Start an Indoor Golf Business With Clear Data, Not Guesswork

Step‑by‑step startup plan, real‑world numbers, and templates used by successful indoor golf owners. Learn golf simulator business costs, revenue models, and marketing tactics so you can open confidently and avoid expensive mistakes.

Get the Free Indoor Golf Business Plan
starting a golf simulator business

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Trusted by Over 2,500+ future golf entrepreneurs

  • Great site and great help. The market report with real data for indoor golf centers was very helpful for planning a new business along with the financial model. Also they helped with a survey to estimate potential demand, all around very helpful. Thanks again!
    Neal S.
    Golf Center Owner (PA)
  • The golf simulator business is very niche and to have found a real study on what the market actually is, is so valuable for anyone considering opening a business like this. Besides what I would call market data, there was so much more about the preferences of services by those patronizing golf simulators. It also showed what services made the difference in revenue and the bottom line. Truth is, the study is under priced.!
    Kevin B.
    Yardstick Golf Customer
  • When researching if we should open a golf simulator business Yardstick was a huge influence. It compiled industry data and had a lot of research on the specifics necessary for us to make the leap. Would highly recommend visiting the site, downloading the white paper, and using Yardstick as a tool to help you decide if you’d like to enter the industry.
    Dan S.
    Happy’s Indoor Golf (CT)
start a golf simulator business

Start an Indoor Golf Business

Dreaming of making golf your day job, but not quite sure where to start? We’re helping you take an educated approach to building your golf simulator business plan.

Before you start hitting the fairways as your full‑time job, we’ll help you get a handle on:

  • Estimated indoor golf visitor volume to expect by month of the year based on real data
  • Proven marketing strategies used by current indoor golf facility owners
  • What indoor golf center owners are charging customers to play at their facility
  • Key factors driving profitability for indoor golf bars
  • and so much more. . .

Get all the information you need to start and grow a profitable indoor golf business

It all starts with the Indoor Golf Study.  We’ve done extensive surveys of golf simulator businesses. The Indoor Golf Center study is a valuable tool for prospective golf simulator bar owners and investors. In addition to detailed analysis factors driving golf simulator choices, indoor golf visitor volumes by month, frequency of golfer visit, composition of revenue and future plans, the indoor golf study provides straight forward metrics to plan your business

Pricing Strategy

We’ll share the average hourly golf simulator price charged and you can modify it in our interactive startup plan to see how pricing impacts your profitability.

Expected Customer Volume

We have data on golf simulator utilization by month from real businesses. You can use this to forecast conservative or aggressive scenarios for planning purposes.

Indoor Golf Player Preferences

We learned how far they will drive, how often they will play and what features are most important to them.

What you Get in our Ultimate Startup Plan

Discover the secrets to success in the indoor golf simulator business! With well over a decade of experience studying golf simulator businesses, we’ve learned what it takes to be successful.

Golf simulator business study
Business Plan
A robust template with key aspects prefilled allowing you to customize for your needs without having to start from scratch.
golf simulator business Excel startup model
Startup Model
A research-based model with proprietary data that allows you to model assumptions through three years of cash flows.
golf simulator business financial plan
Personal Financial Plan
A personal financial plan template to help you determine how much you need to earn from your business.
golf simulator business location guide
Location Selection Guide
Enter a small amount of data on each property and get 8 financial metrics and 11 descriptive comparisons on each potential location.
Ulitimate startup plan

The Excel Startup Model

We took all the information from our indoor golf study and put it into a robust startup model in Excel. It also includes a 3 year summary financial projection for your golf simulator business based on the input you provide along with detailed monthly forecasts for years 1 through three on separate tabs.  Each is formatted and ready to print to make it easy to use with your bank, investors or business plans.
​
The model allows you to see averages and adjust assumptions for:

Monthly indoor golf simulator player volume, along with food and beverage consumption and cost per golfer
Cost of rent, marketing expenses and merchandise sales
Number of golf simulators and rate charged per hour for golf simulator use
Initial capital expenses, number on staff and square feet of your indoor golf facility
Hours per week the golf simulator bar is open
and much more. . .

Custom Assumptions Page

The input page is prefilled with research from our study, but allows you to customize it to your needs.

Annual Cashflow Model

See results of your inputs via detailed cash flow tabs and a consolidated three year view.

Facility Sizing Tools

We’ve included details on hours rented per sim based on golfers, income, and home ownership.

The Golf Simulator Player Preferences Study

  • How far will they drive
  • How often will they play
  • What features are most important
  • Food and beverage preferences
  • Verbatim feedback
  • and more. . .

Location Selection Guide

Picking the best location can be a complicated endeavor.  You want to be sure you are convenient to customers, have the right amount of space, aren’t paying too much, understand build out for your facility and more.  It’s a lot to stay on top of as you are trying to start a business.  Make it easier with our location analysis tool.  With a small amount of data to collect on each property, we give you 8 comparative financial metrics and 11 descriptive comparisons on each property.  We also show you have to find out the number of your target customers in a 5 mile radius from each location.

get the ultimate startup plan

Take your first step today. With over 1,000 buyers and almost no returns, we’re confident you’ll be satisfied. We do offer a money back guarantee
 for our startup package if you are not satisfied.

My Guarantee: If, for any reason, you’re not 100% satisfied, I’ll refund your money one hundred percent!

Ultimate startup plan

$99

Clicking “Buy Now” takes you to your shopping cart.  You will be able to use a credit card or PayPal to make your purchase.  Once you pay, you’ll get an email link to the download – if you don’t see it check your spam.

