Simulator golf is big business in South Korea, with GOLFZON dishing out almost $12 million in prize money in a professional screen-golf circuit in just over a decade. And now, the world’s leading golf simulator brand is bringing its concept to the U.S. with the launch of the GOLFZON Tour, a competitive indoor golf league involving 10 teams from North America in addition to teams in England and Mexico.

The five-player teams will represent regions, with U.S. teams based in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisville, Minneapolis, New York City, Orlando, and Tulsa. Each team – which will likely be comprised of former collegiate players, PGA professionals (not PGA Tour players), and aspiring pros grinding it out on mini tours – will compete in a series of matches at GOLFZON locations, with the winning team set to receive $150,000 at the Tour Finals during the 2025 PGA Merchandise Show.

A similar GTOUR has been hugely successful in South Korea, attracting top golfers to compete for cash prizes in leagues that are broadcast live on the world’s first cable network with coverage specific to simulator golf. GOLFZON is now seeking to extend that successful model to North America and Europe, only with a qualifying process in each team’s location that opens opportunity for a wider range of participants than professional golfers.

Sean Pyun, the CEO of GOLFZON America, said the idea was one he had while visiting some of the company’s 200 locations in North America and Europe during the first nine months in his current role. While the inaugural season, which begins in early October and runs through January 2025, features 12 teams, Pyun said he expects that number to expand significantly in the coming years.

“The rise in popularity of off-course golf to unprecedented heights is a trend that we do not expect to slow any time soon,” says Pyun. “It is a rapid growth that necessitates what we have established in Asia for over a decade with GTOUR — a true outlet for screen golf offering a platform for some of the best players in the sport.

“Both male and female golfers have built careers and established brands as elite athletes through our technology, and we are confident the same will be true with GOLFZON Tour across North America and Europe.”

More than 6 million Americans used a golf simulator last year, according to the National Golf Foundation, a total that’s risen 73% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

And now, with summer golf season in the rearview mirror in the U.S, GOLFZON America isn’t the only company involved in the golf simulator space to introduce an indoor league.

Five Iron Golf, which combines indoor golf and entertainment, recently kicked off a global Fall league that unites players at its locations from Atlanta to Australia to compete for $500,000 in prizes, as well as a grand prize trip to Dubai. The continued U.S., and now international expansion, brings new competition and excitement for a league that started with one location and a small group of participants in New York City, said Five Iron Golf CEO and co-founder Jared Solomon.

“We are always looking to give our golfers access to incredible opportunities while maintaining the convenience of playing in their city, after work,” said Solomon. “Competing on a global stage, culminating in Dubai, our most expansive location yet, underscores our commitment to top-tier golf experiences.”

GOLFZON’S LEAGUE

For the GOLFZON Tour, each location has been placed into an East or West division and will field a team of five players, with stroke play scores counting for the top three finishers on each squad. All participants will play from the back tee (the tips) and matches will be contested on GOLFZON’s Network Play, a platform that allows golfers at different host venues – each equipped with GOLFZON TwoVision simulators — to compete against one another in real time.

The East Division consists of New York, Detroit, Louisville, and Orlando in addition to London and Toronto.

The West Division includes Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Tulsa as well as Monterrey, Mexico.

The debut season of the GOLFZON Tour will feature a selection of world-renowned destination courses, among them the iconic Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarns Golf Links, Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Harbour Town Golf Links, and the Stadium Course at PGA West.

All teams will play a five-week, round-robin schedule against the other teams in their division and to determine seeding for the playoffs, which begin in November. The teams will then be vying for a spot in the Tour Finals, which will be contested live at the PGA Show in Orlando toward the end of January 2025. The Tour Finals will be contested on the virtual version of Bay Hill Club and Lodge, with the real thing also located in Orlando.

All playoff matches will be broadcast on the GOLFZON Tour’s website and GOLFZON’s official YouTube channel.

“While the idea of a simulator golf tour like TGL is new to golfers in North America and Europe, GOLFZON has been operating them in Asia for many years and we understand the infrastructure needed to make them thrive,” says Pyun. “Our partner facilities in these 12 cities are giving local golfers the chance to live out their dreams and compete for a substantial cash prize against the best players from other regions without the financial constraints of travel.”

There is no payment required for team participants and they’ll receive complimentary bay time to play the matches.

FIVE IRON’S FALL LEAGUE

In Five Iron’s fall league, thousands of golfers are competing on two-person teams and playing in nine-hole rounds at the company’s franchises across three continents.

The rotating formats for the competition – conducted on Trackman simulators — include Scramble, Best Ball and Greensomes (a variation of foursomes in which players select the best of the two tee shots).

Tee times for the league are available Monday and Tuesday nights, with playing fees of $30 to $40 per player per week.

Matches will be contested, with handicap scoring to level the field, at simulated versions of iconic courses like Pinehurst No. 2, Royal Melbourne and St Andrews. Away from the virtual course, the competition stays true to Five Iron’s golf entertainment component with weekly drink specials and closest-to-the-pin contests.

In addition to prize money, the international grand prize up for grabs is a four-night stay at The Westin Dubai, with real green-grass rounds at Dubai Golf’s Faldo Course, Fire Course, and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club. They’ll also get to experience Five Iron Golf Dubai, the brand’s largest venue to date with 17 state-of-the-art simulators powered by Trackman.

And this Fall league is just the beginning for Five Iron, which will also have a Winter 1 league season that starts in mid-November, as well as a Winter 2 league that begins in February. In addition, there’s a Spring 2025 league set to tee off in April of next year.