Swinging Through The Winter: Inside the World of DC Indoor Golf Simulator
Golf is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, but there is one issue: it can only be played during part of the year. Since Golf is an outdoor sport that requires nice weather, this only gives a little over half the year for golfers to enjoy their sport (especially in the Northeast). The solution to this problem is indoor golf simulation establishments such as DC Indoor Golf in Poughkeepsie, NY.
While many golfers use the offseason to improve their game at driving ranges or even take breaks there are still those itches to get out there and play 9 or 18 holes, that the driving range can't satisfy. Many people, even enjoy playing at the golf sim more than on actual courses according to feedback from DC Indoor Golf owner Dan Pizzarelli.
“There's a lot of [positive] feedback from people that come here. They say they have a great time because they’re coming with three or four of their friends and hanging out for three hours, drinking/eating, watching/playing golf, and got a TV on with various sports on. It's a three hour thing, not a drawn out eight hour process like outside.”
The popularity of the golf simulator at DC Indoor Golf has even led to owner Dan Pizzarelli hosting weekend tournaments almost every week.
“The fundraisers are mostly done by people reaching out to me, they create a flier and a social media page, and we kinda boost it all over the place [for the tournaments].”
These fundraisers/tournaments hosted by various foundations help bring some competition and enjoyment to golfer’s weekends during the “offseason”. The tournaments help out Pizzarelli’s business and in a sense create a community of golfers that frequent DC Indoor Golf.
“It benefits our business because it [the tournaments] brings new people in. Lets say one of the guys are a regular here, but they bring three friends here as a starting point and maybe things like that, friends of friends is our best option.”
In bringing in their regulars for the tournaments, and those people bringing in their friends, a real sense of community can be formed quickly amongst the golfers at the simulator.
After talking to a couple golfers, it appeared to be a common theme that because of the accessibility it makes it a lot easier to get a group of guys to golf together.
“You know since the weather has no impact on us golfing inside, it really just comes down to the group lining up our schedules. The golf sim has really grown on me, you know it is the same price as the driving range but more fun so why not.” said customer Christian Pritzlaff.
DC Indoor Golf in Poughkeepsie is open until the end of March when Golf season officially begins. Whether you are going for some practice before hitting the golf course, having some fun with friends, or looking to participate in one of the weekend tournaments that are open to the public, DC Indoor Golf is the place to go.
