Topgolf Looks At Traditional Green Grass Courses As Part Of Global Expansion

Topgolf is taking its tech-enabled golf model to more markets while also evolving to include more traditional golf offerings.

The Dallas-based company, which operates 77 golf-entertainment venues in the U.S. and beyond, plans to open 11 more domestic locations before the end of this year, CEO Artie Starrs told Yahoo Finance.

“We’re really looking everywhere globally,” Starrs said. “We just opened in Philadelphia. We’ll open outside of Seattle, Washington, in Renton just in a few short weeks. So we view the entire market as an opportunity for us.”

The company is embracing change as its growth phase unfolds. A location that opened in the Los Angeles market in April includes an adjacent 10-hole par-3 traditional golf course, which Starrs said is intended to introduce more people to the sport.

“We’re just widening the aperture on this thing that is great, which is golf, but making it a lot more fun and more accessible to more people,” Starrs told Forbes.

Broadening Topgolf’s customer base is essential as the U.S. potentially hurtles toward a recession. According to Starrs, economic headwinds have yet to make a noticeable dent in Topgolf’s operations; however, that could change as cost-conscious consumers tighten their belts.

“There's no doubt that we're seeing inflation in construction and some challenges in staffing our venues,” Starrs told Yahoo Finance. “But I think our team's done an extraordinary job continuing to modernize the venue and how we build a venue, and then also doing things inside the venue to make sure that we can be open and provide great service to our players.”

Callaway Golf’s acquisition of Topgolf International for $2.6B in 2021 was meant to accelerate the company’s growth plans, which include opening 13 to 15 venues over each of the next three to four years, Starrs told Forbes. The number of golfers playing in venues like Topgolf is gaining on those who play outdoors — according to the National Golf Foundation, there were 25.1 million traditional, on-course golfers in the U.S. in 2021, compared to 24.8 million off-course golfers. 

“I do see some opportunities for us with more green grass,” Starrs told Forbes. “We have another project we’re working on that’s in the Los Angeles area that I’m very passionate about that will be a bigger golf course and will have the same sort of night life and Topgolf venue associated with it. I think there’s more to come from us on that.”