Recent data found 23% of new golfers started the game following their first Topgolf experienceGETTY IMAGES
Topgolf is "booming, with no end in sight," as people who "rarely would have touched a golf club or would never have ventured out onto a golf course have found a non-traditional path to the game," according to Edgar Thompson of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. After "years of decline followed by stagnation," the golf industry has "reaped some benefits" from Topgolf's rise. As a privately owned company, Topgolf execs "do not discuss the specifics of the company's financial success." However, the "wildfire-like expansion ... is indication enough of a robust bottom line." Topgolf Senior Dir of Corporate Communications Adrienne Chance said that the company "plans to open around 10 locations each of the next few years." By the end of this year, Topgolf "expects to expand to nine more states, bringing the total to 28" with a Topgolf facility. Topgolf also "opened in June on Australia's Gold Coast, while plans exist to open others in Mexico, Canada and Dubai." Some of golf's most powerful entities also have "warmed to Topgolf based on its impact and influence on a sport struggling to stem declining participation." Topgolf, which served 13 million guests in '17, now has "partnerships with the PGA of America and the PGA and LPGA tours." Golf Channel in April also "began a show called, 'Shotmakers,' a three-week competition staged at Topgolf Las Vegas." A National Golf Foundation survey last fall found 23% of "new golfers, those playing three years or fewer, started the game following their first Topgolf experience" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 8/12).
