‘Caddyshack meets the digital age’ at Beaufort’s first simulated golf club
A new Beaufort golf simulator club called Egret and Iron is a first for the city but part of a surging interest nationally in hitting golf balls indoors without ever stepping onto a real course, maybe while enjoying the company of friends along with a cold beer.
It’s a place where you can play world-famous courses like Pebble Beach or St. Andrews without leaving Beaufort. And the weather’s always perfect.
“Quite frankly, I was worried somebody would do it before we did,” Chad Troutman said.
Troutman, Charleston native, and Andrea Michel, of Maine, are the owners of the city’s new indoor golfing experience. The couple, who are business and life partners, say they quickly recognized a golf simulator lounge was missing from the Beaufort market after they moved to the city a little over a year ago. The closest simulator golf clubs are in Hilton Head and Savannah.
“I’m looking forward to the community’s input,” said Michel.
With a classic country club vibe including leather armchairs and vintage golf decor and a bar, paired with high-tech simulators that track the flight of the ball and provide more than enough data, Egret and Iron bills itself as “Caddyshack meets the digital age.”
The same technology is in place that the pros use on the proactice range to track swings and balls but Troutman and Michel emphasize that the doors to the immersive golf experience will be open to players of all abilities and ages, both men and women.
“It’s not a dude’s club,” Troutman says. “It is an all inclusive place.”
Egret and Iron, located in Beaufort Town Center on Boundary Street, will makes its debut later this week. It’s promotional efforts also include a driving contest and a special screening of a classic golf movie Happy Gilmore starring Adam Sandler, which is planned for next week.
It’s the second sports-related business to open in the Town Center in the last three months.
Tyler Osik opened Hitters University, an indoor baseball facility featuring pitching machines, in May.
The Beaufort shopping center also features fitness facilities, restaurants, clothing stores and a grocery store.
Troutman and Michel are tapping into a national trend with the new business.
The National Golf Foundation reports that hitting golf balls in a golf simulator is surging across the country and increased 73% immediately following the pandemic.
In 2023, the national organization had more than 1,600 businesses with a simulator in its database compared to 200 in 2016.
Renovations began in May. On Friday, workers were putting the finishing touches on the spacious interior that features a bar where beer and wine will be served, a lounge with classic golf clubs and photos of golf greats hanging on the wall, a putting green and four hitting bays.
The couple is planning a soft opening July 16-July 18 and a driving competition July 25 when a screening of Happy Gilmore 2 also is planned. That’s the same day Sandler’s follow-up to his classic 1996 film about a hockey player who becomes a professional golfer will be available for streaming.
The club’s four 15-foot-wide and 15-foot-tall hitting bays feature giant screens that project a life-like golf course. The trajectory of the golf shots also are shown in much the same way they are displayed on TV during professional golf tournament coverage.
“It’s very sophisticated,” Troutman says.
Specialized software recreates the experience of playing golf and the business is built to satisfy all players, from those just starting out to pros on the Korn Ferry Tour.
A computer screen is located on the side of the bay, where with a touch of a finger a player can choose to play one of 400 golf courses from around the world. They also can chose programs that provide shot analysis.
Once the ball is struck by a wood or iron, it harmlessly bounces off a tarp. But cameras and sensors track the swing and the ball, which players can then watch as it flies down the fairway.
“It’s gets very immersive, very quickly,” Troutman said Friday during a demonstration.
Immediate feedback is provided, like the position of the club face at contact or the spin rate of the ball.
One of the big advantages of simulated golf is convenience, the couple says.
“You can play a round of golf in an hour,” Troutman says. “This, to me, is a great course to play on.”
There’s no waiting or poor weather to worry about — and no pushy golfers trying to play through, he notes. “Just pure golf and good times,” the website says.
Leagues and tournaments also are planned but Troutman notes that with the league play not all of the players will need to be present at the same time, which accommodates busy schedules.
Members will be able to punch in an code to gain access to the facilities between 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Hours for the general public will be 2-10 p.m. Troutman says the cost for an hour of golf will be a minimum of $40 a person.
