Topgolf CEO sees driving ranges as route to golf’s next star
David McKillips says lower-cost access, youth programs and social venues can help Topgolf bring new players into golf.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Topgolf’s new chief executive is pitching the company’s driving ranges as a gateway into golf, including for young players who might later reach the sport’s highest levels. David McKillips told Fortune that the company’s scale, pricing programs and equipment access can reduce barriers that have long kept golf out of reach for many families.
McKillips, who became Topgolf CEO in February, said he could imagine a future professional golfer first learning the game at a Topgolf venue rather than at a traditional country club. He tied that ambition to the company’s pledge to help create 10 million new golfers by 2030.
Lower-cost access for young players
Topgolf has partnered with Youth on Course, a nonprofit that helps golfers age 18 and under get subsidized access to the sport, Fortune reported. Under the program, Youth on Course members and alumni can use Topgolf bays for $5 from Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon, between July 1 and Sept. 3.
McKillips told Fortune the offer is meant to address several common obstacles at once: price, equipment and the unease some beginners feel around golf. Topgolf provides clubs, balls and shot-tracking technology at its venues, which lets players try the game without buying gear first.
He said Topgolf’s own data shows its programs are already producing between 2.5 million and 3 million new golfers. McKillips also told Fortune that only about 35% of current golfers visit Topgolf, leaving room for the company to draw more traditional players while also recruiting beginners.
A broader audience for golf
McKillips said young women and children are among golf’s fastest-growing groups. Topgolf’s youth participation has risen 40% over the past five years, according to figures he shared with Fortune.
Industry data also shows growth among women and girls. The National Golf Foundation says women and girls now make up 28% of golf participants, an all-time high, and that 8.2 million women played off-course golf in 2024.
McKillips said off-course venues can push people toward the traditional game. He told Fortune that someone who has hit balls at a place such as Topgolf is five times more likely to be interested in playing on a course than someone who has never used a club.
Topgolf’s reach is central to that argument. McKillips cited more than 100 U.S. venues, international sites and simulator partners, along with 42 million annual guests and players. He said the broader golf system, including green-grass courses, simulators and Topgolf, amounts to nearly 100 million touch points for the sport.
Entertainment as part of the plan
McKillips joined Topgolf after six years as president and CEO of CEC Entertainment, the parent of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza. During his time there, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020 during pandemic shutdowns and later emerged with about $1 billion in debt erased and nearly $400 million in new capital, Fortune reported.
At Topgolf, he has inherited a company coming off an ownership change and a period of falling same-venue sales. His plan includes new arcades, a membership program, and more pickleball and darts, Fortune reported, as the company tries to bring in guests who may not arrive as golfers.
Toptracer, Topgolf’s sister ball-tracking technology, also supports that pitch. McKillips told Fortune the system is installed in every Topgolf bay and gives casual players access to shot data similar to what viewers see in professional golf broadcasts.
McKillips said the company wants to broaden its identity beyond driving ranges while keeping golf at the center. The strategy is to get more people through the door for food, games or social events, then give them an easy way to pick up a club.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.