Golf teams are using golf simulators to practice in the offseason, work through bad weather and attract recruits.
In May of 2021, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville added an indoor golf simulator to its practice facility. Photos courtesy of coach Derrick Brown.
There’s nothing that beats outdoor practice and play for college and high school golf teams.
“Practice? We’re talking about practice?” Why yes, Allen Iverson, we are, because it is important for competitive golfers to continually hone their golf skills, even when the weather isn’t cooperating.
Many coaches and school leaders are seeing the benefits of having an indoor golf simulator at their disposal. We spoke with a few college golf head coaches: Andrea Wieland with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Derrick Brown with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Dave Taebel with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Jeremiah Hoffmann, formerly with UW-Oshkosh, along with leaders involved in Edgerton High School’s indoor golf practice room, to find out how they have used their indoor golf simulators in and out of season.
Wieland’s Warhawk women golfers have been one of the top programs in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She said her team enjoys having year-round access to their golf room, which has a SkyTrak launch monitor and turf for putting and chipping.
“We converted an old racquetball room into an indoor golf room,” Wieland said. “It’s a nice option for that early spring time when we are anxious to get on the golf course.”
UW-Whitewater installed their golf room in March of 2020, right before its campus shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The following offseason, they were only allowed three people in the room at a time, so Wieland said they hadn’t really had a regular offseason to use it yet.
Before having their indoor golf simulator room, Wieland said her players would individually go to other indoor locations, or putt on the turf green in the Williams Center, UW-Whitewater’s fieldhouse that is shared with other athletic teams.
“For Division 3 golf, we have to declare an offseason with no team practices, so we do that from Nov. 1 to about March 1,” Wieland said. “After March 1, team practices used to be just putting in the Williams Center and team workouts, unless we could get outside.”
Of course, the main benefit of having a golf simulator for a team would be to practice indoors. But Wieland said it helps in other ways, as well.
“We also didn’t want to fall behind in the recruiting process because of it,” Wieland said, citing rival schools UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire all had indoor golf facilities when she was hired at UW-Whitewater in 2016.
UW-Whitewater turned a racquetball room into an indoor golf practice facility with a simulator. Photos courtesy of coach Andrea Wieland.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women’s golf team also converted an old racquetball court into an indoor golf simulator and putting/chipping area.
Watch: UW-La Crosse women’s golf shows how its indoor simulator changed the team’s practice space.
The Eagles never had a permanent spot on campus to practice golf. They’d either have to head off campus to their home course when the weather was nice enough, or use a pop-up hitting net on campus if they could find an open spot. But with the racquetball court transformed into an indoor golf simulator, they had a place to practice whenever they needed.
The UW-La Crosse women’s golf team converted a racquetball court into an indoor golf simulator and short game practice area.
“For a long time, we had practice areas where we had to be portable and were moving around,” Taebel said. “Once they identified this room as a place for us to call a more permanent home, we knew that a golf simulator and a launch monitor and hitting bay would be able to take our practices to a whole other level as far as what we could get done, and the kind of data and improvements we could make.”
Before they found a permanent spot for an indoor golf simulator, the squad started with a SkyTrak launch monitor. They added a Bushnell Launch Pro not long after, as both it and the SkyTrak are portable.
Once the racquetball court was offered as an option, Taebel knew he wanted an indoor golf simulator on campus. The opportunity for a more permanent solution to hit balls into had presented itself. That’s where Carl came into the picture.
“I had bought an impact screen from Carl’s Place for my personal use a long time ago and the thing is still ticking. It’s unbelievably high quality,” Taebel said. “I knew about the company from back then. When I reached out to them, it started with a simple chat on the website and Zach answered all our questions, got back to us right away. They were able to work with us to build a customized option that fit our space.”
“The customer service has been top notch. The quality of the product has been exceptional. We’re really pleased with where we ended up.”
At Edgerton High School in southern Wisconsin, golf has always been one of the standout athletic programs. But Wisconsin weather isn’t exactly golf-friendly year-round. That’s why the Edgerton Golf Booster Club decided to step up and revamp the school’s indoor golf practice space.
Watch: Edgerton High School shows how its renovated indoor golf practice room supports student golfers.
“Golf has always been a big part of the Edgerton community,” said Michelle Kern, the Booster Club’s Treasurer. “One of the challenges of being located in Wisconsin is that the weather isn’t always ideal. So, we thought about the opportunity and how we could better support the kids and their passion. That’s where the idea came from.”
In a smaller, more remote community, having a space that’s easy for all students to use was a must, Kern added. Edgerton High already had an indoor golf practice space, but it wasn’t up to par and needed some updating.
Once the idea took off, the boosters contacted Carl’s Place to make it happen.
“After sharing our budget and working with Carl’s Place, we explored the different options they offered,” Kern explained. “This setup gets a ton of use, so we needed something that could take a beating.”
Kern said the main upgrade was making the enclosure and impact screen a bit safer by installing one of Carl’s Pro Enclosures with Premium Impact Screen. They also chose to go with the overhead-mounted Uneekor QED launch monitor paired with GSPro software.
“GSPro has been amazing,” Kern said. “The graphics, course options, and the data it provides to help athletes improve their golf games are incredible.”
Athletic Director Justin Fowlkes said he is thrilled with how the project turned out.
“Carl’s Place exceeded our expectations,” Fowlkes said. “We have a safe space to play, and the materials and resources are just beautiful. Carl’s Place even designed some local courses, like Evansville’s golf course, which we’re able to use here. That alone gives us an advantage, which is super important since Evansville is our rival and in our conference. Getting a leg up on the competition goes a long way.”
