Page 15 - BusinessWest April 1, 2024

“The attention to detail on these simulators is amazing. Like with the par 3s
at Pebble Beach with the waves crashing around them — the technology makes you feel like you’re there.”
it’s amazing,” he said.
Meanwhile, these simulators can enable users to play some of
most renowned courses in the world, from Pebble Beach to Pine- hurst No. 2 to the Old Course at St. Andrews, where they can even take a simulated walk over the famous Swilcan Bridge after hitting their drives on the 18th hole.
Baron said Topgolf, which is open only on weekends, has become an increasingly popular attraction, and event space, at the casino complex, especially on Father’s Day, Master’s week (people play but also watch the tournament on the 12 TVs), and other times. It attracts players of all skill levels, from novices to those who bring their own clubs — and even their own golf shoes.
And, as noted, it enables them to work on their game while also playing courses they’ve only read about or seen on TV.
“The attention to detail on these simulators is amazing,” he said. “Like with the par 3s at Pebble Beach with the waves crashing around them — the technology makes you feel like you’re there.”
But the real surge in golf involves what’s happening at courses right here in the 413, and across the state and the country, for that matter — specifically the continuation of a rebirth that began not quite four years ago.
Indeed, while COVID was a dark time for businesses across all sectors — and it was for golf at the start as well, because courses were included in the wide state shutdown of businesses — it eventu- ally became a blessing for the industry.
In the years leading up the pandemic, the game was suffering. Play was down across the board, at public courses and even at
the most esteemed private courses, to the point where some were resorting to something they’d never done (or had to do) before — advertise on various media in the hopes of attracting more mem- bers. A few courses in the area actually closed, and others saw their existence threatened.
“We were in a year-to-year situation,” said Downs as he recalled the years prior to COVID. “We were running on such a shoestring that we weren’t sure, at some points, if we were going to stay in existence.
“From 2005 until 2018 and 2019, you saw a steady decline in
o
The mostly retired Dave DiRico, seen here with daughter Carrie Michael and son-in-law Drew Michael, who now manage Dave DiRico’s Golf, says all aspects of the business have flourished recently, including retail.
Staff Photo
the number of rounds being played throughout the country,” he went on. “There was not a lot of new people coming into the game, and not a lot of engagement; people who had played the game when they were younger weren’t engaged anymore.”
For many, especially those of the younger generations, the game was too slow, too costly, and too time-consuming. When the pan- demic hit, it was still all those things, but it was suddenly far more attractive — because there was little else to do for fun.
So many took up the game while others who had left it returned, sparking a renaissance of sorts. And while courses suffered through seemingly unending rain in 2021, oppressive heat in 2022, and
an irritating pattern of rain on weekends in 2023, the arrow has
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