Is There A Future For Top Golf?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- Podcast Special - Is There A Future For Top Golf?
Following up on a viral post (nearly 2 million views and near as many insults) talking about the perilous times for Top Golf, Bill Hobson is following up on the recent news that Callaway is looking to move Top Golf off its books - and stop the cash flow bleeding.
Joined by Ryan Ballengee from Golf News Net, we look at the problems and potential solutions for Top Golf.
---
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL FOR MORE GREAT GOLF CONTENT
LISTEN TO THE FORE GOLFERS NETWORK PODCAST EVERY WEEK ACROSS ALL PODCAST PLATFORMS!
Totally agree with you - as an avid golfer went there a couple of times when it first opened up had a great time / was intrigued by the tech but after spending a crazy amount of money over a couple of hours $250 ish, realized the game element was kind of silly from a golf perspective and have never been back. I’ve heard this same story from about 6 of my friends that have experienced it. Needs to be effectively free golf with $xxx of food and bev purchased. Then it becomes overpriced food that effectively comes with free entertainment.
Same here. I've been twice and really have no interest going back. I'd much rather play a round of golf.
I have only heard one complaint concerning Top Golf. It comes from anyone who has been there. Price. No complaints of service, wait times or food. Just price. As companies rarely listen to their patrons(evidenced by the number of businesses that fail) the business will slowly fade away. Every company that fails has a management team who believes that are doing everything correctly.
Prices at top golf are absolutely INSANE.
I’m only year three into golf. After my first year I put a golf sim in my garage. Started with the Garmin R10. Just upgraded this past January to the Skytrak+. In a months time, it paid for itself twice over using it four hours a day. I did it because a local golf dome charges 50/hr to use Toptracer. I did the math long ago and said if I’m taking this serious, then I’ll just spend the money and put a sim in my garage. Best move I’ve ever done. I rarely play on courses on the sim, I work on my irons and short game.
Now if I had 100K to invest in something, I wouldn’t dive into anything at the moment as I see the businesses you mentioned start to thin out within the next ten years. Theaters included! Top Golf reminds me of blockbuster. They probably thought they’d last forever. Netflix and other streaming platforms said hold my beer!🤣
Blockbuster had video streaming before any of the other companies. Netflix didn't start streaming for another 5 years after Blockbuster.
I have a TopGolf just 2 miles from my house. I’ve been there once and it was $60 for an hour and some sodas. But as golf enthusiast I have no use for TopGolf. I’d rather go to the range and putt and chip as well. It’s not golf it’s entertainment.
I have been to Top Golf and have used it to work on my game. I agree with your criticism of Top Golf as far as the expense...it cost me $200 for two hours with my grandson....no alcohol purchased! These venues need a simulator room, six hole course, short game practice area, and club fitting and sales. A company like Golfzon (Korean company) could buy them and make them into a place that would attract both experienced golfers and those trying the game for the first time. Making a golf place like a bowling alley was the first mistake because hitting a golf ball with a club is infinitely more difficult than rolling a bowling ball...especially after a few drinks!
Growth in that market is not sustainable. If you're not a golfer people get bored with the newness of Top Golf rather quickly. It's a fun time out with friends but you can't bring friends out there repeatedly when they're not that interested in golf. Plus the expense is way more than going out to a sports bar or club that appeals to more people more often.
I hate how they've added the golf and food on the same ticket.. basically trying to get people to tip the servers on the food and the expensive golf. Used to be 20$ per hour during the day... now it's more than double. I'll go to the range and get a large bucket then buy drinks. Less than 1/3 the cost
I can hit a bucket of balls at any nice range for under $20. But $65 and hour during peak plus food and drinks?? 2 hours and the bill is $200+???
I guess as long as there are idiots to pay that they will be doing fine.
I enjoyed my Top Golf experiences... sadly though the Northern winters take away the outdoor atmosphere, the visual flight of the golf ball landing 20-300 yards away left, right and center, the whoops and hollers of your companions, and bites deeply into the profit margin of any operator looking out at 3" plus of the latest white stuff.
We are comfortably retired. I cannot even fathom spending over $200 on two hours of entertainment. Maybe that is why we are comfortably retired.
From 10;00 to 12:00 Monday to Friday it's only 15 bucks . unlimited balls .
It’s a gimmick that serves no real purpose to a “golfer”. Add to it the outlandish cost (I can play real golf for cheaper than top golf) and it will go the way of the dinosaur. If pop stroke would have been combined with top golf and had reasonable pricing, you would have attracted a larger audience. Pop stroke is something a larger audience can enjoy. Top golf is a boring, expensive driving range
literally from Topgolf earlier this year (2023 financials)
- CALLAWAY BRAND leads the industry in revenue, hitting $4.2 billion in 2023
- Guess CALLAWAY’s leading revenue segment:
__________ with $1.7 billion in total revenue for 2023.
Was at the @pgatoursuperstore in Myrtle Beach. I asked to hit some used irons. The guy offered to rent me a bay for $20.
Any comment I’ve ever gotten from top golf was expensive…
I really enjoy TopGolf - however it's just far too expensive.
This will soon ripple into golf courses as the economy shifts. The costs at golf courses have gone up significantly. For instance, a load of sand for us is $600 and the transportation cost for that is $680 plus a fuel surcharge. Soon there will be little margin to play with as demand decreases and the expectation of decreasing greens fees go with it. You have to make a good profit annually to afford re-investing in your course infrastructure. At some point in time you will no longer be making the investment in your infrastructure because you don’t have the money. This will be an interesting road.
Drinking over-priced beers out is a thing of the past. The new Bi-densAmerica normal is drinking Bud Light cans at home. More immigration should keep it going.
Skytrack, shot link, track man, yes. TopGolf, no.
Easy money dried up combined with the getting out of Covid and novelty. A lot of headwinds.
go and hit a bucket of balls at your local club and have a meal and beer for $50, and you can work on your game.
Let's hope not. All it attracts is trash.
We get it. You don’t like Top Golf.
@@TracyCup congratulations. You managed to find a way to tell everybody you did not watch the video. If you had, you would have specifically heard me say the exact opposite.