Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | March 18, 2024 | wbjournal.com F O C U S G O L F, M E E T I N G S , A N D T O U R I S M G U I D E 202 Brigham St., Northborough, MA • 508-393-2444 For Tee Times: www.juniperhillgc.com Juniper Hill Golf Course Celebrating 90 Years of Golf • Friendly Atmosphere • Two well groomed, established courses • No membership fee • Excellent meeting facilities • 36 Challenging Holes • Top 10 Public Golf Course in Massachusetts • Golf Teaching Center Call us at 508-351-9500 Give the gift of golf Gift certificates for golf, lunch, lessons and equipment are available in the Pro Shop 508-393-2444 Outings & Functions 3 to 300 guests in a variety of settings Appeal to players Golf simulator businesses appeal to casual players with food, drinks, and even other entertainment to enjoy while waiting for their turn, but other compa- nies are more focused on the serious side of the game. Daniel Boisvert, a golf performance coach and owner of Pin High Golf in North Graon, said he's been using the Trackman brand golf simulator with his clients for about 12 years. He can bring it with him to help clients he works with at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord or people can come to his location to practice. e system tracks details of a players' movements, allowing Boisvert to work with them on tweaks to improve their performance. "It puts numbers and degrees behind everything a golfer does," he said. at's especially important for junior golfers who want to show their stuff for colleges. Trackman pro- vides them with combine scores used to evaluate their performances, and the information can be shared with college coaches. A number of different brands offer golf simulator systems, but all of them provide a realistic experience and a way to quantify a player's performance. Like Boisvert, Jason omas has been in the golf simulator game for some time, though more on the en- tertainment side. He and business partners Jim Moses and Dan Moses opened Dr. Greens Indoor Golf Center in Ashland seven years ago aer playing in a winter league at a simulator golf place in Westborough. en, just over a year ago, they also took over that very Westborough location, FORE! Golf Entertain- ment, when the previous owners decided they were ready to move on. Both businesses have a full bar and food options, as well as other attractions like big-screen TVs and billiards. Dr. Greens and FORE! offer the chance for people to play in leagues and provide a space for corporate events and private parties where people can combine golf with food, drink, and conversation. "It's trying to create an atmosphere for golfers to keep playing throughout the year," omas said. "It's really trying to mimic the experience they get outdoors, except indoors. Obviously, it slows down once golf courses open, so there's a season- ality to it." Post-COVID increase e success of virtual golf over the last five years seems to be an outgrowth of a general jump in enthusiasm for the game while people were social-distancing during the first year of the COVID pandemic, omas said. "Even before Covid, we were seeing pretty con- sistent growth," he said. "But then aer COVID, the golf industry in general grew, so our business definitely saw a pretty dramatic increase." e virtual golf systems offer a range of expe- riences, omas said. ey include simulations of famous courses like St. Andrews in Scotland or Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, making a world-class experience available to all. For more casual players, there are just-for-fun games like virtual beer pong played with a golf ball. e businesses have golf clubs for rent, though omas said 90% of players bring their own. Along with stand-alone businesses and golf courses, another market for golf simulators is individual players. Boisvert said some of his clients have installed them at their own homes, which sometimes requires a renova- tion or the repurposing of a garage. "e tough thing is having a clearance height with the ceilings," he said. "But people get pretty creative." Continued from previous page The Pin High Golf simulator in North Grafton enables Daniel Boisvert to adjust players' swings. W

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