8.9.18

Opening A Blacklight Glow Golf Course Will Have Customers Standing In Line

By Barbara Hayes


When you own an amusement center, you are probably always on the lookout for new opportunities to increase your customer base. If you make a dramatic addition to the facility it will get plenty of attention. One of the hottest trends around today are miniature blacklight glow golf courses. They attract kids of all ages, are family friendly, and cheap to operate.

Unless you are planning to buy the equipment, along with the setup and marketing materials, outright, you'll probably need to borrow the money to get this new enterprise set up. That will involve a comprehensive business plan a lender will approve. The course manufacturers can give you a lot of help with this. They will have numbers on the financial projections, marketing strategies, staffing needs, and management issues.

Those planning to expand an existing facility have to decide first what size course will work best at their facility. Any additional amenities will also have to be factored in. Manufacturers advise clients that an area of 1800 square feet is the minimum space necessary for nine holes. Adding another 1000 will allow for maximizing the effect. An eighteen hole course requires at least 3600 square feet with a square footage of 5400 recommended.

Owners of these courses suggest creating areas for arcades, party rooms, and food service. Locations that attract tourists, and shopping malls, have been successful for those interested in making the course attraction all they offer customers. Purchasing a stand alone building and modifying it to suit a course has worked as well. Locating in an area where there is a steady stream of potential customers will make the difference between success and failure.

You and the design team will work together closely to create a course that fits the needs and specifications of your particular location. The designers will be sending you computer designed drawings, the electrical specifications, and possible course layouts for your approval. You decide the theme of the course. You might choose one of the most popular themes, which include outer space, oceans, jungles, and pirates.

You can make suggestions to the design team to modify an existing theme or have them build a new one just for you. Any theme you choose will include intricately cast fluorescent lights displaying the obstacles and props throughout the course. The shadows and eerie glow makes the game a fun challenge.

Actually installing the course usually takes a couple of weeks. A team will be assigned to come in and install custom curbing that will define the greens. After that they can begin the task of setting up the props, wall, arches, and other special effects that will create a unique environment. The carpet will be laid and the black lights installed as the final steps.

The entrance is a much a part of the entertainment as the course. The designers should create a gateway that excites customers. Glow-in-the-dark scorecards can be given out as customers enter. The carpets, which must be made of the most durable material possible, will glow in multiple colors marking the entrance to a great customer experience.




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