{"id":2449,"date":"2018-03-19T13:27:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T13:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/?p=2449"},"modified":"2018-03-19T17:22:48","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T17:22:48","slug":"a-return-visit-to-austins-topgolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/golf\/instruction\/2449\/a-return-visit-to-austins-topgolf","title":{"rendered":"A return visit to Austin’s Topgolf"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Austin's<\/a>

Austin’s Topgolf location<\/p><\/div>\n

This week is one of my favorite weeks to watch golf on television. It\u2019s the week of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in Texas. I relish it for several reasons: 1) I love watching match play and its inevitable surprises, twists and turns; 2) I love watching it being played at Austin CC, a tough but fair Pete Dye design that I\u2019ve been fortunate to have played on several occasions. (Yes, it lowered its guest criteria); and 3) I love seeing Austin, a thriving and busy city widely known for its music, food, art and varied outdoors recreational outlets. And yes, it\u2019s the state capital, home to the University of Texas and a host of high tech companies like Dell and Apple and HP.<\/p>\n

Over the last several winters, I\u2019ve traveled to Austin to escape the Michigan winter and visit family that\u2019s wisely relocated there. Along with the joys of playing some golf and hitting the practice range, I\u2019ve also visited Austin\u2019s Topgolf facility. As most of you know, Topgolf is a phenomenal success as a business and as a golf outlet. Fortunately, Michigan will have its first full-fledged location open later this season in Auburn Hills. I\u2019m confident it will be a big hit if it\u2019s run and managed like the one in Austin. And for those few poor souls unfamiliar with Topgolf, the best way to describe it is a hip, cool driving range and entertainment center on steroids for the 21st century. And definitely, the emphasis is on entertainment.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Topgolf\u2019s 40 locations nationally attracted over 13 million guests and over 671 million golf balls were hit. Although figures for the Austin outlet were not available, it\u2019s safe to say it\u2019s one of Topgolf\u2019s busiest locations.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The targets nicely collect shots<\/p><\/div>\n

Last year, I experienced Topgolf for the first time. Joined by my family\u2014 which included my six-year-old granddaughter\u2014we all had a grand time. The facility was efficiently run and customer service was spot on. As noted last year, I especially admired how the target greens were designed to collect shots hit near them so even my granddaughter\u2019s mishits \u201cscored\u201d some points on our monitor. The hour or so we spent flew by and as we left we talked about a return visit, including our youngest fan of Topgolf.<\/p>\n

Last month, we paid that eagerly awaited return visit. We went on a Sunday afternoon and the place was bustling with each of the 100 bays booked. Last year, we were on the second deck above the main floor and it offered a nice view of the expansive range. However, we were somewhat skittish whenever my granddaughter had her turn to hit. Although there\u2019s safety netting in front of the teeing area, wary adults still think about the drop off. This year our bay was on the main floor and it provided no such parental angst.<\/p>\n

As I did last year, I took special note of the clientele. There\u2019s definitely a diverse group of golfers enjoying themselves as seen by their nice swings and sound fundamentals. But once again, Topgolf\u2019s sizable entertainment assets attract a high percentage of non-golfers. Paraphrasing Cyndi Lauper, they just wanna have fun. In fact, Topgolf reported that over a third of its customers are non-golfers.<\/p>\n

Wylie Manson, the marketing manager at Austin\u2019s Topgolf, says \u201cTopgolf is evolving from a place to a lifestyle.\u201d He says the facility is being used \u201cto celebrate everything from life-changing moments that matter to just another Wednesday.\u201d Or in our case, just another Sunday.<\/p>\n

Our experience lasted a little over an hour and included some beverages and appetizers savored between our respective turns hitting shots. My granddaughter liked how her drives resulted in points being automatically calculated under her name on the monitor. She also liked her french fries just as much.<\/p>\n

The Topgolf experience and success story always beg the question of whether or not it will lead to increased business and rounds at regular golf courses or will it supplant regular golf for this high-tech, entertaining version. Industry observer Jim Dunlap argues that traditional golf has too many barriers for new and existing customers. He talks about the \u201ctotal time commitment\u201d posed by traditional golf\u2014the time invested traveling to and from a course, the playing time, and the 19th hole. Dunlap says an 18-hole golf outing may require a total time commitment of six to seven hours. Such an allotment of time might be readily available to seniors and retirees but not young adults and those with families.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s definitely some valid concerns with Dunlap\u2019s time analysis. However, the renewed interest in playing nine holes (or less) is always an option. Nine-hole golf leagues remain attractive because they require less time while being highly social. And travel will always be part of any recreational or social event\u2014whether it be going to a park or to a movie. However, Topgolf\u2019s attractive food and beverage offerings and its sports bar atmosphere\u2014that can be partaken rain or shine\u2014are competitive advantages. Its technology gives it an important edge, too.<\/p>\n

Manson says \u201ctechnology enables us to continuously refresh how we engage and connect fans in personal, innovative and surprising new ways \u2013 both inside and outside the venue.\u201d He adds: \u201cToptracer is a great example. This revolutionary ball tracking technology is being integrated not only into venues but golf courses throughout the United States.\u201d Toptracer is the re-branded name of Protracer, the Swedish company Topgolf acquired in 2016 after it became such a big hit on golf telecasts capturing and tracking ball flights in PGA Tour tournaments.<\/p>\n

Suffice to say Topgolf is not a passing fad like those elaborate miniature golf courses that popped up in the \u201880s. It\u2019s taken the best aspects of golf\u2014the experience of watching a well-struck ball in flight\u2014and added its refreshing slants on driving ranges, bowling alleys, video games, all in a sports bar setting.<\/p>\n

No matter what your thoughts on the enterprise and how it effects traditional golf, one can\u2019t argue about its success or its drawing power for millennials.<\/p>\n

And as my granddaughter will attest, the french fries are delicious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week is one of my favorite weeks to watch golf on television. It\u2019s the week of the World Golf… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":2450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,18],"tags":[2832,1036836,999003,3461,238315,1013104,1013105,1013106],"class_list":["post-2449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-instruction","category-lifestyle","tag-terry-moore","tag-pga-tour","tag-austin-country-club","tag-austin","tag-topgolf","tag-dell-technologies-match-play","tag-toptracer","tag-wylie-manson"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2018\/03\/topgolf-exterior-dusk-Austin400-e1521480149257.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2454,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449\/revisions\/2454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}