STERLING, Ill. (KWQC) – One of the fastest-growing golfing simulator franchises is about to pop up in Sterling. X-Golf, a high-tech immersive golf experience will have its grand opening on Friday.
Co-owner Josh Wellman said he’s excited for the community to tee off.
“There’s a great ax-throwing place in town, you’ve got the bowling alley,” Wellman said. “After that, there wasn’t a whole lot to do … The golfing community is huge in this area.”
Wellman, along with his business partner Heath Warner, fell in love with the X-Golf simulator franchise when golfing in the Chicagoland area. They liked it so much, they wanted to bring the experience to the Sauk Valley.
The business has five state-of-the-art simulators, along with a full bar and kitchen.
Warner said whether it’s 15 or 90 degrees outside, X-Golf has something for everyone.
“It’s 69, 71 degrees here, no rain, no wind, [with a] cold cocktail, [and] a nice pizza to get … then I want to play,” Warner said. “The other thing people always forget, you can’t play golf outside at night.”
Rock Falls High School golfer, Carter Dillon, said this is a perfect way to get his reps in during the off-season.
“Usually when you get back, you’re rusty,” Dillon said. “It takes you a few days to get back into it, but since we have this, we’re gonna be able to play almost every day. So we’ll be good.”
According to Wellman, it’s the technology that sets X-Golf apart from other simulators.
“This takes all your calculations within … 24 inches, all the lasers are there,” Wellman said. “Your lob wedges are true. The putting is actually amazing once you get used to how it works.”
Nationally, X-Golf is looking to have about 120 locations by the end of 2023.
The Sauk Valley location was open for limited service during the week. The grand opening starts at 4 pm on Friday.
It is located at 13464 Gault Road in Sterling. Prices vary on the day of the week and hours, for a full list, visit the X-Golf website.
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