TOPGOLF Dubai proving to be a big hit
Dubai and the UAE has just welcomed a new entertainment centre that immediately seems to be the ‘Talk of the Town.’ TOPGOLF Dubai, based at Emirates Golf Club and part of the Dubai Golf / Wasl family, has been operational for about one week.
Located on the former site of the ‘old’ Faldo Course driving range at the Emirates Golf Club estate that has been transformed into something a bit special.
TOPGOLF Dubai is fast becoming arguably, the Number 1 entertainment venue in Dubai, with easy access for both local residents of all ages and nationalities, as well as international visitors! Their doors are welcoming and they are encouraging all to visit.
Statistics and trends are what operators and owners are wanting to know all about these days, and there is positive news already for all involved in this new TOPGOLF Dubai facility, the first of its kind in the Middle East region.
In its first week of operation over 5,000 people visited TOPGOLF Dubai hitting over 150,000 balls. It is a US concept with TOPGOLF facilities already operational in the UK, but very much a company and concept on the expansion and growth path all around the world.
A total of 96 bays provide groups of up to six guests the opportunity to play at
anyone time, in an impressive threestorey facility, with an additional six VIP bays available for private hire on request. The facility is open for a staggering 99 hours every week, so guests can choose either a busy peak time or quieter times, with the pricing policy reflecting this.
No prior bookings are allowed at present and guests are being welcomed on a first-come first-served basis. Pre-booking will be allowed soon and a 9 hole TOPGOLF Mini-Golf activity is available on the lower level from next week.
Food and beverage is very much part of the TOPGOLF experience with three restaurants, The Yard, the largest Sports Bar in the middle floor, The Loft on the top level and The Bunker at lower level.
Is TOPGOLF perhaps the answer to a required growth of the game of golf and the number of active golfers, not just those resident in Dubai and the UAE, but around the world?
Non-golfers can immediately have fun with TOPGOLF and enjoy golf in a casual and vibrant environment with less of the formalities or ‘protocol’ of traditional golf clubs, whether dress regulations or the necessary certificated standards of play etc.
Global statistics show that the majority of TOPGOLF visitors are non-golfers. The TOPGOLF mantra is threefold: to maximise technology, create a TOPGOLF community and to keep the authenticity of it ‘still being golf.’
It will be interesting to watch TOPGOLF’s impact, not just as a successful independent business unit, but also for the golf industry in Dubai and the UAE. With TOPGOLF attracting non-golfers, will this concept create a lot of new golfers, of all ages and nationalities, wanting golf lessons at local golf academies, plus result in a spike in demand for Par 3 golf and Driving Ranges at the various golf clubs and golf facilities in Dubai, as well as the UAE in addition to a new demand for golf equipment purchases?
Could this be the solution to the entry level for golf that is so hard to achieve and potentially expand the essential lowest and widest level of the pyramid of the golf ecosystem?
It is sure to be hugely popular in Dubai and the exciting interest from the UAE golf industry and the local golf authorities, is surely the potential upselling of these TOPGOLF users to the more traditional game of golf, and trying to attract them to golf clubs as pay and play visitors, as well as ultimately golf club members and introducing them to the discipline of handicaps and the playing of 9 and / or 18 holes and the full golf course and even entering competitions.
The potential is huge, as is the economic impact of this significant investment by Dubai to the Dubai landscape.
Congratulations to all for bringing this innovative golf concept to the city of Dubai. Everyone will be watching with interest to see how TOPGOLF will impact Dubai; locally, regionally and internationally.