On a weeknight in a sleepy town, a group of friends gather around a glowing simulator screen.<\/p>\n
The quiet whirr of the projector is punctuated by the solid “thwack!” of a golf ball disappearing into a digital fairway.<\/p>\n
For an increasing number of people, this scene is the start of a new journey into sport \u2014 one that is playing out indoors, after hours, and changing golf’s very nature.<\/p>\n
Business booming<\/p>\n
Husband-and-wife team Clark and Mercedes Coleman opened Tamworth’s first indoor golf facility after Clark’s virtual simulator helped him survive the boredom of COVID lockdowns.<\/p>\n
“In Tamworth, we don’t have a driving range, and like a lot of regional areas there’s not a lot to do at night,” Mr Coleman says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mercedes and Clark Coleman opened Tamworth’s first virtual golf centre less than six months ago. (ABC New England: James Paras)<\/p>\n
Opened in early 2025, Gimmie Golf is one of the latest businesses to cash in on the virtual craze.<\/p>\n
Golf NSW estimates there are between 60 and 70 virtual golf venues across the state, most of which have opened within the past few years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Virtual golf centres like Gimmie Golf are popping up all over NSW. (ABC New England: Jonathan Hawes)<\/p>\n
Co-owner Mercedes Coleman says convenience plays a huge part in the industry’s growth.<\/p>\n
“Life’s so busy for everyone. Not a lot of people have four or five hours on a Saturday to wander around a golf course and especially for people just getting into it, walking 18 holes is a big day.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t realise how much golf was in Tamworth until we opened this place.”A sport in transition<\/p>\n
According to Golf Australia, 3.8 million Australians played some form of golf last year and that’s expected to climb to 4 million in the coming months.<\/p>\n
Nearly 1.5 million people choose to play only off-course at mini-golf venues, driving ranges or simulators.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Virtual golf simulators allow players to practise on hundreds of courses from around the globe. (ABC New England: Jonathan Hawes)<\/p>\n
Of the indoor-only players, more than half are women, and their average age is 38 \u2014 nearly a decade younger than the average on-course golfer.<\/p>\n
For Golf NSW chief operating officer Graeme Phillipson, that is an opportunity for growth.<\/p>\n
“Historically simulators were seen as opposition to traditional golf clubs. That’s really changed,” he says.<\/p>\n
“We’re seeing people start their journey in these social spaces, then flow into the more traditional side of the game.”<\/p>\n
Golf simulators use cameras and a radar to track the player’s swing and ball movement. (ABC New England: Jonathan Hawes)<\/p>\n
The accessible nature of indoor golf is attracting more women into the historically male-dominated game.<\/p>\n
“If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would’ve said golf courses aren’t necessarily that welcoming or inviting [to women], but I think that’s changing,” Mr Phillipson says.<\/p>\n
“If your first games of golf are in a simulator centre it’s not quite as intimidating as standing on the first tee with 20 or 30 odd people watching you.”<\/p>\n
This year, Golf NSW is cementing that shift with the NSW Virtual Open \u2014 Australia’s first state-recognised simulator tournament.<\/p>\n
The competition invites players across the state to qualify through simulator centres, with winners earning coveted spots in the 2025 Ford NSW Open and its Pro Am.<\/p>\n
Opening doors a game-changer<\/p>\n
One such qualifying venue is in the small town of Narrabri, where head golf professional Graeme Trew spent more than $140,000 installing two simulator bays in the local golf club last year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Graeme Trew says installing indoor golf bays was a “no brainer” given the regional area’s sweltering summers. (ABC New England: James Paras)<\/p>\n
He says the investment was worth it to see more people develop an interest in the game.<\/p>\n
“Since September, we’ve had more than 60 women come through our short courses,” he says.<\/p>\n
“They like the privacy. It’s a great way to learn without feeling embarrassed.”<\/p>\n
Mr Trew estimates about 30 per cent of women who start indoors transition into regular club members.<\/p>\n
For Narrabri local Mel Manchee, golf began as a way to spend time with her husband.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mel Manchee says her first experience with golf has her “hooked”. (ABC New England: Jonathan Hawes)<\/p>\n
She says the feedback of simulators make all the difference.<\/p>\n
“It gives you those statistics and things to work on that you can’t always do on the course,” she says.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got a bit of time to take it slower, without pressure from other people around.”<\/p>\n
Narrabri Golf Club offers introductory courses in which players learn the basics indoors before heading outside. (ABC New England: Jonathan Hawes)<\/p>\n
Schoolteacher Nicole Allison has a similar story. Despite living up the road from the Narrabri Golf Club for 15 years, she only went for a swing after a colleague invited her.<\/p>\n
“One of them reached out and said, ‘Hey, there’s a new women’s beginner lesson starting, did you want to join?’ and I messaged straight away as soon as I saw it,” she says.<\/p>\n
For players like Ms Manchee and Ms Allison, the rise of virtual means golf is finally a game they can call their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a weeknight in a sleepy town, a group of friends gather around a glowing simulator screen. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,44540,755,103651,103650,588,85,103649],"class_list":{"0":"post-155266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-driving-range","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-narrabri-golf-club","13":"tag-simulators","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-virtual-golf"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}