OKEMOS, Mich. — For most golfers, hitting balls at a simulator takes away from the reality of the sport.
At the brand new X-Golf in Okemos, golf is almost as real as it gets.
"It's realistic and fun," said Bob Dausman, the first customer. "It's something you can do in February when there's not much else to do."
Seeing the best of the best teeing off in California and Arizona these past couple of weeks can make any avid golfer jealous and itching to get out on the course.
Now there's a way they can play many of the top courses in the world from here.
"A lot of people want to play pebble beach, it's the site of the U.S. Open," said Owner Nick Swanson.
For players like Dausman, the opening of X-Golf Lansing couldn't come soon enough.
"I’d been checking the website and looking for updates on Facebook and called yesterday. I was the first person to be able to get a tee time."
Swanson visited the location in Shelby Township with his family, and decided to bring an X-Golf to mid-Michigan.
"We fell in love with the feeling, the vibe, the atmosphere and playability, and we started looking into if we could potentially open something," he said.
The best part about X-Golf is that it's almost as accurate as a normal driving range, with up to 98 percent accuracy.
"You can actually have a real feel of playing a golf round as if you were playing outside," said Swanson. "You can legitimately work your way through famous courses and get a realistic feel of how it is to play those."
And just like a real course, there's little room for error.
"If you hit the ground first, it recognizes it as a fat shot," said Dausman. "So you have to hit it clean."
The simulator provides a number of different statistics, helping even the most experienced golfers work on their game.
"Your ball speed, club speed, launch angle, path, all of that is going to be measured and you can actually have an in-depth type practice," said Swanson.
But it's not just a training facility. X-Golf has a full bar with a few different food options.
"You don't have to be a golfer to come here, it's just people eating and drinking, it's certainly for everybody," Swanson added.
In a time where golf is hard to come by, it's a savior for people who miss everything that golf brings.
"In Michigan, that's something a lot of people don't have," said Dausman, as his friend approached him.
"You’re up."