The new setup has transformed the space, Fowlkes said.
“The structure is fantastic—we’re no longer damaging the room we had before,” Fowlkes said. “It’s a beautiful facility, and honestly, it’s the best I’ve been a part of. It’s been a great experience. If I were an athletic director at another high school, I’d recommend buying a simulator from Carl’s Place.”
The simulator is already changing the game for Edgerton students, Fowlkes said.
“I think, just in our golf programs and athletic department alone, we’re going to see the numbers increase,” Fowlkes said. “When kids see cool things like this, they’ll want to figure it out and join. Kudos to the boosters and the golf program for making this happen.”
Kern agreed.
“I’d tell anyone who’s even considering it not to hesitate to reach out,” Kern said. “Don’t worry about being intimidated by not knowing the right questions to ask or by how big or small your budget is. Carl’s Place will answer your questions and support you, no matter your experience level or budget.”
Brown, who coaches the men’s team at SIUE, agreed that having a golf simulator and other options for practicing throughout the winter and inclement weather days has helped with recruiting. Before getting their simulator in May of 2021, the Cougars were forced to hit into special golf nets in batting cages in their indoor softball facility.
“We had known for a while we needed an indoor area of our own and specifically a simulator and putting green,” Brown said. “We had good buy-in from our administration and almost immediately donors helped make the simulator a reality. So many schools had one already we were falling behind without one in both recruiting and being able to see data on swings.”
“(Having a golf simulator has) also helped with our alumni/donors who see a project like this and it makes them proud.”
Along with the boosts to recruiting and keeping up with the facilities of some conference rivals, having the indoor practice space and golf simulator has also allowed UW-La Crosse to host camps and clinics for younger players.
“We love being able to give back and help grow the game in this area,” Taebel said. “That has been a great development for our team and women’s golf program here at UWL. It’s another huge benefit of this kind of facility.”
SIUE’s facility is pushing 2,000 square feet and includes a putting/chipping room with three indoor/outdoor hitting bays along with a separate simulator room.
“We like everything about it,” Brown said. “It’s a great space for our guys to get better not just during the winter months, but also during rainy days during the actual season … We concentrate on our numbers and distances so while we are getting stronger in the weight room, we are continuing to learn more about our swings and numbers.”
“Literally everything on our Trackman can be useful and each guy can concentrate on what they need to improve.”
Taebel said getting real data has also been a major benefit for UW-La Crosse.
“They can get real data on their shots. They can learn about what their ball is doing with accurate input. In the past, our indoor time has been great and we can make it effective, but this takes it to a whole other level. Being able to see what their ball is doing, work on different aspects of their game, the different types of shots you can hit on there is super helpful.”
Brown also pointed out that his guys enjoy the fun aspect of a golf simulator as well.
“There are many combines, games and courses that you can play to get better,” Brown said. “The ability to mix up your practices on the simulator, from wedge games to combines to playing a course in Ireland, make it fun to practice.”
The college golf team at UW-La Crosse installed a customized Pro Golf Enclosure and Premium Impact Screen that is about 9.5 feet high, 9.5 feet wide and just over 6 feet deep. They could have gone with a much larger enclosure, or maybe even added a second, but Taebel wanted to keep a decent amount of space for chipping and putting practice.
UW-La Crosse chose a simulator setup that left room for putting and chipping practice.
“We didn’t want something that was so huge that it was going to eat up too much space, but we wanted something big enough so that it was functional for us,” Taebel said. “We’ve been super pleased with what we ended up with and it’s been a great addition to our practice space.”
The women’s team at UW-Oshkosh, one of UW-Whitewater’s top rivals, has access to two hitting bays with About Golf Simulators through the school’s Student Recreation and Wellness Department, one of which they use mostly for chipping and putting, Hoffmann said.
“I like that they offer us an option to practice indoors,” Hoffmann said. “But we need an upgrade. I would love to get at least one Trackman and a new putting green installed. We need a more modern short game practice facility and launch monitor.”
TIP: Carl’s Place offers modern launch monitors, from affordable to high end.
Since the Student Recreation Department is separate from the school’s athletic department, Hoffmann said he does not have as much access to the simulators as he would prefer until springtime comes around before the second half of their season starts.
Hoffmann said if they are able to upgrade and get more access to simulators, it would greatly benefit his squad.
“If we are able to upgrade our system, I plan to expand the offseason practice plans to include more specific drills for the full swing and putting,” Hoffmann said.
Despite the challenges, Hoffmann said his players enjoy having access to a golf simulator on campus.
“They appreciate the opportunity to practice in colder/snowy months,” Hoffmann said. “Like me, an upgrade would make them more excited about practicing.”
Taebel added that having their own indoor golf space on campus has given his student-athletes a sense of pride and a place they can call their own.
“You can’t measure how important that is,” Taebel said. “If you have the space, which I know is often a premium on college campuses, but if you’re considering it, it’s been a great addition for our team. The things that you can do with it and the flexibility it gives you, the place for your athletes to go to practice or relieve stress or whatever it is they want to do, it’s an amazing addition to a college golf program. Having a tool like this that you can use to practice or deal with stress or whatever, it’s just something I cannot recommend enough.”
“Carl’s Place has been great to work with. The customer service, the quality of their product, the attentiveness to questions or the suggestions they’re able to make across the board when it comes to indoor golf solutions is the best that I’ve dealt with.”
If you’re a golf coach, athletic director or booster club looking to install or upgrade an indoor golf simulator practice facility, Carl’s Place can help with golf simulator enclosures, impact screens, launch monitors, software, hitting mats and projectors. And if it’s more than you want to worry about, our Custom Golf Simulator Design Service can help!