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Opinion & Analysis

The Future of Golf Might Not Involve Grass

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What if I told you that in the future, golf will not be played on grass? Surely you’d call me crazy, but we’re slowly approaching that reality each day.

For centuries, the golf industry has been defined by green-grass facilities, but that definition is now changing. In 2017, golf is seeing some of its fastest growth from non-green-grass segments, including golf-entertainment venues like Top Golf, training centers like Peak Golf Fitness (Washington, D.C.) and The Golf Lab (Toronto), and private clubs like Golf and Body (New York City).

Although this phenomenon is somewhat new to North America, it has been a part of international golf for decades. In Asia, because of the high level of urbanization and the expense of the game, many golfers have played literally all of their golf at driving ranges and at indoor, simulator-based golf clubs.

“In South Korea, all the ranges are two or three tiers, with 50-75 stalls at each level, much like you would see at a Top Golf,” say E.J. Kim, a Golf Digest Top 40 Under 40 instructor at Axis Golf Academy in Houston. “Golf is extremely popular, despite the fact that many players never play at a course.”

Kim says that public golf is extremely limited in South Korea. It can cost upward of $150 per round plus caddie fees. Private golf facilities have memberships that range from $200,000 to $300,000. Because of this, simulators made by Golfzon, a Korean company, have become so popular that it has grown into a billion-dollar company.

TopGolfVegas

On U.S. soil, Top Golf has created a course-free experience through multi-level ranges with built-in capabilities to play competitive games. The Top Golf website describes its goal as, “To help you create unforgettable experiences with friends and family.” It does so through interactive games that cater to golfers and non-golfers alike; all skill levels can find enjoyment from the platform.

When players are not physically hitting shots at Top Golf, they are treated to their own HDTV, live music and a multitude of food and beverage options. Instead of waiting for the foursome ahead of you to clear off the green ahead of you, imagine sitting on a couch with your feet up and a beverage in your hand. It’s a bit of a different experience altogether, but it’s one that golfers and non-golfers are gravitating toward.

In another realm, during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., I dropped by Peak Golf Fitness. The company specializes in golf fitness and performance training.

PEAK-Class-Jason-5

“When you live in an urban environment like D.C., you have so much competition for your time and attention, and with work and commute times it is difficult to get to the golf course and work on your game before it gets dark.” says owner Jason Meisch. “Peak not only simplifies the time component, it also offers our clients the best access to facilities, technologies and expertise. They know when they come they will get a great experience, see some friends, and have a chance to improve.”

Meisch also mentioned that the physical performance aspect of the game is very valuable to his clients because of these time restrictions.

“Our members can now practice and workout in one place,” Meisch said. “It gives our members greater flexibility in their lives, as well as an opportunity to improve, working on a game they love within their schedules.”

With more than half of Americans living in cities, golf is expanding outside traditional green-grass facilities and offering urban players opportunities to interact with the game. New companies are filling these voids by offering players in their markets access to top facilities loaded with the latest technology and world class experts. Are theses facilities the future of the game? Maybe not the entire future, but they’re certainly an area of growing importance. Years down the line, “playing golf” may not mean exactly the same thing it does now.

B.M. Ryan, an entrepreneur and scientist, is a passionate golfer who loves his local muni. Armed with a keen interest in the game, a large network of friends in the industry, Brendan works to find and produce unique content for GolfWRX.

28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. Peter Schmitt

    Jul 10, 2017 at 4:25 pm

    Even if this article loses me in some places, I can appreciate the spirit of the message here. Golf is a game which requires hours upon hours of devotion to even be marginally good. The majority of people in today’s society don’t have 4 to 6 hour blocks of free time on multiple days in the same week. How does golf fit in your life if you only have 20 minutes to spare here and there? The answer is debatable, but we have to agree it’s something other than a traditional round of 18 (or even 9) holes…

  2. nyguy

    Jul 7, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    Top golf is the the golf version of “bowlmor”. It’s corny.

