CAPITOLA — Corbin Taylor, a 24-year-old firefighter and aspiring golfer, stood on the golf course green, practicing his putt. He stepped up to the golf ball in front of him, lined up his club and tapped the ball forward, watching as it landed just inches away from the cup.
Despite the harsh rain coming down that day, Taylor and his friends were able to play a full 18-hole game of golf. They were playing a simulated course at the newly opened BetterGolf at Capitola Mall.
The golf simulator opened in August and is run by longtime friends and business partners Daniel Fontius and Nick Handley. The small shop features a few golf simulator bays, with artificial turf covering the floor and virtual courses projected onto huge flexible screens in the back. Players use real golf clubs to swing at real golf balls, which bounce off the screens as simulated balls make their way across a detailed virtual course. On TV screens at the side of each station, players can watch and analyze slow-motion videos of their swings, and use AI trainers to improve their golfing.
Taylor has been playing at BetterGolf once or twice a week since it opened. He first found out about the facility when he wandered in after shopping at the Target nearby.
“I ran home, grabbed my clubs, grabbed a buddy and came back in,” he said. “It’s really fun.”
Corbin Taylor putts on a virtual green at BetterGolf. (Caroline Hemphill – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Fontius and Handley have been amateur golfers for years. Before having kids, Handley even had an older version of a golf simulator in his home. Eventually, the simulator had to go to make room for a nursery. Fontius and Handley found themselves without a reliable way to play. They both had kids with their wives, and as fathers, they didn’t have time to spend hours at the golf course on weekends.
While there are some simulated courses in the San Jose area, Handley said, there was nothing in Santa Cruz. He and Fontius saw a need, and began working to create a space where local golfers could train and have fun playing games for a fraction of the price — and a much smaller time commitment. Even though they weren’t golfing pros or experts in simulated golf courses, the pieces seemed to fall together naturally as they worked on opening the store.
“It felt like kind of a calling,” Handley said. “Everything seems to flow pretty naturally with this so far.”
Fontius added, “And it’s a lot of fun.”
Simulated golf courses have been growing in popularity recently, boosted when golf legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, in partnership with the PGA Tour, created TGL Golf — a league that makes use of golf simulator technology and stars teams of popular pro golfers. Simulated golf facilities are also significantly different from standard driving ranges or sport entertainment complexes such as Top Golf.
For one, BetterGolf features full golf courses, including simulations of real ones such as Pebble Beach and Bethpage in New York, as well courses with themes such as zombies or Star Wars. Players can also use the data picked up by cameras to self-train and improve their playing. In the future, Fontius and Handley are hoping to hire trainers who can teach the players as they make their way through simulated courses.
“It’s your space for that time, so you’re not competing for the greens,” Fontius said. “And if you want to work on something, it’s the same environment every time.”
The owners also host events in an effort to build a community around golf. On Mondays, they play NFL games on the TV and assign each golf bay a team to represent. They’ve also invited high school golf teams to practice at BetterGolf with a significant discount. Being in the mall helps, too, they said. Parents can golf while their kids visit other nearby stores, and the convenient location allows players to come in and take a break from errands.
BetterGolf charges $40 an hour for the first player in a group, and adds an extra $10 per hour for each additional player. An 18-hole game takes about an hour, according to Fontius and Handley. The simulated courses are now open to the public in the Capitola Mall, 1855 41st Ave., Suite J05, across from the food court.
“We’re not trying to get rich off this,” Handley said. “We just wanted to see one of these things in town.”
For information and to book, visit bettergolf.io.
