Callaway Golf owns TopGolf after acquiring the company in 2020. TopGolf now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Callaway Golf. TopGolf is a golf driving range game with electronically tracked golf balls and automatically scored drives.
TopGolf was founded in 1997 by twin brothers Steve and Dave Jolliffe. The brothers were frustrated with time issues and lackluster driving ranges and were looking to improve the game. They looked into the new commercial microchip technology and placed it inside a golf ball. From this, they designed a new game called TopGolf.
The first location was opened in 2000 in Watford, just outside of London, England. The golfing community and businesses were not originally enthusiastic about the game, and PGA and golf equipment companies refused to get involved.
In 2003, bankers approached Richard Grogan to invest, but he declined. After visiting the facility in 2004, Grogan and three other partners came up with the idea to make TopGolf an experience by adding event space, larger kitchens and restaurants, and increasing the size. They founded and started up the U.S. license for TopGolf.
The group opened its first location in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2005, followed by Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas. With little traffic at any location, Grogan expected to be closing up shop by 2007; however, after brainstorming low-tech marketing techniques to draw in customers, Dallas' location had a six-hour waiting time.
By 2015, TopGolf had 28 locations and averaged 8 million customers. There are multiple TopGolf game variations available to customers, including:
Top Golf
Top Break
Top Chip
Top Shot
Top Pressure
In 2021, TopGolf's annual revenue was reported to be $1.2 billion, and it had approximately 7,000 employees.
