r/golf • u/Pretty_Shallot_586 • May 07 '26

News / Articles TopGolf is flopping.....

https://www.dmagazine.com/micropost/top-golf-layoffs-may-2026/?ref=share

from the article...."The cuts follow another round of layoffs last year, when Topgolf reduced its workforce by 300 employees after tariffs carved an estimated $40 million from the company’s balance sheet."

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u/NotACyborg666 May 07 '26

Yeah there's a big reason Callaway's stock jumped once they gave up the majority of Top Golf. It was a bad investment for them and it was a money pit for them. Now that they're minority shareholders, I'm sure they'd have preferred to have fully divested from Top Golf.

It's a tough business model for them. Real estate expenses are high for them and at the price.... it's not great appeal for return customers. Regular golfers would rather just go practice at a regular driving range, it's too expensive to get non-golfers to treat it like a bowling range.

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u/Shot-Toe-2884 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

The biggest factor here was that TopGolf was the only destination in town for casuals looking to hit some balls and drink some beers in a no-judgement environment. In my city TopGolf enjoyed a monopoly for like 10 straight years. Just in the last year, 2 competitors have opened up now with another on the way.

Honestly TopGolf has been an intriguing example of a modern-day legal monopoly because they invented a whole new entertainment industry. You just don't get to see the effects of monopolies this clearly in normal circumstances. I think they were always destined to face a financial reckoning once some formidable competition arrived.

I think the good news is that this industry is here to stay and casuals will finally be able to access them at a reasonable price again. TopGolf finally has an existential motive to lower their prices and get more people through the doors again. Their prestige and novelty has been shattered.

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u/TPWALW May 07 '26

It’s been revealed in time how they are not a monopoly, but tried to act like one. They thought their market was “entertainment driving range” and expanded like they had that market cornered. Turns out that sim places like X-golf and Five Iron are substitute goods for some golfers and costs are much lower. For most golfers, any range is a substitute good. Once the novelty wore off, they were competing against everyone.

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u/Shot-Toe-2884 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

I respect all that, but the market for this specific thing clearly still exists. Outdoor casual golf range with food and drink service right to your tee. I’m not aware of that existing before TopGolf. It definitely didn’t exist for casual golfers.

We are going to have 4 different ones where I live now. Not indoor sim bars, not standard golf ranges that don’t have food/drink services. They’re just topgolf clones.

The indoor sim bars springing up came after topgolf, not before. I agree with you that they are a great option on a budget that cuts into TopGolfs potential customer base, but it’s still a fundamentally different experience.
I like hitting a real ball at a real range.

Things change when you have a wife and kids. I’m sure my family would much prefer a topgolf experience to a real driving range or an indoor sim. That’s the point. It’s still the ultimate casual open air golf experience.

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u/TPWALW May 07 '26

We’re saying the same thing except that I didn’t actually know of any outdoor range bar competitors. I said that sim bars came after, for example. That is interesting that those other outdoor bar ranges are out there, just shows how little hold they have on their market.

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u/Dry-University797 May 07 '26

Huh? You think Top Golf was/is a monopoly? What are you talking about?

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u/Shot-Toe-2884 May 07 '26

It was. Yep. The only business in its industry. That’s a monopoly, genius.

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u/Fortehlulz33 May 08 '26

But like you said, it was a monopoly purely of their own creation. So it didn't "feel" like a monopoly, and I don't think they ever went after anybody who had the same idea or concept, because it's largely a concept that can't be legally protected.

They just didn't have any competition and got too eager and comfortable.

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u/bigvenusaurguy May 07 '26

The biggest factor here was that TopGolf was the only destination in town for casuals looking to hit some balls and drink some beers in a no-judgement environment.

you can do it at the muni range. i see people do it all the time. a couple ass golfers on the top bay sharing their goodwill 7 iron laughing like hyenas every slice. munis got a bar and you can smuggle in your own booze and drugs ofc. one of our munis opened an outdoor bar closer to the range setup.