ZANESVILLE — Owners Pat Tincher and Kevin McCollister sought a way to bring more revenue to All-Season’s Golf Center, and they found it in simulators.
Using Golfzon (pronounced “Golf Zone”) technology, players can spend a few hours at more than 190 courses from around the globe, such as Pebble Beach Golf Links and PGA National. It is widely viewed as one of the top products in its industry.
All-Seasons currently has two of their simulators, enough to house its winter leagues, but not enough to satisfy the demand for public play.
That made expansion paramount. So expand is what it did.
All-Seasons recently completed a four-phase project with a cost of more than $250,000 that, in part, transformed its former garage area into an area to house four more simulators.
They also built a new garage to house their mowers and other equipment, formerly housed in the garage, for the driving range. They are also installing new vinyl flooring in the current and new playing areas and adding a bar area and theater seating to add to the experience.
The remodeling work for the project has been done by locally McCollister and Chuck Goldsmith, while Ricky Gates is heading the flooring project.
“It’s so hard to run a business when you have such a poor revenue stream during the winter,” said Tincher, who opened All-Seasons in 1994 with his brother, Stan, and McCollister. “We really got lucky.”
Tincher said he and McCollister looked into simulators in the 2000s when years ago Turkey Run, a former year-round golf establishment located on U.S. 22 in Sego, had a simulator. He came away unimpressed because of its lack of realism.
As technology evolved, so did Tincher’s opinion of simulators. He and McCollister revisited the plans of adding them four years ago, and a year later they settled on Golfzon’s product.
“(Local PGA professional) Chase Wilson was at the PGA show and Golfzon had their simulator there, and he talked to people that played on it,” Tincher said. “He gave us some feedback and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.”
In addition to playing courses worldwide, there are Golfzon leagues and contests that pay out like tournaments. There is also a driving range mode and swing analysis, something local teaching pros have used with their students.
It has been a smash hit with the local golf community — and beyond — enough that a major expansion was deemed necessary to meet increased demand. The hope is for more public play and availability.
“We have people come here from Columbus and Newark, get people from out of state just to try it out,” Tincher said. “There isn’t a Golfzon simulator in the entire state of Pennsylvania.”
The project is expected to be completed on Monday and fully operational for public play and winter leagues on Jan. 2, possibly sooner. Golfzon will install and calibrate equipment, while McCollister and Goldsmith recently installed the new bays. Two new big screen TVs were also installed.
The goal with the expansion is to bring a Top Golf-type atmosphere to Zanesville, where players cannot only play golf, but enjoy a few beverages and watch a football or basketball game.
“We want the public to come in and have fun,” Tincher said.
Tincher said the Golfzon simulators are widely popular because of their ability to make the simulator experience comparable to being on the course. According to its website, golfzongolf.com, their eight-way hydraulic swing plates have “360 degrees of directional movement that adjust to any lie — uphill, downhill and sidehill.”
But Tincher said the short game aspect of the Golfzon simulators separates it from others. The 3D technology allows for players to read greens as if their were playing on real courses. Their cameras shoot at 6,000 frames per second.
“It’s a little pricey, but we really got lucky because we can’t do our leagues without the chipping and putting,” Tincher said. “Trackman and some of the the others just don’t have the accuracy with the chipping and putting and that’s where you win your leagues. It’s pretty spot on and (the new ones) are supposed to be even better.”
Tincher is confident the project will pay for itself over time.
“I have no concerns,” Tincher said. “Just the numbers in our winter leagues will be enough revenue, but obviously we want the public to come in and enjoy it.”
sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR
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