Michigan Golf Journal October 2019

So, how much runway is ƚŚĞƌĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŽīͲĐŽƵƌƐĞ ĨĂĐŝůŝƟĞƐ͍ That remains to be seen, says ClubCorp CEO David Pillsbury, who announced a joint venture with BigShots Golf in last year. BigShots is another entrant in the golf-entertainment space, ŽīĞƌŝŶŐ ĨƌĞĞͲƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ outdoor franchises along with an indoor franchise product that can be installed as a single ͞ƚĞĞ ďŽdž͟ Žƌ ĂƐ ŵƵůƟƉůĞ units in bars, malls and other retail venues. Like Topgolf, it provides new- age technology (Doppler radar shot-tracking) along with full-service food and ďĞǀĞƌĂŐĞ ŽƉƟŽŶƐ͕ ƐƉŽƌƚƐ bars, music and televisions, and private event space. “I don’t think that anybody really knows yet what the demographic formula is that correlates ƚŽ Ă ƐĂƚƵƌĂƟŽŶ ƉŽŝŶƚ͕͟ ƐĂLJƐ Pillsbury. “We’re going ƚŽ ĮŶĚ ŽƵƚ ŚĞƌĞ ŽǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ next few years what that looks like. Having said that, I think there’s plenty of room. As long as it’s fun, it’s entertainment, it’s fast, casual dining and an entertainment environment… it’s good for the game.” Topgolf and BigShots are joined in the golf- entertainment space by ƌŝǀĞ ^ŚĂĐŬ͕ &ůLJŝŶŐ dĞĞ and a growing number of regional imitators. Commercial simulator businesses are popping ƵƉ ŝŶ ĐŝƟĞƐ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ ƚŚĞ country and throughout ŽŶƟŶƵĞƐ ŽŶ ŶĞdžƚ ƉĂŐĞ хх 33 October 2019 ǁǁǁ͘ŵŝĐŚŝŐĂŶŐŽůłŽƵƌŶĂů͘ĐŽŵ