Topgolf launched in the United Kingdom in 2000 to give golfers a target-oriented alternative to traditional green-grass golf and the driving range.

As the company evolved and expanded, including introducing Toptracer in 2016, the technology-backed golf-entertainment brand has lowered the barrier to the game for millions, which has traditionally been intimidating, expensive and exclusive.

Doubling down on their goals to grow the game and change the face of the sport, Topgolf unveiled the Sure Thing club on August 1.

“We want to make the game of golf more accessible. Period,” Topgolf chief brand officer Geoff Cottrill said. “The result of it becoming more accessible is that it becomes more diverse. The result of it becoming more diverse is that it becomes fun for more people.

“It’s a simple equation. This is intended to help with the accessibility of the game.”

Designed in collaboration with Callaway engineers, the Sure Thing club is a modified driver developed to benefit new and novice golfers. Featuring a 20-degree loft to get the ball in the air easier, a larger club face for better contact, and a shorter shaft for increased control, the club comes in adult and youth sizes.

Not available for retail purchase, the Sure Thing club is currently available for play exclusively at Topgolf locations all around the world.

Thanks to a surge in popularity as a safe, outdoor activity during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, golf is more popular than ever. More than 45 million Americans age 6+ played both on- and off-course golf in 2023, according to the National Golf Foundation.

As the game has grown and evolved, so have the opportunities to play beyond a traditional 18-hole round.

Led by Topgolf and its 100+ locations around the globe, as well as companies like Five Iron, PopStroke, Drive Shack and Puttshack, golf is more accessible than ever. The increased off-course accessibility has led to more youth and diversity among the game’s players.

The category of young adults (18-34 years old) is the game’s largest customer segment in the U.S. with 6.3 million on-course participants and another 5.8 off-course-only participants in 2023, according to the NGF. At the youth level, 3.5 million juniors played on a golf course last year, with 37% of that segment girls and more than one-quarter of today’s juniors non-white.

The Sure Thing club becomes a force multiplier by giving new and novice golfers immediate satisfaction, enjoyment and excitement, potentially the first time they pick up a club.

“At Topgolf, we aim to make the game of golf more accessible, and we know it can be intimidating swinging a golf club when you’re a new or novice golfer,” Topgolf CEO Artie Starrs said. “We thought, ‘What if we could create a club that could increase the chances of a player hitting the ball solidly into the air?’

“Luckily we’re part of the Callaway family so we knew we could go to them with this idea and collaborate on bringing it to life.”

Part of Topgolf Callaway Brands since Callaway and Topgolf merged in 2021, it was a natural synergy for Topgolf to work with Callaway engineers on the development on this club. The club has been in development for a number of years, having gone through various prototypes and names during that span before debuting globally on August 1.

While Topgolf and the Sure Thing club are lowering the barrier to the game and giving millions the feeling of shot euphoria in the short term, the anticipated long-term impact the club has on the game of golf will be substantially greater.

“When we think about it 10 years from now, think how different the makeup of the game is going to be,” Cottrill said. “We’re genuinely making golf more accessible and the face of the game is going to change.

“It’s such a great game and it should be enjoyed by more people.”