Fullswing Indoor Golf opens today

Golf enthusiasts in the Creston area can now golf year-round without having to travel to indoor golf facilities in the Des Moines metro area or to luxurious golf courses.

Matt Somers opened Fullswing Indoor Golf today at its location at 101 W. Taylor St., Suite B, in Creston.

Fullswing Indoor Golf is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For each simulator in the facility, the cost is $25 per hour and up to four people can play on each simulator at one time. Each simulator also features a driving range and scoring zone game, which costs $20 per hour or $15 for a half hour.

While hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Somers said he’ll be open whenever he needs to be. If people are golfing and having fun and want to stay until 2 a.m., he’ll keep it open until 2 a.m.

Somers added a second bathroom to the suite in order to obtain a beer license, and he put in a bar so he can sell beer and soft drinks, as well as snacks.

The facility features two simulators, each with a touchscreen monitor where golfers can select their skill level, course and conditions they want to play with, and a 10-foot-by-14-foot area to swing away.

The course is projected onto a 10-foot-wide screen, which golfers hit their golf balls into, and can then view the flight of their ball on the projector screen.

“It’s just a lot of fun. There’s no holding back. You swing as hard as you want,” Somers said. “The good thing is you don’t have to go digging (golf balls) out of the creek. You don’t lose any balls this way.”

Each simulator offers 80 different golf courses to choose from, including popular PGA golf courses such as Bethpage Black, Firestone County Club, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and St. Andrews.

Somers said he will have a couple of sets of golf clubs available for anyone who comes in and doesn’t own clubs. Currently, he only has right-handed clubs, but said he will eventually have a left-handed set, as well.

He came up with the idea for Fullswing Indoor Golf after purchasing the Quik Pawn building from Steve Wintermute. When he purchased the building, he learned Bobby Wintermute was planning to move his Graphic Displays business out of the building and Angie Wimber of Studio 101 needed more space for her business.

Studio 101 was moved into Graphic Display’s former suite in the building, leaving an open space in between Studio 101 and Quik Pawn.

Somers learned from his oldest son Kainen about the golf simulators at Golf Galaxy, where Kainen worked. He eventually looked into the simulators and found two used simulators for sale in Tennessee.

“It’s something we don’t have around here, but people talk about,” Somers said. “’Oh, I went and played in Ankeny or Des Moines.’ Why do we have to go there to do it? It’s something you shouldn’t have to drive an hour and a half to go play.”

Somers has also partnered with the Southwestern Community College golf team and head coach Doug North. SWCC’s golf team will be using the facility to practice year-round. Somers’ youngest son Kyle is a member of the team and his daughter Camryn was a member of the team last year.

“To me, it’s a year-round deal. If it’s 100 degrees out, I don’t want to go sit at the golf course,” Somers said. “I hope it’s not just a seasonal thing. You’re not chasing balls around. It gets tiring. You’re not renting a cart. You just mosey back to your table and wait for your turn to hit.”

Each simulator offers a variety of game modes, from stroke play to best ball, best shot, scrambles and many others.

Tee times can be booked by calling Quik Pawn at 641-782-9882. A book will be kept keeping track of tee times.

Somers said he will book parties, as well, taking up to 16 people if groups wanted to play two-man teams and have foursomes.

“There’s a lot of things we can do,” Somers said. “We’re not opposed to kids’ parties or even if you wanted to rent the space out to play video games on them, because we can hook video games up to the projectors and you’ll have a 10-foot-board to look at. It’d be pretty fun.”