Stop wondering if you should book a tee time at the golf simulator
You’ve heard of the golf simulator - indoor golf - but that’s just for the ultra serious golfer who is practicing & playing golf 7 days a week, right? WRONG
Indoor golf (aka the simulator) is actually perfect for beginner & intermediate golfers. Let me tell you why….
You can experience the golf course without actually being on the golf course
When you are at the simulator, you and a friend can have your own bay to yourselves for the amount of time you’ve booked. You don’t have to:
check-in at the clubhouse
figure out how to operate a golf cart
find the first tee or figure out the course routing
worry about anyone behind you
worry about where or when you’ll go to the bathroom (if you know, you know!)
Many simulators are 24-hour facilities with online booking and codes that you type in to get access - so you might not have to interact with ANY other humans during the entire indoor golf experience. Many facilities are BYOB - so you can bring whatever drinks and snacks that you like and enjoy them at your leisure.
In fact you don’t even have to play an actual golf course. You can play fun games like target practice which gives you different amount of points for how close you hit the ball to the pin.
You don’t even have to make sure you have enough golf balls because…
You cannot lose your golf ball
I repeat: you cannot lose your golf ball. The software on the simulator will always find your ball for you. If you hit it into some area of the course and you have trouble getting out, you can press the “pickup” button. Sure, the software gives you a quadruple bogey on that hole but WHO CARES PEOPLE? this is not an actual round of golf.
Speedy pace of play
By yourself at the simulator, you could finish a 9 hole round in as little as 30 minutes, or an 18 hole round in an hour. Add more people, you will spend more time, but really it is much faster than golfing on a real course because you don’t have to drive or walk to your ball, you don’t have to wait on any groups ahead of you, etc.
You can pick whatever course you like - play a par 3, play a junior course, play an executive course. You can adjust the settings I.e. arrange the course conditions to be as easy or as difficult as you like - things like wind, and speed of the greens.
You can set the simulator to auto-putt (I highly recommend auto-putt because I just don’t see a lot of value in putting on a simulator. It’s too different than putting on an actual putting green. I don’t think you improve or learn anything at all putting in the simulator, besides maybe how to trick the cameras or sensors.) So you save time because you don’t need to putt.
Always bring snacks and goodies to the simulator! Always.
It might take a few minutes to read up on how to change these settings, but most places either have someone on staff to help you OR they have an online or printed guide that has the details of what you can adjust and how. Depending on the software that is being used at the simulator, you may be able to download an app, setup an account and tell the app which clubs you have in your bag. Software brands like E6, Toptracer or TrackMan are popular. Then with the app, you can keep track of how far you hit each of your clubs too!
Keep a club in your hand year-round
Playing the golf simulator clearly is not the same as playing golf on a real course, but it is a great way to keep a club in your hand when you can’t be on a real golf course. When you play a seasonal sport, you lose a little bit of skill from lack of practice during the off season that always takes some time to build back. Playing the simulator helps to maintain your muscle memory so you don’t lose quite as much in the months when you’re waiting to get back out there.
Here in Cincinnati we have a 9 hole indoor golf women’s league starting in October, and another one in Jan-Feb timing. It’s a lot of fun and I look forward to meeting up with the ladies each week. If you’re local to Cincy, check out the Events page for details.
Simulator City
Since TopGolf has been a thing, so many indoor golf places have opened. Do a google search of “indoor golf” or “golf simulator” in your area and I’m sure you’ll see some new businesses popping up. Here are the simulators around the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area:
Swing Fit Golf Club in Blue Ash (this is where QCLL hosts a league)
All in Golf - Anderson
Play Another Nine - Columbia Tusculum
Tee 18 Golf - Maineville
Five Iron Golf - Downtown Cincinnati
SGN Golf - Loveland, Mason, Centerville & Lebanon
Bonus Golf - on the West side
Hopefully with these tips you’ll be inspired to try a golf simulator if you haven’t yet. Let me know if you like it! Drop a comment if you think of other reasons why the simulator is good for beginners and intermediate golfers alike. Let me know if you have other questions.
