2 days ago
Multifamily Golf Amenities That Top The Leaderboard
The first couple decades of this century witnessed a marked decline in golf's popularity. Some 1,200 golf courses were shuttered nationwide, and from 2003 to 2018, U.S. golf participation plunged by 6.8 million participants. Golf pros feared for the sport's future.
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and its corresponding recommendation of social distancing. Moving outdoors onto the wide-open golf links seemed an ideal response.
Interest in the game has surged ever since, and is reflected in the growing popularity of golf simulator experiences like TopGolf and X-Golf, as well as in golf driving ranges. The opportunity to play a round on 3D virtual representations of legendary golf courses has hooked legions of linksters. Golf simulator settings have become a relaxed place for fun, social gatherings, as well as corporate events and team-building experiences.
Never one to pass on crowd-pleasing features that can attract move-ins to their residential offerings, shrewd developers have increasingly found reason to incorporate golf simulators into their buildings. The move ensures residents can hone their swings or play a round with friends without ever booking a tee time. Here's a look at several residential communities that top the leaderboard in golf-related amenities and extras.
Pairing Up
Wingspan Development Group nicely leveraged proximity to not one but two courses when it developed The Ruby at Brookfield Square in Brookfield, Wisc., a western suburb of Milwaukee. With the courses literally across the street, Wingspan opted to bring the game to the residents, guaranteeing golfing fun regardless of rain or shine.
The developer incorporated a year-round golf simulator as one of the many amenities residents can enjoy within the 231-unit apartment community. The property's golfing enthusiasts can perfect their games on the simulator before transitioning immediately south to the 54-year-old Brookfield Hills Golf Club, or immediately east to the century-old Westmore Country Club, one of the nation's premiere private clubs. 'In a market like Wisconsin, where the golf season is really only seven months [long]Optima, Inc., an architectural firm and developer with properties in the Chicago area and Arizona's Valley of the Sun, integrates golf simulators in various ways. They fit nicely alongside indoor hoops and pickleball courts at Wilmette, Ill.'s Optima Verdana, and Chicago's Optima Lakeview. They join basketball court, squash courts and bocce courts in Chicago's Near North Side Optima Signature.
At 7190 Optima Kierland in Scottsdale, Ariz., the golf simulator didn't sway resident Morris Lippert's decision to ink a lease agreement, but since has become part of his golf routine. 'I hadn't really used simulators before moving in,' he says.
'But now I use it once or twice a week to take shots between rounds at my club, where I usually play two to three times a week.'
Indoors, outdoors
Both an indoor golf simulator and an outdoor putting green are attractions at Apex 41, an apartment community managed by RMK Management in Lombard, Ill. Both help golf-enthusiast residents polish their games between contests at several area courses.
Golf simulators are a terrific way to perfect swings and savor sociability all year long, says Diana Pittro, executive vice president of RMK Management Corp. But, she adds, 'Low-tech golf amenities like outdoor putting greens are convenient when residents want to practice their short game in the fresh air, without driving to a course or range.'
The student housing sector hasn't overlooked the popularity of golf, as evidenced by communities such as The 87, a newly constructed student housing community near Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind. The property's Tee Box Sports Lounge, designed by Mary Cook Associates, features a golf simulator, TVs tuned to sports events and a pop-a-shot basketball game. Not just student golfers have flocked to the simulator. It's also proven popular, when not booked by students, by building staff.
With golf's ascendency in full flight, look for more multifamily communities to get into the swing of things by viewing inclusion of golf-related amenities as par for the course.
