'Develop 10 Million New, Committed Golfers In The Next 5 Years' Topgolf CEO, David McKillips Reveals Ambitious Plans For The Future

When I started playing, around 30 years ago, driving ranges were mostly inhabited by solitary golfers, grinding on their techniques in search of a secret move to unearth better performances.

Now, these venues are as much about entertainment as anything else. Food, drink, music and the gameification of the range golf experience have combined to open the sport to a new generation of players.

Since it was founded in 2000, Topgolf has had a huge hand in this transformation and quarter of a century on, the company now has more than 100 locations worldwide.

Topgolf CEO, David McKillips, recently finished his first 100 days in the role. We caught up with him to discuss the company's future plans and its lofty ambition to strengthen the pipeline of new players flowing into the game.

You don’t come from a golfing background but an entertainment one, so how have you found the golf industry?

I’ve had such a warm welcome from the governing bodies, the tours, the brands. It’s been a great experience to be among the avid golfers that I’m learning more about, and the social golfers – of which I am one.

What can the sport learn in general from the entertainment business?

To embrace entertainment in all aspects of the fan experience. The number one reason people come to Topgolf is to have fun. That’s the experience we deliver and that we’re going to continue to lean into. I can compare it to some of the things I’ve been able to represent, whether it’s movies or theme parks or family entertainment centers.

I understand there's a strategic pivot coming for the company. Can you explain more about what that looks like?

Yes, it is for Topgolf to look at all areas of the sport through the lens of full entertainment. I consider us the ultimate destination of sports, entertainment and golf. One of the pivots is to lean back into that golfer who loves the sport or Topgolf and that, frankly, I think is where we can invest more into – whether that’s more virtual courses, a new membership platform, member-member tournaments, member-guest tournaments, tying in with big names, whether it's professionals or YouTube golfers. We are that destination for everyone to enjoy the sport.

What are your specific goals?

To develop 10 million new, committed golfers in the next 5 years – and I think that’s very achievable. We’ve got great plans to expand our youth development programs and lean into the fastest growing area of golf, which is young females, through creating new programs that are dedicated to those specific audiences. It will grow the game holistically.

How can Topgolf get people into the wider aspects of golf?

Of those non-golfers who came to Topgolf and subsequently took up the game, 75% of them attribute Topgolf as part of their entry into the game. We’re the gateway to golf. We’re accessible, we’re affordable: we provide the clubs, the balls, the platform. If the first time you come it’s fun, and if people coming into the game are enjoying it, they’re going to get the itch to do more. So they’re going to end up on green grass eventually.

We need to see it holistically. We need to have partnerships that start with the casual golfer - the first-time female golfer or youth golfer. At Topgolf we have 42 million visits each year and about a 50/50 split between men and women, but when you take out the corporate accounts, so just folks coming in, we over-index to female golfers more than anyone else.

Why do you think this is the case versus other, more traditional formats of the game?
Because it's fun and it's not intimidating.

Do you feel a sense of responsibility to the game because of the audience you are connecting with?
I understand our responsibility to the game of golf. It's unbelievable, and I didn't realize it until I talked, not only to our golfers and our guests, but to the people in the industry. People want to work with us and they want to root for us and they just know that we're bringing a young, new demographic to the sport. We're seeing a huge boom.