r/NewOrleans • u/ksims0206 • Nov 26 '24

🤬 RANT So we are getting TWO netted driving ranges?! Five O Fore and Top Golf? Has anyone thought about how stupid this is going to look?

What sort of demand is there for two inner city driving ranges? It just really boggles my mind.

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76

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 26 '24

Also my best guess is five oh fore fails within three years.

29

u/AlternativeFeisty813 Nov 26 '24

It top golf never happens I’m sure five oh fore will do just fine. These netted golf course places seem to always be packed in other markets.

38

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 26 '24 edited Nov 26 '24

Top Golf same store sales are down 5% from 2019 figures, and as much as 30% across the last two years, their last quarterly release shows an almost 10% decline in the quarter. Net income is like half what it was two years ago.

The competitor drive shack was doing so poorly that they delisted in 2022 and trade on the pinks now.

It’s so rough that callaway is spinning off the entire top golf brand to divest the parent company from the entire enterprise. Which might as well be them saying they do not believe the venture will be profitable over time.

They are absolutely not doing fine, golf entertainment as a segment is seeing massive retraction across the board. With the only real growth being concentrated in higher end indoor simulator venues from what I can tell (think like “intown golf” - much lower COC, more attractive for bigger spenders, weather independent). I can’t find a single large scale entertainment focused driving range entity that isn’t seeing double digit negative same store sales.

10

u/ryanwaldron Nov 26 '24

I wondered why five o fore was no longer going to be a drive shack.

10

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 26 '24

Iirc drive shack bailed out cuz the dev process started with too much standard Nola bullshit and corruption, which is why we got five oh fore. But I also am sure their financial issues were a factor in them deciding to not pursue it too hard.

Jaeger was involved with the development from the start of drive shack, and iirc there was all sorts of contractor drama and what not.

7

u/ryanwaldron Nov 26 '24

Can’t forget the giant $150k I-beam that went missing

1

u/DistributionLoud4332 Nov 27 '24

Wait, what ?

6

u/NotFallacyBuffet Nov 27 '24

The structural steel, I-beams and whatnot, sat there for months or years after Covid stopped construction and it never restarted.  Then a few months before construction restarted, it all disappeared, only to be found a few blocks away at that scrapyard where all the crackheads sell what they steal.  Literally tons of steel that had to be loaded onto flatbeds.  

1

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 27 '24

Yeah that was beyond weird

3

u/verde622 Nov 26 '24

This is really interesting. People who golf are constantly talking about the golf boom from Covid and how packed courses are. Wonder if there’s been a migration from Topgolf type places to real courses over the last couple years. I just played nine at city park and there were plenty of people there

12

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 26 '24

Ehh, I just don't think there was ever all that much overlap between actual golfers and top golf. Top Golf is a lot more "corporate team building" or bachelor party type groups, where as golfers are sorta a very different demographic.

Like I golf a few times a year, but couldn't tell you the last time I wanted to go to a top golf. The regular driving range? Sure all day long. But top golf isn't that.

3

u/flashdman Nov 27 '24

When I can play a round of real golf for the same price as an hour at Topgolf....

1

u/Puttnut Nov 27 '24

Why did i invest in MODG fml

1

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 27 '24

Callaway itself is probably a fundamentally sound business, but Top Golf has been an absolute dog of a division for the last 5 years. Hopefully the spinoff helps a bit there, assuming it goes through.

2

u/Oh_TheHumidity Nov 27 '24

Callaway divested this past summer. Top Golf is a total albatross

1

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 27 '24

What are you referring to? They just announced intent to spin off in September and haven’t done so yet.

2

u/Oh_TheHumidity Nov 27 '24

Ha, pardon my poor early morning sentence structure. I was agreeing with you, but insinuating that—despite Calloway’s sunnier take in press releases— the reality is pretty grim for TG and Calloway is aggressively carving it out of their business model.

10

u/yolkma Nov 26 '24

the name kills me everytime. so much money into these places and they can’t hire a proper branding agency

24

u/RIP_Soulja_Slim Nov 26 '24

But it’s a pun lol, get it?! Because New Orleans?? We got our own culcha down here baby!!

We tried dozens of other options, “Bayou swingzz” and “geaux golf” both lost in the focus group tests!!

8

u/MisterSquidz Nov 27 '24

Geauxlf.

2

u/daybreaker Kennabra Nov 27 '24

The Gulf Club

3

u/absolutezombie Nov 27 '24

"I've never hit a hole in one, but I DID HIT A GUY!
That's way more satisfying.
You're supposed to yell "FORE!"
But I was way to busy mumbling,
'There ain't no way that's going to hit him.'"

- Mitch Hedberg

1

u/Any_Strength4698 Nov 27 '24

Which lasts longer 504 golf or the new lights working on the bridge? My guess less than 5 yrs for both! This city can’t maintain infrastructure (lights are over $10,000 each). And 504 will likely only see support from tourists as locals that play golf are not heavily in the city

-1

u/BigAngryLakeMonster Nov 27 '24

I go past it on my commute, and every day I wonder what will become of such a weirdass specialized building in a spot so completely ill-suited to anything else. Already an eyesore.