Simulator technology makes golf instruction easier, more effective
Photographs by Charles Cherney
This article appeared in the November 2025 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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Brad Ray left his position as an assistant professional at Makray Memorial to open Northwest Golf Academy in 2024.
The weather changed suddenly on what had been a sunny day in August. The dark clouds rolled in and the floodgates opened from the sky. For most of his career, when Hank Haney worked primarily outdoors, he would have been running for cover. When asked to estimate how many years of his life he spent on driving ranges, Tiger Woods’ former swing coach and one of the top instructors of his generation laughed and said, “Too many to count.”
However, on this day, Haney continued giving a lesson to a student. With the rain pounding outside, he was warm and dry within the confines of the Hank Haney Golf Studio, an indoor facility in Deerfield he opened last spring.
“I love teaching inside,” said Haney, a Deerfield native who moved back to his hometown in 2023. “I don’t have to cancel lessons if it rains. I’m not getting dirt on my hands trying to find a good lie for the student at a range. I’m not baking out in the sun. I wish I had done this my whole career.”
Haney is part of a growing trend of golf instructors opening indoor teaching facilities in the Chicago District. Chances are there is at least one, if not more indoor options, near most golfers. Now let’s be clear: this is not a new thing. There are several top pros in the area who have been operating thriving indoor facilities for many years. GOLFTEC has been around for more than two decades with nine locations in the Chicago area.
“GOLFTEC was the pioneer (of teaching golf inside),” Haney said. “They had it to themselves for a long time.”
However, the economic climate, which has seen declining prices for retail space in shopping centers, strip malls and elsewhere, now is creating opportunities for long-time pros like Brad Ray to go the indoor route. Previously an assistant professional at Makray Memorial, he opened Northwest Golf Academy in Barrington in the summer of 2024.
Ray said the 6,000-square-foot space, which had been vacant for several years, was perfect to do a quick buildout. He installed six high-tech simulators and was open within a month. Simulators range from $25,000 to $50,000, depending on the bells and whistles on them.
“I called my Trackman guy and we were ready to go,” Ray said. “I wasn’t looking at needing a million dollars to get started.”
Haney added, “It's a very easy entry business. Put up some stimulators in a space and cool, you're in business.”
Joe Sheren and Tommy Asuma, founders of SMART Golf & Fitness, feel so bullish about indoor golf facilities, they opened their third location in Northbrook in July; SMART Golf is also in Chicago and Lombard.
The Northbrook facility is a sprawling 12,000-square-foot space that includes simulators, a full gym, locker rooms and a large social area. SMART Golf is tailored for golfers who are seriously committed to improving their games. It requires golfers to make a minimum of a three-month commitment with weekly sessions with a swing instructor and training with a fitness coach. The model is working, as Sheren said the Chicago location fluctuates between 250 and 280 members.
“We’re not about one-o
golf lessons,” said Sheren, a former Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year. “Most golfers don’t get better because they weren’t patient and gave up too quickly. We’re looking for golfers who want to make that commitment.”
Sheren believes the most efficient way to make those improvements is to take instruction indoors. He asks a basic question: “What’s the most powerful piece of feedback while taking lessons outdoors?”
“It’s the ball flight, right?” Sheren said. “That can be good and that can be bad. We're emotionally tied to the golf ball. At SMART Golf, we are looking to make structural changes in a player’s swing. The one piece of feedback that we do not care about is what the ball is doing. If you're working on a particular movement pattern, and the ball flight isn’t immediately better, you lose trust, right? It ends up being counterproductive to the process.”
Haney said the biggest gain for his instruction has been the technology offered by the high-tech simulators. A player’s swing is captured by multiple cameras, and sensors produce data about clubhead speed, path, spin and more.
“Frankly, I misjudged how much easier it is for the student,” Haney said. “Tiger always talked about there being a big difference between feel and real. I always could see what a student is doing, but it’s much easier for the student when they have that feedback right there (with the data). If someone says, ‘I did that well,’ I can point to the numbers and say, ‘No you didn’t.’ Then they start to get it.”
Ray added, “The technology is incredible. I know it has made me a better teacher.”
Now, this is not to say that you can’t make huge strides by taking lessons outside at a driving range. Obviously, you can, and there are countless top professionals in the area who do a terrific job under the sun.
But the indoor route is a growing option, and unlike outside in the Chicago winter, it is available 12 months out of the year. Haney also contends that golf is likely to see a reduction in outdoor facilities in upcoming years. He said he once owned five driving ranges in the Dallas area but eventually sold them to real estate developers.
“How many new driving ranges have opened?” Haney said. “The answer is next to none. The land is too valuable. That’s why even in Florida, where they have good weather all year, you’re seeing more of these indoor facilities. It’s really an indoor driving range, but better because of the technology.”
For his part, Ray said, “I don’t ever want to teach outside again unless I have to.”
Ray is hoping for a long run at Northwest Golf Academy. He says the early results have exceeded his expectations. He has thriving junior and after-school programs, and evening golf activities.
“The winter was bonkers,” Ray said. “I thought the summer might be slow, but that hasn’t been the case at all. We had a great summer.”
After more than two decades in golf, Ray said he never enjoyed the game more than being inside.
“It doesn’t feel like a job anymore,” Ray said. “I enjoy helping people; I enjoy working with our youth programs. It’s been great.”
A former golf writer for the Chicago Tribune, Ed Sherman is a frequent contributor to Chicago District Golfer.
100 swings a day to a better swing
The offseason is a perfect time to work on your game. You don’t even have to leave your house. In fact, you don’t even need a club or a ball.
Hank Haney (pictured) always has had a go-to tip when golfers ask him for advice. He tells them to try to take 100 swings a day.
“Over the years, I've had people tell me that’s the best tip I ever gave them,” Haney said.
If you have access to an indoor simulator to make actual swings with a ball, great. But a ball is not required, as Haney says golfers can reap huge benefits from taking practice swings, using various speeds from slow to fast, and even partial, stopping at various spots to ingrain a feel.
And if your ceiling isn’t high enough, Haney says you still can do golf’s version of “shadow boxing,” swinging without a club.
“I love 100 golf swings, because you're working on everything,” Haney said. “You’re working on balance. You’re working on strength and flexibility. You’re working on the overall repeatability of your swing. Nobody is going to have a perfect swing, but if you can make the same swing every time, you can play decent golf.”
—Ed Sherman