I have played golf for over eight years, but did not go to Topgolf until a little over a week ago. Apparently, a bunch of nongolfers go to Topgolf and kind of view it as an outdoor version of bowling. Here are my takeaways:
The Good:
-great way to get the younger population into playing golf
-very easy for beginners to learn
-Top tracer technology is always fun, being able to keep track of various factors regarding the golf ball
-normally, you cannot play with more than three other players when playing golf; great way to have large parties with many friends or employees
-has plenty of accommodations, including different clubs for every type of golfers and both right and left-handed tees set up
-easy sign-in via provided system at bay and ability to save scores to view after the game
The Bad:
-food is expensive, expect to pay around $15-$20 to get filled up (also note that unlike golf courses/driving ranges, there is no outside food or beverage)
-the whole experience is expensive; around 90 dollars to use a driving range for an hour is probably around 4 times more than you can expect from a normal driving range
-a lot of the time, the targets misread the golf balls and assigns zero points for golf balls that land in the middle of the target
-tees are short, making it very difficult to get anything done with driver
-their provided clubs are terrible, albeit should not matter too much for beginners
-game is probably too easy for experienced golfers as
1. ball trajectory does not matter, and
2. Those targets at the back of the range (very easy to hit) are worth a lot more than the others
-two hours probably is not long enough; with many players taking turns, you are probably only spending around 15 minutes hitting golf balls
Takeaway:
If you are an experienced golfer, do not expect Topgolf to be cheaper than the driving range or for you to improve at golf. If you are an experienced golfer playing with other experienced golfers, just go to the golf course; it is usually cheaper depending on the course anyway. Regardless of your skill level, if you just want to play an interactive game with a large group of beginner golfers for a couple of hours, maybe consider going once or twice a year. There are better options. Rating: 4/10
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