Why Korea plays golf indoors
Screen golf is not a novelty in Korea. It is a mainstream way to play, and it shapes the whole market.
If you want to understand Korean golf, start in a basement in Seoul, not on a fairway.
Screen golf rooms are indoor venues where you hit a real ball into a screen, and sensors turn the shot into a simulated round on a famous course. In Korea they are ordinary neighborhood businesses. People book a room for after-work drinks, a family outing or a weekly game with friends.
Why it took off
Three things make indoor golf work especially well in Korea.
Space and cost. Korea is dense and mountainous, and a round on a real course takes a long time and a lot of money. A room near home takes a couple of hours and costs a fraction of that.
Weather. Winters are cold and summers are wet, so the playing calendar outdoors has gaps. Indoors, there are none.
Social habits. Group activities after work are part of the culture. A screen golf room is a place to play, eat and talk, with no waiting on the tee.
What it means for the market
Screen golf is not just a way to practice. For many Koreans it is where they first play golf and where they play most of their rounds. That changes who the golfer is, what equipment and technology companies build for, and how courses think about new players.
It also explains why Korean companies have been early in simulator and launch-monitor technology, a theme we will follow in our business and tech coverage.
What we will cover next
We will report on how the venues operate, how the big platforms compete, and how the experience compares with playing a real round.