Golf remained a hit during COVID. A Charlotte company aims to keep it that way.

As more indoor golf venues pop up in the Charlotte region, it’s helping a local company’s business take off and bring the game into more people’s homes.

Charlotte-based Rain or Shine Golf is a retailer and manufacturer of at-home golf equipment and accessories. Between its launch in 2016 up to 2019, the company had been growing total revenue by 25% year over year, CEO and co-founder Shawn Foley told The Charlotte Observer.

After the pandemic hit, interest in golf and indoor virtual golf surged. Rain or Shine’s business doubled in winter 2020. Foley declined to cite revenue figures.

“There wasn’t much you could do, but golf was a sport that was still open,” he said. “We were just trying to keep up. It was a whirlwind.”

Rain or Shine golf simulator packages are priced from over $2,000 to nearly $23,000.

During the pandemic, golf participation on and off the course topped 40 million Americans, according to the National Golf Foundation.

People also were looking for activities at home. “That really was a fuel of a huge amount of growth over the last two years,” Foley said.

The popularity of golf simulator venues is also fueling Rain or Shine’s growth. Entertainment golf venue sites, like Topgolf which includes a high-tech game plus full-service bar and restaurant, are leading to a resurgence in on-course play, according to the golf foundation.

Several virtual golf venues have opened or plan to in the Charlotte area.

In 2021, Topgolf opened a second local location in University City, Drive Shack’s The Puttery opened near South End and X-Golf America opened in Tega Cay, S.C. Joining the competition, Atlanta-based Intown Golf Club said it plans to open a virtual golf venue with private membership this year in South Park.

Rain or Shine is bringing that immersive golf course experience home. “You realize it’s pretty fun and that’s where we come in,” Foley said, “where this can be pretty affordable and accessible.”

‘Create a realistic experience’

Here’s how the system works.

Players place a real golf ball on the swing mat and swing.

Rain or Shine systems use software data to simulate the ball flight with scenery from partner golf courses on a screen that’s made to take the impact of the ball and stop it.

The simulator analyzes data from the golf shot based on ball speed, spin and angle, all measured by sensors, radar and cameras. The data is then used to simulate the shot on the virtual golf course on the screen.

“We create a realistic experience,” Foley said.

Rain or Shine’s kit includes radar device hardware, golf course simulation software, turf, impact screens and heavy metal framing.

The company also has its own line of hitting turf, screen enclosures and accessories, the majority of which are manufactured in North Carolina, Foley said, including in Charlotte.

The player’s room must be at least 12-by-16 foot with a ceiling high enough to allow a club swing and ball to take flight, Foley said. “A standard 8-foot ceiling won’t work,” he said.

Rain or Shine tees off

The idea for Rain or Shine started between Foley and friend Zach Vanderveld over a burger and fries. The two had competed on their Wisconsin high school golf team and reconnected after college.

Foley, now 30, said the first time he trained on indoor golf equipment was during college at Northern Illinois. The golf team would train indoors during the winter months.

“My interest in simulators came from that. It was a necessity but also a cool thing I hadn’t seen before,” he said. “I never thought at the time that I’d be working in that world and trying to grow a business.”

Foley said drawing from that training system, Rain or Shine’s mission is to supplement golf at home and make it more accessible.

Six months after starting Rain or Shine as a side project in 2016, Foley left his insurance career to work full-time building the business.

“About a year later, we realized we needed to start hiring help,” he said.

Foley and his wife Payton moved to the Carolinas five years ago, where she was getting a graduate degree from USC. Charlotte proved to be the right spot for setting up a location and showroom, Foley said, because of the pool of talent in a growing city.

Two years ago, Vanderveld left the company to spend more time with family and moved back to Wisconsin.

Rise and Shine has grown to 16 employees at its hub 8334 Arrowridge Blvd. Jobs include customer service and sales, technology and web development, and fulfillment.

Rain or Shine forecast

The company’s customer base tends to be affluent from major cities such as Chicago, New York, Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto, Foley said. Rain or Shine’s customers also tend to be avid golfers because of the size of the investment in the equipment, he said.

“It’s still a very new product that we’re trying to grow awareness of,” he said.

Foley said at-home, indoor golf simulators is less intimidating than the real links.

“It’s also a great way to get your kids started,” he said. “And it’s a great way to stay active and to continue to move your body.”

It’s also good for people limited on time, including Foley himself who has a 5-month-old boy who can sneak in 15 minutes during a nap. Foley said his home garage setup isn’t elaborate but it’s good to get practice in on a rainy day, or when the local driving range is closed.

“It’s hard to get away for two hours for nine holes or four-plus hours for 18 holes,” Foley said. “It’s a great way to get some reps in.”

Rain or Shine plans to focus on product design and developing turf products, impact screens and images to equip customers with the latest technology on the market.

And as the economy improves, Foley said expects to see a “huge boom” as the golf industry continues to grow. “We’re trying to be ready for that,” he said.

This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 6:30 AM.