Yes, golf is a sport.
But for the folks at Campbell River Golf and Country Club, it’s much more than that, as demonstrated by the newest addition to the property: the Velocity Lounge and Driving Range.
Despite being located at the head of the facility’s practice range, there’s a reason the word “lounge” comes first in the name.
“I tell people it’s part bowling alley, part driving range and part bar all rolled into one,” says marketing coordinator Scott Ballhorn. “It’s a fantastic blend of entertainment options for everyone – not just golfers.”
The facility is made up of eight “bays” that can be booked for groups of up to eight people by the hour. For only $60 (or $100 for two hours), you get your own a semi-private area that opens onto the driving range complete with touchscreen televisions, lounge-style couches and bar/restaurant service from the wait staff. And don’t forget unlimited range balls and club rentals from Callaway or Taylormade for everyone at the party.
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And while you certainly could just hit balls off the mat out into the range like you would at any other practice facility, what really makes the facility exciting is their incorporation of Toptracer technology – one of only two courses in Canada to currently offer the service.
Anyone who watches golf on television is already familiar with Toptracer. It’s what is used to track the flight of a golfer’s ball and show where it ended up, how far it went, how high it got, what kind of spin rate it had on it and all kinds of other technical information most people probably don’t care about.
But it also provides information to the computer that makes an excellent gameplay experience even for non-golfers.
“You don’t need to be able to crush the ball 300 yards to have fun hitting golf balls here,” Ballhorn says. “You can play any of the various games and even people who have never played can get involved.”
Like the points game, for example, where golfers earn a certain number of points based on how close they get to any of the flags placed out on the range – including the one just 50 yards out.
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But those who do care about all those other super-specific pieces of information can really make use of them, Ballhorn says.
If you take your golf a little more seriously than others, for example, the information provided by Toptracer is invaluable in improving your game.
“If you download the TopTracer app on your phone you can go to any facility in the world with Toptracer and it’ll keep tracking your stats and you can carry them with you out on the course, too,” Ballhorn says. So if you want to track your statistics with any particular club, and you want to use that information to get better – or when you’re out on the course and can’t decide which club to select for any given shot – it’s available at the touch of a button.
Downloading the app also allows you access to exclusive virtual courses you can play while at the facility, such as Pebble Beach.
“People are quite excited about it,” Ballhorn says. “We’ve been getting quite a bit of feedback from people saying it’ll be great to have another activity to do in the evenings, because there’s a lack of things to do after, say, 8 p.m. in Campbell River, so to have this opportunity at a new world-class facility right here is pretty awesome.
“And when it starts to get later and we turn up the music, it’s going to have a really fun atmosphere that people are really going to love.”
While reservations aren’t required, they are certainly recommended, Ballhorn says. Book your own bay by calling 250-287-4970 or by email at info@crgolf.ca
