Five Iron Golf, the indoor golf experience company has received a $20 million minority investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer who leads the fund.
As part of the transaction, EHI cofounder and managing partner Peter Mavrovitis has joined Five Iron’s board.
Five Iron Golf now has 24 U.S. locations, including a new flagship facility at Grand Central Station in New York City that has 15 golf simulators, two full-service bars, and lounge areas with activities such as air hockey, billiards, and shuffleboard.
It’s the sixth NYC venue for the company, which originated in Manhattan in 2017 and has since expanded to Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. and Seattle.
The company now operates 24 locations that integrate golf simulators with a lounge atmosphere. They previously received a $30M minority investment from Callaway Golf Company in 2021 and last year launched a franchising program to support further expansion.
According to the NGF, golf simulator participation has risen 73% in the U.S. compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Franchises such as Five Iron, Topgolf Swing Suite, X Golf, and Golfzon Social continue to expand amid a landscape that also includes simulators at green-grass golf facilities, golf retail stores, one-off commercial locations, and various club-fitting stores, not to mention the growing number of home simulator setups.
