New technology and business models redefine the classic sport of golf

Photo / Tim Greenway Kevin Moschella of minibar says combining indoor mini-golf with a restaurant and bar caters to family-and-friends activities, mini-golf leagues, tournaments, private events and cross-promotional partnerships.

Write a Comment

By Laurie Schreiber

The real estate industry is seeing a trend of golf businesses driving for show and putting for dough in the simulation and mini space.

In Portland, an indoor mini-golf course combined with a restaurant/bar is under construction. Indoor golf simulators opened over the past year in Waterville, Bangor and Old Orchard Beach, with cool software that analyzes club head speed and spin on the ball. Plans are in the works to open a learning center in Freeport.

Golf pros say the market includes families and tourists, along with summertime driving range opportunities for people working on their games, golf lessons and junior golf programs. Here’s a short course.

Sports partnerships

At 270 Marginal Way in Portland’s East End neighborhood, construction is underway to build “minibar,” an indoor mini-golf course, bar and restaurant.

The venture is led by Kevin Moschella, a journalist-turned-finance-professional looking to change his career trajectory.

A couple of years ago, he and his wife and son were playing mini-golf. It was a nice Sunday in June and the place was packed. The family found themselves waiting forever at the second hole. He recalls thinking how nice it would be to grab a drink or some ice cream while they were waiting.

The idea percolated. He did some research, found there were mini-golf places that also included other attractions and leased 15,288 square feet in half of a former gym space owned and developed by the Cardente Family. (The other half also leased recently to fitness facility Salud.)

Photo / Tim Greenway

minibar will use part of the space in this building on Marginal Way in Portland. The building used to be World Gym which closed 2 years ago.

Now work is underway to convert the space into a 9,000-square-foot mini-golf course, full sports bar with 30 TVs and a kitchen and restaurant with seating for 120-plus customers.

The gut renovation started with knocking down walls and installing new plumbing and siding.

COST, a theme and specialty construction firm in Wisconsin, is providing the mini-golf course design and build team. The course layout includes sports themes such as a hockey hole where golfers have to putt past hockey-stick barriers, a skiing hole that has slalom-gate barriers, baseball, soccer, basketball, snowboarding, bowling and lacrosse holes — and, of course, a lobster hole and a donut hole.

The architect is Stephanie Lull from SRL Architects in Portland. The kitchen designer is Tom McArdle from TJM Consulting in Saco.

Chef Josh Berry and Maggie Knowles, who own a Yarmouth company called the B Frame, are serving as restaurant consultants. Paula Mahony from Words@Work is providing marketing support.

Plans include hosting mini-golf leagues, tournaments, private events, trivia nights and other happenings.

“We’re aiming for a soft opening in June and a grand opening in late June or early July,” says Moschella.

Marketing includes social media updates and talking with local businesses such as breweries about potential synergies, as well as working with Visit Portland and the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re running into a lot of people who are excited and interested,” he says.

That includes partnerships with the Portland Sea Dogs, Maine Celtics, Hearts of Pine and Maine Mariners.

“We’ll have their logos and theming integrated into some of our holes,” he says. “We’re doing marketing and events at their venues as well, with the hopes of being very intertwined with the local community.”

‘Explosion of golf’

In Waterville, Nicolas Pelotte and his wife Sarah Hawk of Winslow leased space of just over 3,000 square feet in the Hathaway Creative Center at 10 Water St., Suite 109, and launched an indoor golf simulator business called Swish a year ago.

Photo / Courtesy of Swish

Swish opened in leased space at the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville.

The general manager at the Waterville Country Club, Pelotte planned Swish for players of all experience levels and handicaps. Swish provides two simulation bays and a bar and snacks.

“Waterville did not have any substantial indoor golf options,” says Pelotte. “I thought it was a good opportunity, as someone who works in the golf business and has a pretty big golf network. And it gives people in the central Maine community an option that a lot of other communities don’t have.”

Since opening, Swish has seen all levels, from experienced league players to those looking for a night out with their spouse or family to people who have never touched a golf club in their life and want to give it a try.

“This is the least stressful and safe way to do that without investing a lot of time and energy into equipment and greens fees and things like that,” he says.

Golf has evolved from a country-club sport to one that’s much more mainstream, he says.

“The explosion of golf and changing demographics have made it more comfortable,” he says. “We have women, high school kids, college students, young families. I’d say the demographic is really vast.”

There are more opportunities for youth to come up in the sport, he continues. Once upon a time, youth were bound by whatever sports were available through youth programs in their community.

“There’s not a golf course in every community, so you’d have to branch out on your own; it was all word-of-mouth,” he says. “Now there’s so much access for young people. I think most of the golfing facilities in Maine, whether indoor or outdoor, understand that getting involved with youth will be important for future business.”

