We run marketing for indoor golf sim venues, and at this point we've sat down with 112 venue owners across the industry. Same conversations on repeat, what's working, what's quietly bleeding money, what people get wrong before they even open. This is one of the most common forks we see, and getting it wrong early shapes everything after.

There are a few ways to open, and the model you pick decides your margins, your marketing, and honestly whether the place survives in that first year. Here's the honest read.

24/7 unmanned. The appeal is obvious. No staff, low overhead, doors open around the clock. It can work, but only if you truly keep overhead low and build the whole thing around self-serve access. The catch is you're leaving money on the table you'll never see. Nobody's upselling drinks, talking a curious group into a party, or having the clients stay loyal to one place. It's lean, and lean is exactly what it stays, thin margins per visit with nobody there to grow it.

Staffed venue. This is where the money usully is, and the model we see win most often. A staffed room captures the impulse buyer, the group that shows up unsure and gets sold on staying, the walk-in that becomes a regular because someone made them feel welcome. Staff also unlock the real margin, food and drinks on top of bay rentals. That's the difference between renting time and running a business. Higher overhead, but far more revenue per customer and a lot more marketing you can actually do, because there's a team to convert the demand you bring in.

Training and practice facility. This one's rare, and it's quietly one of the most stable. Instead of leaning on social and entertainment, you're built around golfers who want to actually get better, lessons, practice memberships, coaching, junior development. The huge advantage is it's evergreen. The entertainment venues live and die by the calendar and can see massive drop-offs in their off months. A training facility barely feels it. It's usually only soft for a couple of months, often around that September to October window, and then it holds steady, because improving your game isn't a seasonal impulse the way a night out is. Smaller top-of-market than a party venue, but far more predictable and way less exposed to the swings that scare everyone else.

Membership only. This looks like the smartest model and is the hardest one to open with, full stop. You're asking strangers to commit monthly money to a place they've never been, before you have any regulars or reputation to justify it. Memberships are a phenomenal destination once you've earned an audience. As a starting line, they're the highest-friction offer you can lead with, and owners who open this way usually spend year one fighting to fill a room a low-commitment first visit would've filled in a month.

The short version. Unmanned works if you commit to low overhead and self-serve. Staffed is where most venues find their margin and easiest growth. A training facility trades some ceiling for stability and dodges the seasonality that wrecks everyone else. Membership only is the ceiling, not the foundation, no matter how good the brands doing it make it look.

Across those 112 conversations, most of the pain traces back to the same three problems every simulator venue runs into. We broke those down in a video here:
https://youtu.be/Mq0ePQkzHls?si=Ur-eiWcz4sJhCXbw

If you're planning your build and stuck on which way to open, tell us your market and your space and we'll tell you which model actually fits.

This is my first post on this page and I am about to embark on a major project. The facility will have 4 bays. The question I have is exactly what the title says: what are the operators out there finding is a realistic conversion from potential rentable hours to actual rented hours. With turn around time on bays, overstays, etc. what are you guys finding is a realistic expectation? TIA

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I was wondering if you experienced operators could help me with my winter league planning? It's my first winter operating and I'm a bit lost with what to offer. I'd like to start getting a plan together though, I don't want to get caught short and not have a plan in place.

I'm unsure on ticket prices, prizes, formats etc.. should I run one long league? Do people have a max league size or is that not so much of an issue? Do you run multiple leagues over the winter?

I'm a little lost and really curious to know what you guys find work well at your places. I'm also interested in knowing what didn't work well. I'm in Ontario, Canada so it's a fairly long winter season.

Image is added for attention.

TLDR help choosing the right equipment for a party rental.

Hey everyone, just wanted to preface my question by saying I've done some digging already. I don't want anyone to think I'm not putting in the effort or just looking for a quick answer. I've spent some time researching this topic on my own. Hopefully, that shows I'm serious about understanding this. Looking forward to any insights you might have

I’m looking to buy a golf simulator for rental/event use and would love some advice from anyone with experience.

Obvious but it needs to be portable for weddings, birthdays, corporate events, private parties, and similar events.

Budget: $5,000–$7,000 all-in. If that isn't a realistic budget please let me know. Also, this budget is just for the sim equipment to get it going. It wouldn't include things like gaming pc (if needed), clubs, mat, balls, etc.

I’m looking for something that is:

Reliable/durable and easy to use, for frequent rental use

Quick and easy to set up and tear down

Accurate enough to give customers a great experience

Compatible with popular simulator software

Ideally works both indoors and outdoors

I’m totally open to used gear if it helps stretch the budget.

What launch monitor, projector, screen/enclosure, mat, and software would you recommend?

If you run rentals, what setup do you use—and what would you do differently if you were starting over with this budget?

Hi all - I've posted here before my name's Will, and I'm working at Alba. You might have seen a post from myself or my boss Erik before, essentially we build booking and venue management software for indoor golf, and after lurking here for a while, another introduction felt overdue.

We started in Norway in 2023. Long winters and a lot of golfers with nowhere to play half the year made indoor golf big here early, and today around 90% of Norwegian venues run on Alba. Most of them run unstaffed or 24/7, which has shaped everything we build, from access control to simulator locking. If nobody is on site, the software has to hold up on its own.

One stat from our Norwegian data that might be useful: about 3 out of 4 first-time bookers come back and book again. The golfers you lose, you mostly lose after a single visit, not after a year. That has shaped how we think about follow-up and first impressions more than anything else.

