’s 32 below you can still play the game you love. Just ask the fearless folks in Wainwright!