Helping Hurricane Creek CC keep members engaged

By MIKE BAILEY

Come November, the golf course at Hurricane Creek Country Club will close temporarily. For an exciting reason. The club has hired Beau Welling to renovate the course, a Leon Howard design that first opened in 1968. And that means the 460 members at Hurricane Creek will have no place to play at the club until fall of 2026, when the new course reopens.

Or will they?

The club has set up reciprocal arrangements, of course, to provide its members with other places to play their regular rounds of golf. However, there are other options as well, thanks to some forward-thinking by the board and management at this member-owned club, situated in a rapidly growing area about 40 miles north of Dallas in the community of Anna, Texas.

Most recently, Hurricane Creek CC purchased a pair of Uneekor golf simulators from The Indoor Golf Shop, based in nearby Celina, Texas. The Indoor Golf Shop offers an industry-leading selection of residential and commercial indoor golf equipment, which includes a full selection of launch monitors and simulators from companies like Trackman, Uneekor, Garmin, Bushnell, Flightscope, Pro Tee, Full Swing, and Tru Golf. 

After a little bit of prep work by the club  – which included removing a short dividing wall next to a putting green and doing a little electrical work for power to the units so cables wouldn’t be visible – a crew from The Indoor Golf Shop first installed one simulator in what’s known as the Swing Room in the clubhouse, then another a few weeks later after the response to the first sim space was so positive. The full Commercial Enclosure setup included the Uneekor EYE XO2 launch monitor, SIGPRO Golf Simulator Flooring, a Panasonic projector, and the SIGPRO Premium Impact Screen.

While the complete shutdown of the course is still months away, members have already been enjoying indoor golf. For example, after a recent Men’s Golf Association, three-man scramble members came inside for a closest to the pin contest for each flight on the simulator, trying their luck on a facsimile of the famous par-3 12th at Augusta. 

“We haven’t even had it for a little over two weeks, and there’s been a crazy amount of traction,” said Will Haughey, head PGA Professional at Hurricane Creek Country Club.

Where they used to have a net, a launch monitor, and a putting green, there are now two top-of-the-line Uneekor simulator setups with all the teaching tech, which run about $30,000 each. 

“This is the complete package,” said Haughey. “You’re looking at lessons, fittings, playing courses, contests, social outings, you name it. Pretty much the possibilities are endless… We’re planning on even running season-long or year-long matches, even on the simulator.”

Right now, the club takes reservations on paper. But eventually, members will be able to book times on the simulators online, just like they would at another golf course.  And they won’t be charged to use it. At Hurricane Creek, the idea is to keep members engaged and encourage them to come to the clubhouse for dining and other activities during the shutdown and beyond. The simulators will help with that. 

It’s a great selling point for potential new members who might be touring the club.

“Like tennis courts, it’s just another cool amenity, if you think about it,” said Justin Carlson, vice president of sales at The Indoor Golf Shop.

And Hurricane Creek may add even more simulators from the Indoor Golf Shop, depending on demand. Once the golf course reopens, they can always find new homes for extras (like with members who might want a home setup), and there are plans to include at least one simulator in the new teaching center by the range, which is part of the renovation.

Of course, every club is different, and not all are going through renovations. Clubs in colder climates have off seasons. Installing simulators in those clubhouses provide instructors a place to teach without having to go south. And they can provide local players a place to maintain their swing and even play 18 holes. Hurricane Creek’s Uneekor setup, for example, includes thousands of golf courses through a GSPro software subscription, which is free the first year and around $250 next year. Among the courses Hurricane Creek added were Payne’s Valley, Augusta, (Georgia Golf Club), Pebble Beach, Tobacco Road, and Sage Valley. The recent closest-to-the-pin contest was conducted on the incredible 19th Hole at Payne’s Valley.

Carlson said they are seeing a trend of more clubhouses installing simulators.

“In all climates it’s a huge opportunity to keep the members coming back to the club,” he said.

Haughey believes the simulators will be jam-packed, especially this winter. And for clubs that aren’t member-owned or even some daily fee facilities, Haughey recommends the investment. Many clubs could certainly charge a fee to use the simulators.

“I would tell them it’s a 100 percent no-brainer,” he said.