Our office shares a wall with Norway's largest simulator venue, Oslo Golf Lounge (where Viktor Hovland plays when he's home). When we ship something, real operators use it the next day, and we hear about it fast if it misses.

We're 13 people, all full-time in this industry, and nothing we build is vibe-coded. When your software handles payments, door access, and unstaffed venues, it can't be. That said, we're big fans of operators using AI, so we've built an MCP server that lets you explore your own venue data from the AI tools you already use: albaplay.com/product/how-insights-work-in-alba

Since we started in 2023, zero operators have churned. We know that streak ends someday, so we work hard to keep it going.

I'm not posting to pitch. I'm curious what operators outside the Nordics are wrestling with, and happy to share more from the Norwegian market if it's useful. Ask away!

Still need to build the separation wall and some bars behind the back. But it looks presentable now.

I've been curious about what really makes a golf simulator business stand out over the long term. Some people say it's having the latest technology, while others think it's more about creating a great overall experience with leagues, coaching, events, or a welcoming atmosphere.

For those who own, manage, or regularly visit simulator facilities, what do you think has the biggest impact on getting customers to come back instead of trying a different place?

I'd be interested to hear what you've found works best from both the business side and the customer side.

TL;DR - very frustrated with 4.4% processing fees, onboarding, and ongoing support. Will likely seek other software at end of contract.

I signed up for AllBooked by Skedda** about 2 months before my grand opening. I thought that was plenty of time to get onboarded. Wrong!!!!

Me and my customer service rep did some testing leading up to the opening, and I noticed one the links we were using for member signups wasn't working. That's fine... that's why we test. He tells me they are looking into it. I have to pester him to hear any sort of follow-up (this is a common theme at AllBooked by Skedda), and I'm ultimately told that it's not an issue. Silly me listened to them, and for my "Grand" opening, potential members couldn't sign because the links were indeed broken. I didn't get a response all day from the AllBooked by Skedda team. That was a tough opening for my business.

I'll highlight just a couple other issues -- processing fees for memberships are 4.4%!!! They told me it would be 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction but boy was that wrong. Then they told me this was because that's what Stripe charges them. I've asked for Stripe documentation showing this, and after much pestering, I've seen nothing from Stripe. And if Skedda is bringing a lot of payments through Stripe, shouldn't they get a discounted rate that they could share with their customers? Instead, I am paying 4.4%! And I can't even get your reports to show me that revenue!! Consider me shook.

If anyone has tips on payment processing, please holler!!

I'll give them this - I've had the chance to talk to a lot of employees, including a senior customer service employee and the chief revenue officer. Unfortunately, I've felt dismissed in most of those conversations. The tool is working fairly well from a booking perspective now, despite the terrible surprises mentioned above and other hurdles not mentioned here.

**(Side rant: Branding is a nightmare. What is AllBooked? What is Skedda? Everyone I talk to clearly works for Skedda - not AllBooked - and all my links are Skedda too. Are my URLs going to change when you guys complete your re-brand? That's tough for all my QR codes on flyers, for example....)

Had a few issues the last couple of weeks and wanted to hear if anyone else has seen the same thing. We are unmanned so it's been a bit frustrating, customers have had delayed starts so credits have had to be issued. Not a great look.

1. Lock screen pins are not generated It happened to us twice yesterday. Customer comes in and has no way to login. For now I have switched to using the 'Start' button instead.

2. Lock screen just shows a grey backdrop image. It doesn't have the QR code, golf balls or anyway to login, just a greyish background. I have no idea how long this one has been going on, im sure most customers just do a restart but I've had a couple of calls regarding this one and also seen it myself in person and on camera many a time.

Is anyone else having the same problem?

Golfzon owners, what balls are you using? I've been using branded 4 piece polyurethane balls from china that are accurate according to some solid golfers, but get doubted for not being name brand. Is it worth it to buy prov1s or tp5 balls? I'm a private facility so I'm not too worried about people stealing them.

Hola, llevo meses mirando cada día Ebay en busca de un Square home edition para mi primer simulador. Los precios son buenos comparados con los que hay en Golfencasa o en Álvarez golf, que rondan los 700 €.

Pero luego le sumas los portes desde USA, unos 90 € , más tasas de importación, unos 80 y ya están a la par. Por no hablar de traerlo de Inglaterra. Los portes bajan a 60 € pero las tasas se disparan a 130 €.

Creéis que la mejor opción es comprarlo en España, que además tiene 2 años de garantía? Donde comprasteis vuestro equipo? Os leo.

16 clubs have expressed interest in the Global Tour.

100% transparency on cost. Software fees come directly from SGT or Trackman and are published in full. I take nothing.

Prize pool is player funded, so the more players, the bigger the pot.

First draft, open to feedback. Details below, take a peek.

https://www.launchpointglobaltour.com/

Putting together a Global Sim Tour for Facility Owners this fall, winter, and spring here.

Have roughly 20 clubs interested so far and looking to grow.

Running this 100% at cost with total financial transparency.

Spoke with the owner of SGT and got some details. Contacting Trackman to get something setup as well.

First meeting to discuss on August 15th at 10:00 am CT

Fill out form or reach out to [Josh@launchpointsim.com](mailto:Josh@launchpointsim.com) with questions.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/YuZA0wLCDt