One of Topgolf’s largest competitors is ending 2018 with a bang.
Drive Shack, an upstart golf entertainment destination, announced this week that it sold 11 properties for $82.5 million. Eight of those 11 properties will continue to be operated by Drive Shack Inc.’s subsidiary American Golf.
“This is a massive step forward in our strategy to monetize the portfolio of owned courses” Drive Shack Inc. CEO Ken May said in a statement. “We continue to move in the right direction with American Golf, focusing on optimizing and growing our leased and managed courses.”
Drive Shack takes a big leap in its entry into the golf “eater-tainment” space. https://t.co/pf368CcQZl
— Golfweek (@golfweek) December 28, 2018
Launching only eight months ago in Orlando, Drive Shack is quickly gaining momentum in the alt-golf entertainment space. Facilities feature “the latest in golf and gaming technology with venues offering signature interactive range games, virtual course play, restaurant and bar, and classic arcade game center.”
American Golf will continue to operate eight of the 11 sold locations, according to the release.
The sale was one of the biggest moves in the young company’s history. With May coming on board as the CEO in November, a position he held at Topgolf for four years, the company’s strategy and vision going into 2019 will be to follow a similar growth plan as Topgolf under May in which he oversaw the opening of 24 properties during his tenure.
Twelve of Drive Shack’s 26 properties have been sold and the company plans to sell the other 14 in an effort to generate $175 million. Properties in Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N.C., and West Palm Beach, Fla. are expected to open within the first six months of 2019.
