Big news from the golf world. Blue Jeans Golf grabbed a cool $20 million in Series B funding to boost the expansion of its Golf Ranch concept.
I came across Golf Ranch a month or so ago, and I just loved it. It’s the patio vibe, the biergarten, the porch swing of driving ranges. Not too fancy, not too dry.
It’s simple, as a driving range should be, but it has the necessary bells and whistles.
Why did it take so long for something like this to exist? I’m not sure, but I’m sure glad it’s here, and I’m looking forward to seeing a Nashville range ASAP.
How did we get here?
There’s been a gap in the driving range world for some time.
You have your pristine country clubs that offer beautiful ranges with unlimited balls — these come with the pristine country club price and are (for the most part) inaccessible.
We’ll call it the wine tasting of driving ranges.
Then of course, you have your municipal courses which boast maybe a $10 bucket for 100 balls. Give or take a few bucks based on your location. Unfortunately, you’ll have to deal with some pretty torn up tee boxes unless they’ve moved them up or back in the last day or so (or the typical off-the-mat situation, which, at the munis are not often in great shape).
We’ll call it the dive bar of driving ranges.
Naturally, the people at TopGolf saw an opportunity to bring golf to the masses with the massive, triple decker driving range with gargantuan TV screens, and the whole nine yards when it comes to food and drink. Wildly stimulating, honestly a great time, and on a brutally hot day, it typically scratches the itch without having to spend several hours in the sun.
We’ll call it the night club of driving ranges.
We’ve covered most of our bases, right? Wrong.
Blue Jeans Golf argued that there was yet another gap to be filled. One for those who enjoyed the simplicity of a standard driving range, but enjoyed the perks of what TopGolf offered: the tech, the food, the drink.
Enter Golf Ranch, the outdoor patio of driving ranges. Can I trademark that?
So what happened?
Founded in 2021 by Devin Charhon and Michael Canfield, both alumni of the TopGolf orbit, Golf Ranch jumped on the scene.
Already, they’ve taken four low key (maybe a bit run down) driving ranges in Texas, Missouri, and Connecticut, and spun them into buzzing, energetic Golf Ranches.
This is how they put it: We acquire older driving ranges with strong local golf communities. Places with soul. Then we make them shine.
THAT IS WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR.
They’re bullish on golf that’s affordable, fun, and community-led.
Their sights are locked on 12 locations by 2027. My guess is they’ll have driving ranges lined up to get the Golf Ranch makeover, and they’ll surpass 12 much sooner than the end of next year IF they want to.
Who’s backing them?
Old Tom Capital — they’ve been pouring capital into the golf world and see Golf Ranch as its latest baby. They’ve backed some real recent successes like Good Good Golf, Grass League, and Lusso Cloud
Creator Sports Capital, which lives where sports, creators, and influencer culture collide. These guys also backed Good Good and Grass League, so they’re making bets in tune with Old Tom, which will likely put them on a similar trajectory.
Surely there were others, but these two led the round. I only mention this because I came across Old Tom Capital a couple months ago and have loved their branding and noticed they only invest in golf companies which is so niche and so fun.
Maybe some day they’ll give me a million dollars (haha I’m kidding… but seriously).
Why this matters
This is just proof that the golf world will continue to evolve.
What’s fun about this evolution is that I see it as a little bit of defiance to the way the game is trending: fast, loud, all about content, entertainment, noisy, yada yada yada.
Golf Ranch slows it down just a bit, all while giving you a taste of all of that.
If the country club driving range is a wine tasting, the muni is a dive bar, and TopGolf is a night club, Golf Ranch is a patio vibe on a Saturday afternoon.
Yes please.
Alas
Here’s to Blue Jeans Golf bringing something fresh in Golf Ranch. I think these will be all over the country in the next five years. I mean all over.
Catch you at the ranch.
And please, respond to this email if you think you’d like this vibe or if you prefer the muni, the CC, or the TopGolf vibe a little more. Seriously, I’d love to hear from you.
Luke ManganOn Golf