  3. James G

    Jul 7, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Top Golf is a current trend and after a few years it will become much less trendy. It’s still relatively new right now. As for simulators, I can recall in the 80s when a driving range installed some simulators indoors for the winter and rainy days. Was busy as anything on them for the first year then it died out. Trendy things come and go.

  4. CB

    Jul 5, 2017 at 5:22 am

    Ive never seen anything like the Top Golf pic in this article but I think it looks like fun. More like an alternative to bowling than a replacement for outdoor golf.

    I also reckon this would be a great way to get more kids involved in golf.

    Are the costs similar to bowling?

  5. Art Williams

    Jul 3, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    Just another way to get non golfers into a game of near golf. Quit worrying about the number of golfers. Unless you’re trying to make your living on golf, no one cares. These new places like Top Golf are fads and we know what happens to them eventually. I remember when people thought putt putt or miniature golf was going to replace real golf. How’d that work out. Unless you’re on vacation with the family in Myrtle Beach miniature golf is a bust. So too will be Top Golf.

  6. Jack Nash

    Jul 3, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    You guys are funny. Any chance you get, “let’s throw in a pic of Tiger”. How about any other known Pro who’s actually playing golf, tossing up sprigs of grass?

  7. Robert Parsons

    Jul 3, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    This story is a complete shank.

    Sure, I want the hacks to stay at the range.

    But the day golf is no longer played on grass, I quit. Simple as that.

  8. Ron

    Jul 3, 2017 at 11:24 am

    Those who have the urge to play a round of golf will not settle for an indoor simulator, period. There is certainly a place for Top Golf in the industry and I think it’s fantastic what they’re doing. But it will never take away more than a marginal number of golfers from real courses

  9. Tourgrinder

    Jul 3, 2017 at 11:01 am

    You HAVE to know something’s seriously wrong when the game of golf and the golf industry has to look at bowling for new ideas and ways to play the game. Here’s the jist of the idea — sitting around a half-moon banquet, drinking beer and cajoling. Then every so often you stumble to your feet and hit a shot off a mat and have it recorded by computer. There are people suggesting that’s the future of golf?? Personally, I haven’t played any Topgolf, but I’ve seen it in action. It looks somewhat fun for friends and buddies on a Friday or Saturday night, but for some people (Matt Ginella at Golf Channel is another one), to suggest these kinds of ideas are all contributing to “growing the game” is ludicrous, dangerous, and just plain off the beam. I had a sick feeling when watching Caddyshack II when it came out that someday someone would look at that film and actually think Jackie Mason’s character Jack Hartounian had some very good ideas.

  10. Jack

    Jul 3, 2017 at 6:09 am

    Could happen. It’s much cheaper to maintain these facilities compared to a standard golf course. Golfzon is very accurate, but it’s still held back by that the matt you hit off of is still way too forgiving. Bunkers and rough shots are too easy as well. The plate does move to provide different lies, but you’ll never have to hit a shot where your feet are in the bunker and the ball is by your chest. Good thing is you don’t ever need to search for your ball, all the data is available to you as well. It’s easier than in real life, no doubt about it. But it’s still decent practice.

  11. Looper

    Jul 2, 2017 at 11:12 am

    Yawn…

  12. JThunder

    Jul 2, 2017 at 4:18 am

    No.

    The “future of music” isn’t karaoke either.

  13. Dat

    Jul 2, 2017 at 12:51 am

    Top Golf is fun, but not real golf. If hipster d bags want to go there and hack it up, I’m all for it. Keeps them off the real courses.

  14. WolfWRX

    Jul 1, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    If the future of the game no longer involves playing outside on a grass course whilst enjoying nature and the environment, then it’s no longer golf.

