Jarad Earley (right) and Kyle Petersen, Green Club’s cofounders. (Courtesy Green Club)
After seeing the rise in popularity of indoor golf, industry veteran Mike Hatch decided to buy his way into the growing trend.
Hatch, the owner of Brandermill Country Club and Birkdale Golf Club recently acquired the nearby indoor golf simulator venue Green Club at 6109 Harbourside Centre Loop in Midlothian from founders Kyle Petersen and Jarad Earley.
Green Club is now part of Hatch’s company Acumen Golf, which in addition to owning and running Brandermill CC and Birkdale GC, also manages a third Chesterfield course, Lake Chesdin Golf Club.
Adding an indoor venue to the Acumen portfolio allows Hatch to offer the members of his outdoor clubs a chance to play golf year-round and to drive extra revenue during the slower winter months.
“Obviously having three golf clubs all located around Green Club, especially going into the winter, it was a good time to get our hands on it to promote to our members before our clocks change,” Hatch said.
Mike Hatch
He said he looked at building his own simulator facility at Brandermill but couldn’t make room for it without spending more than $500,000. So, he decided to look at buying an existing indoor golf business, of which there are an increasing number in the region.
Hatch said he began discussions with the guys at Green Club earlier this year. The deal closed this month for an undisclosed sum.
Petersen and Earley, both Chesterfield residents and avid golfers, started Green Club two years ago out of a 1,700-square-foot space next to a First Watch restaurant.
They outfitted the space with Trackman golf simulator-powered hitting bays, a putting green and other amenities, and operated it with 24-hour self-serve membership model in which users pay per month and can access the facility anytime using a key fob or phone app.
Earley and Petersen said they weren’t necessarily looking for an exit strategy, as Green Club’s performance had exceeded their expectations since opening two years ago.
“It has flown by,” Earley said. “We were fortunate with the Green Club that it really took off from the moment we opened.”
“When you open a place like this, you build it out and you don’t know if people are going to come. But they absolutely did,” Petersen added.
After Hatch made his approach, Earley and Petersen said they were willing to entertain a sale, as they had been running Green Club as a side gig while both working other full-time jobs and raising young kids.
“Having full-time jobs and being able to do this on the side on the weekends, it takes time away from your family,” Earley said.
Still, Earley and Petersen said the sale is bittersweet.
“You go through a couple of different emotions along the way,” Petersen said. “The hardest part was writing the newsletter to members to share where we were headed. We felt like we were leaving them. But we know they’re in good hands and getting access to the outdoor golf world.”
Added Earley: “It is weird, because we have such good relationships with all these folks, you kind of feel like you’re leaving your friends a little bit.”
Petersen and Earley wouldn’t say how many members Green Club had at the time of the sale, but that their regulars include folks with differing interests in golf.
“It’s folks who have never played golf ever, just learning the basics to get confident; those in tournaments playing to improve their skills; and those looking to build the confidence to play at a private club,” Earley said.
Hatch said Acumen has around 1,000 members between its three clubs and held a member event at Green Club shortly after closing the deal. He said he was surprised at what he heard from some of the Green Club members.
“I didn’t realize a lot of people just play indoor golf. One guy was 77 (years old) and said, ‘I don’t really have any interest in going out on a course.’ And I really wasn’t expecting that,” Hatch said.
Ever the outdoor golf course owner, Hatch said he’ll see if can make some converts out of those indoor folks.
“We’ll try to sell them on the virtues of joining an Acumen golf club,” he said.
Among Hatch’s customers at Green Club going forward will likely be two familiar faces: Earley and Petersen.
They said they hope to keep playing as members at the venue they started.
“I just want to take a little breather,” Petersen said, “and I want to actually focus on playing more golf instead of scrubbing toilets and vacuuming floors.”
The post Brandermill Country Club owner buys nearby indoor golf venue Green Club appeared first on Richmond BizSense.
