When the weather’s been as cold as it has been around Okotoks for much of this month, and you’re stuck inside the house for the umpteenth day in a row, have you ever longed to be out on the links for just one glorious afternoon? I know I have.
Well, here in our town there’s a place where you can bring that dream as close to reality as possible without heading to the airport. It’s called WizGolf, and it’s located in the High Country Plaza at the corner of North Railway Street and Stockton Avenue.
“In Korea, there are indoor golf simulators everywhere, and there are a lot of golf lovers in this area, so I saw it as a business opportunity,” said general manager Harry Wi.
Wi came with his family from Korea to Diamond Valley in 2010.
“I have two sons who were in Grade 3 and Grade 6 at the time and I wanted to show them a bigger world,” he said.
WizGolf uses a computerized simulator that consists of software that powers a ceiling-mounted Launch Monitor developed by Wi, who has a background in computer technology. Wi and his elder son KJ market the Launch Monitor to residential and commercial customers across North America. His younger son Woo is planning to study filmmaking in Vancouver next month.
High speed cameras in the Launch Monitor track the speed and angle of the club as it’s being swung as well as the speed, spin and path of the ball as it comes off the club face. The software then determines where the ball would have landed on the course, then projects a view from there to the hole. The units, which can be set up in an average-sized garage, retail for around $6,000.
“During the pandemic, people would purchase the simulator because they couldn’t get outside,” Wi said. “The market is growing very fast, and our product is very competitive in terms of size and price.”
The WizGolf facility in Okotoks contains six bays and offers golfers more than 300 course simulations.
“If you want to play St. Andrews, Pebble Beach or Banff Springs, we’ve got just about all of them,” said CPGA-certified teaching pro Martin Boland, a native of Scotland who arrived Okotoks with his family as a teenager in 2008 and graduated from Holy Trinity Academy. Boland has been coaching golf since 2010.
How accurate is the simulator versus real life?
“In an outside environment, I hit my seven-iron about 185 yards and it’s the same inside,” Boland said. “It’s pretty good.”
Next week – from Feb. 1 to 3 – WizGolf will host a winter tournament using the Pebble Beach simulator. The format will be a two-person best ball scramble with tee times set for 1 and 6 p.m. The men will play from the whites; the ladies from the reds, and the winning team will receive a cash prize.
Visit wizgolf.ca or call 403-938-7733 for details.
