Construction moving ahead on indoor golf dome in Oswego

The construction of an indoor golf dome in Oswego has taken another step forward as the 70,000-square-foot golf dome physically took shape Oct. 4.

The Whitetail Ridge Golf Dome is on track to open in mid-November, said Alex Balog, director of golf operations for Yorkville-based Whitetail Ridge Golf Club. The club is building the facility at 3360 Station Drive, just west of Orchard Road.

“About 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, we flipped the switch on, and then by about 8 a.m. it was fully inflated,” Balog said. “It was pretty quick to get it up.”

The dome is about 70 feet high, he said. Construction started in mid-June.

“It’s coming along quickly,” Balog said.

When completed, the facility will feature 30 golf bays. Golf clubs will be available for rent.

He explained what people who come to the facility will experience.

“You can hit shots and you get a hundred yards of flight so you can see the curvature and the height of your shots,” Balog said. “But then it’s also simulated with technology so you can play virtual courses, play fun games with the kids. Screen time is a big deal nowadays with kids. And this is pairing athleticism and sports with that where you can hit shots, and it’s transposed on virtual reality games.”

With the opening of the dome, Whitetail Ridge aims to turn golf into a 12-month sport.

“We’re weather controlled in here with a dome above our heads,” Balog said. “The industry’s grown a lot, and we can tap into it all year-round now.”

The golf dome is designed to be family-friendly.

“It’s not like you’re stuck on the course and you have to play all 18 holes,” Balog said. “It’s just a new twist to the game and it will allow the competitive golfer, the true golfer, to come and experience it and work on his or her game. But it’s also for those who are just trying to get into the game. You get the true experience of golf by hitting the ball – a real ball – that flies for a good 100 yards.

“You can see the curve, the height, the speed of it. We’ll have two simulators, as well. That’s where you hit a ball into a screen that’s about 10 feet in front of you on a projector. You’re kind of immersed into a golf course. But you don’t really see the ball fly. It just simulates the flight.”

The facility will feature a restaurant that will be open to the public.

“People can walk off the street and come have lunch or dinner, or it can simply be a waiting spot for them to come before their round starts and just hang out in there,” Balog said. “We’ll also have waitresses and waiters walking around. We’ll also do mobile ordering, so if you’re in a hurry, you can come, hit balls, send an order to the kitchen and we’ll ship it out to you.”

Future plans may include an outdoor beer garden, he said.

The dome is about 10 minutes from Whitetail Ridge Golf Club.

“It’s an easy back-and-forth, because we still have to operate that place with our events throughout the winter,” Balog said. “We do weddings and banquets and other events. Some of our staff will kind of bounce back and forth.”

Golf lessons will be offered at the facility.

“We see it as the best of both worlds,” he said. “We can do it all in one spot. It’s for the true golfer, the one learning and those who are just kind of dabbling and trying to see what this is all about.”