  15. SH

    Jul 1, 2017 at 7:45 pm

    Wait a second guys, realize this:

    For us real golfers who want to play on a real golf course by spending 4, 5, 6 hours or more outside on a real golf course on real grass –

    This is a great thing. It will keep the lazy hackers off the real courses for us real golfers to have to not have to deal with the hacks who would prefer to sit there and treat it like bowling guzzling jugs of beer and eating extra large pizzas getting fat and going nowhere, listening to loud music yelling at each other and having no respect for anything or anybody around them.

    So lets not mock it. For us real golfers, this is a real benefit. The short-attention-span kids will programme themselves to be even more short-attention, and won’t have any patience for the real sport on a real course that takes patience, courtesy and manners and respect to play it properly. Let them destroy themselves at these pseudo-video game venues and let’s keep them there and off our beautiful courses!

    Yeah!

    • Was

      Jul 3, 2017 at 1:29 pm

      They ain’t gonna be awake when they’re face-down in their leftover pizza after a dozen jugs of beer and, a only couple of bad swings because that’s all the exercise their fat bodies can handle

    • Steve

      Jul 4, 2017 at 5:32 pm

      Real golfers? LOL.

  16. Mat

    Jul 1, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    A better assessment here might be that industry revenue is growing much faster outside traditional courses. That’s a fact. However, it’s a bit disingenuous to say it’s “the future”. Rather, when people complain about golf as a “shrinking sport”, they would be incorrect if they included this type of growth.

  17. Grits

    Jul 1, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    Video game golf eliminates courses, clubs, walking and waiting, and is the next phase of golf development for the future.

    • setter02

      Jul 3, 2017 at 3:19 pm

      No its not, just as being a driving range pro doesn’t equate to good play actually on the course. It’s just another avenue within this industry that can’t actually replace the real thing.

  18. Matt

    Jul 1, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    To clarify, what about players outside of main centres and small countries? Our small town country club doesn’t even have a driving range or practice area other than a tiny warm up green next to the car park, and only the most obsessed player would fork out for a virtual course in their garage. On the upside, at least hitting balls (baseball, softball, golf) in a room or range is a lot more fun than treadmills, gyms and stationery bikes.

  19. Matt

    Jul 1, 2017 at 2:42 pm

    What sort of reporting is this? Shank.

  20. Em-Smizle

    Jul 1, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    More millennial bs

  21. Ward Wayne

    Jul 1, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    Golf is about the outdoors and nature, despite the problem the environment brings. TopGolf is fun but it is just practice. Despite my recent round with some uneven tee boxes, horrible lies in the fairway, bunkers with a mixture of hard and soft sand with small rocks and pebbles, leaves all over the green and the bug that few in my face when I was about to putt my par save … it is all part of the game!

  22. Bruce Ferguson

    Jul 1, 2017 at 11:16 am

    Although Top Golf and indoor venues are fun, nothing can replace being outdoors for me. Hopefully, urban sprawl and economics don’t deny outdoor course play for future generations.

  23. Philip

    Jul 1, 2017 at 9:59 am

    What is the point of it then – might as well attach yourself to some VR glasses, guzzle beer and be just like the pros without hardly any effort. Or maybe show your moves on some VR downhill boarding with a real board attached to a simulator (with cushioning all around in case you wipe out on the virtual mountain) … don’t even have to worry about the cold … can wear shorts.

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Opinion & Analysis

The 2 primary challenges golf equipment companies face

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As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!

Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.

Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.

One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?

Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.

Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.

Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”

For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…

Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.

Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…

That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.

@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic

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Podcasts

Fore Love of Golf: Introducing a new club concept

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Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!

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Opinion & Analysis

On Scottie Scheffler wondering ‘What’s the point of winning?’

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Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.

 

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“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”

Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.

That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.

As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.

I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.

One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.

The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.

If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.

Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.

As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.

It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.

David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.

In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:

“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”

Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

Eventually, though, something shifts.

We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.

Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.

Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.

Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.

So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.

I see someone evolving.

He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.

It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.

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