Creating the Private Club Version of Topgolf
Transforming Your Golf Practice Range
What takes a golf practice range and makes it a year-round, night-and-day golf entertainment center? A few little additions do the deed. Add a competitive game, some good food, a little libation and camaraderie among friends, and you have the private club version of Topgolf. In other words, create a version of Cheers on your range so the club becomes known for fun entertainment as well as recreation and dining. Now, while many clubs have added indoor and outdoor golf training facilities on their ranges, notice how little they are used other than for paid lessons or training. Even with simulators, the use is just not there; but, add the food and drink components to the range, a little fun gamesmanship among members of all ages, and wow! Members love it! Just think what makes platform tennis work at clubs. It is the warming hut that drives the social interaction among members.
The Right Environment
When providing an entertainment range, focus on creating an environment that is comfortable and enjoyable for people to socialize. Accommodate both programed events and walk-on play. Use the seating space for groups of people ranging from multiple foursomes, to more boisterous groups of 10 to 12 people, to a full-fledged nighttime social event. Ball tracking technology and proper lighting keep members coming in when the rain pours and the sun fades. So get ready for members to be at the club late into the night and during the winter season.
Balancing Act
Balance existing range usage using simulators. By carving out space with equipment layouts, simulators and ballistic screens, the range remains open to traditional activities while games thrive and members carouse in the sealed indoor facilities. Make sure to provide spaces for members that want to participate as an active audience. They bring lively cheers to encourage the competing gamers.
Location! Location! Location!
Directly adjacent to the group hitting suites is a member bar that is the focal point of the new facility. It creates an opportunity for members to casually engage in conversation before, during and after their time in a hitting suite, and it provides continuity for members expecting to see other members. Get ready for members sprouting out of the turf to enjoy each other’s company among the backdrop of this new, yet familiar, club amenity.
About Christian Clerc, AIA
Christian has been in the construction, architecture, and planning fields for over 20 years and has been involved in all aspects of McMahon services during his 10 years with the firm. He has drafted Master Plans, written strategic plans, and presented improvement projects to memberships. In addition to training and supporting new staff across several departments, Christian works closely with Club planners and leadership to develop innovative services that help clients in a rapidly changing world. He developed the survey benchmark by analyzing years of membership surveys, which now serve as a backbone to McMahon’s membership analysis and industry-wide assessments.
A respected industry voice, Christian is a featured speaker for the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) and the National Club Association (NCA), as well as a featured author in industry publications. He holds AIA membership and LEED AP BD+C credentials, further demonstrating his commitment to sustainable and innovative design practices.
Christian graduated with honors from the University of Dallas in Texas with a bachelor’s degree in physics, where he served as treasurer and social chairman of the men’s rugby club. He participated in undergraduate astronomy research in Wooster Ohio, Pitkin Colorado and at MIT’s Haystack observatory. After working in construction, he returned to school and graduated with honors from Washington University in St. Louis, earning two graduate degrees in Architecture and Urban Design. As Graduate Architecture Council treasurer, he established the first funding mechanism for the annual Year End Show (YES), showcasing recent graduates’ work. He presented façade research on phase change materials in Hong Kong China and façade adaptive reuse in Delft Netherlands. He is a registered architect in several states, most proudly in his home ‘Show-Me’ state of Missouri.
Christian’s professional achievements are rooted in his core values. His faith, wife Lauren, and their five children are at the heart of his life, fueling his pursuit of excellence in all spheres. This foundation drives his passion to create positive change at home and in the wider world. Christian and Lauren contribute to their church’s Marriage Enrichment ministry, and he has served on parish councils. His community engagement has extended to various professional organizations.
