Anthony Germano got into golf in college because he needed a school credit. Having never played golf before, he entered, literally, into a whole new world.
He worked at Callaway when he was 18 years old and wanted to get into the indoor golf simulator business space early in the 2010s. But at the time, none of the professional golf simulators on the market sufficed his passion. Fast forward a few years later, he saw GOLFZON, which opened its North America business in 2015.
Discovering the GOLFZON Simulator Experience
I really wanted to focus on the experiential side of indoor golf and there’s nothing like a GOLFZON simulator. I’ve played on pretty much every golf simulator available that’s out there and nothing comes close.
After researching the market and the technology behind different premium golf simulators, he encountered GOLFZON’s Vision Premium simulator which wowed him initially.
“I had actually played on an X-Golf before but it left a little bit to be desired in my opinion,” he said. “And then playing on the GOLFZON golf simulator, the experience was totally different and as they progressed with the newer models, it just kept getting better and better.”
The Technology Behind the GOLFZON TwoVisionNX
Enter GOLFZON’s TwoVisionNX, a professional indoor golf simulator and one of the best commercial golf simulators available today. It features a motion plate that moves in 64 different directions, resulting in 56,000 possible lies, creating a realistic golf simulator with moving floor experience.
It also includes an auto-tee so a user never has to bend down to set up, and advanced screen golf network play, which can connect thousands of people at once to play live with or against each other. The bells and whistles of the GOLFZON sim are endless.
He also listed weight sensor technology and advanced data analytics as a huge plus of having the TwoVisionNX golf simulator, as it allows them to do club fitting. Because the GOLFZON launch monitor system is camera sensor based rather than radar, it provides extremely accurate numbers for golfers using the golf monitor simulator.
Advice for Starting an Indoor Golf Simulator Business
“Don’t be shy to spend the money and get a GOLFZON sim,” Germano said when asked what tip he would give to someone who is thinking about starting an indoor golf business or opening a golf simulator business.
“Nobody asked me to say that! I’m just saying it’s the best move we ever made. People come in and they’re blown away by the experience.”
I’ve had so many people that play a couple of rounds on GOLFZON simulators and then they say that they can’t go back to any of the other units. They’ve just been so spoiled on one of these that they don’t ever want to try another brand.
Building a 24/7 Indoor Golf Community
At Jackson’s Golf sit two GOLFZON TwoVisionNX indoor golf simulators, one with the full motion plate and another with dual plate. Open 24/7, Jackson’s Golf sees users come in at every hour of the day to play screen golf.
Sure, there was initial worry about not having a staff on site or people taking advantage of bringing in guests or passing their key fob to someone who’s not a member. But the concerns disappeared immediately after talking with industry partners who have experience in the golf simulator business model, and as Germano said, they “got a pretty good, steady, model going right now.”
Also doesn’t hurt that he can come in anytime of the day and year to get some swings in on the GOLFZON simulator.
Indoor Golf Creating Community
“I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve come in at 11:30 at night and paired up with guys who were already here and had no intention of doing that before I showed up,” he said.
“It’s a fun thing to see other people creating those types of relationships too. The sense of community here is pretty strong.”
Facilities like Jackson’s Golf show how starting a golf simulator business with GOLFZON premium golf simulators can create not only a successful indoor golf simulator business, but also a strong local golf community.