If you’re like us, you’re playing golf until the last possible second. Mitten over glove, snow jackets blocking out your local muni polos and an extra pair of socks in the bag in case of rain. Some good comes out of playing in freezing conditions, but there’s just as much bad, irritating and exhausting. That’s where Golfzon’s state-of-the-art first (and hopefully not last) urban golf course comes in: Play a real-ish round of golf in nice conditions … even in the winter.
Is this… the coolest thing in the world?
One screen and one green per hole, all indoors.
Mind blown.🤯 pic.twitter.com/DrF6UVNKU4
— Stina Sternberg (@StinaSternberg) September 27, 2024
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. That’s a simulator that opens up into a full green—loaded with foliage, bunkers and rough—that will even give you an exact laser-pointed marker for where you hit it to. It’s Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for adults with more irons and less children being sucked into a chocolate tube.
This Golfzon creation opened in Tianjin, China, earlier this month, and is 16,000 square meters (roughly four acres) and a full 18 holes. It’s the next step to simulators, especially when considering how hit-or-miss virtual putting can be. Now, you can miss crucial putts on a real green (!) instead of on a screen.
“City Golf is the world’s first urban golf course that incorporates Golfzon’s golf simulator technology and field golf course management expertise,” Golfzon CEO Park Kang-soo told The Chosun. “We aim to bring this platform to city centres globally, beginning with China.”
We’re hoping this product makes its way to the United States soon with blustery and cold conditions on their way. It’s not true golf, but it’s the next best thing. And we’ll take what we can get, especially when it comes to not having to play in arctic conditions.