A new indoor simulated golf experience is opening in Bremerton, just in time to give golfers a respite from rainy outdoor courses.
Pin Seeker Indoor Golf is opening in east Bremerton off of State Route 303. The establishment specializes in simulators offering 18 holes of golf, but also offers simulated driving ranges and arcade games. The exact opening date is still to be determined, but people can get updates on the business’s website.
That’s all according to Pin Seeker General Manager Theo Miller, who said the business aims to be a home for every kind of golfer.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting, or if you’re really, really good,” he said. “You’re going to get something out of your time on one of these machines. Whether you’re just looking to have fun or you’re just learning how to swing a club or you want to dial in very specific statistics about your game, you’re going to find something in here that’s useful for you, or that’s fun or that you’re going to enjoy.”
Miller said he worked at a different golf simulator business more than 10 years ago, but that the technology has come a long way since then. Pin Seeker’s simulators are created by Korean company Golfzon, specifically the company’s TwoVision model. Miller said Pin Seeker is the only commercial facility in the state to offer these specific simulators, which feature articulating swing plates that simulate the uneven terrain of a golf course for an added sense of realism.
The simulators use cameras mounted in the ceiling and in front of the golfer to take accurate measurements of the golf ball. “It’s an infrared camera and it’s measuring the impact of the club face, the path of the club, as well as the spin of the golf ball,” Miller said. “And it’s kind of making an instantaneous calculation and projects that calculation onto the screen as your shot.”
The business is owned by James Fisher, a lifelong golfer who was looking for a new business venture, Miller said. He had a golf simulator set up at his house and liked the idea of offering such technology to the public.
Although the idea of renting golf simulators to the public is not unique, Pin Seeker’s unique take is that it’s trying to emphasize the golf itself over related frills, Miller said.
“There’s other simulators in the state that kind of act as restaurants and bars that have golf,” he said. “We’re very golf-forward.”
Although Pin Seeker does serve food, it’s inspired by the fare one would find on a golf course. Typically golfers can get food like hot dogs or sandwiches to take with them between holes nine and 10, Miller said.
“That’s kind of what we wanted to create from our menu, is things that are more handheld or more portable, more fast casual, because we didn’t want to go down the whole rabbit hole of creating a restaurant menu and having cooks and all the kitchen appliances you need for that. We wanted to keep it more focused on golf.”
They also serve draft beer through a unique self-serve system.
“The customer actually just buys a card that has a dollar amount on it,” Miller said. “And at the draft system, you tap the card and pour it yourself, and it just deducts by the ounce. So if you wanted to do a tasting flight, you could do that yourself. If there’s one on there that you like, you can just fill up 16 ounces and it’ll deduct the cost per ounce off your card. So it’s something pretty unique — there’s nothing like that in this area and we think it’s pretty cool. And you don’t have to rely on waitstaff to get a beverage; you can do it at your own leisure.”
Miller said he thinks golf is the most beautiful game in the world, and he’s excited to see Pin Seeker make the game more accessible to beginners.
“You can play holes in under two hours without spending a fortune,” he said. “The cost doesn’t change if you add more players. You own the booth for the amount of time that you rent it for, so it can be one to six people per booth. Cost doesn’t change. Anybody that can swing a club can use it and not feel embarrassed that they’re slowing the course pace of play down. You’re playing at your own pace. … It’s just more enticing to any golfer, because you make the rules: It’s your booth and you can do what you want with it.”
Golf has taken off post-COVID, so Pin Seeker is well poised to help meet the growing demand for the sport, Miller added.
“It was the perfect pandemic activity, social distancing activity,” he said. “And I think more people now than ever are starting to play golf. But … more people are picking the game up in what they call non-green grass settings. So whether it’s indoor golf like us, or it’s driving ranges, or it’s Topgolf, more people are starting here because of the accessibility and because of the easier commitment to your time, and also the repeatability of swinging the club instead of hitting once and then walking 100 yards and then trying to do it again. You can repeat your swing over and over and over again within seconds. So it’s really conducive to developing a foundation for your golf swing for beginners.”
Pin Seeker Indoor Golf
Pin Seeker Indoor Golf is located at 5960 State Route 303, No. 190, Bremerton. The opening date is forthcoming; the best way to get updates is to subscribe to the company’s email list on their website.
