OnPar Now’s golf simulators fill up every other Friday during the winter with women of various skill levels. Some have steady swings, others swing and miss. The score isn’t the point for this virtual golf league built on real-world connection.
“We have drinks and network and have a good time,” said Erin Weber, 39, of Marshall Township, a frequent customer at OnPar and the league’s organizer.
The low-stakes atmosphere is deliberate. Owner Jan Receski crafted the space in the Strip District’s Terminal development to be open, bright and, above all, welcoming to women. OnPar Now offers a standard simulated golf experience without what she described as a frat-like environment.
“I just saw this huge need,” Receski said.
Commercial golf simulators are exploding in popularity across Southwestern Pennsylvania — and the U.S., broadly — pulling in new players and giving dedicated ones a way to work on their game through the colder months.
Participants hit the ball into a screen just a few feet away with a golf course projected on it. The systems use some combination of cameras, radar and infrared sensors to show what that shot would have looked like. They generally offer hundreds of courses and a variety of game modes.
In this fast-growing market, each entrepreneur is after their own niche.
Swing 412 launched earlier this month, bringing three simulator bays to Indiana Township. Two of its four owners run next-door Sip Taproom. The idea is that golfers won’t have to go far for food and drink while hitting the virtual links.
At Factory Golf Lab in Delmont, owner Andre Mitrik is targeting the most committed of golfers with simulators as well as coaching sessions and a full- service pro shop. He’s renovating the old This N That Thrift Store and expects to open in the next couple of months.
“Our brand is really rooted in competitors, in elite high-level golf and a lot of the amateur golf scenes around Western Pennsylvania,” said Mitrik, a single-digit handicap golfer and professional club fitter.
Filling a need
The number of commercial golf simulator businesses in the U.S. climbed to about 1,500 in 2025, up from 570 in 2022, according to the National Golf Foundation.
The Florida-based trade association says more than 9 million Americans participated in some form of digitized golf last year, skewing toward their mid-30s rather than mid-40s at traditional courses.
Experts see a few factors behind the rise of simulated golf.
For one, interest in golf exploded during the covid-19 pandemic, because it was one of few sports that met social distancing guidelines. The United States Golf Association has reported record numbers of rounds played for five straight years.
“The problem with having that spike in demand is the supply of traditional golf courses can’t keep pace with it, and it’s got to go somewhere,” said Todd McFall, a sports economist at Wake Forest University.
A full 18 holes can be completed in about an hour from the confines of a bay, versus three or more hours on a traditional course. And importantly for cold-weather cities like Pittsburgh, simulators are inside, making them a much more reliable option that green-grass golf.
A swell in the number of golfers has coincided with improvements in simulation technology. Trackman simulators — some of the most popular on the market — collect over 40 data points on every swing, including the ball’s speed and angle of the club face at contact. The information is especially helpful for those dead-set on upping their game.
“Everything comes back to math when it comes to golf,” Mitrik said.
Simulated golf can also bring savings. Per person rates at traditional golf courses are often comparable to hourly rates for bays that hold anywhere from four to eight people. Most simulators offer memberships that guarantee a certain number of monthly hours or unlimited play.
Talking business
Simulator franchise Back Nine Golf is coming to at least four high-income suburbs in the region: North Fayette, Hampton, Adams Township and Ohio Township.
Back Nine’s claim to fame is its use of Full Swing simulators, the same ones featured in Tomorrow’s Golf League. The Tiger Woods-backed indoor golf competition launched last year and averages more than 500,000 viewers on ESPN.
Back Nine has more than 100 locations in the U.S. and plans to open hundreds more by 2027 through aggressive franchising. Its website makes a straightforward pitch to would-be owners: “experience rapid growth with minimal costs and year-round high demand.”
Employees are optional. Anyone can book a slot during the day, and members can come and go 24/7 using an access code. Back Nine locations generally don’t offer food or drinks, though customers are welcome to bring them. Real estate isn’t hard to find, since just a few thousand square feet will do.
Starting a Back Nine may be simple, but it isn’t cheap. Scott Trimmer, who will introduce Southwestern Pennsylvania to the brand for the first time when his North Fayette simulators officially launch in May, said he’s spending upward of $250,000 on the venture.
Mitrik, the entrepreneur behind Factory Golf, estimated that between the tracking technology, projector, computer and other expenses, the start-up cost for a single simulator can reach $50,000. He’s installing three bays at his facility along Route 66.
At the 19th Hole Virtual Golf in Jeannette, owners Ryan Schadle and Mike Vesco have made it work with just one bay since opening in 2022. It’s not the most elaborate setup, but some people like the exclusivity.
“That’s one of our selling points,” Schadle said.
Taking ownership
Perhaps no one gets as excited about a golf simulator opening as its owner.
Trimmer, who lives in Collier, initially came across Back Nine franchising opportunities on his quest to find virtual golf near him. A full-time tech worker and father, Trimmer said he seldom has the time for a proper round of golf.
Once the simulator is up and running, he’ll be leaving his current role and going “all-in” on Back Nine. He has high hopes for the enterprise, and sees himself opening at least one more location.
And in short order, he’ll have endless access to simulated golf.
“I’m kind of killing two birds with one stone here,” he said.