A local attraction on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow had the most success as a business this year than they’ve ever had. The UI Golf Course has been putting up record numbers during the pandemic, as more people have showed up to play.
Andrew M. Elaimy, head golf professional at the UI Golf Course, has seen an increase in people playing golf during the COVID-19 pandemic and hopes to see it continue going into next year.
“It’s been our best year ever,” Elaimy said. “We’ve nearly doubled our rounds this year. We were able to be open, socially distant and it was a great way for people to get out and exercise. I think that we’ve seen an increase in people coming out because most people wanted to look for an activity to participate in during this pandemic. Most people didn’t want to go out to bars/restaurants so they decided to come play golf since it’s been one of the best socially distant activities to do.”
Elaimy said that this year, a mix of individuals came to play golf on the course with many of them being new players. The increase of players helped the course purchase new golf carts along with bringing more popularity to the course as a whole.
“Our biggest increase was with new golfers,” Elaimy said. “It’s a great game and once people tried it, they were addicted. With the new or current golfers, we offer lessons for individuals, two people, groups and juniors in order to help them develop their game.”
Because of the recent snowfall, the UI Golf Course has closed the course for the rest of the year but the course will reopen in the spring. However, an alternate option that is available for individuals who want to continue playing is the Indoor Trackman Simulator that is available for use in the winter.
“The virtual indoor golf simulator is something that we offer in order for players to come in and improve on their skills or for new players to learn more about the game,” Elaimy said. “It’s the best for people to get into the game and learn how to improve their skills whether that’s improving their stroke, figuring out what’s the best stance to take or learning how to hold the club in a proper position.”
The Indoor Trackman Simulator is the first golf simulator available in the area, and it is powered by Trackman technology. The simulator lets you play on 38 different courses, and it allows people to use their time in order to hone their game on the virtual driving range along with providing shot feedback via video analysis.
The technology records all aspects of someone’s swing including club speed, attack angle, smash factor and launch angle. Club speed determines a golfer’s potential distance, attack angle follows the direction the club head is moving on impact, smash factor determines the ball speed divided by club speed and launch angle refers to the angle that the ball takes off relative to the ground.
There are multiple different play formats including group formats with up to four people. Indoor lessons are available for adults and juniors. Lessons will be taught from Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) professionals, and people interested in trying out the golf simulator can call 208-885-6171 to book a time to play.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic.