Last week’s post on the Atlanta companies in the Inc. 5000 awards highlighted one of our very own, Intown Golf Club, at Number 204. After reading about this award, several friends reached out with comments and congratulations. After all the feedback, I decided it would be a good time to share our origin story and progress on the business.
Back in 2018, I installed a new golf simulator in my basement garage. It was simple and not too fancy—a net return with a hitting mat, combined with a Foresight launch monitor attached to a laptop. I was convinced that with a simulator, I could become a scratch golfer. I quickly learned otherwise, but that’s a different story.
After using the simulator regularly for a few months and having friends and family try it out, the proverbial lightbulb went off. This is an amazing piece of technology that requires a large room, tall ceilings, and cumbersome equipment, making it difficult for most people to install in their homes. Why isn’t there a chain or franchise of great indoor golf clubs around the country? In places like South Korea, there are thousands of indoor golf facilities, yet in the United States, they are almost nonexistent, except for simple setups by golf teaching pros to sell lessons. It’s tons of fun to hit on the simulators, playing different games for kids, running various combine test sessions, and, of course, playing golf courses like Pebble Beach and Killearn.
After thinking about it for a bit, I shared the concept with Jon Birdsong to get his ideas. He hadn’t used a simulator in a long time, and in the interim, the technology had improved dramatically. Once he experienced the latest equipment, he became convinced there was something to this indoor golf club concept. Jon, I, and several friends had been batting around the idea for a while when we were at lunch at Jack’s Deli near the Atlanta Tech Village. In walks Michael Williamson, a fellow tech entrepreneur who had been at ATV for many years and had recently sold his software company. Knowing that Michael loved golf as well, we asked him when was the last time he hit on a golf simulator. Immediately, he said, “last night while watching the football game.” Little did we know, he had a simulator at his house and absolutely loved it. We pitched the idea of building an indoor golf club starting in Atlanta and expanding nationwide. Michael loved it, and we were off to the races.
Our next major step in the concept was taking one of the large boardrooms in the Atlanta Tech Village and renovating it with a high-end golf simulator, renaming it “Lenox National” as it faced Lenox Road. With Lenox National in place, we started inviting friends, acquaintances, and anyone who would listen over to hang out. We’d hit some golf balls, experience the technology, and brainstorm ideas around building an indoor golf club. After great experiences at Lenox National, it became clear that there was a huge opportunity to build what became Intown Golf Club.
Our next step was finding a great location. We went out to the market and looked at a couple of old restaurant sites on Piedmont Road and a few in the greater Buckhead area. After several months of searching without much luck, we got word that one of the tenants in an amazing space at Two Buckhead Plaza wanted to move out, but they had another year left on their lease. We started spending more time with the landlord, looking for solutions. We finally agreed to terms and were ready to sign a lease when COVID hit in early 2020, and the world shut down. Not knowing when life would return to normal, we paused the lease negotiations.
Several months later, it became clear that things were, in fact, going to return to normal, and we signed the lease to build our first location at 3050 Peachtree Rd. NE. Thanks to a referral from Fred Castellucci, we hired Dan Maas and his team at ai3 as our architects to build out a private high-end, modern indoor golf concept. The space has 10 TrackMan bays, one of which is a True Spec Golf fitting bay, one has Tour Putt, and two of them are oversized with doors and curtains to turn them into private dining rooms. In the center, we have an upscale bar and restaurant, and in the back half, we have a high-end lounge with a fireplace. Outside, we have a patio with large putting green. The TrackMan bays run along the perimeter of the 12,000-square-foot space.
We ended up opening the private club in the spring of 2021, and our timing couldn’t have been better. People wanted to get back together with their friends, and golf, as a game, has a huge, passionate base. In fact, one out of every seven Americans played golf last year. It was an instant success.
Now, running a restaurant, bar, and golf facility is not easy. Everything you’ve heard and read about running a restaurant is true. While we’re far from having mastered hospitality, we’re learning fast and evolving as we go. Fast-forward to today, and we have locations in Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Columbus, Ohio, along with new locations under construction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee. Our goal is to bring the golf club camaraderie and experience to every major market across the country and eventually the world.
Entrepreneurial ideas often come from the simplest of places, and Intown Golf Club is no different. Congratulations to Michael, the team, and everyone involved in building one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.
Entrepreneur
via https://www.aiupnow.com
David Cummings, Khareem Sudlow