What you Get

  • The complete indoor golf study
  • Excel startup model with 3 year financial projection
  • The indoor golf player preferences study
  • Indoor golf location guide and analysis tool
  • Commercial lease checklist
  • 14 pages of marketing ideas to keep your facility full
 

Need more help – check out our custom financial modeling service

Frequently Asked Questions

Thinking about opening an indoor golf simulator business but still have questions? These FAQs cover startup costs, profitability, and financing so you can plan your indoor golf center with confidence and real numbers.

Startup costs vary widely based on how many simulators you install, the quality of the build‑out, and whether you add food and beverage. Small, two‑to‑four‑bay studios can sometimes launch in the tens of thousands of dollars, while larger indoor golf bars with multiple simulators and a full bar can run into the mid‑six figures. Yardstick Golf’s commercial simulator cost analysis breaks down sample setups (small, medium, and large facilities), including estimated ranges for build‑out, equipment, and working capital so you can see where your project might land. You can dig into those numbers here: https://www.yardstickgolf.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-an-indoor-golf-business.

Profitability depends on the number of bays, your pricing, hours of operation, and how well you drive demand during peak and off‑peak periods. Yardstick’s indoor golf revenue forecast shows that a six‑simulator center charging around 40 dollars per hour and running strong utilization can generate several hundred thousand dollars per year in simulator revenue alone, before adding food, beverage, lessons, and events. Their indoor golf business plan and revenue tools help you model scenarios for your market so you can see how changes in price, utilization, and costs affect your bottom line. See our revenue forecast tool here: https://www.yardstickgolf.com/indoorgolfrevenue.html

Prior experience helps, but it’s not required if you’re willing to learn and lean on good data and processes. Yardstick’s indoor golf business plan package walks you through market research, pricing, staffing, and operations so first‑time entrepreneurs can understand how successful centers manage startup costs, keep simulators booked, and add revenue from leagues, lessons, and F&B. Many owners come from outside the golf industry but use structured plans, financial models, and marketing ideas to shorten the learning curve.

Lenders and investors want to see realistic numbers, a clear strategy, and evidence that you understand the market. Yardstick’s paid business plan resources include a three‑year financial model, startup cost breakdowns, and revenue projections you can adapt to your local assumptions, which are exactly the kinds of details banks and SBA lenders look for in a loan package. These are based on real data and grounded in reality. Their guide on financing a golf simulator business also outlines different funding paths—from personal capital and partners to traditional loans and equipment financing—so you can choose the mix that fits your situation.

The Golf Simulator Industry is Booming

Want to own a golf business? Of course you do. But how?

Running an indoor golf simulator is one way to get into golf that many are trying and we’ve got the data to tell you how they are doing.

If you’re reading this it’s because you would like to own a golf business. It’s been a desire floating around in your head for who knows how long. You’ve searched and reviewed and are ready to take action.

Whether you are planning to invest in an indoor golf franchise or build one on your own. Our research will help you make an informed decision and plan a great business. You may even find it is a more profitable path to open your own golf center than it is to buy into an indoor golf franchise.

But something is holding you back. . . you wonder

  • how profitable are indoor golf bars?
  • how much is an indoor golf simulator?
  • is a golf simulator bar near me a good idea?
  • who goes to indoor golf facilities?

​What if there was a way to demystify this new golf business and model how well it would do in your town.  What if it cost you less than two rounds of golf to get the facts along with an Excel model that could help you evaluate your assumptions and test profitability?  Wouldn’t you give it a shot.

After all, you wouldn’t have major surgery without first talking to another doctor, would you? So why would you start a new business without first reviewing how folks in the business are doing today?

In business second opinions are often quite expensive, especially when it comes to testing new concepts. This is why franchises are so popular, they appear to take all the risk out of a decision by handing you a proven model.  But that model comes at a high cost.  They can run you anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000.  That is a lot of cash.

Yardstick Golf can help! We’re here today to offer you something different. Something simpler. Something much cheaper.  

You need a basic business plan, facts on how others are doing and a way to evaluate the opportunity in your home town.  We have all of that, for less than a few rounds of golf.

What You’ll Get: Yardstick Golf completed an extensive survey of golf center owners across the United States seeking to understand key business trends, strategies and drivers of profitability. We combined the survey data with information on things such as local golfers, weather and average daily traffic to gain a deeper understanding of what drives success for indoor golf centers.

We’re offering two products off this research

  • Copy of the six page analysis of study results
  • An Excel based start up model for this business

The study results will show you:

The study provides key information such as which criteria were most important for center owners in choosing a golf simulator. It also provides analysis on expected golf center visits by month and customer visit frequency based on key drivers such as golfers in a 10 mile radius. We also provide a breakdown of what percent of revenue comes from simulator use, food, beverage, lessons, merchandise and events. Find out how facility owners evaluate the effectiveness of various off season approaches to driving traffic.  The study also provides key metrics to benchmark your business:

  • Average hourly simulator price charged
  • Simulator utilization by month
  • Revenues by age of business and number of simulators
  • Ratio of the number of simulators per golfers within 10 mile radius

To keep prices low, we run a pretty lean service.  Once you place an order via PayPal, you’ll be directed to a site where you can download the material. If the redirect fails, contact me and I’ll send it to you.

Act now, because the normal price for this service is almost $450, but for a limited time only, you can take advantage of this new service for only $99.
 
My Guarantee: If, for any reason, you’re not 100% satisfied, I’ll refund your money one hundred percent!