Topgolf details opening plans for its second entertainment venue in Charlotte

Topgolf’s second Charlotte location will open on Friday, after missing its original plans to debut last year after the coronavirus pandemic struck.

The opening comes as other golf entertainment venues prepare to enter the Charlotte market, too.

Topgolf is a 65,000-square-foot multi-level, indoor and outdoor entertainment venue that includes a restaurant and bar.

Topgolf’s new site is in the university area at 9110 Drivers Way, near Ikea off Interstate 85. It will open with 102 climate-controlled hitting bays, the company said in a news release Tuesday.

The 14.2-acre venue will create about 500 jobs, according to the company.

That site was expected to open in December. “Unfortunately the impact of COVID-19 delayed construction for all of our new venues last year,” spokeswoman Kara Barry recently told the Observer.

However, construction on projects, including the Topgolf Charlotte University venue, resumed in the spring.

The company posted jobs online for the University venue in April that include server, bartender, busser, runner and guest services.

Topgolf will open with COVID-19 safety protocols such as disinfecting bays, golf clubs and game screens after each group and cleaning common areas every hour. All employees undergo wellness screenings prior to each shift.

The first Charlotte Topgolf location opened in June 2017 at 8024 Savoy Corporate Drive in Steele Creek.

The company is based in Dallas, Texas, and has 66 locations worldwide, including 60 in the U.S.

Another golf venue opening

X-Golf America, an indoor virtual golf-themed entertainment venue with a restaurant and full service bar, also will open its first Charlotte-area site this summer.

The less than 10,000-square-foot venue, named X-Golf South Charlotte, will open in York County at 1177 Stonecrest Blvd. in Tega Cay, S.C., about 10 miles from uptown Charlotte.

The first tee time bookings available online are for June 25. Company spokeswoman Lauren Harrison said it officially opens June 26.

X-Golf America offers virtual golf competitions, leagues and lessons for all skill levels with systems that perform over 6,000 calculations per second, according to the company. The simulator replicates golf shots, including short games and putting, through camera systems, infrared lasers, impact sensors and advanced gaming software.

About eight part-time and full-time employees will be hired at for X-Golf America South Charlotte.

X-Golf began developing simulators in Korea in 2005 and opened its first U.S. location in 2016.

And another golf venue planned for Charlotte

A third golf entertainment venue is planning to debut in Charlotte, too. Drive Shack, based in New York, filed plans with the city at 210 Rampart St.

The company is moving forward with construction and plans to open this summer, spokesman Evan Bruno said Tuesday. No other details were available.

Drive Shack is opening its first Urban Box concept in Charlotte and Dallas, Texas. It features multiple nine-hole miniature golf courses that surround a craft cocktail bar with food with outdoor patios.

Plans submitted by Drive Shack Holdings LLC show a renovation to an existing building on the west side of the property with an indoor restaurant and recreation facility called “The Puttery.”

Drive Shack opened one of its core venues, a 65,000-square-foot facility, in 2019 in Raleigh.

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 3:57 PM.