for a family recreation option

HOLE IN ONEA for Family FunBy: Kelley White

MASON INDOOR GOLF FULFILLS DEKALB’S NEED FOR A FAMILY RECREATION OPTION

Jim Mason, a prominent business owner and artful entrepreneur in DeKalb County, draws up another success in Mason Indoor Golf Family Fun Center, an indoor extravaganza of all-American delights. The facility offers patrons a mix of sports, family fun, drinks, and good times. Mason, along with his business manager Sarah Whiting, discusses his newest investment in the DeKalb community and the future for Mason Indoor Golf in the fabric of DeKalb’s family entertainment tableau. For decades, Mason has built and designed his own businesses in the DeKalb area (and beyond) from the ground up, often branching out to create a name in all of his passions. “I’ve been a talk show host for the last five to six years, I had JCM leasing – a Part 135 operation where I flew politicians and corporate people around in my three turbo prop jets out of DeKalb airport,” he said. “I owned a car rental enterprise for three to four years, and I’ve had three yachts that I leased out at my Shady Banks Resort in Fort Lauderdale.” Mason also owns two mega laundromats out of West Chicago and DeKalb. He has an impressive arsenal of business ventures, with these representing just a few examples of what he has been capable of over the decades of his career. Why indoor golf? It’s simple. Mason has a desire to invest in the DeKalb community and its families. “When you invest in your community, you’re helping yourself as you help other people,” Mason said. “Sarah and I do everything we can to do business the right way locally. I’m the largest private property taxpayer in the county, and we do everything we can to do business here in town.” He also attributes the direction of his latest enterprise to the fact that he loves to play golf.

As a capitalist, Mason believes in traditional values as the basis for his business ventures: service, quality, creativity, and entrepreneurship. “Quality is everything. Ten to 20 years ago, people took it for granted, but they don’t take it for granted anymore,” he said. Mason recognizes change on the horizon, adapting his businesses to better suit the community needs. “We’ve got a lot of new things happening here in DeKalb. People are coming from all over to live here, and there’s a renaissance going on in the community. There’s a massive exodus out of the Cook County area, and people are coming here because the quality of life is better in DeKalb than most places.” As families make their exit away from city and settle in areas like DeKalb, they will be looking for amenities and activities to experience together. Whiting points out DeKalb’s lack of family entertainment centers and why the community needed Mason Indoor Golf as an option. “DeKalb doesn’t have a lot of family things to do, so we wanted to try and do something in town,” Whiting said. “We can do banquets here. We have five full swing bays that do golf, but they also have simulated basketball, football, zombie dodgeball, and 13 other sports as well as laser shooting. That’s where the family fun center comes into it. We don’t really have another place like that in town, that families can come to and enjoy their time together.” The full swing bays also include baseball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and carnival games. Mason Indoor Golf opened in November 2020, ultimately weathering the pandemic that hampered many businesses. Again, Mason correctly anticipated what the DeKalb community was looking for. “After the pandemic, people wanted to be outside,” Mason said. “A lot of the grade schools and the high schools pushed their sports into the summer, so everyone was playing outside in the summertime and then COVID hit again.” When the cold started to set in, and school-aged children had nothing to do, they realized they could fulfill their love of sports and teamwork at Mason’s facility.

MASON INDOOR GOLF

1500 Sycamore Rd., DeKalb 815-517-1372 www.masonindoorgolf.com MasonIndoorGolf@gmail.com

Brimming with a wide variety of sports to play on giant screens, Mason Indoor Golf is a world apart from other facilities of its kind. “This facility is good for people 5 to 105 years old,” Mason said. “There’s a game for everybody. When you go online and look at it, we have two golf carts in front of each screen. The screens are 16 feet wide, 8 to 10 feet high, and the little kids can grab the steering wheel and bounce up and down while mom and dad are playing golf. Male, female, kids – there’s something here for everybody, and we have all the bases covered.” Another offering Mason mentioned is laser guns for shooting targets and clays for target practice. He said all of the activities and sports eventually will develop into leagues. Mason advises customers to make reservations due to the surge in popularity as more and more people find out about this unique facility. After so much success in its early stages, Mason Indoor Golf continues to grow, now offering banquets and company outings. Mason hopes to be open 24 hours a day in the future to accommodate the interest he has seen so far in the community. One of the most exciting collaborations Mason talks about is a partnership with Texas Roadhouse. Mason took notice of the elongated wait times for food and tables at the restaurant and proposed they work together to create a collaborative business venture. “I’ve made an offer, and they have accepted it,” Mason said. “I’m going to let people order food, deliver it to my place at a pre-designated time, and they can eat the food at my place that Texas Roadhouse sends down while playing games and having drinks. Play my games, drink my drinks, and you can also have Texas Roadhouse.” “The sky is the limit,” Mason said. “We have it all.”

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