 |
All photos by: MELISSA KEY / CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL
|
Topgolf is playing its own version of speedgolf.
The company, which has 30 of its golf entertainment complexes in the U.S. and three in the U.K., will open eight new facilities this year and in April announced plans to open 10 locations in Mexico over the next eight years. A Topgolf location in Queensland, Australia, is scheduled to open in 2018.
Topgolf’s first U.S. facility opened in Alexandria, Va., in 2005, but its presence has grown rapidly in the last three years. Nine new locations opened in 2015 and seven more debuted last year.
Topgolf recently continued its fast-paced U.S. expansion with the launch of its first location in Charlotte in mid-June.
The location projects 450,000 visitors over its first year.
The Charlotte facility features 102 hitting bays across 65,000 square feet over three levels. Topgolf hired more than 500 employees for the Charlotte location, which also includes 3,000 square feet of private event space.
Erik Anderson, Topgolf Entertainment co-chairman and chief executive officer, said it took 18 months to open the Charlotte facility. If a second location planned for north of the city goes forward, Charlotte would become one of a handful of cities to have multiple Topgolf venues — Houston, Dallas and Phoenix are the others.
Even as the company moves quickly to grow, however, there’s such a thing as playing too fast, Anderson said. “We have to pay careful attention not to overbuild,” he said.
— Josh Carpenter
 |
The Charlotte facility features 102 hitting bays across 65,000 square of feet of space. Players score points by hitting targets.
|
 |
Amenities such as pool tables add to the entertainment.
|
 |
The hitting bays provide seating and multiple monitors.
|
 |
Beverages from the bar are part of Topgolf’s social atmosphere.
|
 |
If approved for a second facility north of town, Charlotte would become the fourth city to have multiple Topgolf locations.
|
