Christmas 4—The planned location will mark the fast-growing company’s first franchise in Connecticut. Since launching in 2016, the technology and entertainment company has opened more than 80 lounges that also serve food and beverages across the country.
Barry Knott, an attorney representing the franchise owners, said the approximately 10,000-square-foot facility will feature nine simulators that will allow guests to play on virtual recreations of famous courses, including the Augusta National Golf Club and the Old Course at St Andrews.
“You can practice both your long game and short game at this facility,” Knott told the commission members. “Putting is accurate within inches.”
Like most X-Golf locations, the venue would also include a small kitchen and centralized bar with seating for about 16 people. The entire location, Knott said, would be able to accommodate up to around 40 guests.
Golf simulators, along with other virtual sporting experiences, have grown in popularity in recent years thanks in part to new technology. Golftec, a Colorado-based company that uses simulators to train athletes, recently opened a facility in Trumbull.
Although the newly approved venue will be X-Golf’s first in the state, it will not be the first venue in the region that combines golf simulators with a sports bar. Golf Lounge 18, which is owned by a Trumbull-based businessman, operates four locations in the state, including one in Fairfield. That location charges customers $65 an hour during peak times, according to its website.
The X-Golf simulators, which were originally developed in Korea nearly two decades ago, rely on a series of infrared lasers, cameras and sensors to track the movement of a golf club in order to replicate the flight of a ball and project it on a large screen.
“X-Golf technology measures fat or thin shots, tops and all the things that can go wrong when playing off real grass,” the company wrote on its website. “The accuracy of our technology is second to none.”
The venue will employ a total of six people, with no more than four employees working at the same time, Knott said. He also noted that the location will be open to customers between 7 am and midnight.
“These hours are necessary because many golfers will go to X-Golf before or after going to work or before — or after going to the golf course to play a round,” he said.
Knott has said the Stratford venue will be available for private parties such as birthdays, field trips, corporate events, fundraisers and tournaments for people interested in competing against other virtual golfers. He has said the venue could open its doors sometime this fall or as soon as later this summer.