Spin analysis

In the past two years, Sim City Golf added locations in Bangor and Old Orchard Beach.

Brian Bickford — a long-time golf professional in Maine, executive director of the Maine Golf Association and a 2016 Maine Golf Hall of Fame inductee — began the venture about a decade ago, when he was the head golf professional at Val Halla Golf Club in Cumberland and installed three simulators as a business within the club.

Photos / Courtesy of Sim City Golf

Brian Bickford of Sim City Golf says simulator technology is useful for golf practice, including league play and lessons.

Occupancy was nearly 100%. With partners, Bickford moved the business to 100 Larrabee Road in Westbrook, where he operates eight simulators.

(Also at 100 Larrabee Road, Club Champion, an Illinois-based chain making customized golf clubs, opened a store as its first Maine location in 2024.)

In 2023, Sim City expanded into a lease at 930 Stillwater Ave. in Bangor and into a sublease at Birdies Grill & Tavern at 168 Saco Ave. in Old Orchard Beach.

Bickford uses simulators made by the Danish firm Trackman, which has a U.S. sales office in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Sim City Bangor’s setup consists of five simulators, high-definition projectors and screens. Users can choose from among scores of simulated courses. The software analyzes factors such as the club head speed, spin on the ball and angle of attack to determine the distance of the shot on the screen. Customers can play solo or with partners.

Bickford says the technology is useful for practice. Like other multi-player internet games, users can play together no matter where they are in the world, as long as they have similar set-ups. Opportunities include league play and lessons. Amenities include a bar and food service.

Initial investment in the Bangor fit-up was about $350,000, with a portion financed through Norway Savings Bank.

“We’re finding that people have caught on,” he says of simulated golf. “It’s a thriving business because people are looking for something to do. Not everyone can go to Florida. But you can go to an indoor golf facility and play Pebble Beach.”

He continues, “Is it exactly like outdoor golf? Absolutely not. But it’s a fun activity.”

Whereas outdoor golf trends 80% male, 20% female, indoor golf is 60/40, he says.

“I think part of it is when you play indoor golf you don’t have outdoor golf pressures,” Bickford says. “You have time, there’s no one behind or in front of you. I think it’s less intimidating as a result.”

Compared with conventional golf, the average age of golf simulation play is about 10 years younger, averaging age 35, he adds.

“The technology plays to a younger demographic,” he says. “And you’re not thrashing around in the mud. There are no bugs. There’s music.”

Maine Golf recently began adding golf simulation locations to its listings.

Breaking down barriers

For the past three years, Maine Golf has been leasing about 100 acres from L.L.Bean at the former Freeport Country Club at 2 Old County Road Extension in Freeport.

The plan is to build a not-for-profit golf learning center that aims to break down the barriers to golf for youth and families.

Rendering / Courtesy of Maine Golf

The Maine Golf Association is raising money to build a not-for-profit golf learning center, in Freeport, that aims to break down the barriers to golf for youth and families.

Last year, Maine Golf announced the launch of a $2.5 million capital campaign to build the Maine Golf Center Freeport facility, with a family-friendly clubhouse with a full-service pro shop, snack bar, indoor classroom, high-tech indoor golf simulators for year-round play and instruction and a Toptracer driving range with 20 hitting bays. The current nine-hole course will be revamped and a par 3 “short course” installed.

To date, Maine Golf has raised $1.8 million of its $2.5 million goal, primarily from private donations.

Maine Golf also recently revitalized the First Tee program in Maine, a junior golf and youth development program based in Ponde Vedra, Fla. The First Tee and other golf access and education programs such as Youth on Course, PGA Junior League and LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, will be headquartered at the Freeport facility.

Maine has lost 11 golf courses in recent years (five in Cumberland County and six elsewhere), to lucrative real estate development opportunities, says Maine Golf. Combined with a surge in adult golf since 2020, that has significantly reduced the amount of available tee times for junior and beginner golfers.

That comes as interest in junior golf has grown. Since 2021, Maine Golf’s Youth on Course program, which gives young golfers access to local courses at a low cost, has signed up over 3,200 junior golfers.

To break down barriers, the center will be geared specifically toward juniors with offerings such as low- to no-cost equipment programs and low-cost junior tee times

Construction of the driving range in Freeport is expected to start this summer.

Goals include hosting Maine’s first U.S. National Development Program, a program launched in recent years by the U.S. Golf Association to nurture promising junior players.

“We’re also looking at this as the hub of a more statewide plan to provide juniors in different areas of the state golf opportunities,” says Bickford.